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Therefore, a śrāvaka avoids excesses even in sexual indulgences with his wife. This is a rigorous moral practice for purity of conduct and a willingly accepted resolve for purity of thoughts.
A śrāvaka observing this vow prevents him-self from indulging in these activities - 1. He should avoid arranging marriages of sons and daughters of other people. 2. He should avoid intimacy with unchaste married women. 3. He should avoid intimacy with wanton unmarried women. 4. He will avoid unnatural sexual activities. 5. He will avoid intense sexual desires, even for his wife.
THE MINOR VOW OF LIMITING POSSESSION
Obsession, infatuation and fondness for things are possession. There are needs in life. These needs are fulfilled with things. Things are not possessions in themselves. When our fondness gets associated with them, things become possessions. The things with which fondness is attached, turn into bondage for man. Thus, primarily fondness is possession and secondarily the things with which that fondness is attached are possessions. Therefore, possession is of two types, internal or fondness and external or things. Things could be both living and non-living. A person becomes a possessor if he has intense desire for a thing, irrespective of physically possessing that thing or not. To regulate or limit ones needs for things in order to discipline ones covetousness is called the minor vow of limiting possessions.
This vow is the middle path between the great vow of nonpossession and unbridled hoarding of things. A person who observes this vow prevents him-self from indulging in following things - 1. For higher profits he will not take excess work from his animals or slaves. 2. For higher profits he will not hoard wealth and merchandise. 3. He will not be jealous of gains of others in business or profession. 4. He will not covet for higher profits when he is already making reasonable profit. 5. Out of greed he will not load his animal and labourers more than the established norms, or what law prescribes.
SAPTAŚĪLA (SEVEN CODES OF UPRIGHTNESS)
In order to observe the five minor vows it is necessary for a śrāvaka to observe saptaśīla (seven codes of uprightness). In fact, the
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