This volume is one in a series from research conducted at the Harvard University Center over a three year period to address the gap between religious beliefs and ecology.  The fact that they are inextricably related stems from the understanding that Jainism offers in relationship to the practice of nonviolence as it applies to our environment as well as how we treat each other.

An accessible way to understand the beginnings of nonviolent practices within Jainism, Hinduism and Buddhism and its impact on East Asian cultures.  These traditional practices can be applied and extended to meet contemporary problems in the West, is the author's premise, and hold promise for solving some of our most immediate ecological concerns of the time.