Jain Moral Doctrine

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

Page 82

STAGES IN THE MORAL PROGRESS
The basic acts of morality which a saint is to practise are called the Mula-guņas or primary virtues and are twenty-eight in number, viz. 1-5 the five Vratas or great vows of non-violence, truthfulness, nonstealing, sex-control and renunciation of worldly things; 6-10 the five Samitis or acts of carefulness; 11-15 the control of the five senses; 16-21 the six following observances, viz. the practice of dispassion, worship of the divine Lord, salutation to Him, confession, study and realisation of the difference of the self from the body; (22) the pulling out of hair; (23) nakedness; (24) refraining from bathing; (25) sleeping on hard ground; (26) refraining from cleansing the teeth; (27) taking meals, standing; and (28) taking only one meal a day.
The other practices of the saint viz. the forms of the Dharma, of the penances, of the meditations are also prescribed. The Anagāra Muni practises all these moral acts with care and in a far more strict way than a layman does.
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