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Ahimsa
From the beginning, amidst prayers, philosophical speculation, commandments, poetry and epics the idea of nonviolence was present. In the Bhagavad-Gita, ahimsa or nonviolence is a superior ethical virtue:
I foresee no good will come
From killing my own kindred in war.
Even though they slay me, I wish not to strike them.
How can we be happy, having slain our own kindred
Though they, with hearts deadened with avarice,
See not the evil that will come. 3
The Laws of Manu prescribe that he who would teach others for their well-being must be guided by ahimsa and use sweet and gentle speech towards them. From the Mahabharata comes the maxim that nonviolence is the greatest religion or duty.
Not only is nonviolence one of Hinduism's cardinal virtues and its cosmic outlook generally, there are also present in it those other qualities of the human spirit which are inseparable from nonviolence. So in the Mahabharata abstention from injury to all creatures in thought, word and deed is admonished and kindness and generosity are called the permanent duties of the good. Enjoin the Laws of Manu: "Let him patiently hear hard words. Let him not insult anybody. Against an angry man let him not in return show anger. Let him bless when he is cursed." 4
Throughout these thousands of years of scripture we find self-imposed suffering and the surrender of one's possessions to God, both of which we shall discover to be the invariable accompaniments of genuine nonviolence.
Ancient Hinduism followed the course of most religions and leaving behind its pristine years of pure worship, poetry, philosophic and ethical insight deteriorated into an inflexible cultus, other worldliness, and a hierarchical social order rigid in the extreme.
The great reform came with Gautama Buddha, five hundred years before Christ, who gave the world an early and extraordinarily great personal example of total commitment to the nonviolent way of life.
Breaking away from the ritualism of the Vedic religion he attacked the superstitions, ceremonials and priest-craft of popular religion and the related vested interests, metaphysics and theology, miracles and revelations, and everything related to the supernatural. He appealed to reason and experience. He emphasized ethics. Having thus described the Buddhist reformation, Nehru says of Buddha himself: "His whole approach comes like a breath of the fresh wind from the mountains after the stale air of metaphysical speculation". 5
What of value accrues from violence? The answer of Buddhism is, "...hatreds are not quenched by hatred. Nay rather... hatreds are quenched by love".
And victory can always be relied upon to breed hatred, for the conquered are naturally unhappy.
The speech of men must be under the same rule, for to use harsh language to those who have committed a sin is to strew salt upon the wound of the error.
Buddha taught:
A brother ought not intentionally
to destroy the life of any being. 7
Not for our life would we ever intentionally
kill a living being. 8
A truth-finder laying aside cudgel and sword,
lives a life of innocence and mercy....
He heals divisions and cements friendship; ...
for in peace is his delight...9
I have spoken of the total commitment of Buddha to the nonviolent way of life. Such a commitment must include a profound concern for the welfare of all. This indeed was a passion with Buddha. He preached to his disciples: "Go unto all lands and preach this gospel. Tell them that the poor and the lowly, the rich and the high, are all one, and that all castes unite in this religion as do the rivers of the sea." 10
Live on,
for the good and the happiness of the great multitudes,
Out of pity for the world,
for the good and the gain and the weal of men. 11
For Buddha, the outcasts were not of the traditional sort. He said:
The man who is angry and bears hatred,
who harms living beings, who speaks falsely,
who exalts himself and despises others -
let one know him as an outcast. 12
The commitment to nonviolence involves also self-discipline and self-renunciation. Buddha rejected extreme asceticism and chose rather the Middle Path between self-indulgence and self-mortification coupled with rigid self-discipline. "Not even a God", he said, "...could change into defeat the victory of a man who has vanquished himself and always lives under restraint". 13
Having gained sixty disciples, he sent them on their way, with this message: "Go ye now out of compassion for the world, for the welfare of gods and men. Let not two of you go the same way. Preach the doctrine which is glorious. Proclaim a consummate, perfect and pure life of holiness." 14
If Buddha did not urge self-mortification, he did warn against the penalty of selfishness. He taught: "People grieve from selfishness; perpetual cares kill them"; 15 and
The man who is possessed of much property
Who has gold and food,
And still enjoys his sweet things -
This is the cause of loss. 16
Excerpt in gratitude from: https://www.mkgandhi.org/g_relevance/chap01.php
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