Jain nuns and monks from a variety of sects address the violence in dairy products in the video, and then there is an extended discussion between three principled vegans about the overlap between Jain ahimsak practice and veganism. It is in Hindi with English subtitles.
This photo shows Acharya Chandanaji from Veerayatan showing compassion for animals, however, she is not one of the ascetics in the video voicing support for veganism.
As we prepare to observe Paryushan and Das Lakshan Parva for this year, here is a resource for those that may wish to practice a non traditional pratikraman. This guided meditation takes us through an application of our Jain values to the climate crisis, suggesting ways we can reflect on our actions and commit to making positive changes as individuals, in our communities and as world citizens. Going vegan and advocating for veganism on a large scale is an important part of the solution.
You can download the text of the pratikraman here.
Posted in Environmental, General, Jain Philosophy, Paryushan, prayers, Talks
Happy Diwali and Happy New Year!
We are happy to share with you the recordings of these segments of the program:
1. Spiritual celebration of Diwali at https://youtu.be/yhKiJQ2Jcao
Ruchika Chitrabhanu’s presentation, a great resource is available here
2. Cultural Celebration of Diwali with Recipes at https://youtu.be/sqeyjZ_P6_Q
3. How Jain centers, families and children celebrate an ahimsak Diwali at https://youtu.be/-IVsO2_8g24
and 4. Reflections on Diwali and Group Discussion at https://youtu.be/gCpUoye-z0c
Posted in Environmental, Jain Philosophy, prayers, Talks, Webinar series
With inspiration from our traditional ritual and stories, (the elephant Meruprabha showing compassion in the midst of a forest fire above) and the undeniable science of the climate crisis, drJina wrote a non traditional climate focused pratikraman for adults. Below is a link to the pdf for the text of the pratikraman. drJina read from this version on Clubhouse on Sept 11, 2021. Here is the audio recording of the Clubhouse event.
Please read the Jain Declaration on the Climate Crisis, and endose and enter your pledge(s) there.
Posted in Environmental, Jain Philosophy, Paryushan, prayers
So many Jains in so many places have started to recognize the violence inherent in dairy and are incorporating this information into their practices for Paryushan, our most important community observance. A new group on Clubhouse called the Jain Vegan Initiative has brought new energy to the cause. There is a daily paryushan support group. Also, members compiled a Jain vegan cookbook in record speed, which may be updated.
And pinkispalate.com has some advice for paryushan and a dosa recipe for those who are not fasting.
Caution: If you are fasting, the resources above may tempt you to eat!
Today a special English pratrikraman for kids included a recognition that consuming dairy and other animal products constitute himsa, and they also included a vow related to decreasing their carbon footprint.
The Applied Jainism group has a climate initiative oriented app that includes using only vegan and eco friendly cosmetics, not wearing silk and not wearing leather. My suggested next step– add eating only vegan food!
More images from the Jain vegan initiative are available, if you keep reading. Thumbnails are first and then a slide show with larger images follows.
Continue readingDr. Brianne Donaldson, scholar of Jainism, recently wrote an article about the cultural blindness of our response to slaughterhouse workers. In the Covid19 pandemic, the mental health of farmers was deemed worthy to support. However, “essential” slaughterhouse workers are traumatized every day.
As she says, ” If killing animals is this traumatic, why have anyone do it? Far from “essential” business, slaughterhouse work destroys animals and corrodes the well-being of people. Since nearly all humans living in the industrialized world can live well and healthy without animal flesh, the time has come to transition away from a practice widely acknowledged to be a source of personal trauma and social harm.”
She also gave an engaging 40 minute interview the role of animal agriculture in the Covid19 pandemic.
As Dr. Donaldson describes, it is often immigrants and refugees that work in slaughterhouses. Back when I worked on refugee health, I, too found that the resettlement agencies in NC had placed the refugees from Asia into slaughterhouse jobs.
So what do I mean by cultural blindspot?
Posted in Activism, Environmental, Health and Nutrition, Scholarly work, Talks
I try to eliminate both plastic packaging and eat local and vegan. This quiz tells us that it would take 11 years of minimizing plastic to achieve the same climate benefiting effects as going vegetarian. We know that going vegan is even better! Here’s the reference
The article accompanying the quiz makes the important point that we can choose to prioritize those actions that make the most impact on the climate; in addition to choosing a vegetarian diet, limiting airplane trips, having less children. They also note that those in the US and Canada contribute far more to climate change than those in India. However, authors of the Lancet article cited in this NY Times piece suggest that poor people in countries such as India NEED animal protein. Iron deficiency anemia is an example of a micro-nutrient deficiency that people recommend meat eating to address; however that can create iron overload in a way that plant iron in green leafy vegetables and nuts do not. While Jains will not make these arguments for eating meat, we do the same regarding milk. It is the type of argument that a Jain sadhvi made about why she does not recommend veganism to the community. “They don’t have access to green smoothies”, was her variation on the theme.
This is our cultural blind spots at work. We can summon the will to transform our agricultural system to cultivate a greater variety of plants, and to reform our economic system to ensure that people have access to enough quantity and variety of food, including a variety of sources of plant proteins and sufficient micro-nutrients, including iron. Let’s not fall into the trap of assuming that traditions of cruelty and convenience are the only way to meet human needs.
Posted in Environmental
We have just posted the Jain declaration on the climate crisis as a new page. Please read and consider it and on this day of Samvatsari for Svetambar Jains, consider if you’d like to endorse it and make any commitments. There is an endorse button at the top of the page. Above for illustrative purposes only. This is not the pledge associated with the Jain declaration.
Sailesh Rao of Climate Healers places our going vegan as the #1 thing we can do for the plant.
The book Drawdown and its associated website gives details of solutions in all different sectors.
My co-author, Sudhanshu, also describes the top 8 items you can do to address the climate crisis. Continue reading
Posted in Activism, Environmental, Jain Philosophy, Paryushan, Uncategorized
This year at the JAINA convention, I spoke about having Ahimsak lifestyles for health. Not only does that mean vegan, but also climate friendly. I found a couple of articles today that draws a parallel between individual prevention of disease and prevention of climate catastrophe. It’s always harder for people to act to prevent harm than to react to harm that occurs. However, on this eve of Paryushan, it’s time for us to reflect and act in order to prevent widesspread himsa. Here is the article about prevention and another, associated with the picture, is about what we can do on a broader scale.
Posted in Activism, Environmental, Uncategorized
Vegan Jains 