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Some Jaina Canonical Sutras c7: Chapter II: Ācārāṅga Sūtra (Āyāraṃga Sutta)

Some Jaina Canonical Sūtras c7

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English

Chapter II: Ācārāṅga Sūtra (Āyāraṃga Sutta)

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The Ācārāṅga is the first Jaina anga. It contains important rules for the Jain monks and nuns. An attempt has been made here to compare these rules with those of the Hindus and Buddhists noticing their main points of agreement and difference. This text is a mixture of prose and verse which we so frequently meet with in Buddhist literature. The sermons contained in it consist mainly of exhortations and warnings. Both in this Sūtra and in the Sūtrakṛtāṅga we find some verses which in form and contents can be well included in the Pāli Suttanipāta or Dhammapada. These belong to the ancient Indian Samana literature. This book has been edited for the PTS, London (1882), and translated into English by Jacobi in SBE, vol. xxii. It has also been edited by Schubring, Leipzig, 1910, and translated into German by him in Worte Mahāvīras. The Āgamodaya Samiti of Bombay has published an edition with commentary.

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The rules of conduct as laid down in the Ācārāṅga Sūtra contain also the rules of decorum and etiquette. No penal laws are added to them. The Jain rules are classified in the Sūtra under such general heads as begging, walking, modes of speech, entry into other’s possessions, postures, place of study, and attending to the calls of nature. Here begging includes the begging of food and drink, begging for a bowl, the begging of clothes, and begging for a residence or a couch. Under these sub-heads are to be found the rules governing the modes of eating and drinking, dressing and lying down. Walking includes travelling, crossing, swimming and other forms of movement. The postures are those which are involved in religious exercises.

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The reasons or arguments behind these rules are based on such general principles as the avoidance of situations in which the monk or nun may be guilty of hurting or killing all forms of life, or of inconveniencing others, or of wounding social, moral or religious scruples of others, the avoidance of situations in which the monk or nun may run the risk of endangering his or her own position, or of receiving bodily injuries, or of feeling discomfort, or of being found guilty of theft or trespass, or of moral degradation, or of mental perturbation, and the avoidance of all situations in which the monk or nun may be found acting under the slightest influence of greed, ill-will, evil intention, discontent, delusion, inconsideration, haughtiness, and the like.

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According to Mahāvīra the two concepts of *parissava* and *āsava* meaning spring of sin and influx of sin and their opposites go together;¹ while according to the Buddha *parissaya* (Skt. *pariśraya*) stands for the internal spring of impiety and demerit (*Cf. Anguttara*, III, p. 388; *Sutta-nipāta*, verses 42 and 45; *Niddesa*, I, p. 12, etc.)

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¹ *Ācārānga*, p 18 *ye āsavā te parissavā, ye parissavā te āsavā, ye anāsavā te aparissavā, ye aparissavā te anāsavā Cf* Asoka's Rock Edict X—*eshe tu paríśrave yam apuñam*

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A monk or a nun on a begging-tour should not accept flattened grains (*tusodagam*), grains containing much chaff (*javodagam*). He or she should not accept fossil salt or sea salt which is impure and unacceptable. He or she should not accept food which is prepared over the fire, for such food is impure and unacceptable. He or she should not accept food which has been placed on a post, or on a roof or on a platform or some such elevated place. He or she should not accept food which is kept in an earthenware. He or she should not accept food placed on the earth body, wind body or fire body, for such food is impure and unacceptable. He or she should not accept food which is placed on vegetable or animal matter ² He or she should not accept such water as has been taken from the bare ground. Its taste or nature has not been altered and it has not been strained.³ He or she should not accept juice of mangoes, pomegranates, cocoanuts, tamarinds, etc. He or she should not accept raw things such as mustard seeds. He or she should not accept raw powdered fruits, unripe wild rice, honey, liquor, etc. He or she should not accept some raw plants, vegetables, raw substances, etc. He or she should not accept any part of the sugarcane as it is impure and unacceptable, meat or fish containing many bones ⁴ He or she may accept food which is offered on a plate or in a copper cup if the moisture on the hands of the giver is dried up. A monk or a nun should not use for religious postures a lodging place used by the householder, in which there are workmen, children, cattle, food and drink.

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² *Ācārānga Sūtra*, II, 1 7

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³ *Ibid*, II, 1 7

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⁴ *Ibid*, II, 1 4 1

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A mendicant should not stay in halting places, garden-houses, family houses, monasteries which are much frequented by fellow ascetics. It is difficult to obtain pure and acceptable alms. A monk or a nun should not use for religious postures a lodging where the householder and his wife go about naked or hide themselves, or talk about sexual pleasures. He or she should not use for religious postures a lodging which is a much frequented playground. He or she should not accept a couch if it is free from eggs and living beings, but is heavy.

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A monk shall not beg pointing with a finger at the householder or moving him with a finger, threatening or scratching him with a finger, praising or cursing him.¹

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¹ Ācārāṅga Sūtra, II, 1 6 3 No gāhāvaīm amguīyāe uddisiyā jāejjā, no gāhāvaīm amguīyāe cāliyā jāejjā, no gāhāvaīm taṃniyā jāejjā, no gāhāvaīm amguīyāe uggulampiyā jāejjā, no gāhāvaīm vamdhiyā jāejjā, no vayaṇam pharusaṃ vadejjā.

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He or she should speak with precision, employing language in moderation and restraint which is grammatically correct and understanding its true import.²

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² Ibid, II, 4 1 Se bhikkhū vā vaīyāyāṇāim soccā nisamma imāim aṇāyārāim aṇāyarī-yapuvvāim jāṇejjā je lohā vā vāyam viumjamti je māṇā vā, je māyāe vā, je lobhā vā vāyam viumjamti, jāṇato vā pharusam vadamti, ajāṇato vā pharusam vadamti, savvam etam sāvajj am vajjejjā, vivegam āyāe dhuvam ce'dam jāṇejjā adhuvam vā.

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When a monk or a nun knows that in a village or a town there is no large place for religious practices or for study, he or she should not remain there during the cold season. He or she may circumspectly wander from village to village. He or she on the pilgrimage whose road lies through a forest should not choose this road. A monk or a nun on a pilgrimage, if there is some water-course on the way which must be crossed in a boat, should not ascend such a boat which plies up or down or across the river. A monk or a nun in entering a boat should not choose the stern or the prow or the middle of the boat. If a monk or a nun sees that water enters through a leak in the boat which becomes dirty all over, he or she should not approach the boatman and inform him of it. A monk or a nun swimming in the water should not touch another person's foot, hand or body with his or her own hand. He or she, swimming in the water, should not dive up and down, lest water should enter into his or her eyes, ears, nose or mouth. If a monk or a nun swimming in the water is overcome by weakness, he or she should throw off his or her clothes, either all or a part of them. A monk or a nun should not wipe or rub or brush or dry, or warm or heat his or her body. If a monk or a nun on a pilgrimage comes across a sheet of shallow water, he or she should first wipe his or her body from head to feet. He or she should wade through the shallow water on a straight line. A monk or a nun wading through shallow water should not plunge in deeper water for the sake of pleasures. If a monk or a nun perceives in his or her way waggons, cars, a friendly or hostile army, he or she should not walk on straight. A monk or a nun, wandering from village to village together with the master or a teacher, should not touch the hand of the master or teacher with his or her own. While sleeping a monk shall take care that his bed is kept at such a distance from that of the next person that he does not touch his neighbour's hand or leg or body with his own.¹ A monk or a nun should not use speech whether truth or untruth or truth mixed with untruth, if it be sinful, blamable, rough, coarse, and hard. A monk or a nun seeing any kind of disease should not talk thus 'He has got boils or leprosy. His hand is cut, or his foot, nose, ear or lip is cut.'² A monk or a nun seeing a man or a cow should not speak about them thus: 'His body is well grown, well compacted, his flesh and blood are abundant.' A monk or a nun wanting to get clothes may beg for cloth made of wool, silk, hemp, palm leaves, cotton, etc. He or she should not resolve to go farther than half a yojana to get clothes. He or she should not accept clothes which a layman has bought, washed, dyed, rubbed, cleaned or perfumed. A monk or a nun should not accept clothes made of fur, fine ones, beautiful ones, etc He or she should not accept plaits of fur or other materials He or she may ask for clothes which he or she has well inspected from a householder or his wife. He or she should not accept clothes which are full of eggs or living beings, for they are impure. He or she may accept clothes which are strong, lasting and are fit for a mendicant. He or she should not wash his or her clothes because they are not new.

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¹ Ācārānga Sūtra, Ed Jacobi, II, 2 3 26 Se bhullhū vā bahuphāsue sejyāsamthārae sayamāne no annamannassa hatthe-nam hattham pācnam pāyam lāenam lāyam āsāejjā, anāsāyamāne tao samjayām cva bahuphāsue sejyāsamthārae saejjā

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² Ibid, II, 4 2 1 Se bhullhū vā jahā v'egayāyām rūvāim pāsejjā, tahā vi tāim no evam vadejjā, tam jahā gamdi gamdi ti vā, lutthi ti vā jāa mahumchini ti vā hatthacchinne ti vā, ciam pāda na lla lanna utthā, je yāv'anne tahappagārā cyappagārāhim bhāsāhim buyā buyā luppamti mānavā, te yāvi tahappagārā cyappagārāhim bhāsāhim abhīkaml ha no bhāsejjā

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If a single mendicant borrows for a short time a robe from another mendicant, the owner of it should not take such a robe for himself nor should he give it to somebody else. A monk or a nun should not make coloured clothes colourless or colour colourless clothes. If a monk sees thieves in his way, he should not leave the robe out of fear or to save his clothes. A monk or a nun should not accept a bowl bought by a layman. He or she should not accept expensive bowls or bowls containing precious materials. He or she may accept a bowl from a householder or his wife after having it thoroughly inspected. He or she may beg for a bowl used by a former owner or by many people. A monk or a nun entering into the abode of a householder for the sake of alms should circumspectly leave it after examining his or her alms-bowl and removing living beings from it, if there be any. He or she should not wipe or rub a wet or moist alms-bowl. He or she might go to a sugarcane plantation or to a garlic-field. He or she may beg for a dwelling place, paved with clay or wood. He or she should not ease nature on an unfit ground, on a pillar or bench or scaffold or loft or tower or roof. He or she should not ease nature on the bare ground or on wet ground or on dusty ground or on a rock or clay containing life or a timber inhabited by worms. He or she should not ease nature in a place where the householders or their sons have sown or will sow rice, beans, or sesamum (sālīni vā vīhīni vā muggāni vā māsāni vā tilāni vā... ).¹ He or she should not ease nature in a place where there are heaps of refuse, mud, etc. He or she should not ease nature in fire places or in a place where suicide is committed, or in gardens, parks, woods, temples or wells. He or she should not ease nature in cross roads or in town gates or pathways or in the place where charcoal is produced or the dead are burnt. He or she should not ease nature at sacred places near rivers, marshes, or ponds. He or she should not ease nature in fresh clay-pits, fresh pasture grounds for cattle or in a field of vegetables. He or she should take his or her own chamber-pot and ease nature in a secluded place where no people pass or see them and leave the excrements on a heap of ashes.²

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¹ Sāli and vīhi both mean rice, mugga and māsa both mean beans and tila means sesamum Jacobi is wrong in translating māsāni vā tilāni as pulse or barley

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² Acārānga Sūtra, II, 10

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The Buddhist rules of decorum pertaining to dressing, bodily movements, poses, gestures, postures, laughing, speaking, etc., are appropriately combined with those relating to walking, sitting, standing and lying down. A Buddhist monk is required to be properly clad with a view to appearing in the eyes of others as a person endowed with moral scruples and sense of decency. Twenty-four rules of decorum are provided for the regulation of the Buddhist manner of eating- They are intended to make the Buddhist monk or nun considerate and careful, gentle and graceful, moderate and ungluttonous in eating with due sense of propriety, proportion and decency. Fifteen rules of decorum applying to the Buddhist manner of preaching the doctrine are intended evidently not only to keep up the dignity of the preacher but also to avoid the awkwardness of the situation and ineffectiveness of the preaching itself. The Buddhist rules of decorum may be shown to have as their immediate literary background the rules laid down in the various Gṛhya sūtras which too speak of the four main iryāpathas as consisting of standing, sitting, walking and lying down, the rest being subservient to them. (For a comparative study vide B. C. Law, Buddhist Rules of Decorum published in R. K. Mookerjee Volume (Bhārata-Kaumudī), I, pp. 381ff) The Jain rules of conduct and decorum, agreeing in their essential features with the Buddhist rules, are broadbased upon careful considerations and keen observations. A comparative study of these rules as enforced by different religions of the world is sure to yield many fruitful results.

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The sūtra speaks of Lāḍha (Rāḍha) as a pathless country with its two divisions: Subbhabhūmi (probably the same as Sk. Suhma) and Vajjabhūmi which may be taken to correspond to the modern district of Midnapur. (Jacobi, Jaina Sūtras, I, p 84.) It speaks of the inhabitants of the Rāḍha country as rude and generally hostile to the ascetics. The dogs were set upon them by the Rāḍha people as soon as the ascetics appeared near their villages (I, 8. 3-4). The mischief-makers whom the lonely ascetics had to reckon with were the cowherds (gopālaka) who made practical jokes on them (Ibid., 18. 3-10; cf. Majjhima, I, 79: Mahāsīhanādasuttanta).

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