$JES 401 Jain Philosophy and Practice 2 Level 4 Book

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

Page 96

By renouncing passions, the soul attains the state of complete freedom, the state beyond attachment and aversion (Vitaraga). On attaining the state of non-attachment and non-aversion,
the soul becomes indifferent to worldly pleasure and pain. (29-36) By conquering anger, the soul acquires forgiveness. By conquering pride, the soul gains humility. By giving up deceit, the soul acquires straightforwardness. By conquering greed, the soul attains contentment
Greed
Accumulation wealth and material possessions is greed and attachment to the accumulation is greediness. Greed is not only related to wealth, but also related to having more power, to becoming more famous, to having others acknowledge/respect your intelligence, your body, and your features. Greed is also a desire to use and reuse material things, desire to please the five senses and mind, desire to get what you like, and so on. People sometimes spend more money to get power, a beautiful companion, name, and fame. Even practicing religion with a desire to go to heaven or Moksha is greed. Thus, there are many types of greed, which must all be carefully avoided. What Greed Does
Greed makes people miserable. Greed attracts more bad karma and bad karma makes them greedy in a seemingly endless cycle. Greed destroys love, humility, and friendship. Wherever there is greed, there is no happiness, and greed has no limits. Greediness is also subtle. Sometimes it is very difficult to notice greediness. It is more difficult to get rid of greediness. A person blinded by greediness resorts to not only deceit, treachery, and injustice, but may even go to the extent of severe violence. When you get what you like, it can lead to attachment (deceit and greed) and when you do not get what you like it can lead to aversion (anger and ego).
Bhagawan Mahävir said, "A greedy person cannot be satisfied even if he accumulates countless heaps of gold and silver the size of Mount Kailäsa (a peak in the Himalayas). Desires are limitless like space." He also said, "You may annex the entire universe and you may acquire the wealth of the whole world, but even these will not be sufficient to satisfy your greed. Even that treasure will not be able to protect you from the miseries of the world." Greed is a very dangerous passion because in the end there is no satisfaction with accumulated goods. Similarly, it does not allow enjoyment of wealth, power, fame, or name obtained. A penny pinching, miserly person is not able to use his money even for his own comfort and well-being. He is afraid that in doing so his wealth may be used up and exhausted. In addition, how can a person donate money when he does not use it even for himself? Such a miser is shocked and pained even to see anyone else donating wealth to the needy. A greedy person feels jealous when others have more than he has. How long does greed last? There are four types of greed, and therefore, their lasting time is of four different periods:
Some greed is very mild, like a color that can be washed away by water. This type of greed takes
hours or days to get rid off. • Some greed is mild, like a color that can be removed by soap and water. This type of greed
takes weeks or months to get rid of. Some greed is intense, like grease that requires special chemicals to remove. This type of greed takes a good amount of time (months to years) to get rid of. Some greed is very intense, like permanent dye. This type of greed takes a very long time, even a lifetime or more to get rid of.
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JAIN PHILOSOPHY AND PRACTICE - 2