________________
222: JAINS TODAY IN THE WORLD
wash them if he (she) asks. Adepts offering food or drink are careful to never give things that are especially prepared for ascetics as they would refuse, according to the requirements of sacred scriptures. Digambara monks, when eating what is given to them may let fall all or part of it on the ground, without saying anything, if it is not in accordance with their secret vow.
Śvetāmbara ascetics collect food and drink in bowls (pātra) and the leader of the group distributes it. They eat together and have permission to speak during the meal. When they finish to eat, the bowls are washed and put in bundles for the next quest. Sometimes ascetics fast and drink only boiled water that is considered a successful mean to wipe out transgressions and to clear away a part of the "karma" in the soul.
In the evening, the ascetic or the group must seek a place to sleep, avoiding all that is propitious to violence or noisy and ask authorization of the owner of the shelter to stay there overnight. It is usually a temporary shelter, for an ascetic has not the right to have good accommodation or to loge in an inn during his wandering existence. The Acārānga-sūtra lists the requirements for the shelter: not too near a noisy street, a shop, an intersection, etc. The bed may be made of hard wood, straw, dry grass or constructions whose lay out must be very limited and in accordance with established rules. No monk can sleep in a place or a shelter where nuns are staying and vice versa. Likewise, a monk and a nun should never spend time alone together. The stay of any ascetics in the same place must also be very short.
When an ascetic does not wander, his time is usually divided in five periods: from dawn to sunrise, from sunrise to the end of the morning, from the end of the morning to the beginning of the afternoon, from the beginning of the afternoon to sunset and from sunset to the next dawn. Samācāri is according to 4 prahara of the day and 4 prahara of the night. The duties prescribed for first 4 prahara are study (svādhyāya), meditation (dhyāna), begging alms (bhikshācaryā) and
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
