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That is - the monk who is not given to pride in his family, handsomeness, caste, intelligence, penance, scriptural knowledge, and righteousness is said to be observing the gentleness part of the noble faith.
Where there is arrogance or haughtiness and there is a feeling of considering oneself as higher than the others, there cannot be gentleness or mildness but there can only be inertia, hardness and heartlessness. The spring of affection and kindness cannot rise in the heart of such a haughty person. On the other hand where there is no pride but humility the feeling of being higher than the others does not arise and the feeling of equality rules. Due to this feeling of equality the humble and mild person can feel for others just as one feels for oneself.
The feeling of kindness arises in the heart of one who has himself felt pain and misery, which removes the hardness from his heart and makes it soft. As has been said, “Jā ke paira na phate bivāi, so kyā jāne pīra parāi”. That is - How can one whose feet have not cracked, feel the pain of others with cracked feet? What is meant is that anyone who has suffered in life such pains and miseries like broken limbs, business losses, losing a near, and dear one, can only appreciate the tearing pain suffered by others in similar situations.
The heart of anyone who remains engrossed in mundane pleasures becomes inert to the sufferings of the others. He just cannot feel the pain of others, his sensitivity dies out and his heart becomes hard.
How can those that sleep in air-conditioned mansions wrapped in woollen clothes and wraps feel for the miserable ones who sleep and die in the open in bitter cold and have nothing to cover them selves with? The truth is that attachment to sensory pleasures makes a person stonehearted and at times totally heartless. This hardheartedness is a great hindrance in spiritual development. It is only when one is beset with painful experiences that one can feel as to how painful such experiences can be. One who is given to mundane pleasures remains engrossed in them even when he watches those around him in deep misery. To do so he has to harden his heart. His heart becomes so hard
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Positive Non-Violence
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