Jainism the Creed for All Times

Author(s): D S Baya
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

Page 92

We can appreciate that it may not be possible to avoid violence, especially that of the fine one sensed creatures, completely, “lesser violence' better living should be our guiding thought. As I had pointed out earlier, life is sustained by mutual support and cooperation between creatures of various species, therefore, the phrase 'co-operation for existence' must replace the phrase 'struggle for existence in our life's dictionary. Proscriptive Non-violence -
From the abovementioned it follows that from the negation of violence point of view, proscriptive non-violence means possible and avoidable avoidance of killing, hurting or compromising of any of the ten kinds of vitality of any living being either deliberately or through negligence.
It is true that the Sramana tradition in general and Jainism in particular have given the term 'non-violence' a much wider and deeper meaning than their other counterparts. The emphasis on the equality of life from the lesser developed one sensed beings to the fully developed rational five sensed beings has resulted in the proscriptive side of non-violence to overshadow its prescriptive or positive side. Here, we must not forget that Jaina philosophy is a non-absolutist philosophy and any one-sided interpretation of its principles is likely to lead one astray. From the multifaceted standpoint, the proscriptive side of non-violence is more relevant for the ordained ascetics while the laypeople have to adhere to it's positive and prescriptive side. We shall examine this aspect of non-violence in greater detail in the next section of the chapter.
Positive Side Of Non-violence -
So far all the examples of violence taken are destructive ones and non-violence has been defined as negation of such destructive activities. However, life based on only a set of denials
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