ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 03

Author(s): International School for Jain Studies
Publisher: International School for Jain Studies

Page 204

permission or denial. It is a process initiated by the individual, but chosen interdependently with a preceptor.
What leads a person to want to engage in Jaina voluntary death practice? Most sources repeat the same main justifiable reasons for starting a fast unto death as we find in "Ācārya Samantabhadra ['s] authoritative work entitled Ratnakaranda-śrāvakācāra ... "When overtaken by a calamity, by famine, by old age, or by an incurable disease, to get rid of the body for 'dharmd is called 'Sallekhanā.' One should by degrees quit the body17". We could include any number of situations under 'calamity,' such as environmental disasters, mortal injury and so on. The crux of the matter is that these instances have in common the potential to leave a person unable to perform their religious duties, also often mentioned in Jaina texts as the cause for choosing Jaina voluntary death. The Acārānga-sūtra says this:
"If this thought occurs to a monk:
I am sick and not able, at this time, to regularly mortify the flesh,'
that monk should regularly reduce his food; regularly reducing his food, and diminishing his sins,
he should take proper care of his body, being immovable like a beam; exerting himself he dissolves his body 18"
Entrance into Jaina voluntary death practices is considered, therefore, when religious duties are no longer able to be performed and when death approaches. This is to prevent the influx of negative karma from breaking commitments, which occurs naturally even if unintentional: "If...a person allows his vows to fall into disuse due to the onset of infirmity or senility, he will pass his final hours in asaṁyama, non-restraint; such an unfortunate circumstance, it is believed, will adversely affect his next birth.19" The importance of preparing for death is shown in the Samana Suttam, which recommends that "when death is inevitable in any case, it is better to die possessed of a calm disposition.20"
"Sangave, The Sacred Shravana-Belagola 1981:p.133
* Jacobi, Jaina Sööras, Part-I 1884:p.71-72 19 Jaini, Jaina Path Of Purification. p.227-228 20 Varni, Jinendra, Samana Suttam 1993: p.207.
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