Jain Moral Doctrine

Author(s): Harisatya Bhattacharya
Publisher: Jain Sahitya Vikas Mandal

Page 70

CARDINAL VIRTUES
B takes advantage of A's forgetfulness and gives him the amount demanded; thereby B misappropriates Rs. 100/-] The Sākāra— mantra-bheda-or the divulgence of what one supposes to be a fact, from his observation of the manners of some persons who hold consultations in private.]
'Asteya' or non-stealing is the third great Vrata or vow laid down in the Jaina religious books. Stealing has been defined as appropriating what was not given. All appropriations, however, are not theft; misappropriations which are deliberate or wilful i.e. actuated by the Pramatta-yoga are cases of theft. A question may be raised whether a righteous man inviting the Karma-pudgala in him, can be accused of theft. The Jaina moralists answer the question in the negative. In the first place, a Muni introducing in himself the Karma is not actuated by any Pramatta-yoga or intention to have it. Secondly, it is pointed out that Karma is a subtle form of matter which belongs to nobody, so that its inflow in a Muni does not mean 'any appropriation of a thing which is not given'; in legal phraseology, the inflow of Karma does not involve any 'wrongful gain' or 'wrongful loss' to anybody. Another point that is raised is whether such acts of a person as taking water from another man's well amount to stealing on his part, in as much as the water was not given to him by the owner of the well. The Jainas affirm that all appropriations of things which have not been expressly given are essentially cases of theft and in the case under consideration, i.e. in the case of water being taken without the express permission of the owner of the well, the taking of water is technically a case of stealing. They, however, point out that such technical stealing is unavoidable by ordinary people of the world and recommend that all niis-appropriations which are not unavoidable in this way, should be given up.
The five Bhāvanās or meditations, rather, acts which fix or stabilise one's practice of non-stealing are-Śūnyāgāra or living in a solitary place; Vimoçitāvāsa or living in a place, deserted by all people; Paroparodha-karaṇa or living in a place where one is not likely to be obstructed by others nor where one is likely to obstruct others;-Bhaikşya-śuddhi-or looking to the purity of what is given to one as alms; and 'Saddharmā-visamvāda' or not entering into disputations with one's brothers in faith, in respect of one another's belongings.
The vow of non-stealing is transgressed, even when one, instead of himself stealing, abets it (Çetana-prayoga) or receives stolen property (Tādā-hrtādāna); or sells things at inequitable prices i.e.
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