Brief Analyzation on Jainism & Non-Violence

Jainism’s central belief is non-violence, not just directly but indirectly as well. Ahisma (non – violence), can be practiced in many ways, for Jains, it’s a lifestyle. For Jain monks and nuns it is their entire life, they are constantly aware of what they are doing, making sure not to kill or harm any living organism no matter what senses they have or how many. When it comes to ecology, Jains know that each living thing is connected to one another. Jains make it their duty to preserve the environment and preserve resources for everyone to share. Jains don’t believe in overuse, pollution or waste. Of course, the diet of most Jains is veganism, not only because they will not harm an animal but because the meat, fish and dairy industry is detrimental to the environment. Creating food for grazing animals destroys land and uses a lot of water, something that is abuse to the environment for Jains, not to mention ozone depletion due to gasses and feces from cows. Jain principles teaches that nature is bound together and the belief is if one doesn’t care for nature, one does not care for oneself.

Although to many, the principle of Ahisma probably seems radical or impossible to some, you have to admit that this philosophy is admirable and takes complete selflessness. As far as Ahisma and ecology, it’s hard to say if being vegan or doing anything to harm the environment including driving cars, ext is reasonable simply because there are billions of people on this planet and to me, it seems unrealistic that everybody would eat a lot less meat and fish or drive cars that don’t use gas. I feel this way because I know there are people that don’t believe the environment is even being harmed, don’t believe in global warming and don’t care how they get their meat, as long as they get it. I have personally been trying to become vegetarian for a couple years now, I really hope to cut out meat and fish completely. I do find this logic convincing, I admire Jains, and I admire anybody that tries to be ecologically sustainable. I believe if more people tried to eat less meat or animal products it would help the environment tremendously due to the demand for meat going down, therefor less grazing would occur.

“Jain Ecology: The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development.” The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development | Uniting for a Sustainable Future, 17 May 2021, www.interfaithsustain.com/jain-ecology

“What Does Jainism Teach Us about Ecology?” ARC, www.arcworld.org/faiths.asp?