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 183

142: JAINS TODAY IN THE WORLD strictly. The ascetics keep "great vows” (mahāvrata) that consist in not doing oneself, nor allowing or encouraging others to err from the five main Jain commandments. The laity take five "little vows” to what three "multiplying” are added to increase their rigour, founded like them on respect of non-violence, and four "disciplinary" to approach the conduct of ascetics (monks and nuns).
The five "little vows” (aņuvrata) are:
1) The vow of non-violence (ahiṁsā) i.e. to not voluntarily kill, hurt, attack, violate, torture, rag, etc. any movable living being with a soul (trasa-jīva). This abstention of violence or “hissà" concern as well acts, thoughts than words.
Numerous commentaries have been made on this vow by great Ācārya like Umāsvāti, Samantabhadra, Amitagati, Āsādhara, Somadeva, detailing to a great extent the various types of violence tolerated and forbidden to the laity. For examples, are tolerated for them all those totally unvoluntary achieved or those absolutely necessary to maintain life, like tilling the soil, eating vegetables, giving care to animals, building constructions, boring a well protecting one self, ones property, family, country, etc.
On the other hand, are strictly forbidden activities that consist to keep in captivity, to mutilate, to overload, to deprive of food, to kill living beings, to hunt, to practice violent sports, to feed incorrectly, to bad distract oneself, etc. Execution of judgments, condemnation of a criminal to depriving of liberty is, however, admitted for they are necessary to have a legal State.
To this principle of elementary non-violence are also linked philosophical notions of "anekāntavāda” and “syädvāda” (of nonabsolutism of thought and of taking in count the manifold aspects of reality) that are at the root of tolerance and relativity of things,