Non-Violence.

• Author: Ouellette, Ron

Gandhi said, "No man has ever been able to describe God fully. The same is true of ahimsa (non-violence)." The first level of non-violence is non-violence as one of our natural states of existence. Each one of us is non-violent most of the time. Even the worst of us are non-violent some of the time. From this recognition that we all are naturally non-violent, that it is not something alien to us, we can build toward the next two levels.

The next level is when we make a conscious commitment not to be violent. Non-violence at this level is resisting the urge to respond to violence with violence. It is to this level that most of our religions guide us. "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye,' and, 'A tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you not to resist the evildoer; on the contrary, if someone strike thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also..." Matthew 5:38-39. The first precept in Buddhism is against harming any living being. Most of the major religions have teachings that advocate peace and non-violence.

The highest level of non-violence is that which was advocated by Mahatma Gandhi. At this level the practitioner not only resists the use of violence, but also directly confronts violence, injustice, and oppression with non-violent resistance. There were many instances of Jesus confronting the injustices of his day; in the end he actively confronted the temple priests and accepted death for this action. But the Mahatma brought the world convincing proof of the power of non-violence; the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez, Nelson Mandela, and others have confirmed this power. It should be noted that Gandhi was influenced by Tolstoy, who was in turn influenced by Henry David Thoreau's essay on Civil Disobedience, so when MLK brought Gandhi's teachings to the United States he was completing a circle.

Within these levels of non-violence are variations of focus and depth. Are we non-violent to humans alone or do we include all beings in our practice? Are we only against war, believing that violence used in self-defense or to protect our property is acceptable? These are questions that each of us must answer for ourselves. As Gandhi said, which is certainly true for me also, "The more I practice it the clearer I see how far I am from the full expression of ahimsa

in my life."

So how do we make the transition from our natural non-violence to a commitment to practice non-violence? We get a clue from Thomas Merton; "The...