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164
Faina Ethics
Repetition apart, the qualities of humility (mārdava ) straightforwardness (ārjava) and contentment (sauca) are essential for a monk. In fact, the ten cardinal virtues leave out hardly any virtue which may be required of a monk.
The attitude of a monk towards hardships
The path of asceticism is full of hardships which a monk is expected to overcome with detachment and forbearance.? The monk should get rid of the false impression of identity of body with soul and should understand the transitory nature of physical pains and pleasures.3 While the worldly man tries to avoid these hardships and counteracts them by various means, the monk welcomes these hardships and faces them with fortitude. Parişahajaya or victory over these hardships is a part of tapaścaryā or penance; the difference between the two lies in the fact that the former refers to remaining calm amidst such hardships as befall a monk by chance, whereas the latter refers to remaining steadfast amidst self-inflicted hardships. By facing these hardships boldly, the monk acquires a resolute will that no difficulty could bend.
The path of salvation is not an easy one. It necessarily involves denial of comforts to the body, which being only a means and not the end, should not be unduly pampered and coddled. The hardships that a monk may have to face are roughly twenty-two in number:5
(1) Hunger, (2) Thirst, (3) Cold, (4) Heat, (5) Insectbites, (6) Nakedness, (7) Discontentment, (8) Woman, (9) Fatigue from walking, etc. (10) Disturbance by animals, (11) Sleeping or sitting on hard earth, (12) Abuse, (13) Beating, (14) Begging, (15) Failure to get alms, etc. (16) Disease, (17) Contact of thorny shrubs, etc. (18) Discomfort from dirt, (19) Respectful or disrespectful treatment, (20) Pride of knowledge, (21) Lack of knowledge, (22) Failures in religious practices.
dio
1. Aparājitas üri on Bhagavati Ārädhanā. 1171. 2. Cf. Pujyapāda On Tattvārthas ütra, 9.9.
Cf. Ibid., 9.9. 4. Gogortafarfast: qfa: 1 Fauna: TTFSOT: 1
Ibid., 9.19. Also Bhatta Akalarka on Tattvārthasūtra, 9.19. (p. 1082). 5. Uttarādhyayana, 2.1. Also Tattvärthas ütra, 9.9.
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