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MOKSHA MARG PRAKASHAK
remained no monk's religion; so, what other religion would he practise?
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Now he says- "If the desire of taking food is existing in the mind and he does not beg then it is deceit-passion and in begging inferiority complex arises, so if he does not beg due to pride then it is pridepassion. The desire of food arose, so he begged it; how is this excessive greed? And how is monk's religion destroyed by this?
We say to him- "For example, some trader has feeble desire of earning, so he runs his shop and has also the desire of trading but he does not request any body to trade with him in the form of transaction of goods; if someone wants to trade with him according to his conditions then his greed-passion is feeble; the deceit and pride passions are not fostered by him. The deceit and pride passions will be there only when he assumes such appearance for deceiving and establishing his superiority. But a good trader does not possess any such objective; therefore, deceit-pride passions are not said to be nourished by him. Similarly, monk's desire of taking food, etc. is feeble. They come in the town for taking food and also have the desire of taking food, but they do not beg food. If someone offers food on his own then he on getting his conditions fulfilled takes food; there his greed-passion is feeble, deceit and pride passions are not found in him. The deceit and pride-passions will be there only when he assumes such disguise for deceiving and establishing his superiority; but no such purpose is found in the monks; therefore, deceit and pride passions are not found in them. If this is regarded to be deceitpride passions then all those, who commit sins by mind only and do not indulge in sins by words and bodily acts, will be said to be possessing deceit-passion and those holding high status do not indulge in mean acts, they all will be said to be possessing pridepassion; such interpretation would be highly damaging.
And you said- "How begging of food is regarded as possession of extreme greed-passion?" But one wants to accomplish his desire by indulging in publicly censurable acts only when he is overpowered by intense passions. Moreover, begging is a publicly censurable act and if he adopts begging as a means of fulfilling his desire of food, then intense greed-passion is proved to be there.
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