said of the aggressor, King Ajātasattu. According to Theravada commentaries, there are five requisite factors that must all be fulfilled for an act to be both an act of killing and to be karmically negative. These are: (1) the presence of a living being, human or animal; (2) the knowledge that the being is a living being; (3) the intent to kill; (4) the act of killing by some means; and (5) the resulting death. Some Buddhists have argued on this basis that the act of killing is complicated, and its ethicality is predicated upon intent. Some have argued that in defensive postures, for example, the primary intention of a soldier is not to kill, but to defend against aggression, and the act of killing in that situation would have minimal negative karmic repercussions. According to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, there is circumstantial evidence encouraging Ahimsa, from the Buddha's doctrine, "Love all, so that you may not wish to kill any." Gautama Buddha distinguished between a principle and a rule. He did not make Ahimsa a matter of rule, but suggested it as a matter of principle. This gives Buddhists freedom to act. Laws The emperors of the Sui dynasty, Tang dynasty, and early Song dynasty banned killing in the Lunar calendar's 1st, 5th, and 9th months. Empress Wu Tse-Tien banned killing for more than half a year in 692. Some rulers banned fishing for a period of time each year. There were also bans after the death of emperors, after Buddhist and Taoist prayers, and after natural disasters such as Shanghai's 1926 summer drought, as well as an 8-day ban beginning August 12, 1959, after the August 7 flood (八七水災), the last big flood before the 88 Taiwan Flood. People avoid killing during some festivals, like the Taoist Ghost Festival, the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, and the Vegetarian Festival, as well as during others. See also Anekantavada Animal rights Consistent life ethic Ethics Golden Rule Human rights Nonkilling Nonviolence Nonresistance Pacifism Yamas Karuṇā Civil resistance Gandhism Satyagraha Veganism Vegetarianism and religion History of vegetarianism References Citations Sources Jindal, K.B.: An epitome of Jainism, New Delhi 1988 Laidlaw, James: Riches and Renunciation. Religion, economy, and society among the Jains, Oxford 1995 Lamotte, Etienne: History of Indian Buddhism from the Origins to the Śaka Era, Louvain-la-Neuve 1988 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi: Manas: History and Politics, 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) Sarao,