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The Heritage of the Last Arhat
harming brother-souls, and adding thereby to the stock of his own misfortunes. To make him aware of it and still encourage him to take up the desperate struggle against this world of dark mights within and round about him.
How can he take up this desperate struggle ?
कहं चरे कहं चिट्ठे कहासे कहं सए ।
कहं भुंजंतो भासतो पावं कम्मं न बंधई ॥
"How to walk, how to stand, how to sit, how to lie down, how to eat, and how to speak, without binding undesirable Karma?”
The Daśavaikālika Sūtra ( iv. 7f.) after giving a detailed description of the harm people do to other creatures merely by careless behaviour, puts these questions, and immediately lets the answer follow:
जयं चरे जयं चिट्ठे जयमासे जयं सए । जयं भुंजंतो भासतो पावं कम्मं न बंधइ ||
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"By walking with care, standing with care, sitting with care, lying down with care, eating with care, and speaking with care, the binding of undesirable Karma can be avoided."
Дcārānga Sūtra discusses this subject in full breadth, and the Sūtrakṛtānga Sūtra, which goes more into the depth of the abstruse problem, goes so far as to state (ii. 4) that the soul is binding bad Karma at any time whatsoever, even if it does not directly do evil actions, i.e., even in sleep, or in a state of unconsciousness. For, as a man who has made up his mind to kill a certain person at the first best opportunity, goes about with his murderous intention day and night, and as his sub-conscious mind is constantly filled with those hostile sentiments towards that person, just so the individual is constantly filled with hostile sentiments towards the whole of creation, as long as he is inwardly prepared to satisfy, as soon as they will arouse him, his physical instincts at the cost of the well-being of any other creature.
There is, according to the Sūtras, only one way by which the
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