________________
The Jains through Time
262
The beneficent teachings of Tirthankar in the forests, running rabbits, leaping Mahavir flowed along in accordance with monkeys, the lordly lion, the stately the principle of the oneness of life. He said: elephant and even the tiniest of creatures Sawē Pānā Piyāuyā Suhasāyā Duhapadikālā
like the ant, are all imbued with the same
consciousness, with the same life force. Appiyavahā Piyajivino Tamhā Nāvāeja Kam Ca Nam
"! What is within us is within them as well. Every creature on earth wants to live. They They all have feelings. They all feel pain. all love life; nobody likes grief or pain. No- Imagine our plight if a killer with a sword one wants to die. So do not kill anything. Do or a bloody knife in his hand confronted us. not even think of hurting or harming How would we feel in a situation like that? anyone.
We would start to shake, our mind would be
paralysed with fear. Our limbs would lose Ahimsa doesn't just mean not killing, it their volition. Would not the reaction of a means recognising the right to life of all cow, buffalo, lamb, deer, rabbit, duck or sentient beings. It means the acceptance of chicken when confronted with a butcher's their very existence. I think that Tirthankar knife be the same? Wouldn't the creature Mahavir's ahimsa goes even further than feel terrified as the blade approached its that. It means loving all sentient beings. It throat? Wouldn't it yearn for life? If you can means helping them and looking after their watch without compunction an innocent welfare. Ahimsa means behaving in a animal being tortured or killed then you are compassionate way and having empathy for not fit to be called a shravak, let alone a all beings. This is the universal expression of human being. Tirthankar Mahavir's ahimsa.
The first great doer' of our age, Tirthankar The trees growing on earth, the birds in the Rishabhdev, taught various arts and skills sky, the little fledglings flitting in and out of such as agriculture, the preparation of food, the groves, the fish in the sea, the frisky deer the kindling of fires, the skills of writing, the
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
