Jain Journal 1974 04

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 85

APRIL, 1974
223
on entering the Order, or, as it is commonly expressed, on taking dikşā. In their case the vows are called the five great vows (mahāvrata). Lay people, however, should observe these vows so far as their conditions admit ; the five vows of the lay people are called the small vows (anuvrata). To explain : not to kill any living beings requires the greatest caution in all actions, considering that nearly everything is believed to be endowed with life. Endless rules have been laid down for monks which aim at preventing the destruction of the life of any living beings whatever. But if a layman were to observe these rules he could not go about his business ; he is, therefore, obliged to refrain only from intentionally killing living beings, be it for food, pleasure, gain or any such purpose. And so it is also with the remaining vows; their rigour is somewhat abated in the case of laymen. A layman, however, may, for a limited time, follow a more rigorous practice by taking one of the following particular vows or regulations of conduct (silavrata) : (1) digvirati ; he may limit the distance up to which he will go in this or that direction ; (2) anarthadandavirati ; he may abstain from engaging in anything that does not strictly concern him ; (3) upabhogaparibhogaparimāna ; he may set a measure to his food, drink, and the things he enjoys, avoiding besides gross enjoyments. (It may be mentioned in passing that certain articles of food, etc., are strictly forbidden to all, monks and laymen alike, e.g., roots, honey, and spirits and likewise no food may be eaten at night.) The preceding three vows are called guņavrata ; the next four are the disciplinary vows (Śikṣāvrata) : (4) desavirati, reducing the area in which one will move : (5) sāmāyika, by this vow the layman undertakes to give up, at stated times, all sinful actions by sitting down motionless and meditating on holy things ; (6) pausadhopavāsa, to live as a monk on the 8th, 14th, or 15th, or day of the lunar fortnight, at least once a month : (7) atithisamvibhāga, lit. to give a share to guests, but it is understood in a less literal sense, viz. to provide the monks with what they want.
Most of these regulations of conduct for laymen are intended apparently to make them participate, in a measure and for some time, in the merits and benefits of monastic life without obliging them to renounce the world altogether. The rules for a voluntary death have a similar end in view. It is evident that the lay part of the community were not regarded as outsiders, or only as friends and patrons of the Order, as seems to have been the case in early Buddhism ; their position was, from the beginning, well defined by religious duties and privileges ; the bond which united them to the Order of monks was an effective one. The state of a layman was one preliminary and, in many cases, preparatory to the state of a monk; in the latter respect, however, a change