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food to feed the many undernourished people in the world, for it takes approximately 5 kg of edible grain to produce 1 kg of meat Thus the observance of Jaina precepts on a larger scale will directly reduce hunger in the world'
Living in a non-injurious way is not easy Temporal, goal-oriented activity usually involves struggle, overcoming, transcending, competing The problem is how to do all this in a non-injurious way Clearly this does not mean that one is never to oppose an opponent, or never resist an oncoming aggressive force That would be mere passivity, a non-caring for what happens The man of good-will, in contrast, must resist evil, but not harm anyone, including the evil-doer Preventing the evildoer's wicked will from being effective and realized is not harming the wrong-doer, to the contrary, it is helping him, for the process of energetic prevention may give him time and opportunity to realize the damaging character of his
intentions
Non-injury also entails the realization that one is occasionally causing injury to another unintentionally Even if such unintended actions cannot be entirely avoided, their consequences are minimized by the development of a forgiving attitude The Jamn liturgical reminder for the need to seek the forgiveness of those wronged, and to forgive those who have hurt one, are very functional elements in the character of a spiritually developed being
It takes little reflection to realize that unless one is actively forgiving, one cannot fully appreciate the nature of being forgiven Thus it is enjoined in the tradition of the Jainas to forgive and forget ones wrongs Therewith it is much casier to cultivate an attitude of compassion toward all and cach, even those who inadvertently or deliberately injured one
Finally, we come to the genius of the Jaina recognition that truth is perspectival Assertions are always assertions from a point of view, and often seeming contradictions, oppositions are reconcilableonce one admits the perspectival character of each Thus unlike the absolutism of most spititual traditions, which have so fequently led to intolerance and bloodshed, the Jaina teaching of Syadvada enables the Jaina practitioner to recognize that what seems so from his own perspective may have no less nor greater a truth that what seems to from the genuine perspective of another Consequently it is specifically Jaina spirituality which is particularly well suited to the needs of a society which embraces pluralism, and values the variety, multiplicity, and distinctiveness of the cultures and civilizations that humanity has given rise to With the growing awareness for the need to protect and value diversity, and prevent it from being engulfed by a monotonous and imperialistic mode of thinking and being, we can recognize, value, honour and accept the teaching of the Jainas concerning perspectival truths, ultimately recognizing that honest disagreement needs invite no more conflict between those who disagree than is called for when one individual expresses a preference for milk in
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