ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 03

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

Page 92

B.5.6
Jain Diet Dr. Shugan Chand Jain
1.0 Introduction The word diet brings to our mind thoughts of austerity, restriction and deprivation to lose weight and look better. However in Jainism, the word diet refers more to the harmonious relationship between food we take, our health (both physical and mental), environment we live in and enhancement of our abilities to perform and make our existence happy and blissful in this and future lives.
Jain term for food is āhāra. Recent literature uses the term bhojana also. Food is the taking in or absorption (and not just eating) of the matter fit for the different kinds of bodies 1. gross or physical body of human, animals and vegetation kingdom; 2. the transformable body of the celestial and infernal beings and so on; and six kinds of completions
Thus by food we also mean taking external inputs (nutrients, energy and body building and functioning elements) by the living beings. It is the most important need of the living beings as without it they may not be able to survive for long time. It therefore becomes important to know Jain views on food. Food and behavior, conduct, as per Jains, have strong correlation. Here also ethical postulates, such as being healthy (to be able to perform right conduct for self purification), non violence, self restraint (samyama), attitudes of carefulness, and our thinking have strong correlation to the type and quantity of food we take are interrelated.2 Mahāvīra, during his penance of more than 12.5 years is said to have taken small quantities of food and that too only 265 times.
However all living beings need external energy and nutrients to maintain their physical bodies healthy and use it effectively to utilize their faculties (mind, body and speech) to achieve their objectives. Thus food is the primary need of all living beings. Like cotton is the basic material of cloth, similarly to practice path of spiritual purification called Mokşa Mārga?
Tattvārtha-sūtra by Umāsvāti and its commentary by Pujyapāda, sūtra 2.30: called paryāpti, these being assimilation of molecules of matter, formation of body, the senses, the respiratory organs, the organ of speech and the mind. 2 Bodha-pāhuda by Kundakunda: V-34 3 TS 1 samyakdarśana-jnana-cāritrāņi mokşamärgah
STUDY NOTES version 5.0
Page 79 of 273