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Vow
Among the conditions leading to the influx of new karma, both compassion and donation are counted for the practitioner. In this context, the significant elucidation of vows and donations, which hold an important place in Jain tradition, is being addressed in this chapter.
The essence of a vow is abstention from violence, falsehood, theft, sexual misconduct, and possessiveness. 1. To abstain from violence, falsehood, etc., (through mind, speech, and body) is a vow.
The nature of faults such as violence and falsehood is described further. After understanding the faults and making a commitment to renounce them, not indulging in them again is called a vow. Ahimsa (non-violence) is paramount compared to other vows, and thus it holds the first place. Just as a fence protects a field, all other vows are meant to protect non-violence. Hence, the supremacy of non-violence is acknowledged.
There are two aspects of a vow—abstention and engagement. Only with the presence of both does a vow become complete. To engage in virtuous actions means to abstain from unvirtuous actions beforehand. This occurs spontaneously. Similarly, abstaining from unvirtuous actions means focusing the mind, speech, and body on virtuous actions. This too comes naturally. Although here, abstention from faults is explicitly referred to as a vow, it inherently includes a component of virtuous engagement. Therefore, a vow is not merely passivity.
Question—The vow known as 'the cessation of nighttime meals' is well-known. Why is it not mentioned in the sutras?