The First Precept- Reverence For Life (64)

Although I am not a Buddhist I find I find deep wisdom in that path, especially in the teaching on how the Mind functions. In addition to Buddhist psychology & meditative practices are moral codes, or precepts for human beings to follow so they will not create more 'negative' karma.
Although monks & nuns have over 200! precepts to follow there are only 5 basic precepts. In short they are no killing,no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no gossip/slander, & no(heedless) use of intoxicants.
The First Precept
"Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I undertake to cultivate compassion and learn ways to protect the lives of people,animals,plants,and minerals. I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to condone any act of killing in my world, my thinking, and in my way of life."
(as stated by noted Zen Master and author Thich Nhat Hahn)

Vegetarians are observing this precept deeply as are pacifists who work to stop soldiers from being sent to kill others in far away lands. However, if that pacifist 'hates' the President who sends the soldiers to kill he is not practicing the precept.
I had a relative who after the 9/11 terrorist attack said "we should nuke the whole damn Middle East". Because of the actions of 18 men(according to U.S. govt. officials) my relative wanted to kill the entire Arab world. In his Mind, he had already killed them as anyone does when they think hateful thoughts.
Our culture is full of violence. We glorify the 'good' guy(cop,soldier) with a gun(it seems every other Hollywood film has someone with a gun in the poster) who inevitably ends up killing lots of 'bad' guys. Our children are addicted to video games which usually involve shooting and killing imaginary 'bad' guys. There once was a study which showed by the time a child is a teenager he will have watched over 18,000 deaths on television. This is the culture the U.S. is exporting to the rest of the world!( as someone who has traveled in other countries I know)
Why plants & minerals in the precept? Anyone who has ever been to a Redwood Forest knows that those tree's are great beings. There is only 2% left of the old-growth forest left in the continental U.S. and multi-national logging corporations are still cutting tree's as old as Christianity(2,000years!) As for minerals, anyone who has ever been to West Virginia may be aware of a corporate mining practice called 'mountain top removal' which is done in poor mountain communities.
'Waking Up' involves not only realizing how the Mind creates one's Reality but also how interconnected one's actions are to the World. That hamburger from McDonalds probably came from a cow pumped full of steroids & brutally slaughtered after grazing in a Brazilian pasture that used to be a rainforest.(to use one example) We stop watching/supporting violent movies & change the vibration of a room to something more uplifting. To follow the precept and path of non-violence we literally 'change the channel' of violence in our actions, diet, and most importantly in our Minds.