JAINA Convention 1993 07 Pittusburgh

Author(s): Federation of JAINA
Publisher: USA Federation of JAINA

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minister. "Noble sire! Whose religious doctrine would you choose from all those present here? Tell me what you think."
The minister replied, "My lord! There is yet another doctrine of ascetics, though for some reason none of its practitioners has come here today. These absent ascetics regard grass and gems with the same lack of interest, and look upon a clod of earth or an ingot of gold with the same feelings. They regard beggars and kings as equals. They eat only what they can get on their begging rounds, and sometimes not at all, and they subsist on very little. They have conquered all notions of me and mine. They devote themselves to doing good to all living creatures and are intent upon study, meditation and restraining their senses. Summon them to your court; I do not know whether or not they will ever come." "Let us summon them. I should indeed like to see for myself exactly what they are like." And so the minister summoned a young Jain
monk. The king bowed down to him and said, "Do you think you can com- pose some poetry?" The monk replied, "I can, Great King, for my teacher has taught me how." "In that case, then complete this verse." The monk responded, "Please, tell me the line or half-line I am to finish." And when the king told him the words he was to complete, he thought carefully, and then in the presence of all those ascetics and courtiers, he recited this verse, which was so totally removed from anything that the others had said before him:
"What could I possibly want with wondering whether she wore earrings or not, for I have conquered my sense organs and stilled my passions, I am controlled and calm and my mind is totally given over to meditating upon higher truths.
The king said, "Holy man, how is it that your verse is so unlike what all of the others have composed?" The monk answered, "My teacher has told me this. with regard to ascetics like them:
There are two pieces of cloth, ong wet, one dry, and two balls of earth. Rub them together, and what do you see! Amazing, but the dirt clings only to the wet one.
It is the same with sins. Those who are stupid and given over to lust get sullied by sin. But those who are without passions do not get soiled, just as dirt does not cling to a dry cloth."
The king was pleased with this and he questioned the young monk further. He then accepted the Jain doctrine, which is greater than all the other doctrines. As it is said, "Just as the wishing tree is the best of all tress and the wishing jewel the best of gems, just as the drink of immortality is the best of all drinks, and Gosirsa is the best of all sandalwoods, so is the Jain doctrine absolutely the best of all religious doctrines, for it destroys all bad karma, wards off all suffering and brings about perfect happiness."
Most Sincere Wishes to the JAINA Convention
from VIJAY R. MEHTA
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"Jainism took its firm roots in a peaceful civilization, not in a power civilization, hence it provided maximum liberty and tolerance."
-Dr. Jyoti Prasad Jain
Jain Scholar and Historian 7TH BIENNIAL JAINA CONVENTION - JULY 1993
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