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JAINA MONASTIC JURISPRUDENCE engaged in study at such a time, they were likely to take it as a sign of indifference towards the deceased personality, which was likely to arouse their frenzy. These rules, therefore, reveal a knowledge of social psychology coupled with the needs of monastic life.
Similar was the case regarding the selection of a proper residence. Apart from the non-acceptance of notorious places, the reasons for which are based on commonsense, the Jaina texts hold that too much extensive or too small a residence was not to be accepted by a monk. An extensive lodging was normally the resort of indifferent elements in the society like guards, beggars (kārpaţika) and unmarried males and females (vantha). The very presence of such people was likely to disturb a monk in his daily routine of study as also his answering the normal calls of nature for which he would have to go to a distant place which might lead to hiṁsā. If he suppressed such calls, then he was likely to fall ill. Then at night, if he tried to find out his own place or his requisites and in doing so happened to touch the bodies of other persons mentioned above, these were likely to take him to be an eunuch or a thief or a person having an appointment with his beloved. This would definitely lead to trouble. Moreover, if the monk happened to be healthy, he was likely to be kidnapped by women and eunuchs, in which case it was not possible for him to get help. (Oha.N. 21724). On the other hand, too small a residence left meagre space for moving about which was likely to lead to quarrel by others and breaking up of requisites. Such rules, therefore, display the deep foresight in judging the possibilities, in knowing the nature of the bad elements in the society and last but not the least the utmost precaution in maintaining the puritanic rigour of monastic life.
Besides the purely ethical basis of the structure of Jaina monastic rules, other considerations were also there. For instance, take the normal rule of not initiating a boy under eight. This is found in the Thānangasutta (p. 164b). However, by the time of Nisihacunni we find that six types
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