Aparigraha the Humane Solution

Author(s): Kamla Jain
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith

Page 80

72
APARIGRAHA - THE HUMANE SOLUTION
In the five-fold scheme of mahāvratas the fifth vow is 'sabbão parigghao vermaṇam' or abstention from all kinds of possessions. The monk vows to give up even the slightest form of attachment to things around him ranging from trivial lifeless objects to human beings the vow demands not only renouncing property, but all sorts of family ties and dependence on family members. The monk becomes a total recluse. Even present-day Jaina monks and nuns are expected, as per scriptural injunctions, to observe this vow in the strict sense. The Digambara monks travel on foot (pada-yātra) all over without even clothes and begging bowls; the Śvetambara monks too travel with minimum clothes and other requisites. They do not accept anything except what they require at a given time for the fulfillment of their basic necessities. This mahāvrata enjoins the monks to abstain from all kinds of possessions, small or large, living or non-living. They should not only asbtain themselve from all kinds of possessions, they should not make others keep them, nor should they appreciate such possessions being kept by others. They should abstain from them physically, mentally and verbally.1 Further, in the text of Daśvaikālika, possessions are described as of fifty four kinds which refer mainly to bahya parigraha. The monks are not supposed to be equipped with any such belongings; though both Digambara and Svetambara monks do possess some essential requisites for their daily use. Digambara monks are even more rigid in their basic requisites since they do not even possess clothes and begging bowls, they only possess one or two articles for their daily use, and for maintaining their fundamental vows. Such restriction on possessions is justified in the Jaina scriptures on the ground of a distinction between necessity and desire. The outcome of desire satisfied is attachment but of necessity satisfied is relief, which is just the physical need related with life itself. Necessities can be fulfilled even without attachment; this, therefore helps in safeguarding the other vows which the monks and nuns undertake. This is the scientific reason for the monks to keep their requisites to the bare minimum. They are, therefore, not included
1. Dašavaikālika - 4,11.
2. Šramaņa - Sūtra - Upadhyaya Amarmuni p. 64.