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1. Refrain from Destruction
The Jain scriptures provide a general vow for all the Sravakas-followers, "I will desist from all intentional destruction of all lives. As long as I live, I will neither kill nor cause others to kill. I will strive to refrain from all such activities, whether of body, speech or mind" When one takes this vow, he has made a commitment to a lifelong code of conduct, which he must pay meticulous attention to at every moment of his life.
2. Occupation
We notice that Jains normally do not choose the occupations that involve intentional destruction such as a hunter or fisherman. They rarely choose farming or military occupations and prefer to choose commercial or government services instead. Interestingly, we find that majority of Jains are very good businessmen. Also, the occupations in the field of various crafts, arts and writing jobs are considered to be respectable in the Jain community.
3. Way of Life
The Jain way of life is based on the great vows of Jain Ethics i.e. non-injury, truthfulness, non-stealing, celibacy, and non-hoarding of money and property. They practice religion for individual emancipation or use earned money for welfare of society.
4. Vegetarianism
Although not many Jains formally assume the vows of ahimsa under the guidance of an ascetic, members of the Jain community abstain from consuming meat. Jains also go a step further and place restrictions on eating vegetables that carry innumerable microscopic single-sensed beings like onions, fermented beverages, honey and figs. The refusal to eat meat constitutes the most basic expression of the Jain commitment to non-violence. This has led Jains to become the primary exponent of vegetarianism and has significantly contributed to the eventual triumph of vegetarianism throughout the world.
It cannot be denied that some of Jains belonging to new generation eat meat but that is not the part of their regular food. Modern Jain Society avoids meat for health reasons also.
The scientific analysis shows that red meat has a lot of saturated fats, cholesterol and purine. It lacks vitamins (except B. Complex). The present studies show that meat consumption is taking a tremendous toll on our environment - whether it is the amount of vegetables, fossil, fuels or water which are required to produce meat, and which could, cause methane emission of cattle. Through meat consumption we ingest negative energy, as we absorb the fear and anger of the dying animal. Hence, meat enhances aggression and violence. Jains, therefore admit that Human beings are superior species, so, should not kill other species.
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