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Mahāvīra's Words by Walther Schubring
resolve, he should avoidl (on the other hand, the impression of] deprecation. 5. (Besides) he hears82 perhaps the view about the world which some here in the world put forward, (a view] grown out of false insight, uttered by others and mechanically repeating them. 6. (a.) "Unlimited (and) permanent (is) the world, it will not perish in (all) eternity"83— limited [and] permanent (is) the world, this is the view of the sage. 184) 7. [b.) “Without limit (is) knowledge, some here in the world assert"-in all cases it has its limit, this is the view of the sage. 8. The creatures which are mobile or (independently] non-mobile-in a new embodiment they experiences a simple change: through it (they are the one or the other; 86 9. the beings (of human kind) change into bodily form and to its opposite87 however, everyone experiences sorrow (through injury), that is why they all of them should not be injured. 10. This is truly the core of the sage: that he injures nothing, nothing at all. One should recognize the duty of non-injury as reaching this far. 11. Ably89 and without yearning one should protect adherence [to the rules) ; during wandering, when sitting and laying down and, finally, with food and drink: 12. on these three occasions, always attentive, the monk should eliminate arrogance, heat [of anger), deceit and selfishness.90 13. But passionless, always pious, restrained by the five restraints, among the fettered ones fetterless, may (you), a monk, wander in purity until liberation ---so I say.
8 Cp. Ayār. I 41, 19 (1,9,1, 19, p. 133 above). This place shows that a meeting with others is meant. The continuation here (stanza 5) confirms this. (See Appendix 4 for the "deprecation" to be avoided.)
2 In C nisāmejjā is a pāth. for ņa sāmejja for which, however, an explanation is missing. (See Appendix 4.)
88 Or: "eternal, it does not perish." (Schrader 1902, p. 11 says this is the view of the Antânantikas, 'Extensionists' mentioned in Dighanikāya I 22, 13ff. (WB).)
84 In the margin of his 1879 ed. Schubring noted: “These are the views of the Jainas". For the next line, 7b, Schrader 1902, p. 11, refers to Dīghanikāya I 31, 12. (WB).
8 se = teşām as in Vav. 1, 21 and in the JM (Pischel & 423), or it means sa. C has pariyāe atthi se jāyam jeņa ... "in the change it happens to them that ..."
3 In the previous existence a mobile creature was independently non-mobile, and vice versa. That such a change comes about with necessity (Sil. p. 95, 10) is hardly meant-According to da path of the Nāgārjuniya is introduced in C, but not given. (See Appendix 4 for the correction on Bollée 1977.)
*Gods become embodied human beings and vice versa; jagato is masc. nom. pl. (cf. Norman 1996, p. 176 (WB). ** samaya. (C and śīl., however, assume samatā as the etymon here, see Bollée 1977, p. 127 (WB).)
89 vusie is of unknown derivation and meaning (śīl. has vyușita). The apparently related vusimam (Āyār.: busimanta) is supposed to mean samyamavat. (See Appendix 4.)
90 Charpentier 1916, p. 224, fn. 7, takes majjhattha (= lobha) as mahyam and artha; not as meaning madhyastha or madhyartha. (See Appendix 4.)
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