First Steps to Jainism Part 1

SR No.: 001640
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Sancheti Asso Lal, Manakmal Bhandari
Publisher: Sancheti Trust Jodhpur
Publication Year: 2002
Total Pages: 300
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Religion, & Education
File Size: 10 MB

Page 88

74 First Steps to Jainism
food or drink, but to give up food and drink lying available, inspite of appetite, requires lot of self discipline-physical and mental. The main purpose is to reduce one's necessities to the minimum at the same time maintaining the body as a medium of salvation. It also helps control over sleep as also meditation and selfstudy.
(iii) Begging for living (Bhikshachari)-Taking food and equipment available by begging only is the third form of external penance. Such begging is not out of poverty or for shirking from labour but for further controlling the desire for food. Begging is also done subject to number of conditions, main theme being that the food should be untainted and should not hurt any body. The term used for begging in Jainism is madhukari-eating by the bumble bee. Just as a bee takes juice from different flowers without discrimination and without hurting them, similarly the Jain monk takes food from different households in small quantities and without discrimination between rich or poor household or the quality of food offered. It is not unusal to put voluntary restriction on the type of food one will accept or the person from whom it will be accepted. If such condition is not satisfied the monk is prepared to go without food.
(iv) Tastelessness (Rasparityag)-According to the broader view of this type of penance the practitioner gives up food which is tasteful or attractive to the senses of touch, taste, sight, smell etc. The reason being that one should eat to live and not live to eat. Specially speaking any or all of the six types of rasas i.e., milk, curds, ghee, oil, sugar and salt are to be avoided since these give rise to attachment to food, (Meat, wine, honey and butter are in any case to be avoided completely).
(v) Tolerance of body pain(Kaya Klesh)-To discipline and train the body and to have no attachment to body and bodily comforts, the disciple adopts diverse postures, bears heat or cold, plucks the hair, sleeps without lying down and so on. All these form part of this category of penance. However, under this penance the body is not to be destroyed or harmed-as there is no enimity towards the body. The body has to maintained as a medium for practicing religion. However, it has to be kept under control. Also the disciple