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पुरुषार्थसिद्ध्युपाय
on dharma to all who seek it from him, and, secondly, he goes out to obtain his subsistence from such of the pious householders as welcome him with veneration and respect, considering it their good luck to have the opportunity of serving holy saints. He eats but only to keep his body and soul together, so that he might continue the work on which he has embarked – the destruction of his karmas. He is not a beggar in any sense of the word. And will not touch a morsel if the food be not free from all kinds of impurities pointed out in the Scripture. As a householder, he himself used to long for the opportunity to serve the holy men, and would patiently wait at his door for their arrival before taking his meal. What he then did himself it is his turn now to expect from others. Neither is he looked upon as a burden, for every true householder longs for the opportunity to tread the same path, and actually worships the beings into whose footsteps he knows that he will himself have some day to walk, to reach the goal. With reference to the merit of giving food to homeless saints, it is said in Ratna Karanda Śravakachāra:
"As water for certain washes away blood, so does the giving of food to homeless saints, without doubt, destroy the sins incidental to a householder's life."
The statement that the sins incidental to a householder's life are destroyed by the giving of food to a saint, in the approved manner, is descriptive of the power of holy thoughts in washing away karmic impurities from the soul. The approved manner consists in (1) prostrating oneself at the feet of the saint, (2) offering him a seat, (3) washing his feet, and applying the washing to one's forehead in token of reverence, (4) worshipping him, (5) saluting him, (6-8) preserving one's own mind, speech and body in a state of purity in his presence, and (9) giving him pure suitable food to eat.
Jain, C.R., The Key of Knowledge, p. 641-642.)
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