Jainism

Author(s): Herbert Warren
Publisher: Divine Knowledge Society

Page 93

JAINISM is undesirable conversation which leads to passion, lust, or excitement of the mind, thence to killing, as in duels, fights, and rows.
Destroying life means separating the life forces through these negligent activities. Now, with regard to what life forces are. The life forces are the power and means of being able to touch, i.e., the sense of touch, of taste, smell, seeing, and hearing; bodily force, force of speech, force of mind, capacity of respiration, and duration of life.
Different living beings have different numbers of these ten forces. Beings with only one organ of sense, the skin or surface, have only four out of these ten forces, viz., the sense of touch, force of body, respiration, and duration of life (ayuh). Vegetables, trees, plants, water, air, earth, and fire beings, have these four life forces.
Beings, with only two of the senses, have six life forces, viz., touch, taste, force of body, force of speech,--they have a means of communicating among themselves, capacity of respiration, and duration of life. Protozoa, and shell beings.
Beings, with only three senses, have the same six, with the addition of smell, making seven life forces. Lice. bugs, ants.
Beings, with only four senses, have the same seven forces, with the addition of eyesight, making eight. Wasps, bees, scorpions.
Beings, with nine life forces, have the same eight, with the addition of the sense of hearing. These beings with five senses and no mind, are very minute.