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The householders' twelve vows as under: - 1. Five Basic Minor Vows –
These are the householders' five basic vows that are in the five fundamental areas of non-violence, truthfulness, nonstealing, sexual discipline and non-possession or attachment thereto -- of Jaina tenets.
Giving up Gross Violence (Sthūla Prānātipāt
Viramana)-To refrain from intentional killing or hurting of any vitality of the movable two and more sensed living beings is to observe the minor vow of 'Gross Nonviolence.
1.
For obvious reasons the householders' nonviolence cannot be as stringent as that of the ascetics. The violence can be classified into following three categories and we can see that with due care and vigilance
the householders can avoid unnecessary violence. a. Necessary Violence (Avasyak Himisā) - The violence
that results from necessary day to day activities such as cooking, cleaning, constructing houses, etc and business establishments, digging wells and ploughing and irrigating or farming cannot be avoided by the householders. This necessary violence can also be further sub-divided into household violence in which case it is called Ārambhi Himsă and the violence indulged in activities connected with earning a livelihood in which case it is called Udyogi Himsā. One must, however, be careful to avoid any
unnecessary violence on this account. b. Intentional Violence (Sarikalpi Himisā) - Killing or
hurting any living being intentionally is intentional violence. However, there are two types of intentional violence - 1. Criminal violence and 2. Retaliatory violence. While the householders are prohibited from
SĀGĀRA VINAYA (THE HOUSEHOLDERS' CONDUCT): 253
