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308
S. B. DEO
to be avoided, and a place within the eye-range of the guru was to be preferred. In order to avoid scattering of food on the ground, they were advised to take it in a pot with a broad mouth and then eat it with a calm mind,531
Begging while on Tour:
We have seen the normal practice of begging when a monk happened to stay at a particular place. When the monks were on tour and had to make a stop at a distant place, then the procedure was as follows:
Monks started for the next stop in case the village which they came across offered scanty alms to them, or in case there was a likelihood of an attack from thieves. If at the next stop, the monks happened to meet their co-religionists, then the latter offered them food, and they ate it in a 'mandall' after performing 'alocana'. If the food proved to be insufficient to all, then the residing monks offered all their food to the guest-monks and went on the begging-round for the second time. Thus, food could be given to the guest-monks for three days.532
If a monk happened to come to a village alone, then he stayed out and made inquiries regarding the time for begging food there. If he was told that that was the proper time, then he sat down, wiped his feet, scanned his pot ('paya' as well as 'mattaya'), and then entered the village. If on entering the village he came to know that there were monks of his faith, then he went to them. If the monks fortunately happened to be belonging to his own 'sāmācāri', then he took food with them. Otherwise, he kept his requisites outside, saluted the monks and inquired about the nature of good and bad families in the village.
While on the begging-round he came to know the disposition of different families, the places of poor people, places where wild dogs and cows were, the families that despised the monk, and the places where food was offered with the sole purpose of acquiring merit.
The houses of the 'sthäpanākulas' thāvanākulah (disagreeable, despised or antagonistic families), were not to be pointed out by stretching the hand, or pointing the finger towards them. In case those houses happened to catch fire, or robbed by thieves, then the people were likely to be suspicious of the monk. Hence the monk was to recognise such houses by the fact that such places were situated generally near dilapidated houses or
531. Ibid., 550. 532. Ibid., 212-15.
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