When people ask me why I am a vegetarian, part of my answer usually involves my belief in Ahimsa, but few people who have asked have known what ahimsa means. My usual answer is that ahimsa means non-violence, but I do not feel that this adequately describes what ahimsa means to me. I feel that people often interpret non-violence as synonomous with pacifism, but pacifism is often seen as referring only to physical non-violence. To me, the physical aspect of non-violence is only a part of ahimsa, which also includes verbal non-violence, refraining from saying hurtful things, and mental non-violence, refraining from thinking hurtful things. At least for me, it is far easier to refrain from physically harming another than it is to refrain from thinking or saying things that may be hurtful, so I feel that the physical level of non-violence is only the beginning of ahimsa. The problem is, this is a long explanation, and not conducive to the quick answer people usually look for when they ask about ahimsa. I have tried to find a way to define ahimsa that does not carry the connotation of simply physical non-violence, but I have not been successful. How do other people define ahimsa?
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