Ahimsa is a religious concept which advocates non-violence and a respect for all life. Ahimsa is the core of Jainist dharma, and a central tenet of many Hindu sects. Those who practice Ahimsa are often vegetarians.
Ahimsa is Sanskrit for avoidance of himsa, or injury to sentient beings. It was introduced to Western societies by Mahatma Gandhi. Inspired by his actions, Western civil rights movements, led by such people as Martin Luther King Jr, engaged in non-violent protests. The more recent popularity of yoga in The West has also served to introduce many westerners to Ahimsa and other vedic concepts.
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2 Yoga 3 Gandhi 4 External links and references |
Jainism
In Jainism, the ahimsa-vrata (vow of ahimsa) is the first of the five mahavratas (great vows). All animal life, and most plant life, is considered sentient and any action which may endanger such life is forbidden. Examples of forbidden activies include: agriculture, violence, animal sacrifice, liquor, eating honey, eating potatoes or certain fruits, and night-eating (eating in the dark may result in the accidental ingestion of an insect). Some Jains wear a cloth over their mouths, to avoid inhaling airborne lifeforms.
The Jain conception of ahimsa involves three times three--the three actions (karanas) of himsa in the three modes (yogas)--of observances:
Neither by action, by speech or by thought:
- do injury oneself (krita)
- cause injury to be done by others (karita)
- approve injury done by others (anumata, mananat, or anumodana)
- supreme forgiveness or forbearance (uttama kshama)
- supreme humility or tenderness (uttama mardava)
- supreme honesty or straight forwardness (uttama arjava)
- supreme contentment or purity of thought and freedom from greed
- supreme truth (uttama satya)
- supreme self-control or self-restraint (uttama samyama)
- supreme austerities
- supreme renunciation
- supreme non-attachment or not taking the non-self for one's own self (uttama akinchana)
- supreme chastity (uttama brahmacharya)
- Most of you are familiar with the virtues of a programmer. There are three, of course: laziness, impatience, and hubris. These are virtues of passion. They are not, however, virtues of community. The virtues of community sound like their opposites: diligence, patience, and humility. They're not really opposites, because you can do them all at the same time. It's another matter of perspective. These are the virtues that have brought us this far. These are the virtues that will carry our community into the future, if we do not abandon them.