Jain Spirit 1999 10 No 02

Author(s): Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains

Page 51

ENVIRONMENT
and the importance of grounding it in those aspects of human life that matter and which can heal the world.
It has produced twelve textual Angas, or limbs, which all pose questions and answers about the effective possibilities for mutual support. The monk or lay disciple is expected to express him- or herself among others; to display the cherished fruits of inner reflection; to go out into the world and spread virtuosity. Contemplation, in other words, is not, by nature, a secret, but the means to an end that is beyond the individual. Contemplation is not a selfish act. When we meditate, we radiate peace around us.
The Jain heritage has always seen meditation in this much wider sense - a combination of right faith, right knowledge and right conduct.
Consider the great words of wisdom that Jainism nurtured and that flowered through its scriptures.
. Acara, the behavior of a monk, is implicitly disposed to that community and how the individual - just back from the far fringes of inner thought - goes about interacting with other human beings.
Mahavira was emphatic that not only should we be non-violent, but that we should also not allow another person to be violent.
• Sutrakrta, the clarification of ethics, behavior, thought, so as to introduce balance.
Consider just a few of the principles that have been embraced by Jainism:
• Sthana, Jain doctrines which attest to every aspect of karma, non-violence, moderation, respect; in other words, other forms, causes and consequences of behavior.
• Samavaya, a continuation of Sthana.
• The Bhagavati Sutra, which contains those scientific and philosophical queries reshaped into a question and answer session between Mahavira and his chief disciple, Indrabhuti Gautama. The very dialogue of the two men - at the heart of Jain tradition and anecdote - incites a universal paradigm. It shows that even an omniscient monk must tell his story, relate to another human being, come back from whatever lofty thoughts he or she has formulated, and return home to the soil where all things grow up naturally and express themselves, like the flower.
. ahimsa (non-violence, non-injury. non-harming), jiva-daya (compassion and charity), • anukampa (compassion). . yatra (pilgrimage), .astikya (affirmation). • dana (charity), • gunavratas (behavioral restraints). • kshama (forgiveness).
atithi-samvibhaga (sharing with a guest). . maitri (universal friendliness), • anagara-dhara (mendicant discipline). • pravrajya (renunciation), . anekantavada (tolerance; literally,
the doctrine of manifold aspects). • brahmacari (celibacy), • asteya (not stealing: could be interpreted ecologically - not
taking from future generations). • tapas (austerity). • irya-samiti (care in walking), • aparigraha (non-possession). • puja (the daily consecration).
• Jnatadharmakatha, relating to issues of morality.
• The Upasakada, pertaining to observances among lay-votaries.
• The Antakrddasa, which speaks to the practice of asceticism, or tapas, and examines the journey of a liberated soul.
The living practice of these profound ideals can itself be considered to be an act of meditation.
• Anuttaraupapatikadasa, which leads the inquiring mind into the heart of reincarnation, a remarkable text.
• Prasnavyakarana, continuing from the 9th Anga, and guiding us along the very route of karma.
• The Vipakasruta, which addresses the whole notion of cause and effect.
. And finally, the Drstivada, a manuscript which has been lost.
Artists, philosophers and spiritual thinkers - be it a Goya depicting the bruality of war, a Zola the inequities of class struggle, or a Dalai Lama the tyrannies over his people - have always concluded that morality without purpose is like an empty glass; that great ideas with no application in the real world are "useless passions", to use Jean Paul Sartre's expression. Contemplation is the
The Angas, along with 34 Angabahyas, 12 Upangas, 4 Mulasutras, 6 Chedasutras, 2 Culikasutras, 10 Prakirnakas, and literally hundreds of thou- sands of pages of other texts, are the product of a collective meditation. They are equally concerned with the whereabouts of contemplation itself,
50 Jain Spirit . October - December 1999 Jain Education International 2010_03