Ahimsa and Related Topics

The hand symbolizes Ahiṃsā, the wheel dharmachakra, the resolve to halt saṃsāra (transmigration).

Jainism

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Ancient Indian religion.

Classification of Saṃsāri Jīvas (transmigrating souls) in Jainism

Lord Neminatha, Akota Bronzes (7th century)

Jain miniature painting of 24 tirthankaras, Jaipur, c. 1850

Jain temple painting explaining Anekantavada with Blind men and an elephant

A Jain monk in meditation, wearing the characteristic white robe and face covering

Nishidhi stone, depicting the vow of sallekhana, 14th century, Karnataka

Praying at the feet of a statue of Bahubali

Jain worship may include ritual offerings and recitals.

Celebrating Das Lakshana (Paryushana), Jain Center of America, New York City

The birth of Mahavira, from the Kalpa Sūtra (c.1375–1400 CE)

A symbol to represent the Jain community was chosen in 1975 as part of the commemoration of the 2,500th anniversary of Mahavira’s nirvana.

Rishabhdev, believed to have lived over 592.704×1018 years ago, is considered the traditional founder of Jainism.

The ruins of Gori Jain temples in Nagarparkar, Pakistan, a pilgrimage site before 1947.

Saavira Kambada Basadi, Moodbidri, Karnataka

Jain monks, after positioning themselves in the sublime state of soul consciousness, take five main vows: ahiṃsā (non-violence), satya (truth), asteya (not stealing), brahmacharya (chastity), and aparigraha (non-possessiveness).

A Balinese Hindu family after puja at Bratan temple in Bali, Indonesia

Hinduism

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Variously defined as an Indian religion, a set of religious beliefs or practices, a religious tradition, a way of life, or dharma—a religious and universal order by which followers abide.

Om, a stylized letter of Devanagari script, used as a religious symbol in Hinduism

Swami Vivekananda was a key figure in introducing Vedanta and Yoga in Europe and the United States, raising interfaith awareness and making Hinduism a world religion.

Ganesha is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon.

The Hare Krishna group at the Esplanadi Park in Helsinki, Finland

The festival of lights, Diwali, is celebrated by Hindus all over the world.

Hindus in Ghana celebrating Ganesh Chaturti

Holi celebrated at the Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple in Utah, United States.

Kedar Ghat, a bathing place for pilgrims on the Ganges at Varanasi

Priests performing Kalyanam (marriage) of the holy deities at Bhadrachalam Temple, in Telangana. It is one of the temples in India, where Kalyanam is done everyday throughout the year.

Basic Hindu symbols: Shatkona, Padma, and Swastika.

Kauai Hindu monastery in Kauai Island in Hawaii is the only Hindu Monastery in the North American continent.

The Hindu Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram was built by Narasimhavarman II.

Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings (Ahiṃsā), patience, forbearance, self-restraint, virtue, and compassion, among others.

Mahatma Gandhi

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Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule, and to later inspire movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.

Gandhi (right) with his eldest brother Laxmidas in 1886.

This bronze statue of Gandhi commemorating the centenary of the incident at the Pietermaritzburg Railway Station was unveiled by Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Church Street, Pietermaritzburg, in June 1993

Gandhi with the stretcher-bearers of the Indian Ambulance Corps during the Boer War.

Gandhi (left) and his wife Kasturba (right) (1902)

Gandhi photographed in South Africa (1909)

Gandhi in 1918, at the time of the Kheda and Champaran Satyagrahas

Gandhi with Dr. Annie Besant en route to a meeting in Madras in September 1921. Earlier, in Madurai, on 21 September 1921, Gandhi had adopted the loin-cloth for the first time as a symbol of his identification with India's poor.

Indian workers on strike in support of Gandhi in 1930.

Gandhi and his personal assistant Mahadev Desai at Birla House, 1939

An admiring East End crowd gathers to witness the arrival of Mahatma Gandhi, 1931

In 1946, Gandhi with Jawaharlal Nehru, his designated political heir

Gandhi in 1942, the year he launched the Quit India Movement

Gandhi in 1947, with Louis Mountbatten, Britain's last Viceroy of India, and his wife Edwina Mountbatten

Memorial where Gandhi was assassinated in 1948. His stylised footsteps lead to the memorial.

Gandhi's funeral was marked by millions of Indians.

Cremation of Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat, 31 January 1948. It was attended by Jawaharlal Nehru, Louis and Edwina Mountbatten, Maulana Azad, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Sarojini Naidu and other national leaders. His son Devdas Gandhi lit the pyre.

Gandhi with poet Rabindranath Tagore, 1940

Mohandas K. Gandhi and other residents of Tolstoy Farm, South Africa, 1910

Plaque displaying one of Gandhi's quotes on rumour

"God is truth. The way to truth lies through ahimsa (nonviolence)" – Sabarmati, 13 March 1927

Gandhi picking salt during Salt Satyagraha to defy colonial law giving salt collection monopoly to the British. His satyagraha attracted vast numbers of Indian men and women.

Gandhi with textile workers at Darwen, Lancashire, 26 September 1931

Gandhi's last political protest using fasting, in January 1948

Coverage of the assassination attempt, The Bombay Chronicle, 27 June 1934

Young India, a weekly journal published by Gandhi from 1919 to 1932

Statue of Mahatma Gandhi at York University

Mahatma Gandhi on a 1969 postage stamp of the Soviet Union

Mahatma Gandhi at Praça Túlio Fontoura, São Paulo, Brazil.

The Gandhi Mandapam, a temple in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu in India, was erected to honour M.K. Gandhi.

Family tree of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Kasturba Gandhi. Source: Gandhi Ashram Sabarmati

Commemorative plaque at 20 Baron's Court Road, Barons Court, London

Gandhi's private secretary noted that "The question of the consistency between his creed of 'Ahimsa' (nonviolence) and his recruiting campaign was raised not only then but has been discussed ever since."

Thiruvalluvar

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Celebrated Tamil poet and philosopher.

Statue of Valluvar in the Thiruvalluvar Temple, Mylapore

Portrait of Valluvar approved by the Government of India in the late 20th century.

Thiruvalluvar statue at SOAS, University of London.

Valluvar's treatment of the concept of ahimsa or non-violence, which is the principal concept in both Jainism and Hinduism, bolsters this argument.

Kural

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Classic Tamil language text consisting of 1,330 short couplets, or kurals, of seven words each.

Statue of Valluvar at an animal sanctuary in Tiruvallur. The plaque describes the Kural's teachings on ahimsa and non-killing, summing them up with the definition of veganism.

Tamil Wisdom, by Edward Jewitt Robinson, 1873, with the traditional portrait of Valluvar

1856 CE Latin translation of Tirukkuṟaḷ by Karl Graul, with English notes by William Germann. Graul also published the first German translation.

The largest book of the Tirukkuṟaḷ on display

First known edition of the Kural, published in Tamil, in 1812.

Statue of Valluvar within the SOAS, University of London campus.

Sand sculpture of Valluvar at the Chennai Book Fair 2020

A Kural couplet on display inside a Chennai Metro train

Shrine of Valluvar at a temple in Mylapore.

Statue of Valluvar, along with the Vivekananda memorial, off the coast of Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu.

A Kural discourse in Chennai in January 2019.

Written on the foundations of ahimsa, it emphasizes non-violence and moral vegetarianism as virtues for an individual.

Fruitlands, a short-lived vegan community established in 1844 by Amos Bronson Alcott in Harvard, Massachusetts

Veganism

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Practice of abstaining from the use of animal products, particularly in diet, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals.

Mahatma Gandhi, Vegetarian Society, London, 20 November 1931, with Henry Salt on his right

Barbara Moore attended the first meeting of the Vegan Society as an observer.

German strongman Patrik Baboumian, who starred in the 2018 documentary The Game Changers to demonstrate that athletes can thrive on a vegan diet

Modern methods of factory farming are considered highly unethical by most vegans.

Vegan soap made from olive oil; soap is usually made from tallow (animal fat).

Healthy vegan meal composition shown using the food plate method

Granola oatmeal with soy milk. Oatmeal is a rich source of manganese and a moderate source of protein, fiber, phosphorus, and zinc.

Pigs, as well as chicken and cattle, often have their movement restricted.

The amount of globally needed agricultural land would be reduced by three-quarters if the entire population adopted a vegan diet.

Reduction of one's carbon footprint for various actions. A plant-based diet in this study referred to a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet. Vegan diets are known to have lower carbon footprints.

Vegan graffiti showing an enclosed V in Lisbon, Portugal

In 1960, H. Jay Dinshah founded the American Vegan Society (AVS), linking veganism to the concept of ahimsa, "non-harming" in Sanskrit.

Ancient kingdoms and cities of India during the time of the Buddha (circa 500 BCE) – modern-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan

Buddhism

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Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on a series of original teachings attributed to Gautama Buddha.

The gilded "Emaciated Buddha statue" in an Ubosoth in Bangkok representing the stage of his asceticism

Enlightenment of Buddha, Kushan dynasty, late 2nd to early 3rd century CE, Gandhara.

The Buddha teaching the Four Noble Truths. Sanskrit manuscript. Nalanda, Bihar, India.

Traditional Tibetan Buddhist Thangka depicting the Wheel of Life with its six realms

Ramabhar Stupa in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, India is regionally believed to be Buddha's cremation site.

An aniconic depiction of the Buddha's spiritual liberation (moksha) or awakening (bodhi), at Sanchi. The Buddha is not depicted, only symbolized by the Bodhi tree and the empty seat.

Dharma Wheel and triratna symbols from Sanchi Stupa number 2.

Buddhist monks and nuns praying in the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple of Singapore

A depiction of Siddhartha Gautama in a previous life prostrating before the past Buddha Dipankara. After making a resolve to be a Buddha, and receiving a prediction of future Buddhahood, he becomes a "bodhisattva".

Bodhisattva Maitreya, Gandhara (3rd century), Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Sermon in the Deer Park depicted at Wat Chedi Liam, near Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand.

Buddhist monks collect alms in Si Phan Don, Laos. Giving is a key virtue in Buddhism.

An ordination ceremony at Wat Yannawa in Bangkok. The Vinaya codes regulate the various sangha acts, including ordination.

Living at the root of a tree (trukkhamulik'anga) is one of the dhutaṅgas, a series of optional ascetic practices for Buddhist monastics.

Kōdō Sawaki practicing Zazen ("sitting dhyana")

Seated Buddha, Gal Viharaya, Polonnawura, Sri Lanka.

Kamakura Daibutsu, Kōtoku-in, Kamakura, Japan.

Statue of Buddha in Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat, Phitsanulok, Thailand

An 18th century Mongolian miniature which depicts the generation of the Vairocana Mandala

A section of the Northern wall mural at the Lukhang Temple depicting tummo, the three channels (nadis) and phowa

Tibetan Buddhist prostration practice at Jokhang, Tibet.

Vegetarian meal at Buddhist temple. East Asian Buddhism tends to promote vegetarianism.

A depiction of the supposed First Buddhist council at Rajgir. Communal recitation was one of the original ways of transmitting and preserving Early Buddhist texts.

Gandhara birchbark scroll fragments (c. 1st century) from British Library Collection

The Tripiṭaka Koreana in South Korea, an edition of the Chinese Buddhist canon carved and preserved in over 81,000 wood printing blocks

Buddhist monk Geshe Konchog Wangdu reads Mahayana sutras from an old woodblock copy of the Tibetan Kanjur.

Mahākāśyapa meets an Ājīvika ascetic, one of the common Śramaṇa groups in ancient India

Ajanta Caves, Cave 10, a first period type chaitya worship hall with stupa but no idols.

Sanchi Stupa No. 3, near Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, India.

Map of the Buddhist missions during the reign of Ashoka according to the Edicts of Ashoka.

Extent of Buddhism and trade routes in the 1st century CE.

A Buddhist triad depicting, left to right, a Kushan, the future buddha Maitreya, Gautama Buddha, the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, and a monk. Second–third century. Guimet Museum

Site of Nalanda University, a great center of Mahāyāna thought

Vajrayana adopted deities such as Bhairava, known as Yamantaka in Tibetan Buddhism.

Angkor Thom build by Khmer King Jayavarman VII (c. 1120–1218).

Distribution of major Buddhist traditions

Buddhists of various traditions, Yeunten Ling Tibetan Institute

Monastics and white clad laypersons celebrate Vesak, Vipassakna Dhaurak, Cambodia

Chinese Buddhist monks performing a formal ceremony in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.

Tibetan Buddhists practicing Chöd with various ritual implements, such as the Damaru drum, hand-bell, and Kangling (thighbone trumpet).

Ruins of a temple at the Erdene Zuu Monastery complex in Mongolia.

1893 World Parliament of Religions in Chicago

Interior of the Thai Buddhist wat in Nukari, Nurmijärvi, Finland

Percentage of Buddhists by country, according to the Pew Research Center, as of 2010

A painting by G. B. Hooijer (c. 1916–1919) reconstructing a scene of Borobudur, the largest Buddhist temple in the world.

Frontispiece of the Chinese Diamond Sūtra, the oldest known dated printed book in the world

The Dharmachakra, a sacred symbol which represents Buddhism and its traditions.

An image of a lantern used in the Vesak Festival, which celebrates the birth, enlightenment and Parinirvana of Gautama Buddha.

Undertaking and upholding the five precepts is based on the principle of non-harming (Pāli and ahiṃsa).

Mahavira

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The 24th Tirthankara (supreme preacher) of Jainism.

Mahavira in Padmasana meditation posture

Ancient kingdoms and cities of India at the time of Mahavira

Lord Mahavira's Jal Mandir (water temple) in Pawapuri, Bihar, India

The "Charan Paduka" or foot impression of Mahavira at Jal Mandir

Folio from the Kalpa Sūtra, 15th century

Mahavira iconography is distinguished by a lion stamped (or carved) beneath his feet; a Shrivatsa is on his chest.

alt=See caption|Rock-cut sculpture of Mahavira in Samanar Hills, Madurai, Tamil Nadu

Rock-cut sculpture of Mahavira in Kalugumalai Jain Beds, 8th century

alt=See caption|Tallest known image of the seated Mahavira, Patnaganj

alt=See caption|Four-sided sculpture of Mahavira in Kankali Tila, Mathura

alt=Two nude statues|Tirthankaras Rishabhanatha (left) and Mahavira, 11th century (British Museum)

alt=Mahavira, seated|Temple relief of Mahavira, 14th century (Seattle Asian Art Museum)

alt=See caption|Relief of Mahavira in Thirakoil, Tamil Nadu

16-foot, 2-inch stone statue of Mahavira in Ahinsa Sthal, Mehrauli, New Delhi{{sfn|Titze|1998|p=266}}|alt=Large outdoor statue of Mahavira, with a seated worshipper for scale

alt=See caption|Mahavira statue in Cave 32 of the Ellora Caves

Mahavira inside Ambapuram cave temple, 7th century

alt=Dharmachakra temple|Dharmachakra temple in Gajpanth

Mahavir Swami at Manilaxmi Tirth, Gujarat

His ascetic teachings have a higher order of magnitude than those of Buddhism or Hinduism, and his emphasis on ahimsa (non-violence) is greater than that in other Indian religions.

Parshvanatha

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The 23rd of 24 Tirthankaras of Jainism.

Parshvanatha was born in Varanasi, a historic city on the Ganges.

Parshvanatha and his yaksha, Dharanendra, in the 8th-century Tamil Nadu Kalugumalai Jain Beds

8th-century stone relief of Parshvanatha at Thirakoil

Parshvanatha with Padmavati and Dharnendra in a 16th-century manuscript

Parshvanatha iconography is identified by a sesha hood above his head and a cobra stamped (or carved) beneath his feet. At the center of his chest is a shrivatsa, which identifies Jain statues.

Parsvanatha ayagapata - Jina Parsvanatha, Mathura art, {{circa|15 CE}}.{{sfn|Quintanilla|2007|p=201}}{{sfn|Quintanilla|2007|p=406}}

alt=Stone relief|Uttar Pradesh, 2nd century (Museum of Oriental Art)

Parshvanath relief of Kahaum pillar, 5th century

alt=Lotus position|5th century (Satna, Madhya Pradesh)

alt=Lotus position|6th century, Uttar Pradesh

alt=Lotus position|7th-century Akota Bronze (Honolulu Museum of Art)

6th-7th century bronze statue in Asian Civilisations Museum

alt=Lotus position|10th-century copper, inlaid with silver and gemstones (LACMA)

alt=Lotus position|11th century, Maharaja Chhatrasal Museum

alt=Lotus position|Karnataka, 12th century (Art Institute of Chicago)

{{convert|61|ft}} colossal at Navagraha Jain Temple

alt=Outdoor standing statue|Vahelna statue

alt=Standing statue in niche|Parshvanatha basadi, Shravanabelgola

alt=Standing statue|Parshvanatha temple in Halebidu

Parshvanatha temple, Khajuraho, UNESCO World Heritage Site

Pattadakal Jain Temple, UNESCO World Heritage Site

Parshavanth temple, Jaisalmer Fort, UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of Hill Forts of Rajasthan

Parshvanatha basadi at Halebidu: tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage Site

alt=Godiji Parshwanath (Gori) Temple at Tharparkar - tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage|Godiji (Gori) Temple in Tharparkar - tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage

According to the Śvētāmbaras, Mahavira expanded Parshvanatha's first four restraints with his ideas on ahimsa (non-violence) and added the fifth monastic vow (celibacy).

Bhagavad Gita

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700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic Mahabharata (chapters 23–40 of book 6 of the Mahabharata called the Bhishma Parva), dated to the second half of the first millennium BCE and is typical of the Hindu synthesis.

Bhagavad Gita revelation: Krishna tells the Gita to Arjuna

The Bhagavata Gita is attributed to the sage Vyasa.

A manuscript illustration of the battle of Kurukshetra, fought between the Kauravas and the Pandavas, recorded in the Mahabharata.

Krishna recounts Gita to Arjuna during Kurukshetra War, in Mahabharata; c.1820 painting.

A didactic print from the 1960s that uses the Gita scene as a focal point for general religious instruction

A 19th-century Sanskrit manuscript of the Bhagavad Gita, Devanagari script

The thematic story of Arjuna and Krishna at the Kurukshetra War became popular in southeast Asia as Hinduism spread there in the 1st-millennium CE. Above, an Arjuna-Krishna chariot scene in Jakarta center, Indonesia.

A frieze in the early 8th-century Virupaksha temple (Pattadakal) depicting Mahabharata scenes involving Arjuna-Krishna chariot. Pattadakal is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Adi Shankara with Disciples, by Raja Ravi Varma (1904); Shankara published 700 verses of the Gita (800 CE), now the standard version.

Vāsudeva-Krishna, on a coin of Agathocles of Bactria, c.180BCE. This is "the earliest unambiguous image" of the deity.

The Trinity test of the Manhattan Project was the first detonation of a nuclear weapon, which led Oppenheimer to recall verses from the Bhagavad Gita, notably being: "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds".

This and other moral dilemmas in the first chapter are set in a context where the Hindu epic and Krishna have already extolled ahimsa (non-violence) to be the highest and divine virtue of a human being.

A report on Ahimsa

27 related topics with Alpha

Jainism

Hinduism

Mahatma Gandhi

Thiruvalluvar

Kural

Veganism

Buddhism

Mahavira

Parshvanatha

Bhagavad Gita