Ahimsa

Short description: Ancient Indian principle of nonviolence

For other uses, see Philosophy:Ahimsa (disambiguation).

| This page contains special characters. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols.

|

Part of a series on

Jainism

Jain prayers

* Bhaktamara Stotra
* Micchami Dukkadam
* Ṇamōkāra mantra
* Jai Jinendra

Philosophy

* Anekantavada
* Cosmology
* Ahimsa
* Karma
* Dharma
* Mokṣa
* Kevala Jnana
* Dravya
* Tattva
* Brahmacharya
* Aparigraha
* Gunasthana
* Saṃsāra

Ethics

* Ethics of Jainism
* Sallekhana

Major figures

* The 24 Tirthankaras
* Rishabha
* Pārśva
* Mahavira
* Arihant
* Ganadhara
* Kundakunda
* Siddhasena
* Samantabhadra
* Haribhadra
* Yashovijaya

Major sects

* Digambara
* Śvētāmbara

Texts

* Samayasāra(Digambara)
* Pravachanasara(Digambara)
* Agama(Shwetambara)
* Tattvartha Sutra
* Dravyasamgraha(Digambara)
* Kalpa Sūtra(Shwetambara)

Other

* History
* Temples
* Jain flag
* Jain symbols
* Parasparopagraho Jivanam
* Schools and Branches
* Timeline
* Topics list

Festivals

* Diwali
* Mahavir Jayanti
* Paryushana
* Samvatsari

Pilgrimages

Tirth

* Abu
* Palitana
* Girnar
* Shikharji
* Shravanabelagola

* v
* t
* e

Part of a series on

Hinduism

* Hindus
* History

Origins

* History
* Indus Valley Civilisation
* Historical Vedic religion
* Śramaṇa
* Tribal religions in India

Main traditions

* Vaishnavism
* Shaivism
* Shaktism
* Smartism

Deities

Trimurti

* Brahma
* Vishnu
* Shiva

* * *

Other major Devas / Devis

* Vedic

* Indra
* Agni
* Prajapati
* Rudra
* Devi
* Saraswati
* Ushas
* Varuna
* Vayu

* Post-Vedic

* Durga
* Ganesha
* Hanuman
* Kali
* Kartikeya
* Krishna
* Lakshmi
* Parvati
* Radha
* Rama
* Shakti
* Sita

Concepts

Worldview

* Hindu cosmology
* Puranic chronology
* Hindu mythology

Supreme Reality

* Brahman
* Om

God

* Ishvara
* God in Hinduism
* God and gender

Life

* Varna

* Brahmana
* Kshatriya
* Vaishya
* Shudra
* Ashrama (stage)

* Brahmacharya
* Grihastha
* Vanaprastha
* Sannyasa
* Purusharthas

* Dharma
* Artha
* Kama
* Moksha

Mind

* Antahkarana
* Pramanas
* Guna
* Ahamkara (Attachment)
* Uparati (Self-settledness)
* Titiksha (Forbearance)
* Ānanda (Happiness)
* Kshama (Forgiveness)
* Shama (Equanimity)
* Dama (Temperance)
* Dhyana (Serenity)
* Moksha (Release)
* Viveka (Discrimination)
* Vairagya (Dispassion)
* Samadhana (Complete Concentration)
* Shraddha (Faith)
* Shadripu (Six Enemies)

Liberation

* Atman
* Maya
* Karma
* Saṃsāra

Ethics

* Niti shastra
* Yamas
* Niyama
* Ahimsa
* Asteya
* Aparigraha
* Brahmacharya
* Satya
* Damah
* Dayā
* Akrodha
* Ārjava
* Santosha
* Tapas
* Svādhyāya
* Shaucha
* Mitahara
* Dāna

Liberation

* Bhakti yoga
* Jnana yoga
* Karma yoga

Practices

Worship

* Puja
* Śrauta
* Temple
* Murti
* Bhakti
* Japa
* Bhajana
* Yajna
* Homa
* Vrata
* Prāyaścitta
* Tirtha
* Tirthadana
* Matha
* Nritta-Nritya

Meditation and Charity

* Tapa
* Dhyana
* Dāna

Yoga

* Sadhu
* Yogi
* Asana
* Hatha yoga
* Jnana yoga
* Bhakti yoga
* Karma yoga
* Raja yoga
* Kundalini Yoga

Arts

* Bharatanatyam
* Kathak
* Kathakali
* Kuchipudi
* Manipuri
* Mohiniyattam
* Odissi
* Sattriya
* Bhagavata Mela
* Yakshagana
* Dandiya Raas
* Carnatic music

Rites of passage

* Garbhadhana
* Pumsavana
* Simantonayana
* Jatakarma
* Namakarana
* Nishkramana
* Annaprashana
* Chudakarana
* Karnavedha
* Vidyarambha
* Upanayana
* Keshanta
* Ritushuddhi
* Samavartana
* Vivaha
* Antyeshti

Ashrama Dharma

* Ashrama: Brahmacharya
* Grihastha
* Vanaprastha
* Sannyasa

Festivals

* Diwali
* Holi
* Shivaratri
* Navaratri
* Durga Puja
* Ramlila
* Vijayadashami-Dussehra
* Raksha Bandhan
* Ganesh Chaturthi
* Vasant Panchami
* Rama Navami
* Janmashtami
* Onam
* Makar Sankranti
* Kumbha Mela
* Pongal
* Ugadi
* Vaisakhi
* Bihu
* Puthandu
* Vishu
* Ratha Yatra

Philosophical schools

Six Astika schools

* Samkhya
* Yoga
* Nyaya
* Vaisheshika
* Mimamsa
* Vedanta

* Advaita
* Dvaita
* Vishishtadvaita

Other schools

* Pasupata
* Saiva
* Pratyabhijña
* Charvaka

Gurus, saints, philosophers

Ancient

* Agastya
* Angiras
* Aruni
* Ashtavakra
* Atri
* Bharadwaja
* Gotama
* Jamadagni
* Jaimini
* Kanada
* Kapila
* Kashyapa
* Pāṇini
* Patanjali
* Raikva
* Satyakama Jabala
* Valmiki
* Vashistha
* Vishvamitra
* Vyasa
* Yajnavalkya

Medieval

* Nayanars
* Alvars
* Adi Shankara
* Basava
* Akka Mahadevi
* Allama Prabhu
* Siddheshwar
* Jñāneśvar
* Chaitanya
* Gangesha Upadhyaya
* Gaudapada
* Gorakshanath
* Jayanta Bhatta
* Kabir
* Kumarila Bhatta
* Matsyendranath
* Mahavatar Babaji
* Madhusudana
* Madhva
* Haridasa Thakur
* Namdeva
* Nimbarka
* Prabhakara
* Raghunatha Siromani
* Ramanuja
* Sankardev
* Purandara Dasa
* Kanaka Dasa
* Ramprasad Sen
* Jagannatha Dasa
* Vyasaraya
* Sripadaraya
* Raghavendra Swami
* Gopala Dasa
* Śyāma Śastri
* Vedanta Desika
* Tyagaraja
* Tukaram
* Tulsidas
* Vachaspati Mishra
* Vallabha
* Vidyaranya

Modern

* Aurobindo
* Bhaktivinoda Thakur
* Chinmayananda
* Dayananda Saraswati
* Mahesh Yogi
* Jaggi Vasudev
* Krishnananda Saraswati
* Narayana Guru
* Prabhupada
* Ramakrishna
* Ramana Maharshi
* Radhakrishnan
* Sarasvati
* Sivananda
* U. G. Krishnamurti
* Sai Baba
* Vivekananda
* Nigamananda
* Yogananda
* Ramachandra Dattatrya Ranade
* Tibbetibaba
* Trailanga

Texts

Scriptures

Vedas

* Rigveda
* Yajurveda
* Samaveda
* Atharvaveda

Divisions

* Samhita
* Brahmana
* Aranyaka
* Upanishad

Upanishads

* Rigveda:
* Aitareya
* Kaushitaki

* Yajurveda:
* Brihadaranyaka
* Isha
* Taittiriya
* Katha
* Shvetashvatara
* Maitri

* Samaveda:
* Chandogya
* Kena

* Atharvaveda:
* Mundaka
* Mandukya
* Prashna

Other scriptures

* Bhagavad Gita
* Agama (Hinduism)

Other texts

Vedangas

* Shiksha
* Chandas
* Vyakarana
* Nirukta
* Kalpa
* Jyotisha

Puranas

* Vishnu Purana
* Bhagavata Purana
* Nāradeya Purana
* Vāmana Purana
* Matsya Purana
* Garuda Purana
* Brahma Purana
* Brahmānda Purana
* Brahma Vaivarta Purana
* Bhavishya Purana
* Padma Purana
* Agni Purana
* Shiva Purana
* Linga Purana
* Kūrma Purana
* Skanda Purana
* Varaha Purana
* Mārkandeya Purana

Itihasas

* Ramayana
* Mahabharata

Upavedas

* Ayurveda
* Dhanurveda
* Gandharvaveda
* Sthapatyaveda

Shastras and Sutras

* Dharma Shastra
* Artha Śastra
* Kamasutra
* Brahma Sutras
* Samkhya Sutras
* Mimamsa Sutras
* Nyāya Sūtras
* Vaiśeṣika Sūtra
* Yoga Sutras
* Pramana Sutras
* Charaka Samhita
* Sushruta Samhita
* Natya Shastra
* Panchatantra
* Divya Prabandha
* Tirumurai
* Ramcharitmanas
* Yoga Vasistha
* Swara yoga
* Shiva Samhita
* Gheranda Samhita
* Panchadasi
* Stotra
* Sutras

Text classification

* Śruti Smriti

* Timeline of Hindu texts

Society

* Varna

*     * Brahmin
* Kshatriya
* Vaishya
* Shudra

* Dalit
* Jati

* Persecution
* Nationalism
* Hindutva

Other topics

* Hinduism by country

* Balinese Hinduism
* Criticism
* Calendar
* Iconography
* Mythology
* Pilgrimage sites

* Hinduism and Jainism / and Buddhism / and Sikhism / and Judaism / and Christianity / and Islam

* Glossary of Hinduism terms
* '

* v
* t
* e

Lord Mahavira, the twenty-fourth tirthankara of Jainism, and "torch-bearer" of ahimsa

Ahimsa (Sanskrit: अहिंसा, IAST: ahiṃsā; sa; lit. nonviolence[1]) is the ancient Indian principle of nonviolence which applies to actions towards all living beings. It is a key virtue in Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism.[2][3][4]

Ahimsa (also spelled Ahinsa) is one of the cardinal virtues[2] of Jainism, where it is the first of the Pancha Mahavrata. It is also one of the central precepts of Hinduism and is the first of the five precepts of Buddhism. Ahimsa is[5] inspired by the premise that all living beings have the spark of the divine spiritual energy; therefore, to hurt another being is to hurt oneself. Ahimsa is also related to the notion that all acts of violence have karmic consequences. While ancient scholars of Brahmanism had already investigated and refined the principles of ahimsa, the concept reached an extraordinary development in the ethical philosophy of Jainism.[2][6] Mahavira, the twenty-fourth and the last tirthankara of Jainism, further strengthened the idea in the 6th century BCE.[7] About the 5th century CE, Valluvar emphasized ahimsa and moral vegetarianism as virtues for an individual, which formed the core of his teachings in the Kural.[8] Perhaps the most popular advocate of the principle of ahimsa in modern times was Mohandas K. Gandhi.[9]

Ahimsa's precept that humans should 'cause no injury' to another living being includes one's deeds, words, and thoughts.[10][11] Classical Hindu texts like the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, as well as modern scholars,[12] disagree about what the principle of Ahimsa dictates when one is faced with war and other situations that require self-defence. In this way, historical Indian literature has contributed to modern theories of just war and self-defence.[13]

## Contents

* 1 Etymology
* 2 Historical Evolution
* 2.1 Pre-Vedic and Shramanic Roots Hypothesis
* 2.2 Evolution in the Vedic Tradition
* 2.3 Integration into Governance
* 3 Hinduism
* 3.1 Ancient Vedic texts
* 3.2 The Epics
* 3.3 Self-defence, criminal law, and war
* 3.4 Non-human life
* 3.5 Modern times
* 3.6 Yoga
* 4 Jainism
* 4.1 The Hierarchy of Life
* 4.2 Ascetic vs. Householder Codes
* 4.3 Intellectual Non-Violence
* 4.4 Just War and Self-Defense
* 4.5 Modern Reception
* 5 Buddhism
* 5.1 War
* 5.2 Laws
* 6 See also
* 7 Notes
* 8 References
* 8.1 Citations
* 8.2 Sources
* 9 External links

## Etymology

The word Ahimsa—sometimes spelled Ahinsa[14][15]—is derived from the Sanskrit root hiṃs, meaning to strike; hiṃsā is injury or harm, while a-hiṃsā (prefixed with the alpha privative), its opposite, is non-harming or nonviolence.[14][16]

## Historical Evolution

Reverence for ahimsa can be found in Jain, Hindu, and Buddhist canonical texts. Lord Parshvanatha (the 23rd of 24 Tirthankaras of Jainism) is said to have preached ahimsa as one of the four vows.[3][5][17][18] No other Indian religion has developed the non-violence doctrine and its implications on everyday life as much as has Jainism.[19][20][21]

### Pre-Vedic and Shramanic Roots Hypothesis

While the Rigveda (c. 1500 BCE) is the oldest surviving text in India, many scholars argue that the specific ethical practice of ahimsa originated within the non-Vedic Sramana traditions (which include Jainism and Buddhism) before being absorbed into Brahmanism.[22]

Some scholars, such as P.R. Deshmukh, suggest that the roots of ahimsa and asceticism may date back to the Indus Valley Civilisation (c. 3300–1300 BCE), citing the discovery of seals depicting figures in the kayotsarga (standing meditation) posture common to Jain iconography.[23][24]

Indologist Johannes Bronkhorst has proposed the "Greater Magadha" theory, arguing that the eastern Gangetic plain (modern Bihar/Bengal) developed a distinct non-Vedic culture where concepts like Karma, rebirth, and ahimsa originated. According to this view, the Vedic priesthood later adopted these concepts as they expanded eastward.[22] Similarly, the German Indologist Ludwig Alsdorf argued that ahimsa likely began not as a moral rule but as a "magico-ritualistic" taboo against killing or harming living beings, which was part of a pan-Indian or pre-Aryan heritage later refined into an ethical system by the Jains.[25]

### Evolution in the Vedic Tradition

The concept of ahimsa evolved gradually within the Vedic tradition.[26] In the early Vedic period (c. 1500–1000 BCE), animal sacrifice was a central component of ritual life.[25] However, the concept transitioned from a ritualistic concern—avoiding injury to the sacrificer or the minute details of the ritual—to an internalized ethical virtue.[26]

By the late Vedic era, texts like the Chandogya Upanishad (c. 8th century BCE) explicitly listed ahimsa as one of five essential virtues (along with truthfulness and charity).[27] The Yajurveda reflects this shifting ethos with prayers for universal peace, such as: "May all beings look at me with a friendly eye, may I do likewise, and may we look at each other with the eyes of a friend".[26]

### Integration into Governance

The principle of ahimsa moved from personal asceticism to state policy under the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka (c. 268–232 BCE). Following the Kalinga War, Ashoka renounced military conquest in favor of "conquest by Dharma".[28] His Rock Edicts restricted animal slaughter, established medical care for animals, and promoted non-violence as a civic duty, embedding the Shramanic value of ahimsa into the political fabric of India.[25]

## Hinduism

### Ancient Vedic texts

Ahimsa as an ethical concept evolved in the Vedic texts.[6][29] The oldest scriptures indirectly mention Ahimsa. Over time, the Hindu scripts revised ritual practices, and the concept of Ahimsa was increasingly refined and emphasized until Ahimsa became the highest virtue by the late Vedic era. The Yajur Veda dated to be between 1200 BCE and 900 BCE, states, "may all beings look at me with a friendly eye, may I do likewise, and may we look at each other with the eyes of a friend".[6][30][31] [32]{{page needed|date=November 2023} The term Ahimsa appears in the text Taittiriya Shakha of the Yajurveda (TS 5.2.8.7), where it refers to non-injury to the sacrificer himself.[33] It occurs several times in the Shatapatha Brahmana in the sense of "non-injury".[34] The Ahimsa doctrine is a late Vedic era development in Brahmanical culture.[35] The earliest reference to the idea of non-violence to animals (pashu-Ahimsa), apparently in a moral sense, is in the Kapisthala Katha Samhita of the Yajurveda (KapS 31.11), which may have been written in about 1500-1200 BCE.[36][31] [32] </ref>

John Bowker states the word appears but is uncommon in the principal Upanishads.[37] Kaneda gives examples of the word pashu-Ahimsa in these Upanishads.[11] Other scholars[5][18] suggest Ahimsa as an ethical concept started evolving in the Vedas, becoming an increasingly central concept in Upanishads.

The Chāndogya Upaniṣad, dated to 800 to 600 BCE, one of the oldest Upanishads, has the earliest evidence for the Vedic era use of the word Ahimsa in the sense familiar in Hinduism (a code of conduct). It bars violence against "all creatures" (sarvabhuta), and the practitioner of Ahimsa is said to escape from the cycle of rebirths (CU 8.15.1).[38][39] Some scholars state that this mention may have been an influence of Jainism on Vedic Hinduism.[40] Others scholar state that this relationship is speculative, and though Jainism is an ancient tradition the oldest traceable texts of Jainism tradition are from many centuries after the Vedic era ended.[41][42]

Chāndogya Upaniṣad also names Ahimsa, along with Satyavacanam (truthfulness), Ārjavam (sincerity), Dānam (charity), and Tapo (penance/meditation), as one of five essential virtues (CU 3.17.4).[5][43]

The Sandilya Upanishad lists ten forbearances: Ahimsa, Satya, Asteya, Brahmacharya, Daya, Arjava, Kshama, Dhriti, Mitahara, and Saucha.[44] According to Kaneda,[11] the term Ahimsa is an important spiritual doctrine shared by Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. It means 'non-injury' and 'non-killing'. It implies the total avoidance of harming any living creature by deeds, words, and thoughts.

### The Epics

See also: Social:Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitah and Yato Dharmastato Jayah

The Mahabharata, one of the epics of Hinduism, has multiple mentions of the phrase Ahimsa Paramo Dharma (अहिंसा परमॊ धर्मः), which literally means: non-violence is the highest moral virtue. For example, Anushasana Parva has the verse:[45]

> अहिंसा परमो धर्मः तथाहिंसा परो दमः।
>  अहिंसा परमं दानम् अहिंसा परमस्तपः।
>  अहिंसा परमो यज्ञः तथाहिंसा परं बलम्।
>  अहिंसा परमं मित्रम् अहिंसा परमं सुखम्।
>  अहिंसा परमं सत्यम् अहिंसा परमं श्रुतम्॥

The above passage from Mahabharata emphasises the cardinal importance of Ahimsa in Hinduism, and literally means:

> Ahimsa is the highest Dharma, Ahimsa is the highest self-control,
>  Ahimsa is the greatest gift, Ahimsa is the best practice,
>  Ahimsa is the highest sacrifice, Ahimsa is the finest strength,
>  Ahimsa is the greatest friend, Ahimsa is the greatest happiness,
>  Ahimsa is the highest truth, and Ahimsa is the greatest teaching.[46][47]

Some other examples where the phrase Ahimsa Paramo Dharma are discussed include Adi Parva, Vana Parva, and Anushasana Parva. The Bhagavad Gita, among other things, discusses the doubts and questions about appropriate response when one faces systematic violence or war. These verses develop the concepts of lawful violence in self-defence and the theories of just war. However, there is no consensus on this interpretation. Gandhi, for example, considers this debate about non-violence and lawful violence as a mere metaphor for the internal war within each human being, when he or she faces moral questions.[48]

### Self-defence, criminal law, and war

The classical texts of Hinduism devote numerous chapters to discussing what people who practice the virtue of ahimsa can and must do when faced with war, violent threat, or the need to sentence someone convicted of a crime. These discussions have led to theories of just war, ideas of reasonable self-defense, and views of proportionate punishment.[13][49] Arthashastra discusses, among other things, what constitutes proportionate response and punishment.[50][51]

War

The precepts of ahimsa in Hinduism require that war must be avoided, with[ambiguous] sincere and truthful dialogue. Force must be the last resort. If war becomes necessary, its cause must be just, its purpose virtuous, its objective to restrain the wicked, its aim peace, and its method lawful.[13][50] War can only be started and stopped by a legitimate authority. Weapons must be proportionate to the opponent and the aim of war, not indiscriminate tools of destruction.[52] All strategies and weapons used in the war must be to defeat the opponent, not to cause misery to the opponent; for example, the use of arrows is allowed, but the use of arrows smeared with painful poison is not allowed. Warriors must use judgment in the battlefield. Cruelty to the opponent during war is forbidden. Wounded, unarmed opponent warriors must not be attacked or killed; they must be brought to your realm and given medical treatment.[50] Children, women, and civilians must not be injured. While the war is in progress, sincere dialogue for peace must continue.[13][49]

Self-defence

Different interpretations of ancient Hindu texts have been offered in matters of self-defense. For example, Tähtinen suggests self-defense is appropriate, criminals are not protected by the rule of ahimsa, and Hindu scriptures support violence against an armed attacker.[53][54] ahimsa is not meant to imply pacifism.[55]

Alternative theories of self-defense, inspired by ahimsa, build principles similar to ideas of just war. Aikido, pioneered in Japan, illustrates one such set of principles for self-defense. Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido, described his inspiration as Ahimsa.[56] According to this interpretation of ahimsa in self-defense, one must not assume that the world is free of aggression. One must presume that some people will, out of ignorance, error, or fear, attack others or intrude into their space, physically or verbally. The aim of self-defense, suggested Ueshiba, must be to neutralize the attacker's aggression and avoid conflict. The best defense is one with which the victim is protected and the attacker is respected and not injured if possible. Under ahimsa and Aikido, there are no enemies, and appropriate self-defense focuses on neutralizing the immaturity, assumptions, and aggressive strivings of the attacker.[57]

Criminal law

Tähtinen concludes that Hindus have no misgivings about the death penalty; their position is that evil-doers who deserve death should be killed and that a king, in particular, is obliged to punish criminals and should not hesitate to kill them, even if they happen to be his brothers and sons.[58]

Other scholars[49][50] conclude that Hindu scriptures suggest that sentences for any crime must be fair, proportional, and not cruel.

### Non-human life

The 5th-century CE Tamil scholar Valluvar, in his Tirukkural, taught ahimsa and moral vegetarianism as personal virtues. The plaque in this statue of Valluvar at an animal sanctuary at Tiruvallur describes the Kural's teachings on ahimsa and non-killing, summing them up with the definition of veganism.

The Hindu precept of "cause no injury" applies to animals and all life forms. This precept is not found in the oldest verses of Vedas (1500–1000 BCE), but increasingly becomes one of the central ideas in post-Vedic period.[59][60] In the oldest layer of the Vedas, such as the Rigveda, ritual sacrifices of animals and cooking of meat to feed guests are mentioned. This included goat, ox, horse, and others.[61] However, the text is not uniform in its prescriptions. Some verses praise meat as food, while other verses in the Vedas recommend "abstention from meat", in particular, "beef".[61][62] According to Marvin Harris, the Vedic literature is inconsistent, with some verses suggesting ritual slaughter and meat consumption, while others suggesting a taboo on meat-eating.[63]

Hindu texts dated to 1st millennium BCE initially mention meat as food, then evolve to suggest that only meat obtained through ritual sacrifice can be eaten, thereafter evolving to the stance that one should eat no meat because it hurts animals, with verses describing the noble life as one that lives on flowers, roots, and fruits alone.[59][64] The late Vedic-era literature (pre-500 BCE) condemns all killings of men, cattle, birds, and horses, and prays to god Agni to punish those who kill.[65]

Later texts of Hinduism declare ahimsa as one of the primary virtues, declare any killing or harming any life as against dharma (moral life). Finally, the discussion in the Upanishads and Hindu Epics[66] shifts to whether a human being can ever live his or her life without harming animal and plant life in some way, which and when plants or animal meat may be eaten, whether violence against animals causes human beings to become less compassionate, and if and how one may exert least harm to non-human life consistent with ahimsa, given the constraints of life and human needs.[67] The Mahabharata permits hunting by warriors, but opposes it in the case of hermits who must be strictly non-violent. Sushruta Samhita, a Hindu text written in the 3rd or 4th century BCE, in Chapter XLVI suggests proper diet as a means of treating certain illnesses, and recommends various fishes and meats for different ailments and for pregnant women,[68][69] and the Charaka Samhita describes meat as superior to all other kinds of food for convalescents.[70]

Across the texts of Hinduism, there is a profusion of ideas about the virtue of ahimsa when applied to non-human life, but without a universal consensus.[71] Alsdorf claims the debate and disagreements between supporters of vegetarian lifestyle and meat eaters was significant. Even suggested exceptions – ritual slaughter and hunting – were challenged by advocates of ahimsa.[72][73][74][75] In the Mahabharata both sides present various arguments to substantiate their viewpoints. Moreover, a hunter defends his profession in a long discourse.[76]

Many of the arguments proposed in favor of non-violence to animals refer to the bliss one feels, the rewards it entails before or after death, the danger and harm it prevents, as well as to the karmic consequences of violence.[77][78][79]

The ancient Hindu texts discuss ahimsa and non-animal life. They discourage wanton destruction of nature including of wild and cultivated plants. Hermits (sannyasins) were urged to live on a fruitarian diet so as to avoid the destruction of plants.[80][81][82] Scholars[46][83] claim the principles of ecological nonviolence are innate in the Hindu tradition, and its conceptual fountain has been ahimsa as its cardinal virtue.

The classical literature of the Indian religions, such as Hinduism and Jainism, exists in many Indian languages. For example, the Tirukkural, written in three volumes, likely between 450 and 500 CE, dedicates verses 251–260 and 321–333 of its first volume to the virtue of ahimsa, emphasizing on moral vegetarianism and non-killing (kollamai).[84][85] However, the Tirukkural also glorifies soldiers and their valour during war, and states that it is king's duty to punish criminals and implement "death sentence for the wicked".[86][87]

In 1960, H. Jay Dinshah founded the American Vegan Society (AVS), linking veganism to the concept of ahimsa.[88][89][90]

### Modern times

Gandhi promoted the principle of ahimsa by applying it to politics.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, prominent figures of Indian spirituality such as Shrimad Rajchandra[91] and Swami Vivekananda[92] emphasised the importance of Ahimsa.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi successfully promoted the principle of ahimsa to all spheres of life, in particular to politics (Swaraj).[93] His non-violent resistance movement satyagraha had an immense impact on India, impressed public opinion in Western countries, and influenced the leaders of various civil and political rights movements such as the American civil rights movement's Martin Luther King Jr. and James Bevel. In Gandhi's thought, ahimsa precludes not only the act of inflicting a physical injury but also mental states like evil thoughts and hatred, and unkind behavior such as harsh words, dishonesty, and lying, all of which he saw as manifestations of violence incompatible with ahimsa.[94] Gandhi believed ahimsa to be a creative energy force, encompassing all interactions leading one's self to find satya, "Divine Truth".[95] Sri Aurobindo criticized the Gandhian concept of ahimsa as unrealistic and not universally applicable, noting that while it is a spiritual truth, it should not be applied as a "rigid ethical rule" to all of humanity.[96] He adopted a pragmatic non-pacifist position, holding that the justification of violence depends on the specific circumstances and the "dharma" (duty/righteousness) of the situation.[97] While he advocated passive resistance as a political policy for India's independence, he maintained that a nation is entitled to use violence for its self-preservation if necessary.[98]

Gandhi took the religious principle of ahimsa, and turned it into a non-violent tool for mass action. He used it to fight not only colonial rule, but social evils such as racial discrimination and untouchability as well.[99]

Gandhi stated his belief that "[a]himsa is in Hinduism, it is in Christianity as well as in Islam."[100] He added, "Nonviolence is common to all religions, but it has found the highest expression and application in Hinduism (I do not regard Jainism or Buddhism as separate from Hinduism)."[100] When questioned whether violence and nonviolence are taught in Quran, he stated, "I have heard from many Muslim friends that the Koran teaches the use of nonviolence. (... The) argument about nonviolence in the Holy Koran is an interpolation, not necessary for my thesis."[100][101]

Studying ahimsa's history and philosophy influenced Albert Schweitzer's principle of "reverence for life". He commended Indian traditions for their ethics of ahimsa, considering the prohibition against killing and harming "one of the greatest events in the spiritual history of humankind". However, he noted that "not-killing" and "not-harming" might be unfeasible in certain situations, like self-defense, or ethically complex, as in cases of prolonged famine.[102]

### Yoga

Ahimsa means "abstinence from malice towards all living creatures in every way and at all times".[103] Ahimsa is imperative for practitioners of Patañjali's eight limb Raja yoga system. It is included in the first limb and is the first of five Yamas (self restraints) which, together with the second limb, make up the code of ethical conduct in Yoga philosophy.[104][105] Commentators on the Yoga Sutras II.30 emphasize that ahimsa is the most important and foundational yama of the five yamas. Vijnanabhiksu uses the analogy of an elephant to convey its importance, while Vyasa defines it as refraining from harming any living being at any time, emphasizing that all other yamas support and purify ahimsa.[106]

Ahimsa is also one of the ten Yamas in Hatha Yoga according to verse 1.1.17 of its classic manual Hatha Yoga Pradipika.[107] The significance of ahimsa as the first restraint in the first limb of Yoga (Yamas) is that it defines the necessary foundation for progress through Yoga. It is a precursor to Asana, implying that success in Yogasana can be had only if the self is purified in thought, word, and deed through the self-restraint of ahimsa.

## Jainism

The hand with a wheel on the palm symbolises the Jain Vow of Ahimsa. The word in the middle is Ahimsa. The wheel represents the dharmacakra which stands for the resolve to halt the cycle of reincarnation through relentless pursuit of truth and non-violence.

In Jainism, the understanding and implementation of ahimsa is more radical, scrupulous, and comprehensive than in any other religion.[108][109][110] Killing any living being out of passions like attachment is considered hiṃsā (to injure) and abstaining from such an act is ahimsā (noninjury).[111] The vow of ahimsā is considered the foremost among the "five vows of Jainism". Other vows like truth (satya) are meant for safeguarding the vow of ahimsā.[112]

The statement ahimsā paramo dharmaḥ (or, "Non-injury/nonviolence/harmlessness is the supreme/ultimate/paramount/highest/absolute duty/virtue/attribute/religion"[113]) is often found inscribed on the walls of the Jain temples.(Dundas, 2002) As in Hinduism, the aim is to prevent the accumulation of harmful karma.[114]

### The Hierarchy of Life

The Jain concept of ahimsa is characterised by detailed classifications of life. Jains categorize living beings (jiva) based on their sensory faculties (indriyas), ranging from one-sensed beings (plants, water, earth) to five-sensed beings (humans, animals).

Killing of animals for food is absolutely ruled out.[115][116] Jains also make considerable efforts not to injure plants in everyday life as far as possible. Though they admit that plants must be destroyed for the sake of food, they accept such violence only inasmuch as it is indispensable for human survival, and there are special instructions for preventing unnecessary violence against plants.[117][118] Jain monks and nuns go out of their way so as not to hurt even small insects and other minuscule animals.(Jindal, 1988) Both the renouncers and the laypeople of Jain faith reject meat, fish, alcohol, and honey as these are believed to harm large or minuscule life forms.[115]

### Ascetic vs. Householder Codes

In the practice of ahimsa, the requirements are less strict for the lay persons (sravakas) who have undertaken anuvrata (Smaller Vows) than for the Jain monastics who are bound by the Mahavrata "Great Vows".(Dundas, 2002)[119]

Jain scholars have debated the potential injury to other life forms during one's occupation. Certain Jain texts (according to Padmanabh Jaini, a Jainism scholar) forbid people of its faith from husbandry, agriculture, and trade in animal-derived products.[120] Some Jains abstain from farming because it inevitably entails unintentional killing or injuring of many small animals, such as worms and insects.[121] These teachings, in part, have led the Jain community to focus on trade, merchant, clerical, and administrative occupations to minimize arambhaja-himsa (occupational violence against all life forms).[120] For the layperson, the teaching has been of ahimsa with pramada – that is, reducing violence through proper intention and being careful in every action on a daily basis to minimize violence to all life forms.[122]

### Intellectual Non-Violence

When Mahavira revived and reorganised the Jain faith in the 6th or 5th century BCE,[123] ahimsa was already an established, strictly observed rule.[124] Rishabhanatha (Ādinātha), the first Jain Tirthankara, whom modern Western historians consider to be a historical figure, followed by Parshvanatha (Pārśvanātha)[125][126] the twenty-third Tirthankara lived in about the 9th century BCE.[127] He founded the community to which Mahavira's parents belonged.[128] Ahimsa was already part of the "Fourfold Restraint" (Caujjama), the vows taken by Parshva's followers.[129][130][131] In the times of Mahavira and in the following centuries, Jains were at odds with both Buddhists and followers of the Vedic religion or Hindus, whom they accused of negligence and inconsistency in the implementation of ahimsa.[132][133][134][135] According to the Jain tradition either lacto vegetarianism or veganism is prescribed.[136]

### Just War and Self-Defense

The Jain texts, unlike most Hindu and Buddhist texts on just war, have been inconsistent. For its monastic community – sadhu and sadhvi – the historically accepted practice has been to "willingly sacrifice one's own life" to the attacker, to not retaliate, so that the mendicant may keep the First Great Vow of "total nonviolence".[120] Jain literature of the 10th century CE, for example, describes a king ready for war and being given lessons about non-violence by the Jain acharya (spiritual teacher).[137] In the 12th century CE and thereafter, in an era of violent raids, destruction of temples, the slaughter of agrarian communities and ascetics by Islamic armies, Jain scholars reconsidered the First Great Vow of mendicants and its parallel for the laypeople. The medieval texts of this era, such as by Jinadatta Suri, recommended both the mendicants and the laypeople to fight and kill if that would prevent greater and continued violence on humans and other life forms (virodhi-himsa).[138][139] Such exemptions to ahimsa is a relatively rare teaching in Jain texts, states Dundas.[138]

### Modern Reception

Mahatma Gandhi stated, "No religion in the World has explained the principle of Ahiṃsā so deeply and systematically as is discussed with its applicability in every human life in Jainism. As and when the benevolent principle of Ahiṃsā or non-violence will be ascribed for practice by the people of the world to achieve their end of life in this world and beyond, Jainism is sure to have the uppermost status and Mahāvīra is sure to be respected as the greatest authority on Ahiṃsā".[140]

## Buddhism

Buddhist monk peace walk

In Buddhist texts ahimsa (or its Pāli cognate avihiṃsā) is part of the Five Precepts (Pañcasīla), the first of which has been to abstain from killing. This precept of ahimsa is applicable to both the Buddhist layperson and the monastic community.[141][142][116][143]

The ahimsa precept is not a commandment, and transgressions did not invite religious sanctions[clarification needed] for laypersons, but their[ambiguous] power has been in the Buddhist belief in karmic consequences and their impact in afterlife during rebirth.[144] Killing, in Buddhist belief, could lead to rebirth in the hellish realm, and for a longer time in more severe conditions if the murder victim was a monk.[144] Saving animals from slaughter for meat is believed to be a way to acquire merit for better rebirth. These moral precepts have been voluntarily self-enforced in lay Buddhist culture through the associated belief in karma and rebirth.[145] Buddhist texts not only recommend ahimsa, but suggest avoiding trading goods that contribute to or are a result of violence:

> These five trades, O monks, should not be taken up by a lay follower: trading with weapons, trading in living beings, trading in meat, trading in intoxicants, trading in poisons.

— Anguttara Nikaya V.177, Translated by Martine Batchelor[146]

Unlike with lay Buddhists, transgressions by monks do invite sanctions.[147] Full expulsion of a monk from sangha follows instances of killing, just like any other serious offense against the monastic nikaya code of conduct.[147]

### War

Violent ways of punishing criminals and prisoners of war were not explicitly condemned in Buddhism,[148][149] but peaceful ways of conflict resolution and punishment with the least amount of injury were encouraged.[150][151] The early texts condemn the mental states that lead to violent behavior.[152]

Nonviolence is an overarching theme within the Pāli Canon.[153] While the early texts condemn killing in the strongest terms, and portray the ideal ruler as a pacifist, such a ruler is nonetheless flanked by an army.[154] It seems that the Buddha's teaching on nonviolence was not interpreted or put into practice in an uncompromisingly pacifist or anti-military service way by early Buddhists.[154] The early texts assume war to be a fact of life, and well-skilled soldiers are viewed as necessary for defensive warfare.[155] In Pali texts, injunctions to abstain from violence and involvement with military affairs are directed at members of the sangha; later Mahayana texts, which often generalise monastic norms to laity, require this of lay people as well.[156]

The early texts do not contain just-war ideology as such.[157] Some argue that a sutta in the Gamani Samyuttam rules out all military service. In this passage, a soldier asks the Buddha if it is true that, as he has been told, soldiers slain in battle are reborn in a heavenly realm. The Buddha reluctantly replies that if he is killed in battle while his mind is seized with the intention to kill, he will undergo an unpleasant rebirth.[158] In the early texts, a person's mental state at the time of death is generally viewed as having a great impact on the next birth.[159]

Some Buddhists point to other early texts as justifying defensive war.[160] One example is the Kosala Samyutta, in which King Pasenadi of Kosala, a righteous king favored by the Buddha, learns of an impending attack on his kingdom. He arms himself in defence, and leads his army into battle to protect his kingdom from attack. He lost this battle but won the war. King Pasenadi eventually defeated Emperor Ajātasattu and captured him alive. He thought that, although this King of Magadha has transgressed against his kingdom, he had not transgressed against him personally, and Ajātasattu was still his nephew. He released Ajātasattu and did not harm him.[161] Upon his return, the Buddha said (among other things) that Pasenadi "is a friend of virtue, acquainted with virtue, intimate with virtue", while the opposite is said of the aggressor, King Ajātasattu.[162]

According to Theravada commentaries, there are five requisite factors that must all be fulfilled for an act to be both an act of killing and to be karmically negative. These are: (1) the presence of a living being, human or animal; (2) the knowledge that the being is a living being; (3) the intent to kill; (4) the act of killing by some means; and (5) the resulting death.[163] Some Buddhists have argued on this basis that the act of killing is complicated, and its ethicality is predicated upon intent.[164] Some have argued that in defensive postures, for example, the primary intention of a soldier is not to kill, but to defend against aggression, and the act of killing in that situation would have minimal negative karmic repercussions.[165]

According to Babasaheb Ambedkar, there is circumstantial evidence encouraging ahimsa from the Buddha's doctrine, "Love all, so that you may not wish to kill any." Gautama Buddha distinguished between a principle and a rule. He did not make ahimsa a matter of rule, but suggested it as a matter of principle. This gives Buddhists freedom to act.[166]

### Laws

Maurya Emperor Ashoka banned animal sacrifice, hunting, slaughter of "all four-footed creatures that are neither useful nor edible" and specific animal species, female goats, sheep and pigs nursing their young as well as their young up to the age of six months. Fishing was banned during Chaturmasya and Uposatha.[167][168] Slave trade in the Maurya Empire was also banned by Ashoka.[169]

The emperors of the Sui dynasty, Tang dynasty, and early Song dynasty banned killing in the Lunar calendar's 1st, 5th, and 9th months.[170] Empress Wu Tse-Tien banned killing for more than half a year in 692.[171] Some rulers banned fishing for a period of time each year.[172]

There were also bans after the death of emperors,[173] after Buddhist and Taoist prayers,[174] and after natural disasters such as Shanghai's 1926 summer drought, as well as an eight-day ban beginning August 12, 1959, after the August 7 flood (Chinese: 八七水災; pinyin: Bāqī shuǐzāi), the last big flood before the 88 Taiwan Flood.[175]

People avoid killing during some festivals, like the Taoist Ghost Festival, the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, and the Vegetarian Festival, as well as during others.[176][177]

## See also

## Notes

## References

### Citations

1. ↑ Rune E. A. Johansson (2012). Pali Buddhist Texts: An Introductory Reader and Grammar. Routledge. p. 143. ISBN 978-1-136-11106-8. https://books.google.com/books?id=CXBmlQvw7PwC.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Phillips, Stephen H. (2008). Kurtz, Lester. ed. Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace, & Conflict (Second ed.). Elsevier Science. pp. 1347–1356, 701–849, 1867. ISBN 978-0-12-373985-8.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Dundas 2002, p. 160.
4. ↑ Bajpai, Shiva (2011). The History of India – From Ancient to Modern Times. Hawaii, USA: Himalayan Academy Publications. pp. 8, 98. ISBN 978-1-934145-38-8. http://www.himalayanacademy.com/media/books/the-history-of-hindu-india/the-history-of-hindu-india.pdf.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Arapura, John G. (1997). "The Spirituality rof Ahiṃsā (Nonviolence): Traditional and Gandhian". Hindu Spirituality: Postclassical and Modern. Motilal Banarsidass Publ.. pp. 392–417. ISBN 978-81-208-1937-5.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Chapple, Christopher Key (1993). "Origins and Traditional Articulations of Ahiṃsā". Nonviolence to Animals, Earth, and Self in Asian Traditions. State University of New York Press.
7. ↑

* Mahavira, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mahavira-Jaina-teacher, retrieved 2 May 2018
* Patel, Haresh (2009). Thoughts from the Cosmic Field in the Life of a Thinking Insect [A Latter-Day Saint]. Strategic Book Publishing. p. 271. ISBN 978-1-60693-846-1. https://books.google.com/books?id=SXgEfiNY46sC&pg=PA271.

8. ↑ Das, G. N. (1997). Readings from Thirukkural. Abhinav Publications. pp. 11–12. ISBN 8-1701-7342-6. https://books.google.com/books?id=pDZilIimNRIC&pg=PA11.
9. ↑ Gandhi, Mohandas K. (2002). The Essential Gandhi: an anthology of his writings on his life, work, and ideas. Random House Digital, Inc..
10. ↑ Kirkwood, W.G. (1989). "Truthfulness as a standard for speech in ancient India". Southern Communication Journal 54 (3): 213–234. doi:10.1080/10417948909372758.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Kaneda, T. (2008). "Shanti, the peacefulness of mind". in Eppert, Claudia. Cross-cultural Studies in Curriculum: Eastern thought, educational insights. Routledge. pp. 171–192. ISBN 978-0-8058-5673-6.
12. ↑ Struckmeyer, F.R. (1971). "The 'Just War' and the Right of Self-defense". Ethics 82 (1): 48–55. doi:10.1086/291828.
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Balkaran, R.; Dorn, A.W. (2012). "Violence in the Vālmı̄ki Rāmāyaṇa: Just War Criteria in an Ancient Indian Epic". Journal of the American Academy of Religion 80 (3): 659–690. doi:10.1093/jaarel/lfs036. http://www.sareligionuoft.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/JAAR-Article-Violence-in-the-Valmiki-Ramayana-Just-War-Criteria-in-an-Ancient-Indian-Epic-.pdf.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Sanskrit Dictionary Reference". https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/cgi-bin/monier/serveimg.pl?file=/scans/MWScan/MWScanjpg/mw0125-ahalyA.jpg.
15. ↑ Standing, E.M. (1924). "The Super-Vegetarians". New Blackfriars 5 (50): 103–108. doi:10.1111/j.1741-2005.1924.tb03567.x.
16. ↑ Dasa, Shukavak N.. "A Hindu Primer". http://www.sanskrit.org/www/Hindu Primer/nonharming_ahimsa.html.
17. ↑ Hoiberg, Dale (2000) (in en). Students' Britannica India. Popular Prakashan. ISBN 978-0-85229-760-5. https://books.google.com/books?id=ISFBJarYX7YC&q=Parshvanatha+four+vows&pg=PA158.
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Izawa, A. (2008). "Empathy for Pain in Vedic Ritual". Journal of the International College for Advanced Buddhist Studies (Kokusai Bukkyōgaku Daigakuin Daigaku) 12: 78–81.Kokusai+Bukkyōgaku+Daigakuin+Daigaku)&rft.aulast=Izawa&rft.aufirst=A.&rft.au=Izawa, A.&rft.date=2008&rft.volume=12&rft.pages=78–81&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikibooks.org:Philosophy:Ahimsa">
19. ↑ Sethia 2004, p. 2.
20. ↑ Dundas 2002, pp. 176–177.
21. ↑ Winternitz 1993, pp. 408–409.
22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Bronkhorst 2007, pp. 14–16, 23–25.
23. ↑ Deshmukh 1982, pp. 364–366.
24. ↑ Dundas 2002, pp. 30–31.
25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 Alsdorf 2010, pp. 4–6, 13–15.
26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 Tahtinen 1976, pp. 2–3.
27. ↑ Hume 1921, pp. 213–214.
28. ↑ Thapar 1961, pp. 250–255.
29. ↑ Walli, Koshelya (1974). The Conception Of Ahimsa In Indian Thought. Varanasi, India: Bharat Manisha. pp. 113–145. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.546899/page/n1/mode/2up.
30. ↑

* "Himsa na Kartavya: To do no harm". Vishayasuchi -see the translation for Yajurveda 36.18 VE. http://ebooks.gutenberg.us/himalayanacademy/sacredhinduliterature/lws/lws_ch-39.html.

31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Talageri 2000.
32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Talageri 2010.
33. ↑ Tahtinen 1964, p. 2.
34. ↑ Shatapatha Brahmana 2.3.4.30; 2.5.1.14; 6.3.1.26; 6.3.1.39.
35. ↑ Bodewitz, Henk M. (1999). Violence Denied: violence, non-violence and the rationalization of violence in "South Asian" cultural history. BRILL. p. 30. ISBN 978-90-04-11344-2.
36. ↑ Tahtinen 1964, pp. 2–3.
37. ↑ Bowker, John (10 April 1975). Problems of Suffering in Religions of the World. Cambridge University Press. p. 233. ISBN 978-0-521-09903-5.
38. ↑ Tahtinen 1964, pp. 2–5.
39. ↑ Schmidt 1968, p. 631.
40. ↑ Sridhar, M.K; Bilimoria, Puruṣottama (2007). Bilimoria, Purusottama. ed. Indian Ethics: Classical traditions and contemporary challenges. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. p. 315. ISBN 978-0-7546-3301-3.
41. ↑ Long, Jeffery D. (2009). Jainism: An Introduction. I. B. Tauris. pp. 31–33. ISBN 978-1-84511-625-5. https://books.google.com/books?id=JmRlAgAAQBAJ.
42. ↑ Dundas 2002, pp. 22–24, 73–83.
43. ↑ Ravindra Kumar (2008), Non-violence and Its Philosophy, ISBN 978-81-7933-159-0, see pages 11–14
44. ↑

* Swami, P. (2000). Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Upaniṣads. 3 (S–Z). Sarup & Sons. pp. 630–631.
* Ballantyne, J.R.; Yogīndra, S. (1850). A Lecture on the Vedánta: Embracing the Text of the Vedánta-sára. Presbyterian mission press.

45. ↑ "Mahabharata 13.117.37–38". http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/mbs/mbs13117.htm.
46. ↑ 46.0 46.1 Chapple, Christopher (1990). "Ecological Nonviolence and the Hindu Tradition". in Kool, V.K.. Perspectives on Nonviolence. Recent Research in Psychology. New York: Springer. pp. 168–177.
47. ↑ Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (January 2007). "Ahimsa: To Do No Harm". What is Hinduism. pp. 359–361. https://www.hinduismtoday.com/magazine/january-february-march-2007/2007-01-what-is-hinduism-6/.
48. ↑ Fischer, Louis (1954). Gandhi: His Life and Message to the World. New York: Mentor. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-451-62014-9. https://archive.org/details/gandhihislifemes00fisc.
49. ↑ 49.0 49.1 49.2 Klostermaier, Klaus K. (1996). "Himsa and Ahimsa Traditions in Hinduism". The Pacifist Impulse in Historical Perspective. University of Toronto Press. pp. 230–234. ISBN 978-0-8020-0777-3.
50. ↑ 50.0 50.1 50.2 50.3 Robinson, Paul F.; Robinson, Paul (2003). Just War in Comparative Perspective. Routledge. pp. 114–125. ISBN 0-7546-3587-2.
51. ↑ Coates, B.E. (2008). "Modern India's Strategic Advantage to the United States: Her Twin Strengths in Himsa and Ahimsa". Comparative Strategy 27 (2): 133–147. doi:10.1080/01495930801944669.
52. ↑ Subedi, S.P. (2003). "The Concept in Hinduism of 'Just War'". Journal of Conflict and Security Law 8 (2): 339–361. doi:10.1093/jcsl/8.2.339.
53. ↑ Tahtinen 1964, pp. 96, 98–101.
54. ↑ Mahabharata 12.15.55; Manu Smriti 8.349–350; Matsya Purana 226.116.
55. ↑ Tahtinen 1964, pp. 91–93.
56. ↑ Vasic, Nebojša (2011). "The Role of Teachers in Martial Arts; see page 48, 2nd column". Sport SPA 8 (2): 47–51. http://www.sportspa.com.ba/images/dec2011/full/rad8.pdf.
57. ↑

* Levine, Donald (2004). "Social Conflict, Aggression, and the Body in Euro-American and Asian Social Thought". International Journal of Group Tensions 24 (3): 205–217. http://aiki-extensions.org/pubs/conflict-body_text.pdf.
* Ueshiba, Kisshōmaru (2004). The Art of Aikido: Principles and Essential Techniques. Kodansha International. ISBN 4-7700-2945-4.

58. ↑ Tahtinen 1964, pp. 96, 98–99.
59. ↑ 59.0 59.1 Chapple, Christopher Key (1993). Nonviolence to Animals, Earth, and Self in Asian Traditions. State University of New York Press. pp. 16–17. ISBN 0-7914-1498-1.
60. ↑ Brown 1964.
61. ↑ 61.0 61.1 Brown 1964, pp. 246–247.
62. ↑ Rosen, Steven (2004). Holy Cow: The Hare Krishna Contribution to Vegetarianism and Animal Rights. Lantern Books. pp. 19–39. ISBN 1-59056-066-3.
63. ↑ Harris, Marvin (1990). "India's sacred cow". in Whitten, Phillip. Anthropology: contemporary perspectives (6th ed.). Addison-Wesley Longman. pp. 201–204. ISBN 0-673-52074-9. http://academic.regis.edu/rlumpp/PDF files/RT 201 India's Sacred Cow.pdf.
64. ↑ Baudhayana Dharmasutra 2.4.7; 2.6.2; 2.11.15; 2.12.8; 3.1.13; 3.3.6; Apastamba Dharmasutra 1.17.15; 1.17.19; 2.17.26–2.18.3; Vasistha Dharmasutra 14.12.
65. ↑ Krishna, Nanditha (2010), Sacred Animals of India, Penguin Books, pp. 15, 33, ISBN 978-81-8475-182-6, https://books.google.com/books?id=DF_af8_547EC&pg=PT107
66. ↑ Manu Smriti 5.30, 5.32, 5.39 and 5.44; Mahabharata 3.199 (3.207), 3.199.5 (3.207.5), 3.199.19–29 (3.207.19), 3.199.23–24 (3.207.23–24), 13.116.15–18, 14.28; Ramayana 1-2-8:19
67. ↑ Alsdorf pp. 592–593; Mahabharata 13.115.59–60, 13.116.15–18.
68. ↑ Kaviraj Kunja Lal Bhishagratna (1907). An English Translation of the Sushruta Samhita; see Chapter starting on page 469; for discussion on meats and fishes, see page 480 and onwards. I.2.
69. ↑ Sutrasthana 46.89; Sharirasthana 3.25.
70. ↑ Sutrasthana 27.87.
71. ↑ Mahabharata 3.199.11–12 (3.199 is 3.207 elsewhere); 13.115; 13.116.26; 13.148.17; Bhagavata Purana (11.5.13–14), and the Chandogya Upanishad (8.15.1).
72. ↑ Alsdorf 2010, pp. 572–577 (for the Manusmṛti) and 585–597 (for the Mahabharata).
73. ↑ Tahtinen 1976, pp. 34–36.
74. ↑ The Mahabharata and the Manusmṛti (5.27–55) contain lengthy discussions about the legitimacy of ritual slaughter.
75. ↑ "Mahabharata 12.260—(12.260 is 12.268 according to another count)". https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12b095.htm. ; 13.115–116; 14.28.
76. ↑ "Mahabharata 3.199 —(3.199 is 3.207 according to another count)". https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03207.htm.
77. ↑ Tahtinen 1964, pp. 39–43.
78. ↑ Alsdorf 2010, pp. 589–590.
79. ↑ Schmidt 1968, pp. 634–635, 640–643.
80. ↑ Schmidt 1968, pp. 637–639.
81. ↑ Manusmriti 10.63, 11.145
82. ↑ Preece, Rod (2005). Animals and Nature: Cultural Myths, Cultural Realities. University of British Columbia Press. pp. 212–217. ISBN 978-0-7748-0725-8.
83. ↑ Horn, Gavin Van (2006). "Hindu Traditions and Nature: Survey Article". Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture, and Ecology (Brill) 10 (1): 5–39. doi:10.1163/156853506776114474.
84. ↑ Kamil Zvelebil (1973). The Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South India. BRILL Academic. pp. 156–157. ISBN 90-04-03591-5. https://books.google.com/books?id=degUAAAAIAAJ.
85. ↑ Krishna, Nanditha (2017). Hinduism and Nature. New Delhi: Penguin Random House. p. 264. ISBN 978-93-8732-654-5. https://books.google.com/books?id=gp1IDwAAQBAJ&dq=ahimsa+and+Tirukkural&pg=PT131.
86. ↑ A.K. Ananthanathan (1994). "Theory and Functions of the State The Concept of aṟam (virtue) in Tirukkural". East and West 44 (2/4): 315–326.
87. ↑ Paul Robinson (2017). Just War in Comparative Perspective. Taylor & Francis. pp. 169–170. ISBN 978-1-351-92452-8. https://books.google.com/books?id=I2lBDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT169.
88. ↑ Dinshah, Freya (2010). "American Vegan Society: 50 Years". American Vegan. 2 (Vineland, NJ: American Vegan Society) 10 (1 (Summer 2010)): 31. ISSN 1536-3767. http://www.americanvegan.org/AV1001.pdf. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
89. ↑ Stepaniak 2000, 6–7; Preece 2008, 323.
90. ↑ "History". American Vegan Society. http://www.americanvegan.org/history.htm.
91. ↑ Pyarelal (1965). Mahatma Gandhi-the Early Phase. Navajivan Publishing House. https://books.google.com/books?id=8P0KAQAAIAAJ.
92. ↑ Religious Vegetarianism. Albany. 2001. pp. 50–52.
93. ↑ Tahtinen 1964, pp. 116–124.
94. ↑ Walli, pp. XXII–XLVII; Borman, William (1986). Gandhi and Nonviolence. Albany. pp. 11–12.
95. ↑ Jackson (2008), Religion East & West, pp. 39–54
96. ↑ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga — I, p. 435; Letters on Himself and the Ashram, p. 19.
97. ↑ Sri Aurobindo, Bande Mataram, p. 278; Letters on Yoga — I, p. 436.
98. ↑ Sri Aurobindo, Autobiographical Notes, pp. 48, 73.
99. ↑ "BBC - Ethics - War: Non-violence" (in en-GB). https://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/war/against/nonviolence.shtml#:~:text=Gandhi took the religious principle,discrimination and untouchability as well..
100. ↑ 100.0 100.1 100.2 Gandhi, Mohandas K. (1966). The Mind of Mahatma Gandhi. Encyclopedia of Gandhi's Thoughts. pp. 120–121. http://gandhiashramsevagram.org/pdf-books/mind-of-mahatma-gandhi.pdf.
101. ↑

* Gandhi, Mohandas K. (1962). All Religions are True. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. p. 128.
* Banshlal Ramnauth, Dev (1989). Mahatma Gandhi: Insight and Impact. Indira Gandhi Centre for Indian Culture & Mahatma Gandhi Institute. p. 48.

102. ↑ Schweitzer, Albert (1956). Indian Thought and its Development. London: The Beacon Press. pp. 82–83. https://archive.org/stream/indianthoughtsan027860mbp#page/n95/mode/2up.
103. ↑ Mookerji, Radha Kumud (1998). Ancient Indian education: brahmanical and Buddhist ([5.] repr ed.). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 313. ISBN 978-81-208-0423-4.
104. ↑ Sanskrit Original with Translation 1:  The Yoga Philosophy, with Bhojaraja commentary. Bombay: The Theosophical Society's Publications. 1885. https://archive.org/stream/yogaphilosophyb00tatygoog#page/n6/mode/2up.
* Translation 2:  The Yoga-darsana: The sutras of Patanjali with the Bhasya of Vyasa, with notes. Bombay Theosophical Publication Fund. 1907. https://archive.org/stream/yogadaranasutra00patagoog#page/n4/mode/2up.
* Translation 3:  The Yogasutras of Patanjali. New York. 1912. https://archive.org/stream/yogasutrasofpata00pata#page/n5/mode/2up.
105. ↑ Lochtefeld, James G. (2002). "Yama (2)". The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism. 2 (N–Z). Rosen Publishing Group. p. 777. ISBN 978-0-8239-3179-8.
106. ↑ Bryant, Edwin F. (2009). The Yoga sūtras of Patañjali: a new edition, translation and commentary with insights from the traditional commentators. New York: North Point Press. pp. 243–248. ISBN 978-0-86547-736-0.
107. ↑ Sanskrit: अथ यम-नियमाः अहिंसा सत्यमस्तेयं बरह्मछर्यं कष्हमा धॄतिः | दयार्जवं मिताहारः शौछं छैव यमा दश || १७ ||
English Translation: "1. On Âsanas". Hatha Yoga Pradipika. 1914. 1.1.17. http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/hyp/hyp03.htm.
108. ↑ Laidlaw 1995, pp. 154–160.
109. ↑ Jindal 1988, pp. 74–90.
110. ↑ Tahtinen 1976, p. 110.
111. ↑ Jain 2012, p. 34-36.
112. ↑ Jain 2012, p. 33.
113. ↑ slashes are used here to present alternative denotations
114. ↑ Laidlaw 1995, pp. 26–30, 191–195.
115. ↑ 115.0 115.1 Laidlaw 1995, pp. 166–167.
116. ↑ 116.0 116.1 Tahtinen 1976, p. 37.
117. ↑ Lodha, R.M. (1990). "Conservation of Vegetation and Jain Philosophy". Medieval Jainism: Culture and Environment. New Delhi. pp. 137–141.
118. ↑ Tahtinen 1964, p. 105.
119. ↑ Religious Vegetarianism, ed. Kerry S. Walters and Lisa Portmess, Albany 2001, p. 43–46 (translation of the First Great Vow).
120. ↑ 120.0 120.1 120.2 Padmannabh Jaini (2004). Tara Sethia. ed. Ahimsā, Anekānta, and Jaininsm. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. pp. 51–53. ISBN 978-81-208-2036-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=QYdlKv8wBiYC.
121. ↑ Laidlaw 1995, p. 180.
122. ↑ Dundas 2002, pp. 161–162.
123. ↑ Dundas 2002, p. 24.
124. ↑ Goyal, S.R. (1987). A History of Indian Buddhism. Meerut. pp. 83–85.
125. ↑ Dundas 2002, pp. 19, 30.
126. ↑ Tahtinen 1964, p. 132.
127. ↑ Dundas 2002, p. 30.
128. ↑ Acaranga Sutra 2.15.
129. ↑ Sthananga Sutra 266
130. ↑ Tahtinen 1976, p. 132.
131. ↑ Goyal 1987, pp. 83–84, 103.
132. ↑ Dundas 2002, pp. 160, 234, 241.
133. ↑ Wiley 2006, p. 448.
134. ↑ Tahtinen 1976, pp. 8–9.
135. ↑ Granoff, Phyllis (1992). "The Violence of Non-Violence: A Study of Some Jain Responses to Non-Jain Religious Practices". Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 15: 1–43.
136. ↑ Laidlaw 1995, p. 169.
137. ↑ Laidlaw 1995, p. 155.
138. ↑ 138.0 138.1 Dundas 2002, pp. 162–163.
139. ↑ Padmannabh Jaini (2004). Tara Sethia. ed. Ahimsā, Anekānta, and Jaininsm. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. pp. 52–54. ISBN 978-81-208-2036-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=QYdlKv8wBiYC.
140. ↑ Pandey, Janardan (1998). Gandhi and 21st Century. Concept Publishing Company. p. 50. ISBN 978-81-7022-672-7. https://books.google.com/books?id=lmJnWrjnfjMC&pg=PA50.
141. ↑ Paul Williams (2005). Buddhism: Critical Concepts in Religious Studies. Routledge. p. 398. ISBN 978-0-415-33226-2. https://books.google.com/books?id=pgrZnmKUKtgC. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
142. ↑

* Bodhi Bhikkhu (1997). Great Disciples of the Buddha: Their Lives, Their Works, Their Legacy. Wisdom Publications. pp. 387 with footnote 12. ISBN 978-0-86171-128-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=teUGAAAAYAAJ. ;
* Sarao, p. 49
* Goyal p. 143

143. ↑ Lamotte 1988, pp. 54–55.
144. ↑ 144.0 144.1 McFarlane 2001, p. 187.
145. ↑ McFarlane 2001, pp. 187–191.
146. ↑ Martine Batchelor (2014). The Spirit of the Buddha. Yale University Press. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-300-17500-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=fL3mykqlOJcC&pg=PT59. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
147. ↑ 147.0 147.1 McFarlane 2001, p. 192.
148. ↑ Sarao 1989, p. 53.
149. ↑ Tahtinen 1976, pp. 95, 102.
150. ↑ Tahtinen 1976, pp. 95, 102–103.
151. ↑ Raaflaub, Kurt A. (2006-12-18). War and Peace in the Ancient World. Wiley. p. 61. ISBN 978-1-4051-4525-1. https://books.google.com/books?id=FMxgef2VJEwC&pg=PA61.
152. ↑ Bartholomeusz 2005, p. 52.
153. ↑ Bartholomeusz 2005, p. 111.
154. ↑ 154.0 154.1 Bartholomeusz 2005, p. 41.
155. ↑ Bartholomeusz 2005, p. 50.
156. ↑ McFarlane 2001, pp. 195–196.
157. ↑ Bartholomeusz 2005, p. 40.
158. ↑ Bartholomeusz 2005, pp. 125–126. Full texts of the sutta: "Yodhajiva Sutta: To Yodhajiva (The Warrior)". 1998. http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn42/sn42.003.than.html. .
159. ↑ Johansson, Rune E.A. (1979). The Dynamic Psychology of Early Buddhism. Curzon Press. p. 33.
160. ↑ Bartholomeusz 2005, pp. 40–53. Some examples are the Cakkavati Sihanada Sutta, the Kosala Samyutta, the Ratthapala Sutta, and the Sinha Sutta. See also page 125. See also Trevor Ling, Buddhism, Imperialism, and War. George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1979, pages 136–137.
161. ↑ The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya. Boston: Wisdom Publications. 2000. p. 177. ISBN 0-86171-331-1. https://books.google.com/books?id=HJCvh8aWI_wC.
162. ↑ Bartholomeusz 2005, pp. 49, 52–53.
163. ↑ Hammalawa Saddhatissa (1997). Buddhist Ethics. Wisdom Publications. pp. 60, 159. , see also Bartholomeusz 2005, p. 121.
164. ↑ Bartholomeusz 2005, p. 121.
165. ↑ Bartholomeusz 2005, pp. 44, 121–122, 124.
166. ↑ "The Buddha and His Dhamma". http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00ambedkar/ambedkar_buddha/04_02.html#03_02.
167. ↑ Fitzgerald 2004, p. 120.
168. ↑ Simoons, Frederick J. (1994). Eat Not This Flesh: Food Avoidances from Prehistory to the Present (2nd ed.). Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-299-14254-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=JwGZTQunH00C&pg=PA108. Retrieved 13 February 2016. .
169. ↑ "Conf10-ClarenceSmith". https://www.lse.ac.uk/Economic-History/Assets/Documents/Research/GEHN/GEHNConferences/conf10/Conf10-ClarenceSmith.pdf.
170. ↑

* "卷糺 佛教的慈悲觀". http://www.bya.org.hk/life/hokfu/new_page_3.htm#34.
* "試探《護生畫集》的護生觀 高明芳". https://www.drnh.gov.tw/var/file/3/1003/img/10/879650656.pdf.

171. ↑ "「護生」精神的實踐舉隅"]. http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-AN/an2414.htm.
172. ↑ "答妙贞十问". http://www.cclw.net/gospel/asking/dmz10w/htm/02.htm.
173. ↑ "第一二八期 佛法自由談". http://www.bya.org.hk/life/Q&A_2006/Q&A_bya/128_Q.htm.
174. ↑ "虛雲和尚法彙—書問". http://www.bfnn.org/book/books2/1187.htm.
175. ↑ "道安長老年譜". http://www.plela.org/Cmapwork/link/crona1.htm.
176. ↑ "明溪县"禁屠日"习俗的由来". http://www.mxzxw.cn/zwhgz/wszl_16_23.htm.
177. ↑ "建构的节日：政策过程视角下的唐玄宗诞节". https://www.chinesefolklore.org.cn/web/index.php?Page=2&NewsID=3016.

### Sources

* Alsdorf, Ludwig (2010), The History of Vegetarianism and Cow-Veneration in India, Routledge, ISBN 978-0415548243
* Bartholomeusz, Tessa J. (26 July 2005) (in en), In Defense of Dharma: Just-War Ideology in Buddhist Sri Lanka, Routledge, ISBN 978-1-135-78857-5, https://books.google.com/books?id=ZdKPAgAAQBAJ
* Bronkhorst, Johannes (2007), Greater Magadha: Studies in the Culture of Early India, Brill, ISBN 978-90-04-15719-4
* Brown, W. Norman (February 1964), "The sanctity of the cow in Hinduism", The Economic Weekly: 245–255, http://www.epw.in/system/files/pdf/1964_16/5-6-7/the_sanctity_of_the_cow_in_hinduism.pdf
* Deshmukh, P.R. (1982), Indus Civilisation, Rigveda and Hindu Culture, Nagpur
* Dundas, Paul (2002), The Jains (Second ed.), Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-26605-5, https://books.google.com/books?id=X8iAAgAAQBAJ
* Fitzgerald, James L., ed. (2004), The Mahabharata, 7, The University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0-226-25250-7, https://books.google.com/books?id=p9SzCuLIlQ0C
* Hume, Robert Ernest (1921), The Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Oxford University Press
* Jindal, K. B. (1988), An Epitome of Jainism, South Asia Books, ISBN 81-215-0058-3
* Laidlaw, James (1995), Riches and Renunciation: Religion, economy, and society among the Jains, Oxford University Press, USA, ISBN 0-19-828031-9
* Lamotte, Etienne (1988), History of Indian Buddhism from the Origins to the Śaka Era, Peeters, ISBN 90-6831-100-X
* McFarlane, Stewart (2001), Peter Harvey, ed., Buddhism, Bloomsbury Publishing, ISBN 978-1-4411-4726-4, https://books.google.com/books?id=oZCvAwAAQBAJ
* Mahatma Gandhi, https://southasia.ucla.edu/history-politics/gandhi/
* O'Sullivan, Trish (2014), Leeming, David A., ed., Ahimsa (2nd ed.), Boston: Springer, pp. 31–32, doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-6086-2_16, ISBN 978-1-4614-6087-9
* Sangave, Vilas Adinath (1980), Jain Community: A Social Survey (2nd ed.), Bombay: Popular Prakashan, ISBN 978-0-317-12346-3, https://books.google.com/books?id=FWdWrRGV_t8C
* Sarao, Karam Tej S. (1989), The Origin and Nature of Ancient Indian Buddhism, New Delhi: Eastern Book Linkers
* Schmidt, Hanns Peter (1968), "The Origin of Ahimsa", Mélanges d'Indianisme à la mémoire de Louis Renou, Paris: Boccard
* Sethia, Tara (2004), Ahiṃsā, Anekānta and Jainism, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-81-208-2036-4, https://books.google.com/books?id=QYdlKv8wBiYC
* Tähtinen, Unto (1964), Non-violence as an ethical principle: with particular reference to the views of Mahatma Gandhi, Turku: Turun Yliopisto, OCLC 4288274
* Tähtinen, Unto (1976), Ahiṃsā: non-violence in Indian tradition, London: Rider, ISBN 0-09-123340-2
* Talageri, Shrikant (2000) (in en), The Rigveda: A Historical Analysis, India: AdityaPrakashan, ISBN 81-7742-010-0
* Talageri (2010) (in en), Rigveda and the Avesta: The Final Evidence, India
* Thapar, Romila (1961), Aśoka and the Decline of the Mauryas, Oxford University Press
* Wiley, Kristi L. (2006), "Ahimsa and Compassion in Jainism", in Peter Flügel, Studies in Jaina History and Culture, London
* Winternitz, Moriz (1993), History of Indian Literature: Buddhist & Jain Literature, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-81-208-0265-0, https://books.google.com/books?id=Lgz1eMhu0JsC

Attribution:

* This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Jain, Vijay K. (2012). Acharya Amritchandra's Purushartha Siddhyupaya: Realization of the Pure Self, With Hindi and English Translation. Vikalp Printers. ISBN 978-81-903639-4-5. https://books.google.com/books?id=4iyUu4Fc2-YC. Retrieved 28 June 2016.

## External links

* "Sanskrit: Ahimsa quotations from Puranic scripture". 2007-02-25. http://vedabase.net/a/ahimsa.
* "AHIMSA Center". http://www.cpp.edu/~ahimsacenter/ahimsa_programs.shtml. Series of Lectures on Ahimsa

* v
* t
* e

Indian philosophy

Topics|

* Atheism
* Atomism
* Idealism
* Logic
* Monotheism
* Vedic philosophy

Āstika|

* Hindu: Samkhya
* Nyaya
* Vaisheshika
* Yoga
* Mīmāṃsā
* Vedanta
* Acintya bheda abheda
* Advaita
* Bhedabheda
* Dvaita
* Dvaitadvaita
* Shuddhadvaita
* Vishishtadvaita
* Shaiva
* Pratyabhijña
* Pashupata Shaivism
* Shaiva Siddhanta

Nāstika|

* Ājīvika
* Ajñana
* Cārvāka
* Jain
* Anekantavada
* Syādvāda
* Buddhist philosophy and Early Buddhist schools
* Śūnyatā
* Madhyamaka
* Yogacara
* Sautrāntika
* Svatantrika

Texts|

* Abhinavabharati
* Arthashastra
* Bhagavad Gita
* Bhagavata Purana
* Brahma Sutra
* Buddhist texts
* Dharmashastra
* Hindu texts
* Jain Agamas
* Kamasutra
* Mimamsa Sutras
* All 108 texts
* Principal
* Nyāya Sūtras
* Nyayakusumanjali
* Panchadasi
* Samkhyapravachana Sutra
* Shiva Sutras
* Tarka-Sangraha
* Tattvacintāmaṇi
* Tirukkural
* Upanishads
* Minor
* Vaiśeṣika Sūtra
* Vedangas
* Vedas
* Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
* Yoga Vasistha
* More...

Philosophers|

* Adi Shankara
* Valluvar
* Avatsara
* Uddalaka Aruni
* Gautama Buddha
* Yājñavalkya
* Gargi Vachaknavi
* Buddhaghosa
* Patañjali
* Kanada
* Kapila
* Brihadratha Ikshvaku
* Jaimini
* Vyasa
* Chanakya
* Dharmakirti
* Akshapada Gotama
* Nagarjuna
* Padmasambhava
* Vasubandhu
* Gaudapada
* Ramana Maharshi
* Vivekananda
* Dayananda Saraswati
* Ramanuja
* Vedanta Desika
* Raikva
* Sadananda
* Sakayanya
* Satyakama Jabala
* Madhvacharya
* Mahavira
* Guru Nanak
* Vidyaranya
* More...

Concepts|

* Abhava
* Abhasavada
* Abheda
* Adarsana
* Adrishta
* Advaita
* Aham
* Ahimsa
* Aishvarya
* Akrodha
* Aksara
* Anatta
* Ananta
* Anavastha
* Anupalabdhi
* Apauruṣheyā
* Artha
* Asiddhatva
* Asatkalpa
* Ātman
* Avyakta
* Brahman
* Brahmi sthiti
* Bhuman
* Bhumika
* Chaitanya
* Chidabhasa
* Cittabhumi
* Dāna
* Devatas
* Dharma
* Dhi
* Dravya
* Dhrti
* Ekagrata
* Guṇa
* Guru Vandana
* Hitā
* Idam
* Ikshana
* Ishvaratva
* Jivatva
* Kama
* Karma
* Kasaya
* Kshetrajna
* Lakshana
* Mithyatva
* Mokṣa
* Nididhyasana
* Nirvāṇa
* Niyama
* Padārtha
* Paramatman
* Paramananda
* Parameshashakti
* Parinama-vada
* Pradhana
* Prajna
* Prakṛti
* Pratibimbavada
* Pratītyasamutpāda
* Puruṣa
* Rājamaṇḍala
* Ṛta
* Sakshi
* Samadhi
* Saṃsāra
* Sankalpa
* Satya
* Satkaryavada
* Shabda Brahman
* Sphoṭa
* Sthiti
* Śūnyatā
* Sutram
* Svātantrya
* Iccha-mrityu
* Syādvāda
* Taijasa
* Tajjalan
* Tanmatra
* Tyāga
* Uparati
* Upekkhā
* Utsaha
* Vivartavada
* Viraj
* Yamas
* Yoga
* More...

* v
* t
* e

Animal rights

Topics|

| Overview|

* Animal rights by country or territory
* Abolitionism
* Animal protectionism
* Animal welfare
* Sentientism
* Sentiocentrism
* Speciesism
* Vegaphobia
* Veganism

|

Issues|

* Ahimsa
* Anarchism and animal rights
* Animal cognition
* Animal consciousness
* Animal-free agriculture
* Animal industrial complex
* Animal law
* Animal product
* Animal rights and punk subculture
* Animal rights and the Holocaust
* Animal rights movement
* Animal testing
* Animal testing on non-human primates
* Animals in sport
* Anthrozoology
* Bile bear
* Bioethics
* Blood sport
* Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness
* Carnism
* Testing cosmetics on animals
* Chick culling
* Christianity and animal rights
* Concentrated animal feeding operation
* Cormorant culling
* Covance
* Cruelty to animals
* Deep ecology
* Ethics of eating meat
* Fish farming
* Fox hunting
* Fur trade
* Great ape research ban
* Green Scare
* Huntingdon Life Sciences
* Intensive animal farming
* Ivory trade
* Livestock
* Meat paradox
* Model organism
* Nafovanny
* Nonviolence
* Open rescue
* Operation Backfire
* Opposition to hunting
* Pain in animals
* Pain in invertebrates
* Pain in fish
* Pain and suffering in laboratory animals
* Qurbani
* International primate trade
* Seal hunting
* Shark culling
* Slaughterhouse
* Toxicology testing
* Veganism
* Vegetarianism
* Western Australian shark cull
* Wild animal suffering
* Wildlife management

Cases|

* Brown Dog affair
* Cambridge University primates
* McLibel case
* Pit of despair
* Silver Spring monkeys
* University of California, Riverside 1985 laboratory raid
* Unnecessary Fuss

Advocates|

| Academics
and writers|

* Carol J. Adams
* James Aspey
* Tom Beauchamp
* Marc Bekoff
* Steven Best
* Paola Cavalieri
* Stephen R. L. Clark
* Alasdair Cochrane
* J. M. Coetzee
* Priscilla Cohn
* Alice Crary
* David DeGrazia
* Sue Donaldson
* Josephine Donovan
* Lawrence Finsen
* Gary L. Francione
* Robert Garner
* Antoine Goetschel
* John Hadley
* Oscar Horta
* Melanie Joy
* Will Kymlicka
* Andrew Linzey
* Dan Lyons
* Charles R. Magel
* Mary Midgley
* J. Howard Moore
* Martha Nussbaum
* Siobhan O'Sullivan
* Clare Palmer
* Tom Regan
* Bernard Rollin
* Mark Rowlands
* Richard D. Ryder
* Peter Singer
* Henry Stephens Salt
* Steve F. Sapontzis
* Gary Steiner
* Cass Sunstein

|

Activists|

* Cleveland Amory
* Greg Avery
* Matt Ball
* Martin Balluch
* Ernest Bell
* Barbi Twins
* Brigitte Bardot
* Bob Barker
* Gene Baur
* Frances Power Cobbe
* Rod Coronado
* Karen Davis
* Chris DeRose
* Alice Drakoules
* Earthling Ed
* Robert Enke
* John Feldmann
* Bruce Friedrich
* Juliet Gellatley
* Tal Gilboa
* Lewis Gompertz
* Jordan Halliday
* Barry Horne
* Ronnie Lee
* Lizzy Lind af Hageby
* Evanna Lynch
* Jo-Anne McArthur
* Bill Maher
* Keith Mann
* Dan Mathews
* Luísa Mell
* Ingrid Newkirk
* Heather Nicholson
* Jack Norris
* Alex Pacheco
* Jill Phipps
* Craig Rosebraugh
* Nathan Runkle
* Henry Spira
* Kim Stallwood
* Marianne Thieme
* Darren Thurston
* Andrew Tyler
* Gary Yourofsky

Movement|

| Groups|

* Animal Aid
* Animal Ethics
* Animal Justice Project
* Animal Legal Defense Fund
* Animal Liberation Front
* Anonymous for the Voiceless
* Centre for Animals and Social Justice
* Chinese Animal Protection Network
* Cruelty Free International
* Direct Action Everywhere
* Farm Animal Rights Movement
* Great Ape Project
* Hunt Saboteurs Association
* In Defense of Animals
* Korea Animal Rights Advocates
* Last Chance for Animals
* Mercy for Animals
* New England Anti-Vivisection Society
* Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics
* Oxford Group
* People for Animals
* People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
* United Poultry Concerns

|

Parties|

* Animal Justice Party (Australia)
* Animal Protection Party of Canada (Canada)
* Animal Welfare Party (UK)
* Animalist Movement (Italy)
* Human Environment Animal Protection (Germany)
* Italian Animalist Party (Italy)
* Animalist Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (Spain)
* Party for the Animals (Netherlands)
* People–Animals–Nature (Portugal)
* V-Partei³ (Germany)

Media|

| Books|

* Animals' Rights (1892)
* The Universal Kinship (1906)
* Animals, Men and Morals (1971)
* Animal Liberation (1975)
* The Case for Animal Rights (1983)
* The Lives of Animals (1999)
* Striking at the Roots (2008)
* An American Trilogy (2009)

|

Films|

* The Animals Film (1981)
* A Cow at My Table (1998)
* Meet Your Meat (2002)
* Peaceable Kingdom (2004)
* Earthlings (2005)
* Behind the Mask (2006)
* Your Mommy Kills Animals (2007)
* The Cove (2009)
* Forks Over Knives (2011)
* Vegucated (2011)
* Speciesism: The Movie (2013)
* The Ghosts in Our Machine (2013)

Magazines|

* Arkangel
* Bite Back
* Muutoksen kevät
* No Compromise
* Satya

Albums|

* Animal Liberation (1987)
* Tame Yourself (1991)
* Manifesto (2008)
* Salvation of Innocents (2014)
* Onward to Freedom (2014)

* Category ( 0 )

* v
* t
* e

Anti-war and peace movement

Peace advocates|

* Anti-nuclear organizations
* Anti-war movement
* Anti-war organizations
* Bed-In
* Central Park be-ins
* Conscientious objectors
* Counterculture
* Culture of Peace
* Draft evasion
* Human Be-In
* List of peace activists
* Peace and conflict studies
* Peace camp
* Peace churches
* Peace commission
* Peace education
* Peace movement
* Peace walk
* Teach-in
* War resisters
* War tax resisters

Ideologies|

* Ahimsa
* Anarchism
* Anarcho-pacifism
* Anarcho-punks
* Christian anarchism
* Anti-imperialism
* Anti-nuclear movement
* Antimilitarism
* Appeasement
* Direct action
* Finvenkismo
* Hippie
* Isolationism
* Non-interventionism
* Nonkilling
* Nonviolence
* Pacificism
* Pacifism
* Peace
* Peace Testimony
* Satyagraha
* Simple living
* Soviet influence on the peace movement

Media and cultural|

* Art
* Books
* Films
* International Day of Non-Violence
* International Day of Peace
* Dialogue Among Civilizations
* List of peace prizes
* List of places named Peace
* "Make love, not war"
* Monuments and memorials
* Museums
* Peace journalism
* Peace News
* Plays
* Promoting Enduring Peace
* Songs
* Symbols
* University for Peace
* World Game
* World Peace Bell Association
* Japanese Peace Bell

Opposition to specific
wars or their aspects|

* Afghan War
* American Civil War
* Iraq War
* Landmines
* Military action in Iran
* Military intervention in Libya
* Military taxation
* Nuclear armament
* Second Boer War
* Sri Lankan Civil War
* Vietnam War
* War of 1812
* War on Terror
* World War I
* World War II

Countries|

* Canada
* Germany
* Israel
* Netherlands
* Spain
* Sudan
* United Kingdom
* United States
* Peacebuilding in Jammu and Kashmir (India)

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Mahatma Gandhi

Life events
and movements|

* Indian Ambulance Corps
* Tolstoy Farm
* Bardoli Satyagraha
* Champaran Satyagraha
* Kheda Satyagraha
* Indian independence movement
* Non-cooperation Movement
* Chauri Chaura incident
* Purna Swaraj
* flag
* Salt March
* Dharasana Satyagraha
* Vaikom Satyagraha
* Aundh Experiment
* Gandhi–Irwin Pact
* Second Round Table Conference
* Padayatra
* Poona Pact
* Natal Indian Congress
* Quit India
* speech
* Gujarat Vidyapith University
* Harijan Sevak Sangh
* India ashrams (Kochrab
* Sabarmati
* Sevagram)
* List of fasts
* Assassination

Philosophy|

* Gandhism
* Economics
* trusteeship
* Education
* Sarvodaya
* Satyagraha
* Swadeshi
* Swaraj
* Gandhi cap

Publications|

* Harijan
* Hind Swaraj (Indian Home Rule)
* Indian Opinion
* The Story of My Experiments with Truth
* Young India
* Seven Social Sins
* (Gandhi Heritage Portal)

Influences|

* "A Letter to a Hindu"
* Ahimsa
* nonviolence
* Bhagavad Gita
* Henry David Thoreau
* Civil Disobedience (essay)
* Civil disobedience
* Fasting
* Harishchandra
* Hinduism
* Khadi
* John Ruskin
* Parsee Rustomjee
* Leo Tolstoy
* The Kingdom of God Is Within You
* The Masque of Anarchy
* Muhammad
* Narmad
* Pacifism
* Sermon on the Mount
* Shravan
* Shrimad Rajchandra
* Henry Stephens Salt
* Tirukkuṛaḷ
* Unto This Last
* Gandhi's translation
* "Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram"
* "Ekla Chalo Re"
* "Hari Tuma Haro"
* "Vaishnava Jana To"
* Vegetarianism

Associates|

* Swami Anand
* C. F. Andrews
* Jamnalal Bajaj
* Shankarlal Banker
* Sarla Behn
* Vinoba Bhave
* Brij Krishna Chandiwala
* Sudhakar Chaturvedi
* Jugatram Dave
* Mahadev Desai
* Dada Dharmadhikari
* Kanu Gandhi
* Shiv Prasad Gupta
* Umar Hajee Ahmed Jhaveri
* J. C. Kumarappa
* Hermann Kallenbach
* Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
* Acharya Kripalani
* Mirabehn
* Mohanlal Pandya
* Vallabhbhai Patel
* Narhari Parikh
* Mithuben Petit
* Chakravarti Rajagopalachari
* Bibi Amtus Salam
* Sonja Schlesin
* Anugrah Narayan Sinha
* Sri Krishna Sinha
* Rettamalai Srinivasan
* V. A. Sundaram
* Abbas Tyabji
* Ravishankar Vyas
* Kishorlal Mashruwala

Legacy|

* Artistic depictions
* Gandhigiri
* Gandhi Peace Award
* Gandhi Peace Prize
* Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith
* Indian currency

Family|

* Karamchand Gandhi (father)
* Kasturba (wife)
* Harilal (son)
* Manilal (son)
* Ramdas (son)
* Devdas (son)
* Maganlal (cousin)
* Samaldas (nephew)
* Arun (grandson)
* Ela (granddaughter)
* Rajmohan (grandson)
* Gopalkrishna (grandson)
* Ramchandra (grandson)
* Kanu (grandson)
* Kanu (grandnephew)
* Tushar (great-grandson)
* Leela (great-granddaughter)

Influenced|

* James Bevel
* Steve Biko
* 14th Dalai Lama
* Gopaldas Ambaidas Desai
* Morarji Desai
* Eknath Easwaran
* Maria Lacerda de Moura
* James Lawson
* Martin Luther King Jr.
* Nelson Mandela
* Brajkishore Prasad
* Rajendra Prasad
* Ramjee Singh
* Aung San Suu Kyi
* Lanza del Vasto
* Abhay Bang
* Sane Guruji

Memorials|

| Statues|

* India
* Patna
* South Africa
* Johannesburg
* UK
* Parliament Square
* Tavistock Square
* US
* Houston
* Milwaukee
* New York
* San Francisco
* Washington

|

Observances|

* Gandhi Jayanti
* International Day of Non-Violence
* Martyrs' Day
* Season for Nonviolence

Other|

* Aga Khan Palace
* Bust (Shanghai)
* Gandhi Bhawan
* Gandhi Mandapam
* Gandhi Market
* Bookstores
* Gandhi Promenade
* Gandhi Smriti
* Gandhi Memorial
* Gandhi Memorial Museum, Madurai
* Kaba Gandhi No Delo
* Kirti Mandir
* Mahatma Gandhi College
* Mohandas Gandhi High School
* National Gandhi Museum
* Raj Ghat
* Sabarmati Ashram
* Satyagraha House
* Gandhi Teerth
* Roads named after Gandhi
* Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Centre, Matale

* v
* t
* e

Veganism and vegetarianism

Perspectives|

| Veganism|

* Animal-free agriculture
* Fruitarianism
* History
* Juice fasting
* Low-carbon diet
* Raw veganism
* Nutrition
* Vegan organic gardening
* Vegan studies

|

Vegetarianism|

* Economic vegetarianism
* Environmental vegetarianism
* History
* Lacto vegetarianism
* Orthopathy
* Ovo vegetarianism
* Ovo-lacto vegetarianism
* Cuisine
* Vegetarian Diet Pyramid
* Ecofeminism
* Nutrition
* By country

Lists|

* Vegetarians
* Vegans
* Vegetarian festivals
* Vegetarian organizations
* Vegetarian restaurants
* List of vegan media

Ethics|

| Secular|

* Animal rights
* Animal welfare
* Carnism
* Deep ecology
* Environmental vegetarianism
* Ethics of eating meat
* Meat paradox
* Nonviolence
* Sentientism
* Speciesism
* Tirukkural

|

Religious|

* Buddhism
* Christianity
* Hinduism
* Sattvic
* Ahimsa
* Jainism
* Judaism
* Pythagoreanism
* Rastafari
* Sikhism

Food,
drink|

* Agar
* Agave nectar
* Coconut burger
* Coconut milk
* Fruits
* Grains
* cereals
* legumes
* Meat analogue
* List of meat substitutes
* Miso
* Mochi
* Mock duck
* Nutritional yeast
* Plant cream
* Plant milk
* Quinoa
* Quorn
* Seitan
* Soy yogurt
* Tempeh
* Tofu
* Tofurkey
* Cheese
* Vegepet
* Vegetables
* Hot dog
* Vegetarian mark
* Sausage
* Beer
* Wine
* Veggie burger

Groups
and events|

| Vegan|

* American Vegan Society
* Beauty Without Cruelty
* Food Empowerment Project
* Go Vegan
* Movement for Compassionate Living
* Our Hen House
* Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
* Plamil Foods
* Vegan Awareness Foundation
* Vegan flag
* Vegan Ireland
* Vegan Outreach
* Vegan Prisoners Support Group
* The Vegan Society
* Veganuary
* Veganz
* World Vegan Day

|

Vegetarian|

* Boston Vegetarian Society
* Christian Vegetarian Association
* European Vegetarian Union
* French Vegetarian Society
* Hare Krishna Food for Life
* International Vegetarian Union
* Jewish Veg
* Meat-free days
* Meatless Monday
* Friday Fast
* Order of the Golden Age
* Swissveg
* Toronto Vegetarian Association
* Vegetarian Society
* Vegetarian Society (Singapore)
* Veggie Pride
* Viva! Health
* World Esperantist Vegetarian Association
* World Vegetarian Day

Companies|

* List of vegetarian and vegan companies

Books,
reports|

* An Essay on Abstinence from Animal Food, as a Moral Duty (1802)
* Return to Nature: Or a Defence of the Vegetable Regimen (1811)
* Vegetable Cookery (1812)
* A Vindication of Natural Diet (1813)
* Nature's Own Book (1835)
* Fruits and Farinacea (1845)
* Thirty-nine Reasons Why I Am a Vegetarian (1903)
* A Fleshless Diet (1910)
* The Benefits of Vegetarianism (1927)
* Ten Talents (1968)
* Diet for a Small Planet (1971)
* Moosewood Cookbook (1977)
* Fit for Life (1985)
* Diet for a New America (1987)
* The Sexual Politics of Meat (1990)
* Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (1997)
* The China Study (2004)
* Skinny Bitch (2005)
* Livestock's Long Shadow (2006)
* Eating Animals (2009)
* Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows (2009)
* Meat Atlas (annual)

Films|

* Meet Your Meat (2002)
* Peaceable Kingdom (2004)
* Earthlings (2005)
* A Sacred Duty (2007)
* Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead (2010)
* Planeat (2010)
* Forks Over Knives (2011)
* Vegucated (2011)
* Live and Let Live (2013)
* Cowspiracy (2014)
* What the Health (2017)
* Carnage (2017)
* Dominion (2018)
* The Game Changers (2018)

Magazines|

* Naked Food
* Satya
* Vegetarian Times
* VegNews
* The Animals' Agenda

Academics,
physicians|

| Contemporary|

* Elisa Aaltola
* Carol J. Adams
* Martin Balluch
* Neal D. Barnard
* David Benatar
* Rynn Berry
* T. Colin Campbell
* Jan Deckers
* Sue Donaldson
* Mylan Engel
* Caldwell Esselstyn
* Gary L. Francione
* Joel Fuhrman
* Greta Gaard
* Michael Greger
* Oscar Horta
* Melanie Joy
* Michael Klaper
* Andrew Linzey
* John A. McDougall
* Reed Mangels
* Jack Norris
* Dean Ornish
* David Pearce
* Tom Regan
* Richard H. Schwartz
* Peter Singer
* David Sztybel
* Kim A. Williams
* Laura Wright

|

Historical|

* Thomas Allinson
* William Axon
* Ernest Bell
* Maximilian Bircher-Benner
* Ernest Bonnejoy
* Lucius Duncan Bulkley
* J. L. Buttner
* Paul Carton
* George Cheyne
* Antonio Cocchi
* Charles W. Forward
* Narasinh Narayan Godbole
* Lewis Gompertz
* Edward Hare
* Philippe Hecquet
* Martin Luther Holbrook
* William Horsell
* Isaac Jennings
* John Harvey Kellogg
* William Lambe
* Elmer McCollum
* J. Howard Moore
* Francis William Newman
* Josiah Oldfield
* Rollo Russell
* Henry Stephens Salt
* Russell Thacher Trall
* Howard Williams

Related|

* Semi-vegetarianism
* Macrobiotic diet
* Pescetarianism
* Vegetarian and vegan dog diet
* Vegetarian and vegan symbolism
* List of vegan media

Template:Virtues

0.00

(0 votes)

Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahimsa. Read more

|

Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Philosophy:Ahimsa&oldid=4237782"
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[lit.]: literal translation