Harmless Soul

SR No.: 001196
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: W J Johnson, Dayanand Bhargav
Publisher: Motilal Banarasidas
Publication Year: 1995
Total Pages: 372
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Philosophy, & Principle
File Size: 20 MB

Page 172

158 Harmless Souls
For negligence is impure manifestation of consciousness because of the destruction, the injuring, of that śramaņa-state whose form is pure manifestation of consciousness. And so (negligence) itself is himsā. Therefore, the śramana's careless activity with regard to sleeping, sitting, standing and walking, etc., which is inherently connected with impure manifestation of consciousness, is always himsā for him, a continuous force (lit. flowing continuously) at all times, which is another disadvantage consisting of infringement.75
Interpreting this, we may say that the monk 'hurts' himself - i.e. binds himself - through aśuddhopayoga of which cheda is the external sign. For since the ideal śramaņa-state has the form of suddhopayoga, then aśuddhopayoga is, in the first place, himsā to the śramana who aspires to that state, and, in the second, it necessarily entails (physical) cheda. That is to say, offence against the monastic rules presupposes aśuddhopayoga. So the original or initiating cause of himsā, and thus of bondage, is internalised: the emphasis is on aśuddhopayoga, not on external cheda as such. Moreover, himsā has been (re-) defined as an offence against the śramaņa-state, i.e. an offence against the monastic rules (= cheda), and thus as harm to the self because of the aśuddhopayoga that is necessarily at the root of such neglect, rather than harm caused to other living beings as such. So it becomes apparent that it is now the role of the śramaņa which is all important; obedience to the prescribed actions not only leads automatically to the goal, but, more importantly, it does so only because - as that very obedience indicates (externally) - internal purity (śuddhopayoga) has been maintained, for there can be no adherence to the monastic rules without such purity. Consequently, both monastic
75 aśuddhopayogo hi chedaḥ śuddhopayogarūpasya śrāmaṇyasya chedanāt tasya himsanāt sa eva ca himsāataḥ śramaṇasyāśuddhopayogāvinābhāvini sayanāsanasthānacankramaņādişv aprayatā yā caryā sā khalu tasya sarvakälam eva samtānavāhini chedānarthāntarabhūtā himsaiva || TD on Pravac. 3:16.