HOW SIMILARITIES IN TERMINOLOGY CONCEAL FUNDAMENTAL DIFFERENCE
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No doubt he leaves it to every individual to decide whether the need to kill is there. But with whom else could it be left. Man has Pradnya and he must use it.
A moral man may be trusted to draw the line at the right point.
Brahminism has in it the will to kill.
Jainism has in it the will never to kill.
The Buddha’s Ahimsa is quite in keeping with his middle path.
To put it differently the Buddha made a distinction between Principle and Rule. He did not make Ahimsa a matter of Rule. He enunciated it as a matter of Principle or way of life.
In this he no doubt acted very wisely.
A principle leaves you freedom to act. A rule does not. Rule either breaks you or you break the rule.
IV