As a deaf Pacific Northwest native who lost his hearing completely at a very young age, reading and academics are my superpowers. I became aware of ahimsa in my early teenage years when my deep interest in science prompted my grandfather to gift me the English translation of “Science and Religion” by the young Muni Shri Chandrasekharvijayji. That text awakened me to the concept of ahimsa and led me to deep immersion in English translations of many Jain texts; by the time I graduated from high school, I was using cruelty-free soaps, toothpaste, etc. and avoided, leather, silk, and consumption of rennet-based cheese. Then in 2014, I read Gurudev Chitrabhanuji’s letter to Lighthouse Center (lhcmeditationcenter.wordpress.com) which exposed me to the violence associated with dairy. That was the catalyst that led me to take the permanent anuvrat (vow) to eliminate all dairy products from my life and to become fully plant-based. I bow down to the venerable Arihants and the acharyas for giving me the darshan (perception) and the jnana (knowledge) to further perfect my charitra (conduct) in accordance to ahimsa paramo dharma.