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Dharmastu samyagdarśanādirūpo dāna-śīla tapobhāvanāmayah |
- Lalitavistara, p. 16. That is, - Dharma is in the form of right vision, etc., and it is comprised of charity, righteousness and penance.
Dhammo vatthusahāvo, khamādibhāvo ya dasaviho dhammo !
Rayaņattayam ca dhammo, jīvanam rakkhaṇam dhammo II
- Kārtikeyānuprekṣā, 478. That is, – The basic nature of anything is its dharma; it is of ten types by way of forgiveness, etc.,; the Trigem (Ratnatraya) comprising the right vision, right knowledge and right conduct is dharma and to protect the living beings is also dharma.
Comments - Here it has been clarified that both forms of nonviolence - proscriptive and prescriptive are included amongst dharma. Charity, kindness, compassion protecting living beings, etc., are positive or prescriptive forms of non-violence and they represent dharma.
Durgatiprasstān jīvān yasmād dhārayate tatah | Dhatte cetān śubhe sthāne tasmād dharma iti sthitah ||
- Daśavaikālika Cūrņi, p. 15. That is, - Dharma is what upholds the creatures that have fallen into bad destinies and restores them to good ones.
Comments - This characteristic of dharma maintains that it takes the living beings from bad destinies to good destinies. Thus, the activities of kindness, charity, service, etc., lead from bad to good destinies. Therefore, they are dharma. These activities help the miserable creatures that are given to despondence to recover to the contemplation of dharma. Therefore, these are doubly helpful - for the self as well as for the others.
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Positive Non-Violence
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