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Pāpāchāran is like a surgical wound. If it is not removed, but kept hidden in the mind, its poison will continue to grow inside and that poison will ruin the life of the seeker.
A major weakness of humans is that they always remember their virtues but forget their vices. They also forget the virtues of others and remember their vices. This is why they rarely present a list of their virtues and never tire of singing the tales of others' vices. While the seeker should see the virtues of others and their own vices. The eight synonyms of Pratikraman include the words "ninda" and "garha". Condemnation of others leads to karma bondage and self-condemnation leads to the destruction of karma. When the seeker examines their life, they see thousands of vices in their life. They try to remove those vices gradually. This is the characteristic of a seeker's life that they are a seeker of virtues. Their vision is like that of a swan. Like a swan, they accept the path of virtues, they pick up the pearls. They do not put their mouth on excrement like a crow.
Pravarana in Buddhism
Just as there is a provision for seekers to perform Pratikraman at the end of the night and the end of the day in Jainism, there are also provisions for liberation from sin in other traditions. The word Pratikraman is not used in Buddhism, but instead the words Pratikarma, Pravarana and Papadeshana etc. are used. In Udāna, the Tathagata Buddha said
Papadeshana is necessary for the purity and divinity of life. By criticizing the conduct of sin, a person deeply examines the faults of sin in relation to our life
Pravarana has been of great importance in Buddhism. The burden becomes lighter. After the rainy season, the monastic community gathers and presents what faults they have committed in the rainy season? This is Pravarana. In this, the seen, heard and suspected offenses are rectified. This leads to mutual humility. The method of Pravarana was as follows - the chief monk informs the monastic community that today is Pravarana. First, the senior monk sits on the Kukkuta seat with the Uttarasangha on his shoulder. With folded hands, he requests the community that I am performing Pravarana before you of the seen, heard, suspected offenses. The community should tell me my offenses, I will explain them. He repeats this three times. After that, the younger monk and then all the monks in turn repeat their sins. In this way, fortnightly purification is done through Pravarana. Pravarana is done on the fourteenth and full moon. Earlier, at least five monks were considered necessary for Pravarana. Later, four, three, two and finally one monk was also allowed to perform Pravarana. In special circumstances, Pravarana could be done very briefly and at other times as well.
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In the text 'Bodhicharyavatara', Acharya Shantideva has written - One should repeat Triskandha, Papadeshana-Punyanumodana and Bodhiparinamana three times at night and three times during the day, so that unintentional mistakes are mitigated.
1. Udāna 5/5, Translator Jagdish Kashyap, Maha Bodhi Society, Sarnath
2. Anujānami bhikkhave, vassam, buṭṭhānaṁ, bhikkhūṁ tīhi ṭhānehi pakāretu diṭṭhena vā sutena vā parisankāya vā.
Sā vo bhavissati ajñāmajñānulomata āpattivuṭṭhānata vinayapurekkhā ratā.
Mahāvagga, p. 167
3. Bodhicharyavatara 5/98
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