Studies in Buddhist and Jaina Monachism

Author(s): Nand Kishor Prasad
Publisher: Research Institute of Prakrit Jainology & Ahimsa Mujjaffarpur

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STUDIES IN BUDDHIST AND JAINA MONACHISM
the Jaina monastic rules seem to have laid great stress on the different aspects of admission which will be discussed in great detail in the section on initiation and ordination. For the time being, the following account will suffice.
In the beginning, everybody, irrespective of one's caste or social status, was allowed to enter the Order. This privilege to the general mass was stopped as soon as it was found impairing to the cause of the Order. Consequently, children under eight years of age, old men, eunuchs, sick persons, robbers, mad men, king's enemies, slaves, persons in debt, pregnant women, women having small children, so on and so forth were normally declared disqualified for monk life. However the strictness of the rule was relaxed in exceptional cases. The cases of Atimuttaka and Vaira may be cited as instances in point, who were admitted at the age of six years and six months respectively.
Causes of renunciation were numerous and of varied nature. Sometimes, anger, poverty, illness, disgust for worldly life or such other factor acted as a cause of renunciation." At times, husband's becoming a monk constrained the wife to adopt nunhood and son's
1. Than, 202, pp. 164b- 165a.
2.
Bhag, 188, p. 219 b.
3. Curni to Avas, pp. 391 ff.
4.
Atimuttaka is named 'Kumarasamaņa' which is explained as 'kumarasamane'tti sadavarasajātasya pravrajitvat. Bhag, p. 219 b.
Vide Than, 712, p. 473 b for ten causes of renunciation. Here I cannot help referring to an interesting episode which illustrates a peculiar cause of renunciation. It occurs in the Avasyakasutra (Bkasya 141-144; Vrtti, pp. 415-418) as below:
5.
Once upon a time, there was a man named Sahasramalla Śivabhuti. Once, Śivabhuti's wife lodged a complaint against him to her mother-inlaw that, eve.yday, she had to wait for her husband till midnight as he Her mother-in-law, did never come home before twelve in the night. having made up her mind to wait for her son herself, asked her to shut up the door and go to bed. As usual Śivabhuti knocked the door in the dead of night. Then her mother, having rebuked him bitterly, asked to He left his house in disgust find out a door which might be open for him. and proceeded on his way. All of a sudden he came across a monastery of Jaina monks whose door was still open. He approached the monks But he and requested them for his conversion which they refused. started uprooting his hair himself. The monks, seeing him doing so, admitted him to the Order and left the place with him.
6. Rājimati followed the foot-print of her would-be husband, Neminatha who took to monkhood having come to know that his wedding would cost many lives.--Uttar, xxii.