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must be contemplated on the analogy of violence to oneself Without such a sense of equality or universalization of the subject it is impossible to really practise virtue Again, friendliness must be cultivated for all beings and compassion for all those who suffer The Jaina notion of Ahimsā, thus, as the first of the Mahāvratas or universal moral rules is that of a pure spiritual will which only wills the self and not alien, material things Externally, this pure will expresses itself in friendliness, compassion, helpfulness, etc, and leads to the avoidance of all the acts of violence which are contrary to the spiritual nature of the agent or of the objects towards which the action is directed, or for whom it produces consequences Purity of the will, recognition of one's own sprutual nature, recognition of the similar and equal nature and claims of all other souls and a steadfast and strenuous effort to regulate actions in the light of such recognition -- this constitutes the process of 'Ahusa'
It will be already clear that the effort to distinguish Jaina from Buddhist Ahimsā on the ground that the former is negative while the latter is positive or that the former concentrates more on physical behaviour, while the latter on psychic activity, is not correct The Jainas as much as the Buddhists see the test of Hinisã and Ahimsa in the direction of will The excessive attention given by the Jainas to details of bodily behaviour is due to their doctrine that souls are to be encountered almost anywhere This has even been ridiculed and it has been asked “There are living beings in water, on land, in the sky, the whole world is agitated by the waves of living beings, how can the monks be free from Himsā ?” This has been answered by drawing a distinction between gross and microscopic living beings The microscopic beings are not easily injured and it is the other kind of living beings which need to be protected
Apart from the control of violent emotions or actions towards other human beings, the principle of Ahimsã in Jainisni implies vegetarianism There can, however, be no doubt that the use
