Introduction to Jainism

Author(s): Rudi Jansma, Sneh Rani Jain
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

Page 59

AHIMSĀ
57
Compassion is the intrinsic nature of soul (living being), therefore there is an inherent contradiction in accepting it to have been caused by karma.
- Dhavala Tika by Vīrasena (13/362)
Dharma (religious duty) is that which has been refined by compassion.
Bodha Pahuda by Kundakundāchārya (25)
We have thus seen that the idea that Jainism is negative and passive is completely erroneous, and that the opposite is more than clear if we observe the daily practice of the Jain community.
Jainism and environment
by Surendra Bothra*
Jainism is especially significant in our modern industrialized times for a better understanding of our proper place, attitude and function within the totality of our natural environment. Amazingly all we have to do is to refer to a book written more than 2000 year ago, known as the Achārānga Sūtra, on which Surendra Bothra wrote the following article:
Āchārānga: The first book on the environment
The simple meaning of environment is "external conditions or surroundings.” With our careless interference and exploitation we have changed everything around us to an extent that our natural surroundings are no longer natural. They are polluted, spoiled and degenerated. In the process we ignored even the vital fact that our actions may one day endanger our own u xistence.
* This section (pp. 48-69) was written by Surendra Bothra, Jaipur, India, and is used with his kind permission. Most of the text was recently published in Jain Spirit (Colchester, UK), issue 25, 2006, and all the material will be used in a forthcoming book by S. Bothra.