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141
Study of Civakacintamani Poşadhopavāsa-vrata is fasting for the whole day on the eighth and fourteenth days of every fortnight.
Vaiyávrtya-vow is distributing gifts (dāna) without expecting anything in return, to ascetics of excellent qualities, treating them well and giving comfort to those who are in trouble. This gift (dana) can be given in four ways : giving food, medicine, means (or means to acquire knowledge, i.e. books) and shelter. Samantabhadra in his Rk. explains vaiyāvștya-vow as follows :
ahārauşadhayor apy upakaraṇāvāsayos ca danena /
vai yavrtyam bruvate caturātmatvena caturasrāḥ 113 (Those who have four kinds of knowledge (mati-jñāna, śruta-jñāna, avadhi. jñāna and manahparyāya-jñāna ) say that giving food, medicine, means to get knowledge and shelter are the four kinds of vaiyāvstya vow.)
The fifth gupasthāna, the dešavirata-samyagdrsti gunasthāna, in which the soul remains in the stage of a householder, has also been divided into eleven stages from the viewpoint of the spiritual progress of a householder's life. These stages are called 'pratimās'. They are : 1. Darsana - the first stage in which the householder gets his faith in Jainism, its
doctrines, and their observance in practical life. Vrata - the stage in which the householder starts to observe all the twelve vows -
the five aņu-vratas (partial vows), the three guộavratas and the four sikşa-vratas. 3. Sāmāyika - the stage in which the householder performs sāmāyika+ three times a day
and therefore he is called a sāmāyika śrāvaka. 4. Prosadhanasana - the stage in which the householder regularly fasts twice a fort
night and thereby applies himself to holy meditation. 5. Sa-citta-virata - the stage in which the householder gives up eating all unripe
things, for he is merciful not to kill them. 6. Rātri-bhuktivirata - the stage in which the householder gives up taking food at
night, as eating in nights causes killing of minute living beings, 8 7. Brahmacarya - in this stage the householder gives up all his sexual indulgences. 8. Arambhavinivytta - the stage in which the householder gives up all worldly
engagements and occupations. 1° 9-11. The last three stages, paricitta-parigraha-virata, 11 Anumati-virata1, aud
Uddista-tyāga18 are mainly preparatory stages to the ascetic life.
1 Rk. 106. 4 Supra, p. 143. 7 Ibid, 141 10 Ibid. 144. 13 Ibid, 147.
2 Ibid, 111, 112, 113. 5 Rk. 139. 8 Ibid, 142, 11 Ibid. 145.
3 6 9 12
Ibid, 117. Ibid, 140. Ibid, 143. Ibid, 143.
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