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PHILOSOPHY OF SOUL
10. Refraining daily from enjoying concessions and exceptions. II. Living for a limited period in a monkish order of life. 12. Honouring the guests.
DIVISION OF TWELVE VOws
First five vows are called minor vows as compared with the 'Great Vows'. Next three vows are called 'Virtue fostering-vows' and the rest of the four are 'Educative-Vows' as these vows train the soul in monkish order of life. Viewed from a certain point of view 'educative vows' are also Virtue-fostering vows and therefore, barring first five minor vows, all the rest seven vows can be considered as 'Virtue-fostering-Vows'. That is the reason why the scriptures often refer to seven 'Virtue-fostering-vows'.
First Vow: REFRAINING FROM KILLING ANY LIVING BEING IN
GENERAL
Vow which enjoys concessions is a minor vow, while a vow having no concessions is a major (great) vow. Thus all the five minor vows are small.
'Pranātipāta' means violence. The vow which refrains a person from any act of violence is the vow 'Prantipata-Viramana.' In this vow with affirmation, killing of any innocent living being is refrained from. Little discussion in this connection will make the point clear.
There are two kinds of living beings in the world-Moving and Stable. Householders can abandon killing of moving or stable beings. Of course they do so having repented for such acts of violence and they indeed should repent.
Among moving creatures some are guilty and some are innocent. One who attacks a woman, a sister, a daughter, who destroys a village, plunders sacred places, invades upon a country is guilty. Such a guilty person would not be allowed to escape without punishment by a householder. This means, if a house-holder fights and punishes such an offender, then he does not infringe the vow. Kings ministers, and city superintendents observing this vow of nonviolence have fought with the enemies in this manner and have protected the country, the society and religion. Thus the house
