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422
S. B. DEO bhaya.232 In mastering all the three aspects, one had to be very careful in learning and reciting it.
Way of Reciting:
The fundamental rules of reciting the sūtra remained the same, and the following prāyaścittas were prescribed for improper reading: 233 Omitting some words
.. 'Māsalaghu Transgressing the sequence of the Tirthankaras .. Caturguru' Mixing or adding some other words
.. 'Māsalaghu' For wrong faith
.. 'Caturlaghu' Transgressing the order of the guru
.. 'Caturguru'.
Unfit Students:
The sūtra was taught only to the deserving. Those, therefore, who were quarrelsome with the guru, had no devotion for the teacher, acted like a swan in learning only the selected portions, or like the buffalo in making the whole pond (i.e., group of students) dirty, who were like the cat who liked drinking milk only when it was spilt on the ground, i.e., who liked to listen only when the whole congregation had got up-all these were not to be taught the sūträrtha,234
Proper Students:
Those, on the other hand, who were well-versed, with a long standing in the order, of stable mind, intelligent, and well stabilised, were taught the
sutra.235
Higher Texts:
There were, however, certain texts which were taught only to the qualified. The Chedasūtras, for instance, were not revealed to those who grumbled against the guru or who mixed food for taste or who made residence or apparatus decorative (tintiņika), who were of a fickle mind (calacitta), who changed the gaña frequently within six months (gānanganika), who were of weak morals (durbalacăritra), who humiliated the guru (ācāryaparibhāvī), who acted against the dictates of the ācārya (vāmāvarta), who were wicked (piśuna), who had not studied the preliminary books like the Avaśyaka upto
232. Avaśyaka. bha. 150, p. 434. 233. Brh, kalp. bha. Vol. I, 288-99. 234. Ibid. Vol. I, 347-61. 235. Ibid. 400-401.
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