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karmic bondages, which are painful in retribution and also result in increased worldly transmigration. Therefore, these activities are considered as abandonable. 2. On the other hand, to undertake merciful, charitable, kind, compassionate and helpful activities is meritorious and auspicious and they result in meritorious karmic bondages, which are pleasurable in retribution and also result in obstructing the influx of sinful karma and in reduction of the duration and intensity of the earlier bonded sinful karma. Consequently they result in reduced worldly transmigration. Therefore, these activities are helpful in the destruction of sinful karmic bondages and in spiritual development and are considered as acceptable. The canonical literature only proscribes the inauspicious sinful activities and prescribes undertaking of the auspicious meritorious ones.
Jainism categorises activities variously. Some involuntary activities, like seeing a multitude of things on just opening the eyes, hearing various sounds through the ears, respiration, digestion, circulation of blood, etc., happen on their own. For these activities no conscious effort is required and the creatures also do not have any volitional involvement of doership and enjoyership in relation to such activities. Therefore, these activities do not result in any karmic bondage. These activities also do not result in any spiritual ascent or downfall.
The other types of activities are those that have to be done by a creature. These activities are, again, of two types - auspicious and inauspicious. The sinful activities involving attachment-aversion, sensory pleasures, passions, violence, etc., are inauspicious and are beset with the volitional involvement of doership and enjoyership. These activities destroy the natural attributes of the soul and result in the bonding of destructive karmic bondages. Therefore, they must be abandoned. The auspicious activities of mercy, kindness, compassion, charity, service, etc., give expression to the noble natural spiritual qualities of a living being. They destroy attachment and reduce the passions and result in destruction of sinful karma and in spiritual
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Positive Non-Violence
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