One is not noble by harming living beings. By non-violence toward all beings, one is called noble.

Na tena ariyo hoti yena pāṇāni hiṃsati — one is not noble by harming living beings: ariya (noble) is redefined. In Indian society, ārya meant “noble by birth”. The Buddha redefines it morally: noble is one who does not harm.

Ahiṃsā sabbapāṇānaṃ ariyoti pavuccati — by non-violence toward all beings, one is called noble: ahiṃsā sabba-pāṇānaṃ — non-violence toward all beings, without exception. Nobility is universal compassion, not lineage.

This redefinition is revolutionary in its context: in caste India, nobility was hereditary. The Buddha makes it moral and universal: anyone can be noble by practicing non-violence. No one is noble by birth if practicing violence.