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Ahiṃsā in Jainism is a fundamental principle forming the cornerstone of its ethics and doctrine. The term ahiṃsā means nonviolence, non-injury or absence of desire to harm any life forms. In Jainism, "non-manifestation of passions like attachment is non-injury , and manifestation of such passions is injury (hiṃsā)." This is termed as the essence of the Jaina Scriptures. According to Tattvarthasutra, a major Jain text, "the severance of vitalities out of passion is injury". Vegetarianism and other nonviolent practices and rituals of Jains flow from the principle of ahiṃsā. The Jain concept of is very different from the concept of nonviolence found in other philosophies. Violence is usually associated with causing harm to others. But according to the Jain philosophy, violence refers primarily to injuring one's own self – behaviour which inhibits the soul's own ability to attain (liberation). At the same time it also means violence to others because it is this tendency to harm others that ultimately harms one's own soul. Furthermore, the Jains have extended the concept of Ahiṃsā not only to humans but to all animals, plants, micro-organisms and all beings having life or life potential. All life is sacred and everyone has a right to live fearlessly to its maximum potential. The living beings do not have any fear from those who have taken the vow of . According to Jainism, protection of life, also known as ''abhayadānam'', is the supreme charity that a person can make.〔 "Giving protection always to living beings who are in fear of death is known as abhayadana"〕 does not merely indicate absence of physical violence, but also indicates absence of desire to indulge in any sort of violence.〔 "Even an intention of killing is the cause of the bondage of Karma, whether you actually kill or not; from the real point of view, this is the nature of the bondage of Karma."〕 While Jainism is not a proselytising religion and as such has no organised system of advocating its doctrine, Jains have strongly advocated vegetarianism and nonviolence throughout the ages. Ahiṃsā being central to the Jain philosophy, Jain Ācāryas have produced, through ages, quite elaborate and detailed doctrinal materials concerning its various aspects. According to Jainism, protection of life, also known as ''abhayadānam'', is the supreme charity that a person can make.〔 According to Aidan Rankin, the concept of Ahiṃsā is very much intertwined with Jainism. ==Vow of Ahiṃsā== In Jainism, both ascetics and householders (śrāvaka) have to follow five major vows (''vratas''). Ascetics observe these fives vows more strictly and therefore observe complete abstinence. * is formalised into Jain doctrine as the first and foremost vow. Jain text, Puruṣārthasiddhyupāya deals with the conduct required of the householder (śrāvaka) and therefore discusses the fundamental vow of ''ahiṃsā'' in detail. It mentions that, "all these subdivisions (injury, falsehood, stealing, unchastity, and attachment) are ''hiṃsā '' as indulgence in these sullies the pure nature of the soul. Falsehood etc. have been mentioned separately only to make the disciple understand through illustrations." *Satya (falsehood)- Not to lie or speak what is not commendable. The underlying cause of falsehood is passion and therefore, it is said to cause hiṃsā (injury). In Jainism, "that which causes pain and suffering to the living is not commendable, whether it refers to actual facts or not is immaterial. *Asteya- According to Tattvarthasutra, "Taking anything that is not given is stealing." *Brahmacharya- It means chastity for householders and celibacy in action, words & thoughts for ascetics. *Aparigraha (Non-possession)- According to Jain texts, attachment to possessions (parigraha) is of two kinds: attachment to internal possessions (ābhyantara parigraha), and attachment to external possessions (bāhya parigraha). The fourteen internal possessions are: Wrong belief, the three sex-passions (male sex-passion, female sex-passion, and neuter sex-passion), also the six defects (laughter, liking, disliking, sorrow, fear, and disgust), and four passions (anger, pride, deceitfulness, and greed). According to Jain texts, "internal possessions are proved to be hiṃsā as these are just another name for hiṃsā". External possessions are divided into two subclasses, the non-living, and the living. "External possessions, due to the passion of attachment in them, result into hiṃsā." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ahimsa in Jainism」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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