Life Of Digmbar Jain saint

Author(s): Jayantilal Jain
Publisher: Jayantilal Jain

Page 1

LIFE OF A JAIN SAINT (Digamber Tradition)
A Jain Saint (Muni or Monk) dedicates his life towards spiritual purity and enlightenment through a disciplined mode of life founded upon the traditions of non-violence to all living creatures. The life of a Jain saint is a wonder in itself and a unique experiment in the art-of-living with no worldly possessions. The path followed by a Jain Saint is the path towards ultimate happiness (Moksha = liberation from sufferings due to the cycle of birth, death & rebirth). Given below is a list of their basic, daily and special practices that help understand their life with very busy schedule and the underlying principles that guide these practices.
Basic Practices A Jain saint follows certain basic and secondary practices. There are 28 basic practices consisting of 5 complete vows, 5 carefulness, control over 5 senses, 6 daily essentials and other 7 primary virtues. - 5 Vows: Five complete vows in the activities of his mind, body & speech related to
1. Non-violence 2. Truth 3. Non-stealing 4. Celibacy
5. Renunciation of possessions/attachments. 5 Carefulness: With a view of not harming other living beings a saint is very careful in
1. Walking 2. Speech 3. Scrutiny of food 4. Sitting and picking/ placing things
5. Disposal of excretions - 5 Senses: Desires of senses lead one to thoughts of attachments & aversions, which leads to
bondage of karmas. A saint constantly controls desires of his five senses: touch, taste, smell, seeing and hearing in order to restrain sensual interest. 6 Essentials: These are performed to stay connected with their soul every moment of their day
1. Practice of equanimity and bowings to five supreme souls three times a day, 2. Recite eulogies in praise of 24 Great Omniscient/Preachers, 3. Veneration to a Great Preacher, 4. Confessing wrong activities of mind, speech and body and their rectification, 5. Giving up undesirable passions and
6. Contemplate on the nature of pure soul. 7 Virtues: A monk considers his body similar to layer of clothes which changes with each birth. In order to remind himself the distinction between his soul & body they
1. Pluck the hairs of his head, moustaches and beard by one's own hand 2. Renounce all possessions including clothes (to avoid attachment to worldly materials) 3. Renounce taking bath (practice non-violence even to the smallest organisms found in water) 4. Short sleep on hard ground/wooden plank in one posture in the later part of the night (use
maximum time towards their goal) 5. Does not brush his teeth (keeping teeth clean is geared towards paying attention to their
physical body) 6. Taking food in palms in standing posture (using cutlery would become a possession) 7. Single diet (food and water only once a day to keep his basic body functions to work while
focusing on his goal)
The above 28 basic practices are observed in totality by each Jain Saint every second of their life.
The secondary practices include observance of 12 austerities and forbearance of 22 types of afflictions. Saints are categorized based on purity of conduct/austerities. They can have 18000 kinds of good conduct and follow 8.4 million secondary virtues.