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Practice of Compassion in Modern Life
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is supposed to be acquired for building a healthy society, with basic moral and social values as ethics, preserving the philosophical awareness as truth of nature by every individual.
Three jewels of preserving humanity : Right vision, Right knowledge and Right conduct, practicing them through the ten holy commands, for observation under strict vegetarianism and refraining from consumption of all types of drugs of abuse including honey and alcohol, were advised by the ancient Jaina Saints in their scriptures C.500 B.C., to awaken the human beings.
Any one, aspiring for spiritual elevation, had to have the above basic attainments, as Śrāvaka, who could either be, the intender, or the efforter, to be virtuous, through self-imposed reservations on one's own desires, within one's own limits.
The observance of the virtues, thus made any one, a Śrāvaka and the code of conduct for him, was Srāvacăcăra which is divided into seven parts.
The first two parts concern improvement of true vision and true knowledge respectively, while the later five parts improve and concern true behaviour of the Srāvaka who observes for the self-imposed vratas (austerities).
Starting with the simple observance of eleven Pratimās or vows, one enters into five Anuvratas, three Guņa Vratas and four Sīksă Vratas, the last of which is Vaiyyavrtti, the most important for a Srāvaka or a Jaina to observe.
As one of the 12 tapas, Vaiyyāvítticoncerns help and service to those affiliated by various types of calamities.
The equipotent soul in all the living creatures is visioned, and help is rendered to them, for better and longer, purposeful survival, without making any discriminations, to enable them to live in ease, and to utilize their lives, to help each other since 'parasparopagraho Jivānāṁ' is the fundamental principle of survival.
A five point approach of assistance is suggested by Ācārya Samanta Bhadra in his work Ratnakarandakaśravakācārafor the observer (Sravaka)
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