In Jain Dharma, merely having a thought or belief is not the same as himsa.

Why it is not himsa to think this

• Himsa in Jainism involves intentional injury, harm, or destruction of living beings through mind, speech, or body.
• A belief or philosophical thought by itself does not directly injure a living being.
• So if someone thinks, “If a Tirthankar stopped breathing, it would prevent harm,” that thought alone is not himsa.

But the view is not Jainly correct

Even though the belief itself is not himsa, it is not in line with Jain understanding because:

• A Tirthankar is a fully enlightened soul with a living body until final liberation.
• As long as the body exists, respiration and bodily functions continue.
• In Jain doctrine, a Tirthankar’s body is not an object to be judged by ordinary worldly ideas of harm and benefit.
• Also, Jain ethics does not accept the idea that the solution to harm is simply stopping life functions. The path is reduction of violence through right conduct, not denial of life.

Important Jain principle

In Jainism:

• Intention matters
• Action matters
• Delusion matters

So:

• Thinking something incorrect is not necessarily himsa.
• But clinging to a wrong view can still be mithyātva, meaning wrong belief, which obstructs right understanding.

In short

It is not himsa to believe this, because belief alone does not injure anyone. But from the Jain standpoint, the belief is not spiritually proper, because it misunderstands the nature of a Tirthankar and the Jain path of nonviolence.