Book Title: World of Philosophy
Author(s): Christopher Key Chapple, Intaj Malek, Dilip Charan, Sunanda Shastri, Prashant Dave
Publisher: Shanti Prakashan
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owner, is called stealing. This contaminates the mind, hence it is avoidable.
The desire to touch each other, which arises in the minds of two persons charged with lust, is called coupulation. Celibecy promotes the virtures of non-violence, truth and so on, while coupulation augments their opposites because it is bound to involve billing mobile and immobile beings, speaking falsely, commiting theft and indulging in possessiveness.
Possessiveness is clinging to the animate and inanimate. It may refer to clining to something in the external world or to feeling within the self.
There are five supportive practices for estabilizing each of the great vows. They are - controlling speech, controlling the mind, moving about carefully, handling implement carefully, inspecting food and drink properly to ensure that they are acceptable.
Jinasena and other thinkers have recognised four stages of life in Jaina tradition, but their nature is quite different from that of Vedic tradition. They call Vānaprastha as naisthika śrāvaka, in which a householder adopts the vows of Ksullaka and ailaka and purifies his soul. When, he practices successfully the part of the samyama, he becomes enlightened and starts annihilating karmas by more efforts in that. The fourth stage is called bhiksu, in which he take initiation under a guru and starts complete observance of all the tenets and doctrines, that are laid down by scriptures'.
In Vedic tradition, a man in Vānaprastha stage, is allowed to keep his wife with him or he can keep his wife in his sons caretaking, whereas a Jain in vānaprastha stage can not keep his wife with him. Vedic Vānaprasthi can take food once a day or night, but a Jaina Vānaprasthi can take only one food, that too in day time. Dinner at night is strictly prohibited for him. Vedic Vānaprasthi can store food items for one day, one month or one year", whereas, a Jaina Vānaprasthi has to depend upon the alins only. He cannot store his food materials for a single day.
A Vedic Vānaprasthi has to perform Pancāgni penance." Jaina considers that as falsc hood. Vedic tradition recommends only three castes to become vānaprasthi i.e. Brāhmana, ksatriyal and vaisya Jaina has no such bar. Anybody can become vānaprasthi. There was a fraction of vānaprashī in Vedic tradition, who were called utovasikta. They used to eat the meat of those creatures which were killed by tigers, wolves and eagles, whereas the Jaina at any stage, can not eat meat or flash of any creature at all.
Thus, we see that Jainas have different kind of the stages of life.
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