Notes on Modern Jainism

Author(s): Mrs Sinclair Stevenson
Publisher: Oxford

Page 36

24
MODERN JAINISM.
piece of cloth to wear over his mouth. A Sthānakavāsi sādhu must keep his mouth covered night and day, so he wears this mouth cloth or mumati (2401)tied on with strings, and when lay people talk to Sthānakavāsi ascetics they must cover their mouths. It is sufficient for the Sve tāmbara sādhus to keep their mouth cloth in their hands.
Besides his cloth the monk generally has a long rod, which must not be hollow lest it should entrap and kill an insect, and a brush (Rajono molt), which is used to protect insects by sweeping them out of danger. Its whisk is of wool, and the Sthānakavāsi, who sweep more carefully than the Svetāmbara, have a bigger brush with a longer handle. The Digambara Sādhu who live in the jungle frequently use a peacock's feather instead of a brush.
The ascetic is allowed to possess five pots, which must be gourds, or else fashioned from wood. Brass vessels are not permitted, as a sādhu must possess no metal; thus if he borrow a needle he must return it by sunset, lest the sin of covetousness should grow upon him, and if he is obliged to wear spectacles they must be framed in wood. He is also allowed to keep a wooden jug.
These are henceforth to be his sole possessions, and when they grow old he must not ask for new ones, but must wait till they are given to him.+ A woman wishing to become a nun must give up all her property in the same way, excepting that she is allowed to keep two additional garments,
• Also called muhapati ( 98 4d?) or mukhapattika ( 74425!). + Even then the donor may not bring them to him at the Upåsaro, but inviting him to his house must say as he offers them that they are more than he requires for his own use.