Love the Universe and all that it contains.

[geyashvecova]

Art G.Shvecova (Design graphics - Aesthetic-space_080718)

[poems-and-word]

[poems-and-word]

[the-book-diaries]

“It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.”

— Tom Robbins, Still Life With Woodpecker

[nerdyphilosopheruniverse-blog]

#wonder, #spirit, #empathy, #curiosity, #universe

[nerdyphilosopheruniverse-blog]

[nerdyphilosopheruniverse-blog]

[philosophyquotes]

The mind once enlightened cannot again become dark.

Thomas Paine (via philosophyquotes)

[nerdyphilosopheruniverse-blog]

Ahimsa in the Jain religion.

In the Jain religion, karma attaches itself to the soul so is carried through the cycle of death and rebirth, the amount of karma being carried directly influences how the next rebirth will be.  Eradication of existing and preventing further karma in order to move closer to liberation has predominance over every aspect of Jain lives. Ahimsa is a foundation and central to Jainism and its metaphorical battle with karma. Translated as non-violence and compassion or reverence for all life, while this is accurate, the translation falls short of illuminating the true depth of its meaning. Understanding the true depth of ahimsa requires understanding the Jains perception of violence.  Not simply physically hurting or killing, ahimsa is extended so no harm can come from thought, attitude or from the spoken word. This has the implication that the acts of stealing, controlling a person’s thought and preventing freedom of speech all fall in to the category of violence “It is difficult to translate ahimsa in to English; closest gloss is non-violence and reverence for life…It means kindness to living beings and includes avoidance of mental, verbal and physical injury; it is reverence for life in its totality”. (Shah, 1998, p.108). In whatever form life exists it has a soul and all souls are considered equal and should be treated with equal amounts of care and compassion.  Due to the transmigrational nature of the soul, every life form has the potential to elevate itself and achieve liberation from the endless cycle of birth and rebirth, or moksha. For this reason, Jains uphold the statement ahimsa paramo dharma, or ahimsa is the paramount religion “Jains always uphold that this principal (ahimsa) represents the highest religion” (Shah, 1998, p.108). Jain ethics and the vows that both mendicants and the laity live by are fully entwined with ahimsa.