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**Pinḍaniyukti: An Observation**
127
**Counterproductive Practices:** Such as the use of prefixes, the non-purification of alms, and the undermining of great vows.
**Oghanīyukti** explains the psychological reasons for a monk going for alms alone:
* One who is proud of their gains.
* One who starts preaching in a householder's home (and therefore no one wants to go with them).
* One who is deceitful, lazy, and fond of pleasure.
* One who desires to consume non-prescribed food.
* During a famine, when alms are scarce.
However, currently, nuns go for alms in pairs, and monks go alone. The question of when, how, and why this change in the rules of alms-seeking occurred, and what its background was, is a subject for independent research.
**Physical and Mental State During Alms-Seeking**
It is not enough to simply avoid the 42 faults while going for alms and receiving alms. The fifth study of the Dashavaikalika mentions many other small details. Acharya Haribhadra clearly states that only a monk who follows the rules of *īryāsamiti*, the avoidance of greenery, etc., can seek pure food. The Dashavaikalika Sutra presents a psychological portrait of how a monk should be physically and mentally during alms-seeking.
The mind of a monk going for alms should be free from anxiety and distractions. A monk who is mentally hurried cannot purify *īryāsamiti* nor be aware of *eṣaṇāsamiti*. Therefore, the monk should seek food with a clear mind, free from anxiety.
The monk should not only be free from fainting while eating but also while seeking alms. If the mind is faint and attached during alms-seeking, then pure food cannot be sought. The author of the *niyukti* gives the example of a calf. Even if a merchant's daughter offers food to the calf adorned and decorated, the calf remains focused only on eating its food. It does not pay attention to the woman's form, color, or adornment. Similarly, the monk should seek food while remaining free from attachment to sensory objects.
Another interpretation is that just as a cow grazes without distinguishing between good and bad grass, so too should the monk accept alms from all families without distinction.
1. Oṇi 412;
*Ekaṇiyassā dosā, itthī sāṇe taheva paḍiṇīe. Bhikṣavisohi mahavvay tamhā sabitijjaye gamaṇam.*
2. Oṇi 413, Tī P. 150. 3. Pañcā 13/31. 4. Daśa 5/1/2: *Care mandamaṇuvviggo avvaviḵatteṇa ceyasā.*