Saturday, January 11, 2025 | 10 - 11:30 a.m. PST | 1 - 2:30 p.m. EST | 7 - 8:30 p.m. CET | 11:30 p.m. - 12 a.m. IST

The Ahiṃsā Living Circle is a virtual community for those curious about veganism, Jainism, the Dharma traditions, and living compassionately. Hosted by Professor Cogen Bohanec, MA, PhD and Hope Bohanec, Executive Director of Compassionate Living and the host of the Hope for the Animals Podcast, our goal is to build a supportive network of leaders, teachers, scholars, and advocates who believe that extending compassion to animals and the Earth is central to any spiritual journey.

While rooted in Jain teachings, our circle emphasizes shared values found across spiritual traditions, especially those centered on ahiṃsā (non-violence) in Jainism, Hinduism, and Buddhism.

The Ahiṃsā Living Circle will be held every second Saturday of the month. It is intended as a place of community building and suppport for those exploring veganism, non-violence, and ahiṃsā. These elements will be incorporated into each meeting, but most importantly, we encourage attendees to broaden the discussion, participate, ask questions, and offer reflections and support to others. Everyone is welcome. Together, let's discover how we can live a compassionate life aligned with our deepest ethic of non-violence.

We are a community driven by the principles of non-violence (ahiṃsā), non-possession (aparigraha), and openness to dialogue with other religious traditions (anekāntavāda). We value honest and open dialogue, genuine sharing, inclusivity, and freedom of thought. We strive to create an accessible, equitable, and safer space for opening minds and hearts where all are welcome.

SCHEDULE

Monthly Themes

The first two circles will be introductions to two Jain and broader Dharma spiritual concepts that deeply relate to vegan ethics: ahiṃsā and aparigraha.

• January 11 – ahiṃsā
• February 8 – aparigraha

The following four circles will center on the "four bhāvanās" (referred to as the brahmavihāras in Buddhism) and are present in Jain, Buddhist, and Hindu practices. The bhāvanās are a shared concept of ethical goodness across these traditions that should be nurtured in the pursuit of spiritual growth, as well as a commitment to ethical engagement with the world.

• March 8 – maitrī (metta in Pali Buddhism) or loving kindness
• April 12 – karuṇā or compassion
• May 10 – muditā / pramoda or sympathetic joy
• June 14 – upekṣa / mādhyastha or equanimity

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Cogen Bohanec currently holds the position of Assistant Professor in Sanskrit and Jain Studies at Arihanta Institute where he teaches various courses on Jain philosophy and its applications. In addition, he is a Visiting Assistant Professor at Claremont School of Theology (CST) where he teaches Sanskrit and Gujarati, and he has taught numerous classes on South Asian Culture & Religions and Sanskrit language at the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) in Berkeley. Dr. Bohanec specializes in the Jain and Hindu traditions, comparative dharma traditions, philosophy of religion, theo-ethics (virtue ethics, and environmental and animal ethics in particular), and Sanskrit language and literature, and has numerous publications in those areas, particularly in the fields of Jain and Hindu Studies amongst other disciplines. He has a PhD in “Historical and Cultural Studies of Religion” with an emphasis in Hindu Studies from GTU, where his research emphasized ancient Indian languages, literature, and philosophical systems. He also holds an MA in Buddhist Studies from the Institute of Buddhist Studies at GTU where his research primarily involved translations of Pāli Buddhist scriptures in conversation with the philology of the Hindu Upaniṣads. He is the author of “Bhakti Ethics, Emotions and Love in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Metaethics” (Lexington, 2024), an interdisciplinary study that frames traditional Hindu themes of ecotheology, ecofeminist theology, feminist care ethics, within a framework of virtue ethics in conversation with a bhakti-based psychology of emotions. Currently he is largely engaged in publication and research on various aspects of the Jain tradition, emphasizing translations and analyses of Jain Sanskrit, Prakrit, and Gujarati texts, but is also publishing academic works on various topics within the Hindu tradition.

Hope Bohanec has been active in animal protection and environmental activism for 35 years. She is the Executive Director of Compassionate Living and the host of the Hope for the Animals Podcast. Hope has published two books on the subject of humanewashing and greenwashing: The Ultimate Betrayal: Is There Happy Meat?  and The Humane Hoax: Essays Exposing the Myth of Happy Meat, Humane Dairy, and Ethical Eggs. Over the last three decades, she has worked for the national non-profits United Poultry Concerns and In Defense of Animals as well as contributed chapters to two anthologies. Hope has studied Jain and Hindu Dharma for many years and founded the Ahimsa Living Project to bring to light the deep parallels between the Dharma religions and veganism. 

ABOUT ARIHANTA INSTITUTE

As an academic institution, Arihanta Institute is dedicated to advancing education, scholarship, critical research, and public dissemination of real-world application of the Jain principles of non-violence (ahiṃsā) and compassion (karuṇā). Our mission is to empower individuals with knowledge to embrace and apply these principles as a force for positive change, addressing the most pressing issues of our time with courage and compassion.

Arihanta Institute envisions a world where the timeless principles of non-violence (ahiṃsā) and compassion (karuṇā) inspire global transformation. As a leader in Engaged Jain Studies, we aim to bridge theory and practice, creating inclusive, accessible online education that empowers individuals and communities to apply ancient wisdom to modern challenges, fostering a more peaceful and compassionate future for all.

To learn more about Arihanta Institute, subscribe to our newsletter, and explore our course offerings, visit ArihantaInstitute.org.