The Heart of Jainism/Chapter 10

by Alice Margaret Sinclair Stevenson

CHAPTER X

THE JAINA LAYMAN AND HIS RELIGIOUS LIFE

The Twelve Lay Vows.

The Jaina, though they do not know of any dynamic power such as would give a man strength to keep his promises, nevertheless firmly believe in the helpfulness of taking vows.^[1] Through these, they say, a man is aided towards keeping the third jewel, that of Right Conduct, and by failing to take them he acquires karma from which they might have saved him.

We have seen that it is only after he has made some progress in the upward path that a man wishes to take these vows,^[2] though after a certain time he is able to keep the spirit of the vows without needing to renew the vows themselves. Not only must the candidate have reached the fifth step, but he must also have attained to firm faith in a true Tīrthaṅkara, true guru, and true religion.

Pañċa Atiċāra.Further, he cannot take any vow unless he has first renounced five faults (Pañċa Atiċāra) and so has no doubts (Śaṅkā); no desire to belong to another faith (Kāṅkhā); no questioning about the reality of the fruits of karma (Vitigiċċhā); undertakes not to praise hypocrites (Parapākhaṇḍa paraśaṁsā); and not to associate with them (Parapākhaṇḍa santhana).

The five Anuvrata.i. Prāṇātipāta viramaṇa vrata.If all these conditions be fulfilled, the man may take the first vow (Prāṇātipāta viramaṇa vrata), promising never intentionally to destroy a jīva that has more than one sense. This vow would not prevent a king leading an army in defence of his kingdom, but would prevent one’s fighting with a lunatic, or a blind man who had hurt one unintentionally. The vow also forbids the killing of weak creatures like mosquitoes and any other troublesome insects, and prohibits acting as ‘agent provocateur’.

The man who takes this vow must avoid five faults in the treatment of animals: he must never tie an animal up too tightly; beat it unmercifully; cut its limbs; overload or overwork it; or neglect to feed it properly.^[3]

The vow is infringed by planning to kill any one, even if the evil purpose be never carried out. It also forbids animal sacrifice, the Jaina arguing that, if mokṣa be attained by sacrifice, we had better sacrifice our fathers and mothers! If an animal is in pain, it is not permissible to kill it in order to end its sufferings, for who knows that it will not suffer worse things in the next life?

The reason the Jaina give for their horror of killing (hiṁsā) is not, as some say, the fear of being haunted by the dead animal’s ghost, but the realization that every jīva has two bodies, Kārmaṇa and Taijasa, and also a third which may be Audārika (i. e. human or animal) or Vaikreya (i.e. a demi-god or a hell-being). Every jīva (save a Siddha) forms round it through its karma a body, which is called its kārmaṇa body, and also another invisible body, taijasa, which at its death will enable it to assume a new form; these two unseen bodies are indestructible and loathe being separated from the third body, which is destructible, be it audārika or vaikreya. If, therefore, we destroy a living body, it is like destroying the beloved home of the taijasa and kārmaṇa bodies.

The actual words used in taking this first vow are, in the case of Sthānakavāsī Jaina, mixed Gujarātī and Māgadhī, and might be translated:

‘I will desist from destroying all great lives such as Trasa jīva (i.e. lives of two, three, four and five senses), either knowingly or intentionally, excepting offending lives living in my body which give pain; but I will not with evil intent destroy vermin or lunatics, and I also vow not to destroy minute one-sensed lives. As long as I live I will not myself kill; nor cause others to kill; nor will I kill by mind, speech, or body.

Thus have I taken the first vow, so I must know the five Atiċāra concerning it, but I must not commit them. I repeat them in their usual order: binding, killing, mutilating, overloading, wrong feeding.'

Another thing forbidden by this vow is the burying of people in a trance; for, as the Jaina sagely remark, it is very likely to kill them!

The Jaina prophesy that certain penalties will be accumulated by acting contrary to this vow. For instance, if a man commit murder, he may die even in this life in an untimely fashion. (The British Government has a knack of seeing that this prophecy is fulfilled!) He may also be drowned, or become a leper, or lose his hands and his feet, if not in this birth, at least in the next.

Mṛiṣāvāda viramaṇa vrata. The second vow (Mṛiṣāvāda viramaṇa vrata) of the Jaina layman is directed against falsehood or exaggeration. In a country where the women live in purdah, one can see how easy a thing it would be to spread untrue or exaggerated reports about them; and so a man who has taken this vow must never tell lies about any girl, including his own daughter, never for example, in order to marry her well, saying that she is younger or prettier than she is, or denying her bodily defects; he must likewise be careful never to speak against a prospective bridegroom. The vow is also concerned with commercial honesty, and forbids a man, for instance, when selling cows or buffaloes to say that they give more milk than they actually do, or when selling land and houses to describe the boundaries or the number of trees on the estate falsely. If the man taking the vows is a banker, he must keep any deposit honestly and give it back when demanded, even if no receipt be producible. If he have to take part in the courts or in the Pañċa,^[4] he must never give false evidence.

Now this vow is notoriously difficult to keep, and so Jaina laymen are advised always to guard against five things: rash speech; revealing secrets; running down one's wife; giving false advice; and cooking accounts. (In this list the Digambara substitute forgery for false advice.)

When one meets a dumb man, or a man with a bad stutter, one knows that he has broken this vow of truthfulness in a previous life.

The actual words of the vow might be rendered:

I take a vow not to utter great falsehoods, such as lies concerning brides, cattle, estates, deposits, and [not to bear] false witness. I will abstain from all such lies. As long as I live…[and then it goes on as in the first vow down to] the five Atiċāra, which are rash speech, revealing secrets, speaking ill of one's spouse, giving bad advice, falsifying accounts or forging documents.'

iii. Adat-
tādāna
viramaṇa
vrata. Stealing or taking what is not given is renounced in the third vow (Adattādāna viramaṇa vrata), which includes stealing from a house, taking from bundles, highway robbery, opening any one's lock with one's own key, or appropriating lost property. In especial, a man is warned never to buy stolen property, never to encourage another in thieving, never to act seditiously, to smuggle or to work in any way against the Government, not to use false weights or measures, to adulterate goods or to sell them false to sample. The penalty for breach of this vow is either to be born in a condition of poverty or (if the offence was very rank) in a state of actual servitude.

A free translation of the actual words used in taking the third vow might run:

'I take a vow not to thieve in any of the following ways: not to steal from a house, not to steal from a bundle, not to steal on the highway, not to open another's lock, not to appropriate lost property. I will abstain from such forms of thieving. I take a vow not to steal, except in things relating to trade and things belonging to my relatives which will not give rise to suspicion. As long as I live [and then as in the other vow to] the five Atiċāra, which are buying stolen property, encouraging others to thieve, committing offences against Government, using false weights and measures, adulterating or selling goods false to sample.'

iv. Maithuna
viramaṇa
vrata. The vow of chastity (Maithuna viramaṇa vrata) follows, by which a man promises to be absolutely faithful to his own wife at all times and never to allow any evil thoughts in his own mind about goddesses. The vow may be broken in five ways: consummating marriage with a young child, or forming a temporary connexion with a widow or other woman whom it is impossible truly to marry; unfaithfulness before marriage; match-making and marriage brokerage; excessive sexual indulgence; and lastly, evil talk. The breaking of this vow carries with it penalties too horrible to put on paper. Many of the enlightened Jaina are beginning to feel very strongly the evils of early marriage; and here again one would venture to suggest to them that their protest cannot be fairly termed an innovation when the abuse of early marriage is expressly forbidden in this vow.

v. Parigraha
viramaṇa
vrata.The Jaina have shrewdly realized that the true way of increasing our wealth is by curbing our desires. The fewer things we allow ourselves to use, the fewer our desires become, and, safe within the circumscribing walls we ourselves have built round our potential possessions, we find not only peace of mind but also safety from many temptations. Why should we steal when we already have all we desire, or why cheat and defraud in the race for wealth, if we already are as wealthy as we will ever allow ourselves to become? After all, few people forge or gamble to gain money to give in alms. When we remember that the Jaina creed has forced its holders to become a commercial people, we see the special value this vow of limitation, Parigraha viramaṇa vrata, might have, if it were really lived up to. Unfortunately it has not been kept sufficiently to prevent the name of Baniyā being considered a synonym for a money-grubber.

The vow may be translated:

'I take a vow not to possess more of the following things than I have allowed myself; a certain fixed quantity of houses and fields, of silver and gold, of coins and grain, of two-footed or four-footed creatures, furniture and plenishing. Beyond this limit I will regard nothing as my own possession. As long as I live I will not myself regard in body, mind, or speech things beyond these as my own.…[The five Atiċāra are] transgressing the limit fixed in houses and fields, silver and gold, coins and grain, two-footed or four-footed creatures, furniture and plenishing.'

The man who takes this vow promises that he will never allow himself to retain more than a certain fixed quantity of houses and fields, gold and silver, cash and corn, servants and cattle, furniture and plenishing. The vow is broken by passing beyond the self-prescribed limits by means of such devices as banking the superfluous money in a daughter's name, or substituting four big houses for the four small houses originally agreed on. As a proof of how this vow is observed the Jaina are fond of quoting the recent case of a Mr. Popata Amaraċanda of Cambay, who when quite a poor man had promised that he would never possess more than 95,000 rupees. He became a very successful man of business, but as soon as he had made the prescribed number of rupees, he gave to the building of temples or the founding of animal hospitals all the extra money he made.

These five vows are called the five Anuvrata, and they resemble in their content, as we shall see, the five great vows a monk takes. If a layman keeps all five Anuvrata and has also abandoned the use of intoxicants, animal food, and honey,^[5] he possesses the eight primary qualities of a layman and is rightly called a Śrāvaka.

The three
Guṇavrata. The first five vows are followed by three Guṇavrata, which 'help' the keeping of the first five vows.

vi. Diśivrata parimāṇa. We saw how the Jaina believe that the limitation of desire curtails sin by limiting the motives for sinning; they also believe that setting bounds to one's travels (Diśivrata parimāṇa) curtails sin by restricting the area in which one can sin.

The vow taken runs:

'I fix a limit of height and depth and circumference. If I have to pass this limit, willing and in my body, I vow not to indulge any of the five āśrava. . . . [The five Atiċāra are] transgression of the limit above, below or around, altering the position of the bounds fixed by increasing one and decreasing the other, and proceeding further when a doubt arises as to the limits.'

It is only laymen who take this vow. A sādhu does not vow that he will limit the possible places to which he may wander, for the farther he wanders the fewer intimate friends he can make; and friendship is forbidden to a sādhu, lest it lead to love. But he does promise never to make his wanderings an excuse for luxury by sitting in a boat, a carriage, a cart, or a train, or riding on a horse.^[6] Breaking this vow leads to excommunication.^[7] A sādhu of the Tapagaċċha sect travelled constantly by train and was therefore excommunicated. He still continues to go by rail wearing sādhu dress; but seeing him in a train no Jaina layman of any sect will acknowledge him as a religious person or salute him.

The layman vows not to go beyond set limits, such as Ceylon in the south, the Himalayas in the north, England in the west, and China in the east. The vow can be broken in five ways: by climbing too high; descending too low; going obliquely; increasing the limits fixed; and forgetting these limits.

vii. Upabhoga paribhoga parimāṇa.The second of the assistant vows, Upabhoga paribhoga parimāṇa, is intended to help people to keep their vows against lying, covetousness and stealing, for it limits the number of things a man may use.

This vow is taken in words somewhat as follows:

'I take a vow of indulging only to a certain fixed extent in things to be enjoyed once and in things to be enjoyed from time to time, such as towels, things for cleaning teeth, the anointing of oneself with oil or such like, washing oneself with soap, bathing, clothing, besmearing oneself with saffron, sandalwood, &c.; decorating, incense-burning, drink, eating of sweetmeats, of rice, pulse, nutritious things (milk, butter, ghī and the like), vegetables, indulging in sweet drinks (such as grape-juice, sugar-cane juice), ordinary meals, drinking-water, sleeping on beds, [eating] raw things containing lives, and other miscellaneous things. I have fixed certain limits in respect of the above twenty-six things. In transgression of these limits I will never indulge in things to be enjoyed once or from time to time with a view to seeking pleasure therefrom. I will observe this vow as long as I live; and I will not go beyond the limit for personal enjoyment, in mind, speech or body.

As a layman, I must have knowledge of the five following Atiċāra, and avoid acting according to them, and I repeat them in their usual order: Eating things containing life; eating things partially animate and partially inanimate; eating things having some remnants of life in them (such as partially ripe fruit, the unripe part having life but not the ripe part); eating highly spiced things; eating things in which the greater part has to be wasted (such as sugar-cane).

I, a layman, must have knowledge of the fifteen Atiċāra concerning means of livelihood, and must avoid putting them in practice. I repeat these in their usual order: Burning a kiln; cutting jungles or getting them cut; making carts and selling them; receiving rent of houses; digging the earth; trading in ivory; in hair (such as fly-whisks); in liquid things; selling poison; dealing in sealing-wax; owning a mill or working with a machine; mutilating or cutting the limbs of animals;

burning jungles; wasting the water of a pond, spring or lake; taming (dogs, cats, and such) obnoxious animals and selling them.'

In practice a man frequently agrees only to use twenty-six things, viz.: a towel; tooth-brush; fruit; soap; water for washing; wearing apparel; tilaka (mark on forehead); flowers; ornaments; incense; drinking-vessels (nowadays these include tea-things); sweetmeats; wheat and grain; peas; ghī; oil and milk; vegetables; dried fruit; dinner; drinking-water; pāna, sopārī, &c.; conveyances, railway trains, and horses; boots; beds, tables, chairs, &c.; anything unmentioned that turns out to be really necessary; anything that has no life. The grouping of this list is very curious, and under the last two items considerable latitude is allowed to creep in; it is only through these, for instance, that any books are permitted.

In trying to keep this vow one must be on one's guard about both food and commerce: for with regard to food, one might sin through eating unripe vegetables, or eating ripe and unripe together, or partaking of food that needs a lot of fire to cook it, or food like sugar-cane of which only a small portion is eaten and the greater part has to be thrown away; of course onions, potatoes, and all roots, being inhabited by more than one jīva, must never be eaten. In the same way one vows to be very careful, in choosing a profession, to avoid any business which involves the taking of any life, however low in the scale. One should therefore never be a blacksmith, a limeburner, or a potter, or follow any other trade in which a furnace is used, for in a fire many insect lives are destroyed; wood-cutting also often involves the accidental death of many minute lives, so a Jaina should never cut down a forest; in the same way he must never make a railway carriage, or even an ordinary cart, for railway trains sometimes run over people^[8] and often run over animals and insects.

One must never sell artificial manure (as it is sometimes made of the bones of dead animals), or take any contracts for building houses or sinking wells that involve much digging (for one might dig an insect in two). One has to be very much on one's guard if one thinks of selling anything: one must never sell ivory (for that might be made of elephants' tusks), or butter or honey (the latter involving the destruction of bee life), or fur or hair (lest any jīva should have been pained), or sealing-wax (for insects might be killed by it). A Jaina may not sell opium or any poison (lest the buyer should use it to take life), neither may he sell mills (for machinery causes many insect deaths). He is very hampered with regard to agriculture: he may not dig, burn weeds in a field, drain water from land, wells, or tanks (lest fish should die), or even rent land that has been drained by some one else. All of these restrictions on trade and agriculture have had the very doubtful benefit of forcing Jaina more and more into the profession of money-lenders; but the last clause of the vow has certainly proved beneficial, for it forbids slave-owning and the keeping of any animal or woman for any cruel purpose, and is considered so important that it is rehearsed every day.

viii. Anartha daṇḍa vrata. The eighth vow, the Anartha daṇḍa, is designed to guard against unnecessary evils. It runs:

'I take the vow called Anartha Daṇḍa Viramaṇa, which has four divisions: not to do the two evil meditations, not to be careless about keeping or using weapons, not to persuade people to do evil.'

The vow contains four divisions: first, one promises (Apadhyāna) never to hope that evil may befall some one else, or to think evil of any one; next (Pramāda ċaryā), to be as careful as possible not to take life through carelessness, but to cover all oil, milk, or water in which a fly might be drowned; again, remembering the injuries that are often accidentally inflicted through weapons, one promises (Hiṁsādāna) not only to keep as few actual weapons as possible but also as few knives or other things that could be used as weapons; finally one promises (Pāpopadeśa) never to use one’s influence for evil or to persuade any one else to do so. In keeping this vow five special faults must be guarded against, the vow being broken if one writes an immoral book, sells evil medicines, or indulges in evil conversation; if one takes part in buffoonery; indulges in vile abuse; leaves one’s guns lying about when loaded or in any way is careless about them; or lastly, if one thinks too much about things to eat or drink.

The four Śikṣāvrata.The remaining four of the layman’s twelve vows are called Śikṣāvrata, and they are all intended to encourage the laity in the performance of their religious duties.

ix. Sāmāyika.The ninth vow is taken in the following words:

‘I take the ninth, Sāmāyika, vow which teaches me to avoid all evil actions. I will sit in meditation for forty-eight [minutes], ninety-six, or whatever period I may have previously fixed upon. Whilst I am sitting in meditation I will not commit, or cause any one to commit, any sin in the space of the whole world by mind, speech, or body.’

A man hereby promises to perform Sāmāyika, i.e. to spend at least forty-eight minutes every day in meditation, thinking no evil of any one, but being at peace with all the world, to meditate on what heights one’s soul may reach. One may observe as many periods of forty-eight minutes as possible (e.g. ninety-six minutes or one hundred and forty-four), but forty-eight minutes is the least unbroken period one may spend. A Jaina should engage in Sāmāyika every morning, afternoon and evening, but of these the morning Sāmāyika is considered the most important. Whilst doing it, one must neither sin oneself, nor cause any one else to sin, but, sitting with one’s legs crossed, one should fix one’s gaze on the tip of one’s own nose. (Nowadays, however, Jaina quite often just sit or stand comfortably whilst they are doing it.) The usual place for Sāmāyika is the temple or the Apāsaro (there used to be an Apāsaro in every man’s house). If an idol be there, they kneel in front of it, and if a guru be present, kneel before him and ask his permission. Three times they kneel (pañċāṅga) in front of idol or guru, and three times also they perform āvartana, i.e. make a circle before their faces from the right ear round to the left ear, holding a mouth-cloth or other piece of material in front of their mouths, and repeat the Tikkhutto, which may be translated:

'Making āvartana from the right ear to the left three times, I salute and bow, and I worship and adore you; you are a guru [or a god], you are auspicious, you do good, you are full of knowledge, so I serve you.'

If no image and no guru be there, the Jaina kneel towards the north-east (in which direction they believe the country of Mahāvideha, where certain Tīrthaṅkara live, to be situated) and then ask permission of the first of these, the Sīmandhara,^[9] before repeating the Tikkhutto. During the forty-eight minutes they not only meditate but also read the scriptures, and at the end of the forty-eight minutes they repeat the particular pāṭha for closing Sāmāyika which refers to five special faults which may be committed during meditation, namely; failing to control thoughts; mind; actions; failing to observe the fixed time; and not repeating the pāṭha correctly.

x. Deśāvakāśika vrata.The tenth vow, Deśāvakāśika vrata, which resembles two that we have already discussed, is taken in the following words:

'I take the tenth vow called Deśāvakāśika. I will not go beyond the limit fixed by me in any of the four directions in mind or body, and will not open any of the five āśrava [channels] for sin. In the limit that I have fixed I will not enjoy any of the things which I have vowed not to enjoy. I will not transgress nor cause others to transgress it by mind, speech, or body; and I will not enjoy such things in mind, speech, or body for one day and night.'

In taking this vow a man promises for one particular day to still further contract the limits he has undertaken not to transgress, and he may bind himself during that day never to go outside the Apāsaro or the village, and only to have one meal, or to drink nothing but water. At the same time he promises that he will spend longer in meditation. He must guard against infringing the vow by extending the number of things used; borrowing some one else's things; sending a servant to fetch things or asking some one he meets in the road to do so; or by making signs and so asking even without words; or by throwing stones to attract people's attention and then getting them to fetch it.

xi. Poṣadha vrataWe have seen how Mahāvīra realized the importance ofconnecting the laity closely with the ascetics, and how thisclose connexion saved Jainism when Buddhism was swept out of India. The eleventh vow, Poṣadha vrata, is one of the links that bind the two sections of the Jaina community together, for the taking of it compels a layman to spend some of his time as a monk. He promises that for twenty-four hours he will touch neither food, water, fruit, betel-nut, ornaments, scents, nor any sort of weapon, and will commit no sort of sin, but observe celibacy. He further promises that by day he will only wear three cloths (a cloth over his legs, one over his body, and a mouth-cloth), and that at night he will use two cloths only (one spread above him and one below him).

Devout laymen usually perform Poṣadha four times a month, but those who hope eventually to become sādhus observe it six times a month at least.

The Digambara keep this vow more strictly than any other Jaina, for they begin to observe it the night before the twenty-four hours fixed (i. e. they keep it for two nights and the intervening day), and during all that time they never even touch water. Neither do they go to an Apāsaro, but choosing some lonely place they read the scriptures and meditate there.

The other Jaina go to their Apāsaro, read the scriptures, sing the praises of the Tīrthaṅkara, and ask questions of their sādhus—in fact, as a Jaina friend said to the writer, ‘We use the time to cram the points of our religion’.

In keeping this vow there are five faults which must be avoided: neglecting to search the clothes for vermin; failing to remove it carefully out of harm's way when found; any other carelessness which may result in injuring insect life; not fasting as one has vowed; and allowing oneself to sleep in the day instead of meditating. The keeping of this Poṣadha vow is considered one of the highest of religious duties, and at the solemn yearly fast of Pajjusaṇa even careless people keep it most strictly. As a rule it is more scrupulously observed by women than by men.

The following is a literal translation of the actual words used when this vow is taken:

‘I take the eleventh vow called Poṣadha, in which I promise to abstain for twenty-four hours from food, drink, fruits, sopārī, sex enjoyment, from wearing ornaments (gold, silver, or diamond), from wearing a garland or anointing my body. I will not use weapons, or a heavy club, or any destructive missile. This I will observe for twenty-four hours and will not infringe it myself, nor cause others to infringe it, in mind, body, or speech.’

xii. Atithi saṁvibhāga vatra.The twelfth vow, or Atithi saṁvibhāga vatra, which the Digambara call the Vaiyā vrata, runs as follows:

‘I take the twelfth vow, the Atithi saṁvibhāga vatra, by which I promise to give to Śramaṇa or Nirgrantha any of the fourteen things which they can accept without blame, namely: food, drink, fruits, sopārī,^[10] clothes, pots, blankets, towels, and things which can be lent and returned, such as seats, benches, beds, quilts, &c., and medicine.’

The purpose of this vow is to encourage the laity to support the ascetic community, on whom they bestow in alms food, water, clothing, pots, blankets, and towels for the feet, and also lend them beds, tables and other furniture. They must never give a sādhu unboiled water, bread hot from the fire, bread on which green vegetables have rested, or anything that has gone bad. Neither must they call a servant and tell him to give the alms to an ascetic, but they must get up and give them themselves, and must give without conceit.

The sādhu on his part must never send notice beforehand of his coming, for a layman must always be prepared to give; neither will most Jaina laymen (except members of the Tapagaċċha sect) invite an ascetic to their house, as this is thought by them to be forbidden in their scriptures; but they will invite a layman who has just completed Poṣadha to dine,^[11] since feeding such brings puṇya to the host if done with that intention; if, however, he gives the invitation simply thinking it to be his duty to do so, he will obtain nirjarā.

That some benefit is always obtained by giving alms, the following legend shows. Once upon a time in the state of Rājagṛiha there was a poor lad, so poor that he rarely tasted rich food; but once as a great treat his mother prepared a dish magnificently formed of rice and milk and sugar! Just at that moment a sādhu came by, and the model youth passed on the tempting dish to him. As a reward the pleasing lad was born in his next incarnation as the son of a rich merchant, and, determining to become equal to a king, he became a sādhu, and in his next birth will proceed to mokṣa.

How a layman takes takes the twelve vows.When a Jaina, proceeding on the upward path, has reached the fifth step^[12] in the Ċauda Guṇasthānaka, he necessarily desires to take the twelve vows, and accordingly goes to the Apāsaro and tells a guru of his wish. The guru reads out the vows and gives him an instruction on each one and its infringement similar to the foregoing notes on the vows. The layman assents to the instruction and fixes the limits of the distance he will travel, the amount of money he will allow himself to use, &c. These limits he writes down in his note-book, and at the great yearly confession, Saṁvatsarī, he goes to any guru who happens to be present, confesses any infraction of the vows and accepts the penance given. Besides this, every day of the year when he performs Paḍikamaṇuṁ he privately confesses his transgressions against the vows. Every day also both morning and evening the layman repeats the vows. The period for which they are taken varies: some Jaina promise to observe them as long as they live, others fix a certain period, consisting very frequently of two years, and at the expiry of that time take them afresh if they feel inclined.

The ad-
vantage
of the
vows. The Jaina believe that great advantages flow from keeping the vows: physically, since the moderation they enjoin keeps the body in training and health; and morally, because they free the soul from love or enmity, and ultimately lead it to mokṣa. A layman who keeps all these twelve vows is called a Deśavratī, or one who keeps the vows in part; a sādhu, who as we shall see keeps them in a more stringent form, is called a Sarvavratī, one who keeps all the vows.

Santhāro. When a layman realizes that he is growing old and that his body is becoming very frail, he spends more and more time in the Apāsaro and tries to use fewer and fewer things, and daily after Paḍikamaṇuṁ repeats the old-age vow or Santhāro Pāṭha, which contains the promise of dying by voluntary starvation. He does not vow not to take food, however, until he feels that death is approaching.

Before repeating the words, he should seat himself cross-legged on a stool of darbha grass, with his face turned to the north-east, and folding his hands he should encircle his face with them (āvartana) and say as follows: 'I bow to all the adorable Arihanta who have attained to the highest state.' He then repeats all the twelve vows, and determining to keep himself free from all sin, particularly hiṁsā (against which he takes a special vow), he promises never to lie, thieve, &c., as long as he lives.

'I will be from henceforth till death quite indifferent about this my body which once was dear and beautiful to me. It was like a jewel-case which I carefully protected from cold, heat, hunger, thirst, serpent-bite, the attack of thieves, insects, diseases such as cough and high fever.'

Then he should meditate on the five Atiċāra which would infringe the vow and should strive to avoid them: that is to say, he should not wish to be a king or a rich merchant or a deity in his next life; he should not wish for long life; nor, being weary with the dreadful hardship of Santhāro, must he desire immediate death. He must then quietly wait for death, longing for mokṣa, but not for any amelioration of his present state.

Every Jaina hopes to make a Samādhi death, i.e. to die by self-immolation. It is true that near relatives, standing by the death-bed of a younger man, will often not permit him to give up all hope of life and decline to take food, but if an old man is evidently dying, and if he wishes it, he repeats the Santhāro Pāṭha, and, before promising indifference to his body, he says:

'I take a vow to abstain from food and drink and fruits and sopārī as long as I live.'

The same words are also used when this terrible vow is taken voluntarily in good health by ascetics who wish to reach the highest point of holiness.^[13] After his death a man who has done Santhāro is called Samādhistha and held in the highest honour, and while he is suffering the dreadful pangs of thirst before his death, his relatives and friends encourage him to carry out his resolve by every means in their power.

The Eleven Pratimā.^[14]

We have already noticed that the Jaina aim seems to be to close as many as possible of the channels which love and affection open, and through which suffering might enter our lives, and to abstain from action, lest karma should be acquired with all its penalties.

The twelve vows were shaped in accordance with the fixed idea of all who hold the doctrine of karma that, though it is well to do good, it is better to do nothing; their aim is also to bridge over the gap between the lay and the ascetic life. The eleven Pratimā bring the approach still closer.

A layman who is desirous of reaching a higher stage in the upward path, or Ċauda Guṇasthānaka, than that attained by keeping the twelve vows will also keep the eleven Pratimā, which lead him gently on towards the point when he will be able to take the five great vows of the ascetic.

i. Darśana pratimā.

By the first, or Darśana pratimā, a layman undertakes to worship the true deva (i.e. a Tīrthaṅkara), to reverence a true guru, and to believe in the true dharma (i.e. Jainism). He also promises to avoid the seven bad deeds which are mentioned in a well-known Sanskrit śloka that may be translated thus:

'Gambling, eating meat, wine-bibbing, adultery, hunting, thieving, debauchery — these seven things in this world lead to the worst of hells.'

ii. Vrata pratimā.

He next promises to keep each of the twelve vows (Vrata); and when death comes, to receive it in absolute peace, and that he will perform Santhāro. (This, the perfect death, is called Samādhi Maraṇa.)

iii. Sāmāyika pratimā.

He goes on to vow that he will engage in Sāmāyika at least three times every day.

iv. Poṣadhopavāsa pratimā.

He also vows that he will observe Poṣadha at least six times a month (i.e. on the two eighth and the two fourteenth days of the moon, and also on the full-moon night and one dark night).

v. Saċcittaparihāra pratimā.

Again, with the object of never even taking vegetable life, the layman promises (Saċcittaparihāra pratimā) to avoid all uncooked vegetables, or cooked vegetables mixed with uncooked, never to break a mango from a tree, and only to eat it if some one else has taken out the stone.

vi. Niśi-
bhojana-
tyāga
pratimā. Lest in the darkness he might unwittingly devour some insect he promises (Niśibhojanatyāga pratimā) never to eat between sunset and sunrise, or to sip water before daylight. If a guest arrives during the night, the layman may prepare a bed for him, but never offer him food, lest he cause his guest to sin.

vii. Brahma-
ċarya
pratimā. Getting nearer to the ascetic ideal, the layman next promises (Brahmaċarya pratimā) to keep away from the society of his own wife, and never in any way to scent or adorn his body, lest he should cause his wife to love him.

viii.
Āram-
bhatyāga
pratimā. As the layman is now steadily mounting the steps, he must be very careful never to begin anything that might entangle him in such worldly pursuits as involve the destruction of life. So he undertakes (Ārambhatyāga pratimā) never even to begin to build a house or take up a trade (like a blacksmith's) which entails the taking of life.

ix. Pari-
graha-
tyāga
pratimā. He must also use his remaining days in the world as a sort of novitiate; and first he must be careful not to have any attachment for his worldly possessions (Parigrahatyāga pratimā), and to avoid it he should divide his property, for instance money or grain, amongst his children, or give it away in charity. He must also prepare for the hardships he will have to face by never allowing his servants (if he has any) to work for him, but should always wait on himself and only allow the servants to wait on his children. Having made this resolution, he should endeavour in every way to lead a quiet unambitious life.

x.
Anumati-
tyāga
pratimā. The next resolution (Anumatityāga pratimā^[15]) shows a further step taken towards a sādhu's life, for the erstwhile layman promises to keep the sādhu rule of never allowing any special cooking to be done for him, and only to take what is over when others have dined, and, if none remains, just to fast. He also vows that he will never give advice in any worldly or household matter, but will keep his mind free from all thoughts about such things.

xi. Ud-
dhiṣṭa
pratimā. When he has taken the last (Uddhiṣṭa or Śramaṇabhūta) pratimā, he is practically a monk, for he has promised to wear a sādhu's dress, to remain apart in some religious building (when the Digambara call him a Kṣullaka Śrāvaka) or in the jungle (when they name him an Ailaka Śrāvaka), and to act according to the rules laid down in the scriptures for sādhus to follow.

The
twenty-
one quali-
ties of the
ideal
gentle-
man. As a layman endeavours to attain to this exalted stage, he will strive to develop those twenty-one qualities which distinguish the Jaina gentleman. He will always be serious in demeanour; clean as regards both his clothes and his person; good-tempered; striving after popularity; merciful; afraid of sinning; straightforward; wise; modest; kind; moderate; gentle; careful in speech; sociable; cautious; studious; reverent both to old age and old customs; humble; grateful; benevolent; and, finally, attentive to business.

Only the very best of men ever possess the full complement of the whole twenty-one virtues, but ordinary mortals strive to possess at least ten.

1. Other Indians also believe strongly in the virtue of the Jaina vows. It is said, for instance, that the mother of Mr. Gāndhī, the South African leader, though herself a Vaiṣṇava, persuaded her son before he left Rājkot for England to vow in front of Pūjya Beċarajī, a famous Jaina sādhu, that he would abstain from wine, flesh and women.
2. See p. 187.
3. It would surely seem advisable to quote these five faults in the publications of the Indian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
4. Village Council.
5. Honey seems to the Jaina to resemble hiṁsā, the depriving a jīva of his house, and, moreover, by the brutal way in which honey is gathered in India by burning a torch under the comb, the bees and their eggs are destroyed. Jaina are therefore most interested to learn that Europeans actually build houses for bees in which the arrangements are so efficient that the eggs and bees are not injured when the honey is removed, and also that sufficient food is left to the bees. So strongly do the Indian villagers feel about their own destructive way of taking honey, that they have a proverb: 'The sin incurred in destroying one honey-comb is as great as that accumulated by destroying twelve villages.'
6. The writer had an opportunity not long ago of seeing how strictly the ascetics keep this vow. An aged nun was very ill, and the community was most anxious that she should go and see an English lady doctor. She refused to be conveyed to the hospital by carriage or in a litter, and at length in despair her friends asked the writer to request the doctor to go and see her at the Apāsaro.
7. Excommunication of sādhus is still fairly common; for instance, a Sthānakavāsī sādhu in Rājkot bit his guru and was excommunicated in consequence. The Sthānakavāsī laymen ordered a coat and trousers to be made for him and forced him to abandon his sādhu dress and don these. They then gave him a railway ticket to Thān (a station about forty-four miles distant) and sent him away. They told the writer that they could do this because this cannibal bonne bouche had been enjoyed in a native state; they would have been afraid to act so sternly in British territory. This sādhu repented most deeply and implored forgiveness in Rājkot, but the laymen refused it. In other towns he was, however, acknowledged as a sādhu, and he died wearing sādhu dress.
8. Especially in India where railway employees will go to sleep with their heads on the rails!
9. Sīmandhara was the earliest Tīrthaṅkara from the land of Mahāvideha, just as Ṛiṣabhadeva was the first in Bhārata (India).
10. Monks may not take betel-nut whole, but may take it chopped.
11. A friend of the writer's recently invited a Khojā who had become a Jaina to dine with him, after he had performed his Poṣadha vow. She was told that such a convert could be invited to dine with the saṅgha but not with the nāta, i.e. he was asked to their religious feasts (though even there he had to sit separately) but not to their caste dinners.
12. See p. 187.
13. The Jaina consulted by the writer do not agree with those who say that Santhāro is only performed after twelve years of austerities, declaring that there is no time fixed before which Santhāro may not be performed.
14. Or Paḍimā.
15. Or, according to the Digambara Jaina, Anumodanavrata pratimā.