YJA Convention 1994 07 Chicago IL First

Author(s): Young Jains of America (YJA)
Publisher: Young Jains of America YJA USA

Page 47

stop only at the fifth house I pass" or "I will stop only for a householder dressed in red"; hence it is not at all unusual for one or more invitations to be refused.
(7) identical to the sixth, but with reference to women. By donating his wealth and energy to as many of these meritorious pursuits as possible, the Jain layman may hope to gain rebirth in a heaven or a bhoga-bhumi. As for charity to non-Jains, such practice is considered somewhat beneficial but not really conducive to meaningful spiritual progress.
In any case, when a Digambar medicant does respond affirmatively to someone's performance of sthapana (the ritual greeting quoted above), indicating his assent by silence, that person proceeds to the second phase of the foodsharing ceremony. This is called suddhi, purity, and entails the declaration that the layman's mind, speech and body are pure (in other words, that he is a proper donor) and that the food being offered is similarly "faultless". The medicant is then invited into the house, where he is reverenced by a ritual footbathing (pada-udaka) and by having flowers placed before him (arcana). Ksulla kas or ailakas may next be seated on a low wooden stool and given food on a plate belonging to the householder. A monk, however must remain standing and take the offering in his palms, fingers interlaced. Upon finishing, he will be given additional water with which to wash his hands; thereafter, he may sit for a few moments before departing in order to deliver a short religious discourse and to confer a blessing upon the family. (Prior to this time he has uttered no sound whatsoever.)
Saamaayika: The Attainment of Equanimity The actions associated with guru-upasti and dana bring the layman into continuous contact with a teacher, who serves as both example and counselor. But performance of what is perhaps the most highly regarded as Jain rituals is by nature rather more solitary. This is Saamaayika (seen earlier as the first siksa vrata and the fourth pratima), a practice of great antiquity wherein the layman's religious activities are integrated with the yogic methods of the ascetic path. The term saamaayika was first used in canonical texts with reference to a restraint (samyama) undertaken by Mahavira when he renounced the world; there it involved nothing less than the life time abandonment of all evil acts. For ordinary layman, however, it indicates a restraint of short duration and functions mainly as a meditational exercise. The derivation of the term is not completely clear. Proceeding from the root, aya to go, it has been understood both as "attaining equanimity" and as "fusion with the true self" (becoming fixed in Jnana-cetana, pure selfawareness). Both of these definitions render saamaayika equivalent to the progressive detachment of one's subconsciousness from all external objects. The famous Digambar acarya jatsimhanandi supports this interpretation with the following verse:
While atithi-samvibhaga is the most important form of dana, members of the laity are encouraged to perform other acts of charity as well. These should involve the "proper items, proper time, proper recipient(s), and proper cause in other words, contributions should go towards one of the seven punya-ksetras (field of merit) designated by Jain teachers. These fields, some of which we have seen earlier, are: (1) Jinabimba, setting up Jina images; (2) Jina-bhavana, building a temple or hall to house an image; (3) Jain-agama, causing the Jain scriptures to be copied and circulated; (4) giving alms to monks; (5) giving alms to nuns; (6) providing spiritual assistance to male members of the lay community-for example, offering alms to those advanced on the pratima ladder, encouraging various religious activities, building schools and fasting halls, distributing clothes to the poor;
Equanimity towards all beings; self-control and pure aspirations; abandonment of every thought
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