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Character means righteousness. Righteousness means equanimity and equanimity is that state of soul which is free from infatuation and perturbance.
One who takes beneficial food is small quantity: need no physician to treat them. They treat themselves on their own.
One should practice right course of conduct well before old age inflicts him, diseases overcome him and senses become weak.
Abstinence from torturing creatures, falsehood, theft, incontinence and limitless desire for possession are the small rules of conduct.
Equanimity makes one, rama a, celibacy makes one Br hma a, knowledge makes one saint and austerity makes one ascetic.
One should keep equanimity in gain land loss, pleasure and pain, life and death, censure and praise and honour and insult.
Dress (of a monk) does not verify the authenticity of a person who is devoid of self-control. Is not one killed by swallowing poison even if he changes his dress?
External objects are relinquished for inner purification. External renunciation is futile for one who is bound internally.
A real saint is one who is unattached to his body, who is completely free from passions like ego etc. and who is engrossed in one self.
All such vows are great where there is no reservation of desire for return, perverted vision and hypocrisy. A vow is polluted by these three reservations.
A negligent person always commits violence, whether his activities kill some one or not. A vigilant is not bound merely because his activity may happen to injure somebody.
One should cautiously walk, stand, sit, sleep, eat and speak. He is not bounded by evil in this way.
He is self-disciplined, who forsaking the alien modifications, remains engrossed in his pure nature.
A realized soul should think that I am that who never leaves his own nature and does not assume the nature of others; who knows and sees all.
He practices penance who takes food in small quantity for the study of scriptures. Penance without study is just starving one self.
Just as a fire in the forest consumes the heap of grass the fire of penance, set ablaze by right character and accompanied by the wind of right knowledge burns the cause of mundane existence.
The fire of meditation consumes all good or bad for him who is free from attachment, aversions and evil mental, vocal and physical activities.
No physical movement, no speech, no thought, self engrossed in self... this is the meditation par excellence.
Birth is accompanied by death, young by old age, wealth by transitoriness-thus one should reflect that everything is perishable.
All objects are perishable-reflecting on this, forsake great infatuation and detach the mind from objects of pleasure.
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STUDY NOTES version 4.0
