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22) In This Our Life
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meal a day at midday. It is a special case of ahirsā. In fact the entire ethical structure of the Jainas is centered round the fundamental principle of ahimsa. We find this expressed in the other injunctions to be followed by the ascetics. The ascetics have to practise : 1) the five mahāvratas, 2) five samiti. 3) the control in five senses. 4) six avašyakas, other practices like i) loca (plucking the hair on the head with hands), ii) acelakatva (abstaining from the use of covering of any sort, iii) asnāna (abstaining from bath), iv) Pșthivisayana, v) adantadhāvana (abstaining from cleaning teeth), vi) sthitibhojana (taking food offered by the lay disciple, by using the palm only and by standing), viii) ekabhukta (taking one meal a day). The five samitis are : i) irya-samiti (restriction on movement), ii) bhāşā-samiti (restriction on speech), iii) eşaņā-samiti (taking pure and permissible food), iv) ādana-nikşepa (careful use movement of the necessary objects like kamaņdalu, a pot for use of water etc.,) and v) pratisthapanā-samiti (answering the nature calls in solitary places). The practice of vows and other injuctions has to be carefully done by the ascetic without exception. The life of a monk is hard and rigorous in this sense. His object is to attain Mokşa, and for this purpose rigorous mortification of the body has to be practised. The practice of vows is threefold : in body, mind and speech.
The infraction of the practice of vows and other injunctions has also to be threefold : i) by oneself, ii) by getting others to commit violation, and iii) by acquiescing in the act of violation.
A muni is not to cover himself with any type of clothes or decoration made of cotton, wool, bark of a tree or even grass. He is forbidden to take bath (asnāna). He should sleep with care on one side where there is little possibility of injury to living being including the tiniest insects. He should not clean his teeth, nails and other parts of the body nor should he decorate himself in any way (adanta-dhāvana). He should eat taking the food on the palm standing 'on a clean and purified place, and he should eat only once a day after midday. These
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