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Digambara monk (also muni, sādhu) is a monk in the Digambara tradition of Jainism, and as such an occupant of the highest limb of the four-fold sangha. They are also called nirgrantha which means "one without any bonds". Digambara monks have 28 primary attributes which includes observance of the five supreme vows of ahimsa (non-injury), truth, non-thieving, celibacy and non-possession. A Digambara monk is allowed to keep only a feather whisk, a water gourd and scripture with him.
Contents
- Mla Guas Root virtues
- Mahavratas
- Fivefold regulation of activities
- Strict control on five senses
- Six Essential Duties
- Seven rules or restrictions niyama
- Dharma
- Twenty two afflictions
- chrya
- Omniscience
- References
In Jainism, those śrāvakas (householders) who wish to attain moksha (liberation) renounce all possessions and become an ascetic. According to the Jain text, Dravyasamgraha:
Salutation to the Ascetic (Sādhu) abound in faith and knowledge, who incessantly practises pure conduct that surely leads to liberation.
Digambara monks are also called nirgrantha which means "one without any bonds". The term originally applied to those of them who were on the point of attaining to omniscience, on the attainment of which they were called munis.
Rishabhanatha (the first tirthankara) is said to be the first Digambara monk of the present half cycle of time (avasarpini). The presence of gymnosophists (naked philosophers) in Greek records as early as the fourth century BC, supports the claim of the Digambaras that they have preserved the ancient Śramaṇa practice. Acharya Bhadrabahu, Acharya Kundakunda are one of the most revered Digambara monks.
Mūla Guņas (Root virtues)
Every Digambara monk is required to observe 28 mula gunas (lit. twenty-eight primary attributes) compulsory. These are also called root-virtues, because it is said that in their absence other saintly virtues cannot be acquired. They are thus like the root, in the absence of which stems and branches tuneless come into being. These twenty-eight primary attributes are: five supreme vows (mahāvrata); five regulations (samiti); five-fold control of the senses (pañcendriya nirodha); six essential duties (Şadāvaśyaka); and seven rules or restrictions (niyama).
Mahavratas
According to Acharya Samantabhadra’s Ratnakaraņdaka śrāvakācāra:
Abstaining from the commitment of five kinds of sins (injury, falsehood, stealing, unchastity, and attachment) by way of doing these by oneself, causing these to be done, and approval when done by others, through the three kinds of activity (of body, speech, and thought), constitutes the great vows (mahāvrata) of celebrated ascetics.
The first vow of a Digambara monk relates to the observance of ahiṃsā (non-injury). The monk is required to renounce himsa (injury) in all three forms:
The monk shouldn't injure any living being both in actions and thoughts.
A digambara monk must not say things which, though true, can lead to injury to living beings.
Not to take anything if not given. According to the Jain text, Tattvārthasūtra, five observances that strengthen this vow are:
Brahmacharya refers to the self-control in respect of sex-function. It means avoiding all the kinds of natural and unnatural sex-gratification.
Renunciation of worldly things and foreign natures, external and internal
Fivefold regulation of activities
A digambara monk doesn't move about in the dark, nor on grass, but only along a path which is much trodden by foot. While moving, he has to observe the ground in front of him, to the extent of four cubits (2 yards), so as to avoid treading over any living being. This samiti (control) is transgressed by:
- not being careful enough in looking at the ground in front, and
- sight-seeing along the route.
Not to criticise anyone or speak bad words.
The observance of the highest degree of purity in the taking of food is eshana samiti. The food should be free from four kinds of afflictions to tarasa jīva (living beings possessing two or more senses), viz
To be careful in lifting and laying down things.
To dispose off the body waste at a place free from living beings.
Strict control on five senses
This means renouncing all things which appeals to the mind through the senses. This means shedding all attachment and aversion towards the sense-objects pertaining to touch (sparśana), taste (rasana), smell (ghrāņa), sight (chakşu), and hearing (śrotra).
Six Essential Duties
The monk is required to spend about six gharis (a ghari = 24 minutes) three times a day, that is, morning, noon, and evening, in practising equanimous dispassion.
Worship of the four and twenty Tirthankaras
To pay obeisances to siddhas, arihantas and acharya
Self-censure, repentance; to drive oneself away from the multitude of karmas, virtuous or wicked, done in the past.
Giving up attachment to the body and meditate on soul. (Posture: rigid and immobile, with arms held stiffly down, knees straight, and toes directly forward)
Seven rules or restrictions (niyama)
Not to use tooth powder to clean teeth
To rest only on earth or wooden pallet.
Non-bathing- A digambara monk doesn't take bath. In his book "Sannyāsa Dharma", Champat Rai Jain writes:
The saint is not allowed to bathe. For that will be fixing his attention on the body. There is no question of dirt or untidiness. He has no time to think of bathing or of cleaning his teeth. He has to prepare himself for the greatest contest in his career, namely, the struggle against Death, and cannot afford to waste his time and opportunity in attending to the beautification and embellishment of his outward person. Nay, he knows fully that death appears only in the form of the physical person which is a compound and, as such, liable by nature to dissolution and disintegration.
Taking food in a steady, standing posture.
The monk consume food & water once in a day. He accepts pure food free from forty-six faults (doşa), thirty-two obstructions (antarāya), and fourteen contaminations (maladoşa).
To pluck hair on the head and face by hand.
To renounce clothes.
Dharma
The dharma (conduct) of a monk is tenfold, comprising ten excellencies or virtues.
The word ‘perfect’ or ‘supreme’ is added to every one of the terms in order to indicate the avoidance of temporal objectives.
Twenty-two afflictions
Jain texts list down twenty-two hardships (parīşaha jaya) that should be endured by an ascetic who wish to attain moksha (liberation). These are required to be endured without any anguish.
- kşudhā – hunger;
- trişā – thirst;
- śīta – cold;
- uşņa – heat;
- dañśamaśaka – insect-bite;
- nāgnya – nakedness;
- arati – displeasure;
- strī – disturbance due to feminine attraction;
- caryā – discomfort arising from roaming;
- nişadhyā – discomfort of postures;
- śayyā – uncomfortable couch;
- ākrośa – scolding, insult;
- vadha – assault, injury;
- yācanā – determination not to beg for favours;
- alābha – lack of gain; not getting food for several days in several homes;
- roga – illness;
- traņasparśa – pain inflicted by blades of grass;
- mala – dirt of the body;
- satkāra-puraskāra – (absence of) reverence and honour;
- prajñā – (conceit of) learning;
- ajñāna – despair or uneasiness arising from failure to acquire knowledge;
- adarśana – disbelief due to delay in the fruition of meritorious deeds.
Āchārya
Āchārya means the Chief Preceptor or the Head. Āchārya has thirty-six primary attributes (mūla guņa) consisting in:
Omniscience
According to Jain texts, when omniscience is obtained, a monk is said to be rid of the necessity to discharge excrement, and thus no longer carries the gourd which was necessary till then. The remaining accouterments of the saintly life, namely, the feather-whisk and sacred books, are also not required by the Omniscient Being, as He does not sit or tread on the ground, and as His physical body itself become characterised by many auspicious and wonderful marks.