Ahimsa Crisis You Decide

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

Page 99

ON ITEMS WE PUT IN OUR MOUTHS
Chapter
3
MOVING FROM VEGETARIAN TO PURE VEGETARIAN (AHIMSAK) LIFE STYLE
In this chapter we will discuss issues of food, drink, and medicine and how consumption of all these affect the -practice of ahimsa.Here the following lifestyles come into play:
Non-vegetarian: The practitioners of this lifestyle freely eat, consume, and use (as food, drink, clothing, cosmetics, and home furnishings) animal based products.
Vegetarian: There is no one definition or description for being vegetarian. It varies by culture or environment; one common attribute is that a vegetarian does not eat "meat." What is considered meat may vary. As a result, "vegetarian" has many broad definitions and understandings in different parts of the world.
In general, a vegetarian is one who does not eat animal products (such as meat, fish, chicken, and eggs) but may or may not use animal products for clothing, furnishings, and beauty. Many vegetarians use dairy products (they are called lacto-vegetarians). Most of the Jains fall into this category.
An Ahimsa Crisis: You Decide
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