Ahimsa
The Indian principle of non-violence — the moral discipline of not harming any living being in thought, word, or deed.
Ahimsa, Sanskrit for non-harm or non-violence, is a central ethical principle of the Indian philosophical traditions. It is most rigorously developed in Jainism, where ahimsa requires not only abstention from killing but the active discipline of avoiding harm to any living being — including microscopic organisms — in thought, word, and deed. Jain monks and nuns cultivate elaborate practices to minimize accidental harm, including sweeping the path before walking and filtering water before drinking.
Ahimsa is also central to Buddhist and Hindu ethics, though developed in less stringent form. In the twentieth century, Mohandas Gandhi made ahimsa the core principle of his political philosophy of satyagraha (truth-force), arguing that non-violent resistance is both the only morally legitimate and the most strategically effective form of opposition to injustice. Through Gandhi's influence on Martin Luther King and the American civil rights movement, ahimsa entered global political philosophy as the foundation of modern non-violent direct action.