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The Path Leading to Nirvāņa
263
sādhvis is shaped by its own particular orientation and by a number of practices of which the purpose and aim is always the purification of the atman. As their faith is firm even if their knowledge is often slight and unenlightened, they usually evidence both courage and perseverance, as well as integrity in the whole sphere of action. They allow themselves to be guided by their own ācārya and their guruņi.S Even if routine is often a dominating factor - and in this regard one can never repeat too often that the attitude of society towards women has scarcely aided their intellectual and spiritual progress 6. it
ns true none the less that, precisely because of their faith in the dharma and their conviction of the value of the path they are following, they succeed in acting rightly. Some of their number have attained a loftly spiritual level through their faith and firm convictions, coupled with heroic virtues. The description that follows, which summarizes the teaching concerning ascetics and which treats together, for they are inseparable, the various aspects of belief, knowledge and action, is as regards action, an account of the life undertaken by the ́sādhvis; if this were the only aspect to be taken into consideration, quite a number of them could well have presented what follows in a very similar manner.
Guides on the path
We are referring here to the treatises that have guided our synthesis and constitute its supporting pillars. One of the most important tasks of the sădhvis is svādhyāya: the reflective, meditative reading of Scripture and the major doctrinal texts. Making a personal svādhyāya my starting-point and having received counsel from several sādhvis as regards the selection of texts. I have tried to transmit the essence of the doctrine. My guides have been the following:
5 As we shall see in Part III, the personality of the guruņi is of great importance.
6 Cf. P 87 ff.
7 Cf. P 571 ff. for accounts of several unusual lives.
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