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be pardoned') '(Miccha-kāra); acknowledging instructions from the guru and the elders by saying 'taha tti' (Tathākāra); rising from one's seat on the arrival of the guru and the elders in order to show reverence to them (Abhyutthān) and migration to other monastic groups for specific accomplishments (Upasampadā), the Uttarādhyayanasūtra mentions timely observance of the following eight monastic duties at their appropriate times of the day and the night: - 1. Scriptural study - in the first and fourth quarters of the
day and the night, 2. Meditation – in the second quarters of the day and the
night, 3. Inspection And Dusting Of Monastic Equipage – in
the first fourths of the first and the last quarters of the
day,
4. Service – as and when required by the guru and other
old, feeble, student and sick members of the monastic
group, 5. Seeking And Consuming Food - in the third quarter of
the day, 6. Disposal Of Wastes – generally in the third quarter of
the day, exceptionally at any time of the day or night, 7. Sleep - in the third quarter of the night, and 8. Tour – generally in the third quarter of the day,
exceptionally at any time of the day.
Following such a regular and rigorous monastic routine keeps the members of the ascetic order in their best spiritual frame of mind and conduct. Twelve Advanced Monastic Practices (Bhiksu Pratimā) -
Monks resort to some advanced practices when they notice that leading prolonged normal monastic lives has not yielded the desired spiritual progress. These advanced monastic practices, known as Bhikṣu Pratimā, have been so designed as to achieve
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