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[18]
Thus, by means of restraint, silence, and meditation, I purify myself.
[Essential Sutra]
The meaning is that I perform Kayotsarga for the sake of the soul's special excellence, purity, and superiority, for atonement, for being free from blemishes, and for the complete destruction of sinful karmas.
In Kayotsarga, I abandon all bodily activities and become still. However, I exclude those bodily functions that are unavoidable due to their natural occurrence. (These functions are as follows:)
High breath, low breath, cough, sneeze, yawn, belch, expulsion of apan vayu, dizziness, fainting due to bile disorder, subtle movement of limbs, subtle expulsion of phlegm, subtle movement of eyes, i.e., circulation, etc. My Kayotsarga is not broken or devoid of restraint from these sources.
Until I have bowed to the Arihant Bhagwans, I remain motionless in one place, silent, with my mind fixed in Dharma-dhyana, and I separate my body from sinful activities.
This sutra explains the nature of Kayotsarga as a method for the special purification of transgressions.
Here, the word "tass" refers to the soul that is tainted with transgressions. Some people interpret "tass" as referring to transgressions, but that is not appropriate. In reality, it is connected to the phrase "tass miccha mi dukkadam." It is not connected to "uttarikaraneṇam" and "visallikaraneṇam." The reason is that Kayotsarga is not performed to purify transgressions, nor do they contain Maya-adi blemishes. Maya-adi blemishes are the vibhava parinamas of the soul, so it is clear that "tass" can only mean the soul. The purpose of this sutra is to abandon all bodily activities for the attainment of soul development.
This is an Uttari-karana Sutra. Through it, in the Aryapathic Pratikramana, a special refinement in the form of Kayotsarga is resolved to remove the remaining subtle impurities in the pure soul. In brief, we can say that atonement is necessary for the purification of vows and the soul. Atonement cannot occur without the purification of emotions. For the purification of emotions, it is necessary to abandon blemishes (Maya, Nidana, Mithyadarshan). The abandonment of blemishes and the destruction of sinful karmas can only be achieved through Kayotsarga. Therefore, performing Kayotsarga is paramount.