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Jaina Path of Purification (Liberation)
107
At this juncture in the exposition of the auspicious and the inauspicious karmas, it will be proper to clear one important point regarding wealth. Happiness can never be measured by the abundance of wealth. This way of measuring happiness is wrong. The excessive accumulation of wealth is a sin; not only that, but it deprives man of his peace of mind. So, how can it be a measure of happiness? If a man honestly and in a just way acquires just that much wealth as is necessary to buy necessities of life and a residential house, remains satisfied with that only and has good intention to spend the excess honest earnings in the philanthropic works, then he can be regarded as a real happy person, because he does not lose his peace of mind and experiences happiness and bliss through mind. Happiness consists in contentedness. It cannot be denied that wealth is a means of livelihood and hence useful. But it should be earned and acquired honestly and in a just way, it should be spent in buying proper necessities and comforts of life for one's family members and the excess of it should be spent in philanthropic activities. It should be given only this much importance and not more. To give more importance than what it deserves is quite improper and even wrong from the spiritual standpoint. Religious practice or spiritual discipline has connection not with possession but with limited possession or non-possession. Wealth alone should not be understood as a sign of good fortune. Wealth acquired through unfair means is the sign of misfortune. Wealth which is the sign of good fortune and the cause of happiness is not the wealth that is acquired dishonestly and in an unjust way. To view the virtuous more honourable than the wealthy is the right and wholesome outlook and its spread and cultivation in society is absolutely necessary. With the spread and cultivation of the good quality of limiting one's needs and possessions in society, there will be an increase in happiness, peace and morality in society.
For the spiritual practiser, it is necessary to know about the purity of conduct. So, we propose to have a glance at this topic.
JAINA CODE OF CONDUCT Though earlier we have dealt with, in a general way, the rules of good conduct laid down for laymen as well as monks, we here propose to discuss some important points regarding their conduct. Let us first take up the daily practices of the monks.
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