Book Title: Medieval Jainism
Author(s): P S Jain, R M Lodha
Publisher: Ashish Publishing House

View full book text
Previous | Next

Page 131
________________ Chapter 14 Vegetarianism-A Way of Life J.M. JUSSAWALA The term Vegetarianism' has different interpretations and means different things to different people causing much misunderstanding and confusion as the philosophy of Vegetarianism consists in a gentle and sympathetic approach to life as a whole, including various aspects : aesthetic, ethical, moral, spiritual, religious, humanitarian, ecology, health, nutrition, etc. In short, vegetarianism is the question of man's well being in every way : physically, mentally, spiritually, socially and economically. That is why ‘Vegetarianism' is considered a superior way of life. Whereas the word ‘vegetarian’ was first used in 1842, with the meaning ‘one who abstains from the use of flesh, fish and fowl as food with or without the addition of eggs and dairy products'. So the term vegetarian applies to food and diet which being one of the essential aspects of vegetarianism. While the ethical and medical arguments which reinforce them and make the case for vegetarianism much stronger. The main arguments used in favour of vegetarianism are as follows : Aesthetic Meat is repulsive to sight and smell. The idea of feeding on dead and decomposing flesh offends Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org

Loading...

Page Navigation
1 ... 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198