#demandingness

¶ Monks take the great vows, I take the small ones: is a graded ethic a cop-out?

I run my family's pharmacy in Ahmedabad's old city, and I grew up Jain. Jain ethics has five vows: non-harm, truthfulness, not stealing, sexual restraint and non-possession. Monks and nuns take them as the great vows, absolutely. Laypeople like me take them…