"Another Basic doctrine of Jainism is the need to diminish karma through limiting one's actions" (Brodd 218). If the instructor had limited his or her actions and had not been speeding, the end result of the opossum's death could have possibly been avoided. For Jains Karma is defined as "the process in which matter dirties the soul" (Brodd 222). Furthermore, Jains "that violate principle of ahimsa of other Jain ethical teachings, are especially damaging because they dirty the jiva" (Brodd 222). The instructor violated the principle of ahimsa, by not limiting ones actions and engaging in speeding. Speeding and breaking the law resulted in the life of an animal being lost. .
In the religion of Buddhism, it is likewise ethically and religiously wrong to break the law and to kill and animal. According to the six authors of Invitation to World Religions, dharma "Sanskrit, "religion, path, teaching"" was founded by the Buddha, Gautama Siddhartha (Brodd 147). From a student's view, dharma is basically defined as the conditions that cause things to happen. From an ethical standpoint, the instructor was going over the speed limit and caused the right conditions to not be able to yield in time to prevent the death of the animal. .
Furthermore, according to the textbook Invitation to World Religions, The Buddha taught on "skillful" and "unskillful" action (162). "He (Buddha) emphasized that one can learn to distinguish between the two kinds of actions by paying close attention to one's intentions, the surrounding environment, and the effects of our actions (Brodd 162). This quotation further elaborates on the "unskillfulness" the instructor engaged in while speeding and breaking the law. If the instructor would have been mindful of his actions and the environment the consequences that resulted in the death of the opossum would not have taken place.
