Jain Spirit 2004 06 No 19

Author(s): Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains

Page 67

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Village blues- The loss of amenities destroys communities
One of the things that would be needed to hold the membership together (and provide a guarantee of commitment to a shared vision) would be the acceptance of an agreed set of fundamental principles. These would emphasise the importance of locality and the importance of people. An example of such Human Scale Principles would be: ⚫ RELATIONSHIPS - based on mutuality
COMMUNITIES based on love and personal responsibility LOCAL FOOD/LOCAL WORK/LOCAL EXCHANGE/LOCAL ENERGY based on creativity
⚫ IDENTIFICATION WITH PLACE based on oneness with nature
LOCAL DECISION MAKING based on consensus LIVING WITH UNCERTAINTY - based on spirituality Discussion of local initiatives could then focus on which options might be most likely to further these principles, rather than decided by those who talk longest or loudest.
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It would nevertheless be important to have mechanisms in place that not only allow the membership to change its constitution (whether on the basis of a one hundred per cent or simple majority vote of members), but also the underlying values themselves. Times change and people move on. Other priorities emerge and have to be solved by those facing them. Relying on tablets handed down from the past is rarely satisfactory and the debates engendered over values are likely to be the most significant of them all.
Many Jains work in human scale businesses. They play a vital role in their local communities both economically and socially. Jain ethics place a strong emphasis on the human scale, and the balance between personal advancement and social responsibility. Is it conceivable that Jains could form the nucleus of a new Community Trust and Jainism become its philosophical underpinning?
Chris Wright is a novelist and campaigning author. He is a founder of Action for Sustainable Living and Director of Ethical Junction. Email: chriswright@iasco.sagehost.co.uk