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prescription in the Buddhist tradition to the effect that it the should be read by an initiated monk only (24).
At first sight, such a restrictive prescription may appear to be the consequence of a narrow mentality and also unnecessary, but on a penetrating analysis one may see that there is a meaningful motive behind it. These texts deal primarily with atonements given to the monks and nuns of the order. Now, when there is an order, it should be conceivable that it shelters diverse sorts of people in it, and diverse situations also. Bhagavan Mahavira has himself said that as to conduct, if one monk is like the full moon, another may be no better than the moon on the first day of the fortnight (25). The aim of the monastic order is to help the people within its fold to attain the topmost stage, but then it will be somehwat unnatural to conceive that all the people who are on the march are not at dissimilar levels. Though they started together, some of them may lag behind, some may falter and some may even drop down. Again, some of those who have dropped down may stand up and start moving again. Keeping these diverse situations in view, rules and regulations must exist for the order based on past experiences and anticipations about the future. Therefore, for an immature person, their reading may be positive harmful to the reader himself. Such a reader may read in the text a state of degeneration in the order which is no more than his own fancy. It is because of considerations like these, and not due to any narrowness of mind, that the reading of these texts is not permitted by lay men. The prescription is intended, not to hide the sin, but to prevent it from spreading.
Both Nišiha and Vinaya Pitaka are exhaustive texts on the violation of the rules of brahmacarya. To lay readers, the text would appear vulgar, but in the field of research, both of them open new avenue of thinking for the scholar. Given below are extracts from the two texts on lapses from brahmacarya and atonements therefor.
Nisiha on Lapses from Brahmacarya, etc.
1. A monk who indulges in hasta -karma, and approves of other monks doing the same has to undergo severe atonement for one month. (Uddeśaka 1.1).
