ahimsā ［アヒンサー］ (, Pali;  ahinsā): The underlying principle of Indian religions and philosophies. Ahimsā means non-injury, non-killing, or nonviolence toward any living being; it is the negation of himsā, which means killing. Non-killing, or the preservation of life, is a fundamental ethic in Buddhism as well, ranking first among the five precepts. Based on the principle of ahimsā, Buddhists and Jainas opposed the Brahmans and their ritual killing of domestic animals. A ritual called the life-liberating practice, conducted in China and Japan, was an expression of this commitment to avoid killing. In this ceremony, living things such as fish and birds were released into the wild. Jainism is particularly strict in observing the non-killing of any living being and regards this practice as a means of attaining emancipation. In the early twentieth century, Mahatma Gandhi of India developed his idea of satyāgraha (devotion to truth) and its application to nonviolent resistance based on ahimsā.