Nonviolence : A Reader in the Ethics of Action

NONVIOLENCE as a way of life has a very ancient history Long before the Christians thought about loving the enemy, the Hindus chanted hymns of praise to the spiritual Oneness of all things. These hymns reflect a deep reverence for life which the Hindu tradition defines as ahimsa. Ahimsa is also the ideal for Jainism. Gautama the Buddha, too, developed this intense sense of reverence for all life into a feeling of compassion for human life. In the Far East the tradition of Taoism expressed a similar nonviolent approach to life. Confucius, when asked by one of his students "Is there one word which may serve as a rule of practice for all one's life?" responded "Is not Reciprocity such a word? What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others." The Christian idea of nonviolence is based on the belief in agape, which means a love which is self-giving.

What is "nonviolence"?-a belief?-an attitude?-a tactic?-a strategy? What motivated (and motivates) people to decide in favour of a nonviolent approach to life's dilemmas? What are the various ways of viewing nonviolence?
Is nonviolence possible only when it is motivated by spiritual discipline? Can it be an action based on ethical commitment without faith in nonviolence as Truth as the eternal principle of ahimsa or agape? What techniques would various advocates of nonviolence consider legitimate? How do these techniques relate to a person's commitments to nonviolence?
This basic book of readings is designed to confront you what these and other puzzling questions you face when you choose a course of action which will have consequences not only for yourself but for other persons and perhaps for your society.
The essays in this volume range from historical sources of nonviolence in ancient Texts like Bhagvad-Gita, Crito, and The Sermon on the Mount to the dynamics. and dilemmas of the modern age, and the contemporary global view of Nonviolence.