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The Jains through Time
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thinkers of his age. He did not try to solve There is no mercy or compassion for the the question of violence and non-violence wronged individual. If people like this, who by the number of lives affected. In this case have suffered atrocities at the hands of he could clearly see that the prince was tyrants, are shunned by those who could innocent, an asylum seeker. He was not at give them succour, then what remains of the fault and his rights were being usurped by religion of compassion and non-violence ? the cruel tyrant Kunik. The issue was not merely one of the rights of refugees, but that In fact this is one of the most important of alleviating the suffering of an innocent questions in life. This is not a matter of and afflicted man. If asylum is refused to pitting the life of one man against a such persons and they are turned over to thousand lives, nor is it a question of their persecutors, then where will they find violence committed against a particular shelter?
individual, or servitude forced upon him.
Rather it is a matter of principle. If on the Imagine a frightened man surrounded on all one hand you are 'murdering a founding sides by death. He is desperate for help and, principle, whilst on the other you are saving at the end of his tether, he somehow thousands of lives, then the latter is hardly manages to find a powerful individual who commendable. In other words, murdering a he thinks might give him protection. principle is the worst type of murder. If a Abruptly he is turned away. He goes to principle is set aside in this way then the another place and is turned away again. Try calamity that results will fuel atrocities and to put yourself in his place and imagine injustices for millions of years. If outrages what he is suffering. How frantic he must like this were to increase, then the entire be! Tears flow from his eyes, yet no-one order of the world would be at stake. cares to ask: "What is the matter? Why are you crying?" If this happens there is no In this war between Magadh and Vaishali, it question of finding any justice in this world. is noteworthy that both Chetak and Kunik
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