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S. B. DEO Candidates fit for monastic life:
Let us begin at the beginning and see which persons were fit for entry to the rigours and discipline of monk life. The Thānangasutta (p. 146b) gives a list of twenty persons who were not allowed to enter the order. The list as it stands is based on commonsense as also considerations which avoided the entanglement of the church into nonmonastic affairs. For instance, rules which barred the entry of persons such as eunuchs, very old persons, children under eight, the sick, robbers, madmen, pregnant women etc., are obviously based on practical commonsense as these persons are likely to be a nuisance to the smooth working of monastic discipline. On the other hand, a person who was the declared enemy of a king (rāyāvagārī), a slave (dāsa), a person in debt (anatta), an attendant (obaddha), a kidnapped person (sehanipphediya) and a servant, were disallowed to enter monk-life for the obvious reason that their entry was bound to be embarrassing in political, social and other fields which naturally fell beyond the ambit of monachism. It may be noted that this list of persons not fit for entry to monkhood or nunhood is identical for the Švetāmbaras and the Digambaras. (JAIN, C. R., Sannyāsa Dharma, pp. 24-25.) The Hierarchy:
A person having entered monkhood remained as one under probation till he was confirmed ('uvatthāviya! Thān. p. 240a). Such a seha, antevāsī or sūmanera had to prove himself worthy of monk-life and had to show implicit obedience to his senior. The period of probation depended on his behaviour and his senior's opinion regarding it. This period lasted either for six or four months or even for one week.
The Thānango refers to four categories of antevāsins based on their initiation and confirmation by one and the same or other ācārya.
The next to be mentioned is the Thera. He was elder Let us begin at the beginning and see what persons
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