What if the world followed a religion that included a belief in nonviolence and such a profound respect for all life that if you were a nun or monk of this faith, you would wear something to cover your mouth to avoid breathing in any insects and you would brush the path in front of you so that you wouldn’t walk on any living thing.
You achieve liberation from the cycle of life and death by attaining the Three Jewels: right knowledge, faith and conduct. Correct conduct means abandoning violence, greed and deceit, being chaste and taking a series of vows. For lay people, these would be vows to be a vegetarian, to be truthful, to be faithful in marriage, not to become too attached to possessions and to avoid violence in their own work by following one of the approved professions of their faith. For nuns and monks, there is much more.
It would be required for lay people to meditate for 48 minutes a day (or 1/13th of the day) and that the meditation begins with a prayer of forgiveness. The aim for the meditation is be to achieve peace in the mind, so that the person can fully concentrate on their faith. There are additional prayers asking for friendship with all living things, pleasure in virtue and compassion for the suffering.
What would our world look like if it followed this religion? Pretty good if you asked me!
Welcome to the world of Jainism.
Peace be with you all,
Michael
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