drJina was accepted to give a presentation and facilitate a discussion with attendees of Vegan Summerfest in Johnstown PA to discuss motivations for veganism, including Jain ethics and health,.
The first section was about Jain values supporting veganism.
Here is a more detailed descriptions of the Jain classification of living beings, from one sensed to five sensed beings.
The next session continued an exploration of the Jain values to lead to questions for discussion.
Here are the questions:
•Has anything we’ve discussed about Jain principles resonated with you?
•How does it resonate, with your personal morality, with your faith?
•Would you expect Jains to be vegan based on their principles? Would you expect your faith community, (if applicable) to be vegan based on your principles?
From the ethical considersations, the discussion then moves into the actual practice of vegetarianism and veganism in the community, with North American Jain data based on a survey done by the Long Range Planning Commitee of the Federation of Jain Associations of North America (JAINA).
After this session, participants also had an opportunity to discuss the following questions:
•Based on what we’ve covered, what are the best ways to move the Jain community towards veganism?
• How about other communities, such as your neighborhood, your faith community?
•What frustrations have you faced and how do you overcome them?
Finally in the last section we discussed how certain loving states of mind kind help us maintain our balance and equanimity in our practice and advocacy.
Vegan Jains 