Lessons of Ahimsa and Anekanta for Contemporary Life

Author(s): Tara Sethia
Publisher: California State Polytechnic University Pomona

Page 29

Lessons of Ahimsa and Anekānta for Contemporary Life
identified as simply pacifist. There were a number of famous Jaina generals and soldiers, none of whom was condemned by Jaina leaders or followers. However, there does not seem to be a clear stance on how the lay Jaina followers are expected to respond to war and terrorism.
Of the three responses to aggression and terrorism identified above, the lay Jaina position might appear to align mainly with the Just War approach, with its emphasis on restraint and selfdefense. Only a few texts (e.g., Sāgāradharmāmstațīkā, Yaśastilakacampū, Nītivākyāmsta) make reference to war. According to these texts, one may engage only in a defensive campaign, where one is to acquire only a less dangerous variety of karmic matter generated from virodhi-himsa or opposing/hindering-based violence. However, the intent is not to encourage such activity but acknowledge its inevitability in a layperson's life, and is considered best if avoided. The Jaina
5. See Paul Dundas, The Jains New York: Routledge, 1992), pp. 102-103, 193; Padmanabh S. Jaini, The Jaina Path of Purification (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1979), pp. 280-281, 313.
6. One needs to distinguish between Jaina mendicants and Jaina lay followers with the former required to live a much more restrictive life than the latter lay followers. Monks are never to engage in any form of violence, let alone warfare; lay followers, however, are given much more latitude to make their own decisions regarding warfare and are not condemned for war, and in fact can be praised for valor in a just war. For example, the great image of Bahubali at Shravana-Belgola was commissioned by the greatly adored Jaina General Cāmundarāya in 948.
7. The goal of life, according to Jainism, is to reach liberation (moksa) from rebirth and suffering (samsāra). Accumulation of karmic matter in association with one's soul (jiva) "weighs down" the soul and causes it to be reborn. As pointed out here, certain types of violence, while still resulting in the accumulation of binding karma, results in karma that is easier to remove, less of an impediment to one's ultimate goal.
8. For a more detailed description of this case of allowance for war, especially for the warrior/king caste (ksatriya), see Jaini, pp. 170ff. Jaini correctly points out that much of the discussion on virodhi-himsă and views on warfare appears in much later works and not in earliest canonical Jaina texts. Perhaps as social difficulties and the inevitable clashes with Hindus and Moslems arose over the centuries, Jaina authors felt compelled to address how one might deal with the need to engage in limited combat when the need
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