Jains Today in World

SR No.: 001794
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Pirre Paul AMIEL
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith
Publication Year: 2008
Total Pages: 360
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, History, Religion, E000, & E005
File Size: 24 MB

Page 170

Their Laymen and Laywomen: 129
Once they are married, the young Jain couple will try to attain the ideals they have been taught: wealth position and prosperity (artha), pleasure (kāma) and religious merit (dharma). They should also show each other loyalty, help and fidelity, have children and respect the rules of chastity as much as possible afterwards. A life dissolute or tainted by a divorce is extremely rare.
Jain laymen and women are accustomed to live according to religious rules specifically defined in the sacred scriptures for them. They have to fulfil their daily religious duties (avaśyaka), to pass through the recommended steps of spiritual progress and to practice a certain amount of basic virtues. They also have to take part in religious festivals, ceremonies and charities, and to make at least one pilgrimage during their life.
If they belong to a branch that performs pūjā in temples, those who live near one must go there regularly. Others do "pūjā" or meditations on sacred texts at home or in a prayer hall (sthānaka) and attend meetings that raise their spirit and strengthen their faith. In addition, numerous Jain laymen and women fast partly or totally during a more or long time, on different occasions, practice internal and external austerities (tapa). They must not drink wine or spirits, eat honey, meat, fish, and be strict vegetarians according to prohibitions laid in the sacred books concerning some vegetables, fruits and spices. Many of them are vegans i.e. they eat only the allowed vegetables and abstain from eggs, butter, milk, etc. As general rule, all Jains avoid to damage the reproductive cycle of plants or to cause harm to the various life forms on earth. To this end, they avoid vegetables that contain numerous grains or whose roots are the only edible part, like potatoes, onions, garlic, carrots, beets and turnips. Some, very strict, eat only the fruits that have fallen of trees; others refrain from tasty or rich dishes on certain occasions and fast according to different moods