Attributed to Mahāvīra
«Live and let live.»
Misattributed
Verdict
It is not in Mahāvīra's work
A slogan widely spread as a summary of Mahāvīra's teaching (in Hindi, "jiyo aur jīne do"), present on posters, stamps and twentieth-century celebrations. It is not a quotation from any canonical text; it condenses the doctrine of non-violence in a modern formula.
Source: Dundas, Paul. The Jains. 2.ª ed. Londres / Nueva York: Routledge, 2002 (Library of Religious Beliefs and Practices). ISBN 9780415266055.
What they did say
Verified words of Mahāvīra
«All breathing, existing, living, sentient creatures should not be slain, nor treated with violence, nor abused, nor tormented, nor driven away.»
Ācārāṅga I.4.1.1; trad. de Hermann Jacobi, SBE 22 (1884), verificada en el texto; versión española del investigador; palabras que el canon atribuye a Mahāvīra
«All beings are fond of life, like pleasure, hate pain, shun destruction, like life, long to live. To all life is dear.»
Ācārāṅga I.2.3.4; trad. de Hermann Jacobi, SBE 22 (1884), verificada en el texto; versión española del investigador; palabras que el canon atribuye a Mahāvīra
«Man! Thou art thy own friend; why wishest thou for a friend beyond thyself?»
Ācārāṅga I.3.3.4; trad. de Hermann Jacobi, SBE 22 (1884), verificada en el texto; versión española del investigador; palabras que el canon atribuye a Mahāvīra