Ahimsa

n. Hindu and Buddhist philosophy and principle of nonviolence and revering all living creatures and refraining from harming any living thing

Ahimsa (Devanagari: ; IAST ) is a Sanskrit term meaning non-violence (literally: the avoidance of violence - himsa). It is an important tenet of the religions that originated in ancient India (Hinduism, Buddhism, and especially Jainism). Ahimsa is a rule of conduct that bars the killing or injuring of living beings. It is closely connected with the notion that all kinds of violence entail negative karmic consequences. The extent to which the principle of non-violence can or should be applied to different life forms is controversial between various authorities, movements and currents within the three religions, and has been a matter of debate for thousands of years.
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Noun
1. a Buddhist and Hindu and especially Jainist doctrine holding that all forms of life are sacred and urging the avoidance of violence
(hypernym) religious doctrine, church doctrine, gospel, creed
(classification) Buddhism

Ahimsa (Sanskrit) [from a not + the verbal root hims to injure, kill, destroy] Harmlessness; one of the cardinal virtues. The sanctity of life is imbodied in the teachings of the Buddhists and Jains, as well as of many Hindu schools. Asoka, the first Buddhist emperor, particularly espoused ahimsa as part of the practice of dharma. According to Manu (4:148), one may acquire the faculty of "remembering former births" by the observance of ahimsa.
In the Vamana-Purana, ahimsa is personified as the wife of Dharma, whose offspring, Nara and Narayana (epithets of Arjuna and Krishna respectively), pointed the way to spiritual enlightenment.

In Sanskrit, literally, "noninjury." It is the principle that a person should do no harm. In Jainism, this restriction includes all living creatures because they all contain a jiva .