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A Vista of the Path
279
279
and the other [Āgamas), darśana (is to believe in] the jiva and the other categories), caritra (is to refrain from harming] the six types of living beings; this is called vyavahära. S2
He goes on, however:
According to niscaya, my ātman [is] knowledge, my åtman (is) faith and conduct, my åtman (is) renunciation, my ätman [is] the cessation of karman and concentration.53
We find ourselves, thus, on the path with this clear vision and with certitude that the essential to be known and to purify, which is at one and the same time that through which we know, see and believe and also the locus of purification, is the atman.54
B - Dravya: Substance
This word has a very important place in the doctrine. Dravya in a Jaina context, always has the meaning of substance.55 At the
52 ayārādiņāņam jivādidamsanaṁ ca viņņeyam
chajjivanikāyam ca tahā bhanai carittam tu vavahäro. SamSa 276; cf. DS IV, 4-10 where these 6 types are described.
33 ada khu majjha ņāņaṁ ādā me damsaņas carittam ca
ādā paccakkhānan adā me samvare jogo. SamSa 277.
54 Cf. YSas IV, 1-3 where Acārya Hemacandra, several centuries after Ācārya Kundakunda, says exactly the same thing.
55 Dravya is probably derived from dru, dāru, wood. This interesting analogy is given: just as the carpenter and craftsman work on wood, impart to it different forms without the wood being changed in what pertains to its nature, so likewise dravya is modified by internal and external causes which do not affect it in what pertains to its underlying base, its substratum; cf. JSK
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