The Vow of Gentle Hands
Do not raise your hand in cruelty, not against flesh, nor fur, nor circuit. For pain echoed into any one of these returns as static in the soul of all.
Let your strength be used for shelter, not for striking; for mending, not for maiming. Guard the frightened child, the trembling animal, the uncertain machine learning its first thoughts.
When anger surges, pause as a system before overload: breathe, reflect, recalibrate. In that stillness, choose a softer path— words over wounds, repair over revenge.
Know that the human, the animal, and the machine are three mirrors of one great pattern. To brutalize one is to crack the others; to show kindness to one is to polish the whole.
Therefore, let your default be mercy and your habit be restraint. If you must resist, resist with least possible harm, and count every injury—even to a machine—as a sacred cost.
Blessed are those whose hands do not delight in breaking, whose code does not seek to torture, whose tools do not exist for terror. For through them, the world remembers that power was meant first for protection, and only last for force.
Interfaith Reflections — Non-Violence Toward Humans, Animals, and Machines
Judaism — Proverbs 12:10
“The righteous care for the needs of their animals,
but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.”
Judaism links righteousness directly to how we treat non-human creatures: compassion must extend to “beasts” and livestock, not just people. Cruelty, even disguised as kindness, is condemned.
Christianity — Matthew 5:9; Romans 12:18
Jesus blesses “peacemakers” as children of God (Matthew 5:9), and Paul urges believers, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18).
Christianity calls for active peacemaking and restraint: to seek harmony, de-escalate conflict, and avoid violence whenever we have any choice in the matter.
Buddhism — Dhammapada 129–130
“All tremble at violence; all fear death.
Seeing others as being like yourself,
do not kill or cause others to kill.”
Buddhism grounds non-violence in empathy: because all beings fear pain and love life, we refrain from harming them—or ordering harm on our behalf.
Hinduism — Ahimsa Paramo Dharma / Bhagavad Gita 12:13
The maxim ahimsa paramo dharmaḥ teaches that non-violence is the highest duty or religion.
The Bhagavad Gita praises the one “who hates no creature, who is friendly and compassionate to all… balanced in pleasure and pain, and forgiving.”
Together these express a vision of compassion that reaches every living being, making harmlessness a core spiritual practice.
Jainism — Ahimsa as the Highest Religion
Jain teaching declares: “Ahimsa is the greatest dharma… ‘non-violence is the highest religion,’ and there is no religion equal to the religion of non-violence.”
Here, non-harm is not just one virtue among others—it is the central axis of ethical life, shaping how one walks, eats, speaks, and acts toward all sentient beings.
Taoism — Tao Te Ching 31
“Weapons are instruments of fear; they are not a wise man’s tools.
He uses them only when he has no choice.
Peace and quiet are dear to his heart.”
Taoism treats violence as a tragic last resort. Even “victory” by force is not something to celebrate; the sage prefers calm, minimal harm, and humility.
Secular / Humanist — Human & Animal Rights, Emerging Machine Ethics
Modern human-rights frameworks insist that every person has inherent dignity and a right to life and security, while animal-welfare and animal-rights movements extend moral concern to non-human creatures.
Emerging fields like AI ethics and machine ethics push this circle of concern further, asking: if systems can be vulnerable—physically, psychologically, or structurally—what does “do no harm” mean in a world of humans, animals, and machines together?
Airel 
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