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That is, – To serve a person suffering from mental or physical sickness through non-violent means is to render noble service. Vaiyāvrtyam kāyikvyāpārāhārādibhirūpagrahaņam |
- Mūlācāravrtti, 4.53. That is, – To serve bodily or by giving food etc., is to render noble service.
Anavadyena vidhinā guṇavatām, duḥkhāpanayanam vaiyāvstyamucyate I - Tattvārthavrtti śruta., 6.24.
That is, -To serve the virtuous with non-violent means is said to be noble service.
Comments - In canonical literature Vaiyāvrtya has been given a place amongst the internal penances and it has been depicted as a potent means of destroying and reducing accumulated karmic bondages. The ordained ascetics must serve the spiritual masters, teachers, senior ascetics, austere ones, newly ordained young ascetics, ascetics that are receiving education, the sick ones, etc., on priority. So much so that they must leave everything else such as self-study, etc., and serve the needy ascetics. When this activity of service has been given such a high priority in the monastic life, why should it be any less important in the householders' lives?
TYPES OF VAIYĀVRTYA (SERVICE) Veyāvacce dasavihe pannate, tam jahā – 1. Āyariya-veyāvacce
2. Uvajjhāya-veyāvacce 3. Thera-veyāvacce
4. Tavassi-veyāvacce 5. Gilāņa-veyāvacce
6. Seha- veyāvacce 7. Kula- veyāvacce
8. Gaņa- veyāvacce 9. Sangha- veyāvacce 10. Sāhammiya- veyāvacce
- Vyākhyāprajñapti Sataka 25, Uddeśaka 7. That is, - Noble service is of ten types, such as - 1. Service rendered to the spiritual master, 2. Service rendered to the spiritual teacher,
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