Jain Spirit 2005 06 No22

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

Page 38

FEATURES
But
say and how we are going to say it. This may be the first step toward a non-violent world order.
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We must recognise that hunger is also violence, starvation is also violence. If people are dying of starvation, the world cannot be at peace, In Jain tradition we say there are 8.4 million species. We humans on this earth are only one of the 8.4 million species. This is the humility of the Jains. The 8.4 million species, minus the humans, live and die and they never try to wage wars. Therefore we have to thank them. We humans wage wars, not they. Elephants, snakes, tigers or any of the other 8.4 million species, except humans, have never produced the nuclear bomb. So we must be humble. We must try not to be too clever. Our cleverness may be our weakness. Our humility may be our strength.
the
Jain tradition we think otherwise. We put non-violence of thought and speech on top of our practice. If you want to practise non-violence in your
family, with your colleagues or business
associates then making the use of appropriate language would be a good start. Imagine the violence language can
cause. The break-ups of marriages leading to bitter court cases always start with violent language. If we examine carefully, we will find that all quarrels are rooted in the break-down of communication and /or use of abusive language. Therefore, if we can practise non-violence of
speech, then many of our family Z quarrels, disputes among nations and
conflicts among parties and religious sects will be considerably reduced, if not disappear altogether. So let us practise non-violence in our speech:
speak less, think what we are going to Jala ducation International
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If we analyse history, we will recognise the fact that events are never isolated. September 11 did not happen out of the blue, without any cause or reason. Why did this happen here? Are there seeds of this event in the Gulf War or in some other war? America is the most powerful country in the world. It is now the only Super Power. America is now strong not just militarily but also financially. America is also blessed with intelligence and cultures, with science and technology, with literature and poetry. There is so much wisdom in this country. America is also blessed with tremendous landscape: forests, deserts, animals, flowers, rivers and mountains. What a wonderful country it is. Can this country show a new way? Can America show the way of nonviolence? Remember, non-violence is the way of the brave and the strong, not of the cowards and the weak.
America cannot stand alone. We have to move from 'l' to 'we' and 'me' to 'us'. We live in the same world, on the same planet Earth - our home. If ever there was an urgent message, it is the message of one earth. If Americans were to stand together with the world, then we could create a beautiful world, a world without violence. Use Only
Jain tradition is a non-dualistic tradition. We are all connected and we stand together in relation to one another. We cannot exist by ourselves. So America and the rest of the world cannot stay separate. 'The West and the Rest' has been the slogan of some western thinkers, business leaders and politicians. The superior West and the inferior Rest. They are trying to globalise western values: everyone must drink Coca-Cola, eat fast food, wear blue jeans, watch Hollywood films showing naked bodies in bed with sex scenes, and then tell a Muslim that this is the culture of liberty which they should be adopting. This is not the