$JES 401 Jain Philosophy and Practice 2 Level 4 Book

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

Page 58

Possessing land, houses, and other items beyond the predetermined limit • Possessing gold and silver ornaments more than the predetermined limit • Keeping excessive domestic articles and provisions more than the predetermined limit
• Keeping servants, workers and domestic animals and birds beyond the predetermined limit The vow should not be used as a means of increasing one's possessions or allowing one's desire for wealth to be inordinate and endless. The practice of the vow is possible only when one limits their desire for possessions or one controls their greed. The vow is to help to reduce greed, raise the standard of morality and prompt the rich to spend their excess wealth for the good of society. By utilizing their excess wealth in philanthropic activities, the rich can properly resist the feeling of hostility directed against them by the unemployed and the poor. Renouncing excessive luxury, inordinate worldly pleasures, and properly limiting their needs, and utilizing their excess wealth for the good of the society are beneficial to the rich themselves and the entire society as well. Supporting Vows: Three Guna-vratas (Supporting Restraints) The three Guna-vrata: Dig Parimana-vrata, Bhoga-Upabhoga Parimana and Anartha-danda Viramanvrata are intended to impose restraints of long duration on the activities of a householder so that the chances of his committing transgressions of other vows are considerably, if not totally, reduced. They are supporting vows, which aid the individual in his observance of the five Anu-vrata. 06. Dig Parimäna-vrata (Geographical Restraints) Dig Parimäna-vrata means voluntarily limiting activities within a limited area. A person takes a vow not to travel beyond predetermined limits in the ten directions. The ten directions are: East, West, North, South, Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, and Northwest, Up and Down. By fixing the limits in all the ten directions, one's greed, which is at the root of Parigraha, is curtailed. The householder is like a heated iron ball, wherever he goes, he brings in Himsä. If the area of his movements were fixed, he would be restrained from committing Himsä beyond that area. He would be able to exercise self-restraint in all matters in relation to the area beyond the limits. Thus, the primary objective of this vow is to help the householder curtail his activities from all sides, so that his internal passions, particularly greed, could be commensurably curbed. Five Transgressions (Atichär) of this Vow:
Not limiting the extent to which one can move upwards Not limiting the extent to which one can move downwards into an underground vault or into deeper levels of the sea
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Traveling in any of the eight directions beyond the fixed limits
Extending the already set limits of travel Crossing the fixed limits of traveling unknowingly (forgetting the limits).
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07. Bhoga-upabhoga Parimäna-vrata (Consumption Restraints) Bhoga means items that can be used only once such as food, soft drinks, toiletry, lotions, perfumes, incense, etc. Upbhoga means items that can be used repeatedly such as houses, furniture, clothes, shoes, jewelry, vehicles etc. This vow enjoins the householder to put limitations to the use of objects of senses categorized as those for Bhoga and Upabhoga, with a view to curtailing his sense of attachment to them and thus increase his
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JAIN PHILOSOPHY AND PRACTICE - 2