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CHAPTER ELEVEN
Sermon on layman's dharma (66–95) "Verily worldly existence is worthless. Money is fickle as a moving wave. Even the body is transitory, resembling a flash of lightning. Therefore a wise man would acquire complete indifference to them and would strive for yatidharma, 209 wishing to die on the road to emancipation. If he is not able to do that, nevertheless desirous of it, he would exert himself for the layman's dharma, consisting of twelve parts.210 The layman, zealous, should pass day and night constantly in actions of mind, voice, and body that are according to dharma. He should arise at dawn, reciting praise of the Supreme Ones, recalling, 'What are my practices? What is my family? What are my vows?' Clean, after worshipping the god in his house with flowers, food, and hymns and after resolving not to commit faults so far as possible, he should go to a temple. After entering, he should circumambulate the Jina three times according to rule and after worshipping him with flowers, et cetera, he should praise him with the best hymns. Then, pure-minded, he should make a public resolution, in the presence of the guksus, to avoid faults, accompanied by service. Rising at the sight of him, approach at his arrival, placing the folded palms to his head, himself offering a seat, moving a seat 311 with devotion, homage, personal service, following on his departure: this is service to a guru.
Then, having returned and gone to a suitable place, intelligent, he should think about wealth without any obstacle to dharma. Then he should make the midday pūjā and, after eating, he should study the esoteric meanings of the śāstras with people learned in them. Next, after worshipping the gods again at twilight and after per
200 67. The way of life of monks. See I, n. 23.
210 68. Cf. I, p. 207ff. The 'twelve parts' here are quite different from the standard 12 vows of the layman.
211 75. Aup. 20, p. 42 explains āsaņābhiggaha as moving a seat to wherever the guru wishes to sit. For service to a guru, cf. I, n. 123.
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