Samayasara - by Acharya Kundakunda: Self Is Identical With Three Jewels

daṃsaṇaṇāṇacarittāṇi sevidavvāṇi sāhuṇā ṇiccaṃ.

tāṇi puṇa jāṇa tiṇṇi vi appāṇaṃ ceṿa ṇicchayado.. 16

(sevidavvāṇi sāhuṇā ṇiccaṃ) It is incumbent upon every ascetic to constantly always dedicate himself (exclusively) in the devotion of (daṃsaṇa-ṇāṇā-cārittāṇi) (right) faith, knowledge, and conduct; (puṇa ca) at the same time (tāṇi tiṇṇi vi) this holy trinity must be recognized to be identical with the self (ṇicchayado) from the niścaya (ultimate) point of view.

Annotations:

In this verse, Ācārya Kundakunda enjoins every ascetic to arduously follow the path of self-realization. This path consists of the three jewels (ratna-trayī)-right faith, right knowledge and right conduct.

An ascetic is one who has abandoned all his worldly relations as well as material possessions in favour of pursuing the path of spiritual advancement and his objective is self-realization. To achieve this objective, it is not enough to know the ultimate nature of the pure self as viewed by the niścaya naya. For an ascetic it is necessary to understand and appreciate the importance of the role of each of the three jewels in the development of spiritual purity in accordance with vyavahāra naya. In actual life the most prominent factor is the purification of the conduct by means of saṃyama—great vows—and tapa (austerities). Few other philosophies give ethics its due as the Jains do. Thus a life-long pursuit of three jewels characterize true ascetic. However, an ascetic must always believe that three jewels are identical with the self. A judicious combination of both nayas is prescribed by Ācārya Kundakunda in this verse.