Five Vows and Six Avashyakas - The Fundamentals of Jaina Ethics [1]

Published: 27.06.2005
Updated: 20.08.2008

Avashyaka I, Samayika

The first Avashyaka is a moral declaration. It is based on an old formula of the Jaina tradition which has been slightly extended so as to form a self-contained element of the sixfold Avashyaka sequence.

The Samayika introduces the subject of repentance which is prominent in the Avashyaka-Sutra (I, III-V). The related subjects of confession -- and atonement -- are not mentioned in the Sutra. Terms of this "atonement cycle" surface in different canonical texts, but a full discussion is only found in the works on monastic discipline. It would thus not be correct to interpret Jainism as a religion where repentance is of pivotal importance.

Text Translation
karemi bhante Samaiyam: I engage, your reverence, in the Samaiya:
savvam savajjam jogam paccakkhami javaj-jivae I renounce all wrongdoing for all my life
tiviham tivihenam: manasa vayasa kayasa, na karemi, na karavemi, karentam pi annam na samanujanami. thrice threefold -- neither with mind nor speech nor body will I do it or cause it to be done (by others) or approve of others doing it.
tassa bhante padikkamami nindami garihami appanam vosirami. I repent such wrongdoing, your reverence. I reprehend and censure and abandon myself ["abandon myself": expression of remorse].
Sources
edited by Carla Geerdes
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                1. Carla Geerdes
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