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HISTORY OF JAINA MONACHISM
"The śramaņas, birds, clusters of bees, groups of cows and the autumnal clouds have no fixed residence".
Thus the householder came to know about the monks' intention to leave the place. Then performing the pratikramana and the necessary duties (avasyaka) in the evening, the acarya told the householder that he and his. party had decided to leave the place next morning. A religious sermon was preached to the householder and his family.
257
Early next morning, they did both the 'suttaporisi' and the 'atthaporisi' or simply the former. If the next stop was too distant, then they started early morning without doing the scanning of the pot, etc. (pāyapadilehana). Sometimes they started even at sunrise but that depended on the distance at which they had to make the next halt.
The Method of Starting the Tour:
Some among the group walked ahead, some in the middle and some at the end of it. If the advance party came to the village where an intermediate stop was predecided by the company of the monks, then young monks were sent for alms and the rest of the party looked after their requisites. If such a village was found out to be deserted or burnt down or devastated by enemy, then a monk was kept there and the rest of the group went ahead. This monk waited for those who followed. If the village was completely deserted then nobody waited there and the vanguard left the place after making a sign (rikkha) on the road so as to serve as a clue to those who followed. If the village was in good condition, then a pair of monks was kept outside the village to meet the party following them, or else an ironsmith was requested to show the residence to the monks who came late.236
Thus the cycle of touring began again with all its vividity coming to a stop only in the four months of the rainy season.
Clothing (Vattha, Cela):
The clothing of the monk was expressed by words like the vattha, cela, civara, pacchāga and kappa.
The Purpose of Using Clothes:
Clothes were used for the sake of six reasons. They were to be put on for the protection of the body from grass, etc. (tagrahananivāraṇārthaṁ),
236. Ibid., 166-180. BULL, DCRI-33
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