Interpretation Of Jain Ethics

Author(s): Charlotte Krause
Publisher: Yashovijay Jain Granthmala

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humility, which sometimes manifests itself in touching forms, or the virtue of Cleanliness, whose exterior variety can be seen in fullest display in the Jain house and the Jain Temple, which latter has become proverbial for its neatness, and the slightest uncleanliness of which would be counted as a downright defilement.
E. The Twelve Reflections. The next group of ethical rules form the Twelve Bhavanas, i.e., Reflections, which one should constantly turn over in one's mind. They are as follows:
1. Beauty, Fortune, Love, and all that exists is transitory. Therefore, nothing is worth striving after but the permanent happiness of Moksha.
2. In the face of pain and death, man is completely helpless. Therefore, one should endeavour to make them cease, by annihilating one's Karma.
3. Existence, with all its stages, is like a drama, in which man acts only a temporary part, as a father, or as a lover, or as a son etc. Therefore, one should not keep one's mind attached to any person or to any thing.
4. In the act of consuming its Karma, by undergoing the various sufferings predestined to it, the soul is alone. Nobody can assist it therein. Therefore, one should make powerful efforts to get rid of Karma by one's own initiative.
5. Body and Soul are heterogeneous things, therefore one should not mistake the body and its demands for part of the self, nor allow it to rule over us.
6. The body contains many disgusting elements, thus one should endeavour to become a pure, bodiless Siddha.