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Ahimsa, Ahimsa

It is an important tenet of the religions that originated in ancient India (Hinduism, Buddhism and especially Jainism). Ahimsa is a rule of conduct that bars the killing or injuring of living beings. It is closely connected with the notion that all kinds of violence entail negative karmic consequences. The extent to which the principle of non-violence can or should be applied to different life forms is controversial between various authorities, movements and currents within the three religions and has been a matter of debate for thousands of years.Though the origins of the concept of ahimsa are unknown, the earliest references to ahimsa are found in the texts of historical Vedic religion, dated to 8th century BCE. Here, ahimsa initially relates to "non-injury" without a moral connotation, but later to non-violence to animals and then, to all beings. The idea emerges again in the Hindu texts Mahabharata and Manu Smriti, where ahimsa is said to be merited by good Karma. Though meat-eating and slaughter of animals are criticized by some Hindu texts, other texts present counter-arguments in support of hunting and ritual sacrifice. In the 19th and 20th centuries, prominent figures of Indian spirituality such as Swami Vivekananda, Ramana Maharishi, Swami Sivananda and A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami emphasized the importance of ahimsa. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi applied ahimsa to politics, by his non-violent satyagrahas.

Violence in self-defense, criminal law, and war are accepted by Hindus and Jains. Though ahimsa is not used as a technical term in Buddhism unlike the other two religions, it condemns ritual sacrifice and violence, and moral codes emphasize the importance of not taking life.

Even the loopholes ritual slaughter and hunting were challenged by advocates of ahimsa. Alsdorf p. 572-577 (for the Manu Smriti) and p. 585-597 (for the Mahabharata); Thtinen p. 34-36.

The texts declare that ahimsa should be extended to all forms of life. They also give attention to the protection of plants. The Manu Smriti prohibits wanton destruction of both wild and cultivated plants (11.145). Hermits (Sannyasins) had to live on a fruitarian diet so as to avoid the destruction of plants. Schmidt p. 637-639.

Schweitzer criticized Indian philosophical and religious traditions for having conceived ahimsa as the negative principle of avoiding violence instead of emphasizing the importance of positive action (helping injured beings). Schweitzer, Albert: Indian Thought and its Development , London 1956, p. 80-84, 100-104, 110-112, 198-200, 223-225, 229-230.

Dundas, Paul: The Jains , second edition, London 2002, p. 160; Wiley, Kristi L.: Ahimsa and Compassion in Jainism , in: Studies in Jaina History and Culture , ed. Peter Flgel, London 2006, p. 438; Laidlaw p. 153-154.

Jindal p. 89-90; Laidlaw p. 154-155; Jaini, Padmanabh S.: Ahimsa and "Just War" in Jainism , in: Ahimsa, Anekanta and Jainism , ed. Tara Sethia, New Delhi 2004, p. 52-60; Thtinen p. 31.

Hence, they recognize a hierarchy of life. Mobile beings are given higher protection than immobile ones. For the mobile beings, they distinguish between one-sensed, two-sensed, three-sensed, four-sensed and five-sensed ones; a one-sensed animal has touch as its only sensory modality. The more senses a being has, the more they care about its protection. Among the five-sensed beings, the rational ones (humans) are most strongly protected by Jain ahimsa. Jindal p. 89, 125-133 (detailed exposition of the classification system); Thtinen p. 17, 113.

Source: Wikipedia > Ahimsa