Ahimsa Crisis You Decide

Author(s): Sulekh C Jain
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

Page 69

For food
No
Some
No
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
No
No
No No
Yes
For transport of goods For medicines For beauty aids For furnishings and decorations For clothing For testing of machines, chemicals Hunting For recreation and entertainment In wars and battles Ingredients in food and chemicals In damage to the environment Rodeo, cock and dog fighting, bull runs In the circus
No
Yes
Some
Yes
Yes
Yes No
Yes
-
Yes No Yes
Yes Yes Yes
Now that we have established that ahimsa is the most humane and essential part of survival for the human race, we will now examine the history of ahimsa and its foundation.
HISTORY OF AHIMSA
The doctrine of ahimsa was founded by Eastern teachers several millennia ago. Almost all thinkers and founders of religious orders universally accept ahimsa as a core principle of human conduct. Though truth-seekers like Mahavira, Buddha, and Jesus Christ, philosophers like Lhotse and Confucius, and stalwarts like Pythagoras were separated by geographical boundaries, their work speaks to the eternality of truth. In Jainism in particular, nonviolence is considered a supreme moral virtue (ahimsa parmo dharma). An analysis of the different religions and philosophies of India and perhaps the whole world shows that the sramana tradition—of which Jainism and Buddhism are two religious expressions emanating from almost the same place and time in India—describes ahimsa/ nonviolence as the heart of the doctrine to eliminate pain. A further analysis shows that Lord Mahavira, a few years senior to Buddha and the latest Ford
An Ahimsa Crisis: You Decide
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