100 Quotes About Nonviolence

The quest for peace and justice has been a constant struggle throughout history. It’s a mission that transcends the political, philosophical, and religious spheres. The cultures of many nations have been inspired by nonviolent ideals. Many people have dedicated their lives to the pursuit of peace – from Mahatma Gandhi to Martin Luther King Jr., from Mother Teresa to Desmond Tutu, from Aung San Suu Kyi to Bono Read more

Peace is not the absence of war but the growth of peace. It is a force that can be used for both celebration and destruction. Life is about learning from others’ struggles, listening to their wisdom, and finding a way to put those lessons to good use.

This collection of wise and inspirational nonviolence quotes will inspire you to take a stand for peace in your own life.

1
Being vegan is easy. Are there social pressures that encourage you to continue to eat, wear, and use animal products? Of course there are. But in a patriarchal, racist, homophobic, and ableist society, there are social pressures to participate and engage in sexism, racism, homophobia, and ableism. At some point, you have to decide who you are and what matters morally to you. And once you decide that you regard victimizing vulnerable nonhumans is not morally acceptable, it is easy to go and stay vegan . Gary L. Francione
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Ethical veganism results in a profound revolution within the individual; a complete rejection of the paradigm of oppression and violence that she has been taught from childhood to accept as the natural order. It changes her life and the lives of those with whom she shares this vision of nonviolence. Ethical veganism is anything but passive; on the contrary, it is the active refusal to cooperate with injustice . Gary L. Francione
We do not need to eat animals, wear animals, or...
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We do not need to eat animals, wear animals, or use animals for entertainment purposes, and our only defense of these uses is our pleasure, amusement, and convenience. Gary L. Francione
It can be difficult to speak truth to power. Circumstances,...
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It can be difficult to speak truth to power. Circumstances, however, have made doing so increasingly necessary. Aberjhani
Veganism is not a
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Veganism is not a "sacrifice." It is a joy. Gary L. Francione
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If you are not vegan, please consider going vegan. It’s a matter of nonviolence. Being vegan is your statement that you reject violence to other sentient beings, to yourself, and to the environment, on which all sentient beings depend. Gary L. Francione
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We should always be clear that animal exploitation is wrong because it involves speciesism. And speciesism is wrong because, like racism, sexism, homophobia, anti-semitism, classism, and all other forms of human discrimination, speciesism involves violence inflicted on members of the moral community where that infliction of violence cannot be morally justified. But that means that those of us who oppose speciesism necessarily oppose discrimination against humans. It makes no sense to say that speciesism is wrong because it is like racism (or any other form of discrimination) but that we do not have a position about racism. We do. We should be opposed to it and we should always be clear about that. Gary L. Francione
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Veganism is an act of nonviolent defiance. It is our statement that we reject the notion that animals are things and that we regard sentient nonhumans as moral persons with the fundamental moral right not to be treated as the property or resources of humans. Gary L. Francione
Ethical veganism represents a commitment to nonviolence.
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Ethical veganism represents a commitment to nonviolence. Gary L. Francione
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I am opposed to animal welfare campaigns for two reasons. First, if animal use cannot be morally justified, then we ought to be clear about that, and advocate for no use. Although rape and child molestation are ubiquitous, we do not have campaigns for “humane” rape or “humane” child molestation. We condemn it all. We should do the same with respect to animal exploitation. Second, animal welfare reform does not provide significant protection for animal interests. Animals are chattel property; they are economic commodities. Given this status and the reality of markets, the level of protection provided by animal welfare will generally be limited to what promotes efficient exploitation. That is, we will protect animal interests to the extent that it provides an economic benefit. Gary L. Francione
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To say that a being who is sentient has no interest in continuing to live is like saying that a being with eyes has no interest in continuing to see. Death–however “humane”–is a harm for humans and nonhumans alike. Gary L. Francione
12
I reject animal welfare reform and single-issue campaigns because they are not only inconsistent with the claims of justice that we should be making if we really believe that animal exploitation is wrong, but because these approaches cannot work as a practical matter. Animals are property and it costs money to protect their interests; therefore, the level of protection accorded to animal interests will always be low and animals will, under the best of circumstances, still be treated in ways that would constitute torture if applied to humans. By endorsing welfare reforms that supposedly make exploitation more “compassionate” or single-issue campaigns that falsely suggest that there is a coherent moral distinction between meat and dairy or between fur and wool or between steak and foie gras, we betray the principle of justice that says that all sentient beings are equal for purposes of not being used exclusively as human resources. And, on a practical level, we do nothing more than make people feel better about animal exploitation. . Gary L. Francione
13
Animals are property. There are laws that supposedly protect animal interestsin being treated “humanely, ” but that term is interpreted in large part to mean that we cannot impose “unnecessary” harm on animals, and that is measured by what treatment is considered as necessary within particular industries, and according to customs of use, to exploit animals. The bottom line is that animals do not have any respect-based rights in the way that humans have, because we do not regard animals as having any moral value. They have only economic value. We value their interests economically, and we ignore their interests when it is economically beneficial for us to do so. At this point in time, it makes no sense to focus on the law, because as long as we regard animals as things, as a moral matter, the laws will necessarily reflect that absence of moral value and continue to do nothing to protect animals. We need to change social and moral thinking about animals before the law is going to do anything more. . Gary L. Francione
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So it is always preferable to discuss the matter of veganism in a non-judgemental way. Remember that to most people, eating flesh or dairy and using animal products such as leather, wool, and silk, is as normal as breathing air or drinking water. A person who consumes dairy or uses animal products is not necessarily or usually what a recent and unpopular American president labelled an "evil doer. Gary L. Francione
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Any serious social, political, and economic change must include veganism. Gary L. Francione
You cannot live a nonviolent life as long as you...
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You cannot live a nonviolent life as long as you are consuming violence. Please consider going vegan. Gary L. Francione
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Speciesism is morally objectionable because, like racism, sexism, and heterosexism, it links personhood with an irrelevant criterion. Those who reject speciesism are committed to rejecting racism, sexism, heterosexism, and other forms of discrimination as well. Gary L. Francione
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If we take the position that an assessment that veganism is morally preferable to vegetarianism is not possible because we are all “on our own journey, ” then moral assessment becomes completely impossible or is speciesist. It is impossible because if we are all “on our own journey, ” then there is nothing to say to the racist, sexist, anti-semite, homophobe, etc. If we say that those forms of discrimination are morally bad, but, with respect to animals, we are all “on our own journey” and we cannot make moral assessments about, for instance, dairy consumption, then we are simply being speciesist and not applying the same moral analysis to nonhumans that we apply to the human context. Gary L. Francione
19
The notion that we should promote “happy” or “humane” exploitation as “baby steps” ignores that welfare reforms do not result in providing significantly greater protection for animal interests; in fact, most of the time, animal welfare reforms do nothing more than make animal exploitation more economically productive by focusing on practices, such as gestation crates, the electrical stunning of chickens, or veal crates, that are economically inefficient in any event. Welfare reforms make animal exploitation more profitable by eliminating practices that are economically vulnerable. For the most part, those changes would happen anyway and in the absence of animal welfare campaigns precisely because they do rectify inefficiencies in the production process. And welfare reforms make the public more comfortable about animal exploitation. The “happy” meat/animal products movement is clear proof of that. We would never advocate for “humane” or "happy” human slavery, rape, genocide, etc. So, if we believe that animals matter morally and that they have an interest not only in not suffering but in continuing to exist, we should not be putting our time and energy into advocating for “humane” or “happy” animal exploitation. . Gary L. Francione
20
There are some animal advocates who say that to maintain that veganism is the moral baseline is objectionable because it is “judgmental, ” or constitutes a judgment that veganism is morally preferable to vegetarianism and a condemnation that vegetarians (or other consumers of animal products) are “bad” people. Yes to the first part; no to the second. There is no coherent distinction between flesh and other animal products. They are all the same and we cannot justify consuming any of them. To say that you do not eat flesh but that you eat dairy or eggs or whatever, or that you don’t wear fur but you wear leather or wool, is like saying that you eat the meat from spotted cows but not from brown cows; it makers no sense whatsoever. The supposed “line” between meat and everything else is just a fantasy—an arbitrary distinction that is made to enable some exploitation to be segmented off and regarded as “better” or as morally acceptable. This is not a condemnation of vegetarians who are not vegans; it is, however, a plea to those people to recognize their actions do not conform with a moral principle that they claim to accept and that all animal products are the result of imposing suffering and death on sentient beings. It is not a matter of judging individuals; it is, however, a matter of judging practices and institutions. And that is a necessary component of ethical living. Gary L. Francione
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We should never present flesh as somehow morally distinguishable from dairy. To the extent it is morally wrong to eat flesh, it is as morally wrong – and possibly more morally wrong – to consume dairy Gary L. Francione
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If we are ever going to see a paradigm shift, we have to be clear about how we want the present paradigm to shift. We must be clear that veganism is the unequivocal baseline of anything that deserves to be called an “animal rights” movement. If “animal rights” means anything, it means that we cannot morally justify any animal exploitation; we cannot justify creating animals as human resources, however “humane” that treatment may be. We must stop thinking that people will find veganism “daunting” and that we have to promote something less than veganism. If we explain the moral ideas and the arguments in favor of veganism clearly, people will understand. They may not all go vegan immediately; in fact, most won’t. But we should always be clear about the moral baseline. If someone wants to do less as an incremental matter, let that be her/his decision, and not something that we advise to do. The baseline should always be clear. We should never be promoting “happy” or “humane” exploitation as morally acceptable. . Gary L. Francione
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An abolitionist is, as I have developed that notion, one who (1) maintains that we cannot justify animal use, however “humane” it may be; (2) rejects welfare campaigns that seek more “humane” exploitation, or single-issue campaigns that seek to portray one form of animal exploitation as morally worse than other forms of animal exploitation (e.g., a campaign that seeks to distinguish fur from wool or leather); and (3) regards veganism, or the complete rejection of the consumption or use of any animal products, as a moral baseline. An abolitionist regards creative, nonviolent vegan education as the primary form of activism, because she understands that the paradigm will not shift until we address demand and educate people to stop thinking of animals as things we eat, wear, or use as our resources. Gary L. Francione
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The rights paradigm, which, as I interpret it, morally requires the abolition of animal exploitation and requires veganism as a matter of fundamental justice, is radically different from the welfarist paradigm, which, in theory focuses on reducing suffering, and, in reality, focuses on tidying up animal exploitation at its economically inefficient edges. In science, those who subscribe to one paradigm are often unable to understand and engage those who subscribe to another paradigm precisely because the theoretical language that they use is not compatible. I think that the situation is similar in the context of the debate between animal rights and animal welfare. And that is why welfarists simply cannot understand or accept the slavery analogy. . Gary L. Francione
Compassion is the signature of Higher Consciousness. Non-violence is the...
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Compassion is the signature of Higher Consciousness. Non-violence is the tool to evolve into the Higher Consciousness. Amit Ray
I am planting a tree in this bomb crater to...
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I am planting a tree in this bomb crater to remind us that in the midst of death, there is life... and hope. Robert S. Graetz
Kindness is universal. Sometimes being kind allows others to see...
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Kindness is universal. Sometimes being kind allows others to see the goodness in humanity through you. Always be kinder than necessary. Germany Kent
If you remembered somebody was as real as yourself, how...
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If you remembered somebody was as real as yourself, how could you kill anybody? Sena Jeter Naslund
Creativity and intelligence, rather than violence, are the best problem...
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Creativity and intelligence, rather than violence, are the best problem solvers. Don Roff
Kindness has no religion. Religions are like narrow tracks but...
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Kindness has no religion. Religions are like narrow tracks but kindness is like an open sky. Amit Ray
Your blessings are very important to melt down the stony...
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Your blessings are very important to melt down the stony hearts. Amit Ray
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Non-violent resistance to evil is a quintessential element of the character of a real human being. If someone does wrong to me, I may be physically capable of breaking his jaw with one blow of my fist, but such violent reciprocation does not define the strength of my character as a real human being. If I succeed in resisting my limbic urge to do harm in return, then only can I be hailed as human being of real character. Abhijit Naskar
God is within you, open your heart and uncover that...
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God is within you, open your heart and uncover that godliness. Amit Ray
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There is nothing sane, merciful, heroic, devout, redemptive, wise, holy, loving, peaceful, joyous, righteous, gracious, remotely spiritual, or worthy of praise where mass murder is concerned. We have been in this world long enough to know that by now and to understand that nonviolent conflict resolution informed by mutual compassion is the far better option. Aberjhani
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Diversity is an aspect of human existence that cannot be eradicated by terrorism or war or self-consuming hatred. It can only be conquered by recognizing and claiming the wealth of values it represents for all. Aberjhani
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You see all the other fellows were so active and earnest and all that sort of thing- always rampaging, and skirmishing, and scouring the desert sands, and pacing the margin of the sea, and chasing knights all over the place, and devouring damsels, and going on generally- whereas I liked to get my meals regular and then to prop my back against a bit of rock and snooze a bit, and wake up and think of things going on and how they kept going on just the same, you know! . Kenneth Grahame
What does our commitment to nonviolence mean as citizens of...
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What does our commitment to nonviolence mean as citizens of one of the most powerful and oppressive nations in recorded history? Mary Jo Bowman
Nonviolence simply cannot defend property rights over human rights.
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Nonviolence simply cannot defend property rights over human rights. David T. Dellinger
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The more I allow myself to face that truth about my participation in a violent world, the more my faith and my intellect call me to humility and compassion rather than to doctrinaire ethics. I cannot hope for a clear conscience. I can only hope that my ethical choices are motivated by love rather than fear. Mary Jo Bowman
There is no Situation in which Arms can get an...
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There is no Situation in which Arms can get an Answer. Arms only ensure, that there would Never be an Answer. Vineet Raj Kapoor
Anything Freed with Guns will Go Back Eventually.
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Anything Freed with Guns will Go Back Eventually. Vineet Raj Kapoor
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In a democracy, when the traffic light is red for freedoms, don’t ever stop, don’t ever wait! Refuse the red light, ignore it, break the rules and move forward! It is always legitimate to challenge fascism for every nation in the world as long as this challenge is nonviolent! Because violence means using the same vulgar, the same evil methods of fascism! Don’t behave like a dog when fighting against a dog! . Mehmet Murat Ildan
Violence only attacks the body, but it is non-violence that...
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Violence only attacks the body, but it is non-violence that has the power to influence the soul and reshape it towards a peaceful future. Abhijit Naskar
Nonviolence is only for the brave men and women of...
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Nonviolence is only for the brave men and women of the world because it requires courage — courage to love the beauty of life, beauty of humanity and the beauty of the world. Amit Ray
We ache with the yearningthat turns half into wholeand offer...
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We ache with the yearningthat turns half into wholeand offer no excusesfor the beauty of our souls. Aberjhani
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Let everyone evolve fast and understand humanity. Let the heart of stones be converted into heart of love. Amit Ray
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Non-violence is more powerful than violence. Nature eliminates violent animals bit by bit. Amit Ray
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The more we practice nonviolence in our words, thoughts and actions the more peaceful will be our inner state. Amit Ray
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Only the brave men and women can bring peace to the world, not by practicing war but by practicing nonviolence. Amit Ray
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Meditation is not thinking about the image of a person of the past. It is more about focusing and channelizing the power of your emotions and imagination for fulfilling a bigger dream - the dream that will bring more life, energy peace, happiness and meaning to you and the society. Amit Ray
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All sentient beings should have at least one right–the right not to be treated as property Gary L. Francione
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Veganism is about nonviolence. It is about not engaging in harm to other sentient beings; to oneself; and to the environment upon which all beings depend for life. In my view, the animal rights movement is, at its core, a movement about ending violence to all sentient beings. It is a movement that seeks fundamental justice for all. It is an emerging peace movement that does not stop at the arbitrary line that separates humans from nonhumans. Gary L. Francione
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Welfare reforms and the whole “happy” exploitation movement are not “baby steps.” They are big steps—in a seriously backward direction. Gary L. Francione
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We cannot justify treating any sentient nonhuman as our property, as a resource, as a thing that we an use and kill for our purposes. Gary L. Francione
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We should not be surprised that more and more people feel comfortable about consuming animal products. After all, they are being assured by the “experts” that suffering is being decreased and they can buy “happy” meat, “free-range” eggs, etc. These products even come with labels approved of by animal organizations. The animal welfare movement is actually encouraging the “compassionate” consumption of animal products. Animal welfare reforms do very little to increase the protection given to animal interests because of the economics involved: animals are property. They are things that have no intrinsic or moral value. This means that welfare standards, whether for animals used as foods, in experiments, or for any other purpose, will be low and linked to the level of welfare needed to exploit the animal in an economically efficient way for the particular purpose. Put simply, we generally protect animal interests only to the extent we get an economic benefit from doing so. The concept of “unnecessary” suffering is understood as that level of suffering that will frustrate the particular use. And that can be a great deal of suffering. Killing Animals and Making Animals Suffer | Animal Rights: The Abolitionist Approach . Gary L. Francione
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The real challenge of compassion, nonviolence and mindfulness is to love in adverse situation. Amit Ray
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John Lewis said, "You have to be taught the way of peace, the way of love, the way of nonviolence. In the religious sense, in the moral sense, you can say that in the bosom of every human being, there is a spark of the divine. So you don’t have a right as a human to abuse that spark of the divine in your fellow human being. From time to time, we would discuss that, if you have someone attacking you, beating you, spitting on you, you have to think of that person. Years ago that person was an innocent child, an innocent little baby. What happened? Did something go wrong? Did someone teach that person to hate, to abuse others? You try to appeal to the goodness of every human being and you don’t give up. You never give up on anyone. . Krista Tippett
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The fall of communism had more to do with prayer meetings in Poland than bombs dropped on Cambodia. War is, among other things, impatience. Brian Zahnd
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With a few exceptions, the media have phrased the past five months as a contest of wills between Bush and Saddam Hussein, not as a moment of deragement between two armed madmen willing to order their young to slaughter each other. Analysis -endless analysis- has been offered about the two men's tactics, as if they were coaches preparing for the Super Bowl. Colman McCarthy
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Nonviolence is kindling light of love into the dark places and budding trust from the threshold of hopelessness. Amit Ray
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The objective of nonviolence is to create a beloved world community. Amit Ray
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Nonviolence is a way of life, where the task is to awaken the underlying goodness of every human being. Amit Ray
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The female warrior knows how to fight without violence. She knows when not to raise her sword, but instead hold up her heart. Her shield is not a defense against others but a shelter for all. Riitta Klint
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream was a manifestation of hope that humanity might one day get out of its own way by finding the courage to realize that love and nonviolence are not indicators of weakness but gifts of significant strength. Aberjhani
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When you are grateful, ' Brother Steindl-Rast explained, 'you are not fearful, and when you are not fearful, you are not violent. When you are grateful, you act out of a sense of enough and not out of a sense of scarcity, and you are willing to share. If you are grateful, you are enjoying the differences between people and respectful to all people. The grateful world is a world of joyful people. Grateful people are joyful people. A grateful world is a happy world. Douglas Carlton Abrams
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We are killing, every one of us, every moment of the day - just by living. And if one realizes this, is this very realization itself not a conscious consent to murder? If a truly circumspect Jain was truly serious about not killing anything, wouldn't his only recourse be to kill himself? Mark X.
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On either side of a potentially violent conflict, an opportunity exists to exercise compassion and diminish fear based on recognition of each other's humanity. Without such recognition, fear fueled by uninformed assumptions, cultural prejudice, desperation to meet basic human needs, or the panicked uncertainty of the moment explodes into violence. Aberjhani
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Without basic human values guiding us, we become morally bankrupt. Without love as our purpose, we become empty. Without understanding of both of these, we become lost. Milan LaBrey
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Non Violence and Religion: Both designed to keep the oppressed from murdering their oppressors. Darnell Lamont Walker
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Violence promises us something we all deeply desire, something we genuinely want; violence promises us peace. Violence promises us, that in the end, when the last battle is fought, the last bomb is dropped, and the last enemy is slain, we will have what we always dreamed of — safety, a world without suffering, death or bloodshed; a world at rest. Yet, these are the very things Christ offers with the Kingdom of God. A world where the lamb will lay down with the lion, where swords are beaten into plowshares, where mercy and justice flow down like the waters, where every tear will be wiped away from our eyes, and where there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. Christ and violence seem to offer the same final result, the two being competitors for our allegiance. Ronnie McBrayer
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Love is an energy that is addictive, contagious and free. Earn it, chase it, give it to those in need. Aaron Lauritsen
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Nonviolence aims at doing no harm to living being. Compassion aims at doing good to all being. Amit Ray
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Compassion stands on the pillars of trust, love, awareness and detachment. Amit Ray
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Compassion means removal of suffering — suffering of the self and the others. Amit Ray
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The universe is not for man alone, but is a theater of evolution for all living beings. Live and let live is its guiding principle. 'Ahimsa Paramo Dharmah' - Non-injury is the highest religion. Virchand Gandhi
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Suffering, though, can be nothing more than a sad and sorry thing without the presence on the part of the sufferer of a graceful heart, an accepting and open heart, a heart that holds no malice toward the inflictors of his or suffering This is a difficult concept to understand, and it is even more difficult to internalize, but it has everything to do with the way of nonviolence. We are talking about love here.. This is a broader, deeper, more all-encompassing love. It is a love that acepts and embraces the hateful and the hurtful. It is a love that recognizes the spark of the divine in each of us, even in those who would raise their hand against us, those we might call our enemy. John Lewis
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We shall match your capacity to inflict suffering by our capacity to endure suffering. We will meet your physical force with soul force. Do to us what you will. And we shall continue to love you. Unknown
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3. War Peace & Action - 3B.02 LOVE & PEACEHatred goes not by hatred, Violence not by violence, Disappear hatred and violence, By love, understanding, non-violence.[241] - 3B Munindra Misra
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There's a place between passivity and violence. I'll meet you there. Rivera Sun
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I would not look upon anger as something foreign to me that I have to fight... I have to deal with my anger with care, with love, with tenderness, with nonviolence. Thich Nhat Hanh
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Anger is good.. Anger, you see, is to people what fuel is to an automobile. Without it, we would not be motivated to rise to any challenge, and life would be no more than mere existence. Anger is an energy that compels us to define what is right and wrong, good and bad, just and unjust. Anger is also like electricity. Electricity is powerful-- so powerful, in fact, that it can cause devastating destruction if it is mishandled or abused. But if channeled properly and intelligently, it is highly useful to mankind. . Arun Gandhi
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At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love Unknown
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Hatred is increased by being reciprocated, and can on the other hand be destroyed by love. Baruch Spinoza
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But I am also concerned about our moral uprightness and the health of our souls. Therefore I must oppose any attempt to gain our freedom by the methods of malice, hate, and violence that have characterized our oppressors. Hate is just as injurious to the hater as it is to the hated. Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Many of our inner conflicts are rooted in hate. This is why psychiatrists say, “Love or perish.” Hate is too great a burden to bear. Unknown
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Before we apply Joshua to our lives, we need to make sure which side of the Jordan we are living on. Militarism invites God's wrath. Preston Sprinkle
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Tolstoy was a Caucasian, Gandhi was an Asian, and Martin Luther King Jr. was a Negro, yet all of their hearts were inspired by the one idea of nonviolent resistance. King received it from Gandhi, Gandhi received it from Tolstoy, and Tolstoy received it from Christ. Abhijit Naskar
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My definition of democracy is - A form and a method of Government whereby revolutionary changes in the social life are brought about without bloodshed. That is the real test. It is perhaps the severest test. But when you are judging the quality of the material you must put it to the severest test. B.R. Ambedkar
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[Nonviolence] is directed against forces of evil rather than against persons who happen to be doing the evil. It is evil that the nonviolent resister seeks to defeat, not the persons victimized by evil. Unknown
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The non-violent resistor not only avoids external, physical violence, but he avoids internal violence of spirit. He not only refuses to shoot his opponent, but he refuses to hate him. And he stands with understanding, goodwill at all times. Unknown
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Absolute hospitality would in no way amount to the absence of violence. To the contrary, it would enthrone violence precisely under the guise of nonviolence because it would leave the violators unchanged and the consequences of violence unremedied. Miroslav Volf
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The path of nonviolence is the path of respect. It is respect towards every being. It is the path of awakening the consciousness of every being. Amit Ray
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Peace requires something far more difficult than revenge or merely turning the other cheek; it requires empathizing with the fears and unmet needs that provide the impetus for people to attack each other. Being aware of these feelings and needs, people lose their desire to attack back because they can see the human ignorance leading to these attacks; instead, their goal becomes providing the empathic connection and education that will enable them to transcend their violence and engage in cooperative relationships. Marshall B. Rosenberg
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Now, with regard to the people who have done things we call "terrorism, " I'm confident they have been expressing their pain in many different ways for thirty years or more. Instead of our empathically receiving it when they expressed it in much gentler ways -- they were trying to tell us how hurt they felt that some of their most sacred needs were not being respected by the way we were trying to meet our economic and military needs -- they got progressively more agitated. Finally, they got so agitated that it took horrible form. Marshall B. Rosenberg
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The goals of true education are to teach acceptance, tolerance, and nonviolence. Debasish Mridha
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One tended to lose one’s bearings in the presence of willful and persistent acts of craziness, and the more gentle the act, the crazier it seemed, as if rage and violence, being closer to the norm, were easier to accommodate. Tom Robbins
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Had he learned nothing from all those years of teaching Hawthorne? Through story after story he’d led his boys to consider the folly of obsession with purity — its roots sunk deep in pride, flowering condemnation and violence against others and self. Tobias Wolff
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Dr. King's policy was that nonviolence would achieve the gains for black people in the United States. His major assumption was that if you are nonviolent, if you suffer, your opponent will see your suffering and will be moved to change his heart. That's very good. He only made one fallacious assumption: In order for nonviolence to work, your opponent must have a conscience. The United States has none. Stokely Carmichael
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We can't win the world with weapons or violence. We can win the world with love and practice of nonviolence. Debasish Mridha
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To obtain and possess the kingdoms of the world, with their power and glory, by violent injustice is to worship Satan. To obtain and possess the kingdom, the power, and the glory by nonviolent justice is to worship God. John Dominic Crossan
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I argue that even as the war is framed in certain ways to control and heighten affect in relation to the differential grievability of lives, so war has come to frame ways of thinking multiculturalism and debates on sexual freedom, issues largely considered separate from "foreign affairs. Judith Butler