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Appendix
- Note
67
Acharya Haribhadra uses the terms Ayamāml, Ācāml and Ācāmāml.
It is known from the old commentaries that Ayambil used to include rice, black gram and sattu as food and was suitable from the point of view of taste.
Today, almost twenty things are used in Ayambil. How is this scripturally ordained? This is worth considering.
It is necessary for wise seekers who practice taste-joy to pay attention to the scriptural explanation. But what is the connection of the word 'amla' which has been used and its meaning of the fourth taste, with food? This is not clear. Scholarly researchers should consider this.
Because there seems to be no connection of sourness in the ingredients of Ayambil food, therefore, from the word amla, it seems that before Shri Haribhadrasuri, there may have been a connection of buttermilk in Ayambil.
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The Buddhist text Majjhimanikaya, in the 12th Mahasīhanādasutta, describes the severe penance of the Buddha. There, the Buddha is called 'Ayāmbhakṣī' or 'Ācāmbhakṣī'. There, the word Ayām means gruel. This ancient mention shows that the word Ayām meant gruel and the ascetics called Ayāmbhakṣī only drank gruel. In Jain terminology, the word Ayām is taken as rice, black gram and sattu. But these three do not fit in the meaning of Ayām. It should be remembered that Acharya Haribhadra etc. have explained the main meaning of Ayām as gruel.
- Āvश्यकनिर्युक्तिवृत्ति, Gāthā 1603 - Acharya Siddhasena's Pravachana Sāroddhāra Vṛtti - Ārya Devendra's Śrāddhapratikramāṇa Vṛtti
If a householder is eating food and a monk arrives at the householder's house for alms, then while eating, the donor's hand is stained with greens, lentils, rice etc. or with its juicy water - it is stained and that donor is ready to give alms with that stained hand, then such alms food is called stained food. The present text is about the intention of accepting such stained food given by a blessed homeless person. The scriptures have discussed this in detail by breaking it down into many parts.
Ujjhatdharmik
Food and drink that is only fit to be thrown away, which no one likes to eat or drink, such food or drink is called Ujjhatdharmik.
High, Low, Middle Caste
In the present text, the words high, low or middle are not intended with respect to any caste or lineage, only people call a wealthy family a high caste, a poor family a low caste and an ordinary family a middle caste. If it were intended for caste or lineage, then the word middle would not be consistent in the present text. In Jainism, caste-based high-low feelings are not acceptable from the point of view of conduct and principles. Jainism is based on qualities, any person of any caste can practice Jainism. The present text mentions alms-begging in high, low and middle castes.