Compassion for All Beings
Ahimsa is rooted in universal compassion that sees all souls as equal.
True non-violence springs from compassion. Understanding that all souls, regardless of their current form, are on a journey toward liberation creates natural empathy and care for all life.
As I want to live and not to die, so do all other creatures.
This teaching establishes the Golden Rule as the basis of ahimsa.
Jain Agamas
Written about in
- What Jainism says about compassion and forgiveness
Compassion is given as the root of non-violence rather than its result. Every soul counts as equal and as on its way somewhere, whatever body it is in now.