Ahimsa
Ahimsa (Sanskrit: अहिंसा, IAST: ahiṃsā; IPA: [ɐ́.ɦĩ.sɑː]; lit. 'nonviolence') is the ancient Indian principle of nonviolence that applies to actions toward all living beings. It is a key virtue in Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.
Ahimsa (also spelled Ahinsa) is one of the cardinal virtues of Jainism, where it is the first of the Pancha Mahavrata. It is also one of the central precepts of Hinduism and the first of the five precepts of Buddhism. Ahimsa is 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. Ancient scholars of Brahmanism investigated and refined the principles of ahimsa, but the concept reached an extraordinary development in the ethical philosophy of Jainism. Mahavira, the 24th and the last tirthankara of Jainism, further strengthened the idea in the 6th century BCE. 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. Perhaps the most popular advocate of ahimsa in modern times was Mohandas K. Gandhi.
Ahimsa's precept that humans should "cause no injury" to another living being includes one's deeds, words, and thoughts. Classical Hindu texts such as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, as well as modern scholars, 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 just war theory and self-defence.
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