Some Jaina Canonical Sutras

Author(s): Bimla Charn Law
Publisher: Royal Asiatic Society

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UPĀSAKADAŠĀ (UVĀSAGADASÃO)
The text, as its title implies, is solely concerned with the matters relating to the good life of the laity. In the Pali canon the Sangiti Suttanta is similarly devoted to the whole duty of a noble householder. In the Anguttara Nikāya there are several sections dealing with the life of householders. In the Pali discourses the instructions are of a more general than of sectarian interest. Here in the Jaina text the dominant motive is to guide the conduct of the Jaina laity. It is pointed out that the fatalistic creed of Gosala is unethical. So Jainism is insistent on a view of life which makes a person morally responsible for his deeds. The Jaina upāsakas are called upon to fulfil the twelve vows, the five of which are lesser (anuvratas) and the seven disciplinary (sikṣāvratikas). The ideal life of the Jain householder Ananda is a glaring instance of how these vows could be practised. The five essential vows are the five mahāvratas. Ananda took the solemn vows to abandon injury to living beings, indulgence in lying speech, theft, adultery, and hankering after wealth beyond what is legitimately one's own. He was desired to reduce the use of personal things such as toilet, clothings, food and drink.
The five gross transgressions of the vow of non-injury consist in coercion, violence, dismemberment of the body, overloading and starving others. The five gross transgressions
of the vow of truthfulness consist in false accusation under the influence of passion, false accusation in secrecy, betrayal of the confidence of one's wife, communication of false information, and falsification of documents. The five gross transgressions of the vow of honesty consist in the receipt of stolen property, employment of thieves, smuggling, use of false weights and measures and trade in contrabands. The five gross transgressions of the vow of conjugal fidelity on the part of the husband consist in visiting a concubine, visiting a respectable woman, amorous dalliance with other women, arranging marriages for strangers, and excessive sex indulgence. The five gross transgressions of the vow of nonexcess in worldly possessions consist in exceeding one's limit in the matter of landed property, gold, livestock, money, foodstuff, and utensils.
The five typical transgressions of the vow of the quarters (dikvrata) consist in going beyond the limit in the upward, the downward and horizontal directions, enlarging the space limit of one's movement and failure of memory. The five
1 Digha, III, pp. 207-271; B. C. Law, A History of Pāli Literature, vol. I,
114.