Ahimsa

suggested scripture: Matthew 5,6,7

Ahimsa: that’s a fun word to say. We borrow it from the faith traditions of the East. Ahimsa is a fundamental ethical virtue for the Jainists, the Hindus, and the Buddhists. Gandhi developed his non-violent political strategies on the basis of ahimsa.

Sometimes translated as non-violence, it is best translated as non-harming.

On this month’s website, I want to talk about non-harming.

Jainism is a faith tradition in India whose overwhelming concern is for the sacredness of life. The concept of ahimsa may have begun with them. The Jain code of conduct has five principles:

to practice non-violence in thought, word, deed
to seek and speak the truth
to behave honestly and never take anything by force or theft
to practice restraint and chastity in thought, word, deed
to practice non-attachment, non-acquisitiveness.

You can see that every one of these principles results in non-harming.

What would it look like if, as part of our spiritual practice, we committed ourselves to ahimsa?

Do you sometimes get hard on yourself? Perhaps you should practice ahimsa.
Do you talk about others behind their backs? A violation of ahimsa.
Do you push yourself beyond your limits with no regard for your body or
your well-being? That’s not in the spirit of ahimsa.
Do you cause other people pain or grief? Think ahimsa instead.

Ahimsa is about gentleness. It is about looking at yourself, a situation, or another person with compassion and without judgement.

Do you overwork or smoke or overeat? Can you consider ahimsa?
Are you compulsive? addicted?
Do you do a lot of blaming? Ahimsa is called for here…and no judgement.

Most of us are pretty non-violent in all the obvious ways. Ahimsa challenges us to look at the not-so-obvious ways, the thing we do to ourselves or others that cause harm.

The way of Jesus is a way of ahimsa, too. Jesus does not only say do no harm; he says do good. That is even harder! The scripture known as The Sermon on the Mount has a lot of wisdom about practicing ahimsa. It’s found in Matthew 5,6, and 7. Listen to some of the teachings of Jesus:

Do not judge. (Mt. 7:1)
First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye. (Mt. 7:5)
If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also. (Mt. 5:39)
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. (Mt. 5:44)

The Jewish tradition practices ahimsa, too. From the Torah:

You shall not ill-treat any widow or orphan. If you do, I will heed their outcry.
You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall not insult the deaf, or place a stumbling block before the blind.
If there is a needy person among you, do not harden your heart and shut your hand. Rather, you must open your hand.

It is painful to face how we harm others or ourselves. If you are brave enough to do so, remember that judging yourself is another way of harming. In this practice, we don’t judge; we just observe.

If you decide at some point that you would like to do something about this, that you would like to cause less harm, one way to do that is to allow spaces in your life. Here’s what I mean:

Your partner does something that angers you. Your first instinct may be to lash back. You are about to get the drama going. You are going to quickly fill the space between you. Instead, let the space be there. Maybe it will sound like a few moments of silence. Maybe it will feel like deep breathing. But somehow, you are going to resist the temptation to quickly fill the space. That one step moves you toward the possibility of ahimsa.

Your friends at the table are into some back-biting, some gossip. They turn to you for your contribution. They expect you to fill the space. You can do so by adding your nasty comments about the person under discussion. Or, you can refuse to fill the space. You can just let the silence be there, or you can change the subject, or challenge the conversation. You can refuse to pick up the ball they threw you. Ahimsa.

If, instead of reacting impulsively, we can notice the space that exists between the event (spouse accuses; friends gossip) and our reaction, we have the chance of changing our reaction. What is in that space? Very often, it is fear.

We usually harm others, intentionally or not, because of fear. It is good spiritual work to follow, like a detective, from the place of our harming back to the buried fear that triggered that harming.

I think of myself as a non-violent person, but in fact, I find the practice of ahimsa very hard. I want to lash out, or get vengeance, or diminish another person. I read the commands from our ancient wisdom traditions—love your enemy, do not harden your heart—and think, who can do this? It is too hard.

That is one reason that I must be part of a faith community; only in community can I find the strength I need to be able to walk the talk.

Many of us in the west associate the Islamic faith with violence. This is unfortunate, for like all our species ancient wisdom traditions, it calls us to non-harming, to ahimsa, to peace. The late Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, an Islamic Sufi from Sri Lanka, who shared his wisdom with people of all religions, offers these words:

“If we are true believers, we will not see any differences between others and ourselves. We will see only One. We will see Allah, one human race, and one justice for all. That justice and truth is the strength of Islam. That compassion and peace is the strength of Islam….(P)eacefulness and equality are greater than anger. Instead of gaining victory by fighting, use the sword of patience. That is the best way to receive Allah’s wealth.” ¹

What would it take for you to begin to practice ahimsa?

1. Muhaiyaddeen, M.R.Bawa. Islam and World Peace. (Philadelphia: The Fellowship Press, 1987), 34.

©2007 Janice Jean Springer