$JES 401 Jain Philosophy and Practice 2 Level 4 Book

Author(s): JAINA Education Committee
Publisher: JAINA Education Committee

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Chapter 04 - Moksha Märg (Path of Liberation)
Threefold Path of Liberation (Ratna-trayi Moksha Märg)
The association of the soul with karmic matter masks the inherent qualities of the soul. Jain philosophy, asserts that a person obtains everlasting happiness when a soul completely removes Mithyätva (ignorance) and Kashaya (vices like anger, ego, and greed) which in turn removes all karma attached to the soul. Jainism believes that only by one's personal efforts can one get rid of the karma associated with one's soul. The central theme of Jainism holds religion as a science of ethical and spiritual practice. The conduct of one's present life should be aimed at attaining Moksha; each soul can attain liberation, a supreme spiritual state, by realizing its purity and perfection.
The question then arises how do we achieve this objective? Tattvärtha-sutra, a sacred text of Jainism, emphatically states in its first aphoristic rule:
सम्यग्दर्शनज्ञानचारित्राणिमोक्षमार्गः
तत्त्वार्थसूत्र ( 1-1)
Samyag-darshan-jnän-chariträni Mokshamärgah
Samyag Darshan (Right Conviction, Belief or Faith), Samyag Jnän (Right and Rational Knowledge) and Samyag Chäritra (Right Conduct) together constitute the path to liberation. These three basic components are called Ratna Trayi, or the three jewels, in Jain works.
Right Perception creates an awareness of reality or truth, Right Knowledge impels the person to Right conduct leading one to the attainment of liberation. They must coexist in a person if one is to make any progress on the path of liberation.
The ethical code prescribed in Jainism for both house-holders and ascetics is based on this threefold path of liberation.
Prior to Samyag Darshan or Samyaktva:
The soul is eternal. However Jain scriptures indicate that we have started our journey from the lowest form of life known as Nigod. In that state infinite number of souls shared one physical body and in less than a second's time we reincarnated 17 times in that Nigod state. We have spent innumerable years in that state. After that we have spent innumerable years as one sensed living beings like water, earth, fire, air, and plants. Then we have spent a long time as two sensed, three sensed, and four sensed living beings. After that, we were born many times as five-sensed beings like animals, hellish beings, human beings, and heavenly beings. We were also born as human beings many times, although far fewer times than as any other types of living beings. In other words, we spent more time as subtle Nigod than all other type of lives combined.
During all that time, we lived an ignorant, non-vigilant, frightful life, struggling for food or in accumulating material things and/or seeking worldly pleasures. We never thought about our own self, our soul. We always thought of the external aspects like body, family, wealth, and other belongings as our own, and never realized that the soul is the only substance that is our own. Thus, we lived our lives in great misery and never put in an honest effort to liberate ourselves. We sought happiness, but that was always followed by unhappiness. Most of the time, we lived our lives being miser, jealous, begging for material things that we liked, with a sad face, in fear, committing deceitful acts, and insisting on the wrong beliefs.
To make progress is the nature of our soul. After all these times of misery and unhappiness, the Jiva (worldly soul) somehow reduces his delusion (wrong belief), passion and hate. Then he tries to use spiritual power to reduce the ongoing unhappiness and misery, and then the fight between the wrong belief, and the spiritual power starts. Sometime the Jiva wins; other time, he loses or does not make any progress towards true happiness and liberation. The battle goes on continuously. As the Jiva progresses, he likes to undertake virtuous activities like helping others, charity, compassion, donating, etc. Now he does not commit intensive sinful acts and does not have intensive affection for worldly
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