Uttaradhyayana Sutra: Twenty-Ninth Lecture: The Exertion in Righteousness

Twenty-Ninth Lecture: The Exertion in Righteousness

O long-lived (Jambūsvāmin)! I (Sudharman) have heard the following discourse from the venerable (Mahāvīra).

Here, forsooth, the Venerable Ascetic Mahāvīra, of the Kaśyapa Gōtra, has delivered this lecture called the exertion in righteousness. Many creatures, who truly believe in the subject (taught in this lecture), put their faith in it, give credence to it, accept it, practise it, comply with it, study it, understand it, learn it, and act up to it according to the precept (of the Jinas)^[1]—have obtained perfection, enlightenment, deliverance, final beatitude, and have put an end to all misery.

This lecture treats of the following subjects:

1. saṃvēga, longing for liberation;
2. nirvēda, disregard of worldly objects;
3. dharmaśraddhā, desire of the Law;
4. gurusādharmikaśuśrūṣaṇā, obedience to co-religionists and to the Guru.
5. ālōchanā, confession of sins before the Guru;
6. nindā, repenting of one's sins to oneself;
7. garhā, repenting of one's sins before the Guru;
8. sāmāyika, moral and intellectual purity of the soul;
9. chaturviṃśatistava, adoration of the twenty-four Jinas;
10. vandana, paying reverence to the Guru;
11. pratikramaṇa, expiation of sins;
12. kāyōtsarga, a particular position of the body;
13. pratyākhyāna, self-denial;
14. stavastutimaṅgala, praises and hymns;
15. kālasya pratyupēkṣaṇā, keeping the right time;
16. prāyaśchittakaraṇa, practising penance;
17. kṣamāpana, begging forgiveness;
18. svādhyāya, study;
19. vāchanā, recital of the sacred texts;
20. paripṛcchanā, questioning (the teacher);
21. parāvartanā, repetition;
22. anuprēkṣā, pondering;
23. dharmakathā, religious discourse;
24. śrutasyārādhanā, acquisition of sacred knowledge;
25. ēkāgramanaḥsannivēśanā, concentration of thoughts;
26. saṃyama, control;
27. tapas, austerities;
28. vyavadāna, cutting off the Karman;
29. sukhāśāta, renouncing pleasure;
30. apratibaddhatā, mental independence;
31. vichitraśayanāsanasēvanā, using unfrequented lodgings and beds;
32. vinivartanā, turning from the world;
33. sambhōgapratyākhyāna, renouncing collection of alms in one district only;
34. upadhipratyākhyāna, renouncing articles of use;
35. āhārapratyākhyāna, renouncing food;
36. kaṣāyapratyākhyāna, conquering the passions;
37. yōgapratyākhyāna, renouncing activity;
38. śarīrapratyākhyāna, renouncing the body;
39. sahāyapratyākhyāna, renouncing company;
40. bhaktapratyākhyāna, renouncing all food;
41. sadbhāvapratyākhyāna, perfect renunciation;
42. pratirūpatā, conforming to the standard;
43. vaiyāvṛtya, doing service;
44. sarvaguṇasampūrṇatā, fulfilling all virtues;
45. vītarāgatā, freedom from passion;
46. kṣānti, patience;
47. mukti, freedom from greed;
48. ārjava, simplicity;
49. mārdava, humility;
50. bhāvasatya, sincerity of mind;
51. karaṇasatya, sincerity of religious practice;
52. yōgasatya, sincerity of acting;
53. manōguptatā, watchfulness of the mind;
54. vāg-guptatā, watchfulness of the speech;
55. kāyaguptatā, watchfulness of the body;
56. manaḥsamādhāraṇā, discipline of the mind;
57. vāksamādhāraṇā, discipline of the speech;
58. kāyasamādhāraṇā, discipline of the body;
59. jñānasampannatā, possession of knowledge;
60. darśanasampannatā, possession of faith;
61. chāritrasampannatā, possession of conduct;
62. śrōtrēndriyanigraha, subduing the ear;
63. chakṣurindriyanigraha, subduing the eye;
64. ghrāṇēndriyanigraha, subduing the organ of smell;
65. jihvēndriyanigraha, subduing the tongue;
66. sparśanēndriyanigraha, subduing the organ of touch;
67. krōdhavijaya, conquering anger;
68. mānavijaya, conquering pride;
69. māyāvijaya, conquering deceit;
70. lōbhavijaya, conquering greed;
71. prēmadvēṣamithyādarśaṇavijaya, conquering love, hate, and wrong belief;
72. śailēśī, stability;
73. akarmatā, freedom from Karman.

1. Sir, what does the soul obtain by the longing for liberation? By the longing for liberation the soul obtains an intense desire of the Law; by an intense desire of the Law he quickly arrives at an (increased) longing for liberation; he destroys anger, pride, deceit, and greed, which reproduce themselves infinitely; he acquires no (bad) Karman, and ridding himself of wrong belief which is the consequence of the latter, he becomes possessed of right faith; by the purity of faith some will reach perfection after one birth; nobody, however, who has got this purity, will be born more than thrice before he reaches perfection. (1)

2. Sir, what does the soul obtain by disregard of worldly objects?^[2] By disregard of worldly objects the soul quickly feels disgust for pleasures enjoyed by gods, men, and animals; he becomes indifferent to all objects; thereby he ceases to engage in any undertakings, in consequence of which he leaves the road of Saṃsāra and enters the road to perfection. (2)

3. Sir,^[3] what does the soul obtain by the desire of the Law? By the desire of the Law the soul becomes indifferent to pleasures and happiness to which he was attached; he abandons the life of householders, and as a houseless monk he puts an end to all pains of body and mind, which consist in (the suffering of) cutting, piercing, union (with unpleasant things), etc.; and he obtains unchecked happiness. (3)

4. By obedience to co-religionists and to the Guru the soul obtains discipline (vinaya). By discipline and avoidance of misconduct (towards the teacher^[4]) he avoids being reborn as a denizen of hell, an animal, a (low) man, or a (bad) god; by zealous praise of, devotion to, and respect for (the Guru) he obtains birth as a (good) man or god, gains perfection and beatitude, does all praiseworthy actions prescribed by discipline, and prevails upon others to adopt discipline. (4)

5. By confession of sins (before the Guru) the soul gets rid of the thorns, as it were, of deceit, misapplied austerities,^[5] and wrong belief, which obstruct the way to final liberation and cause an endless migration of the soul; he obtains simplicity, whereby the soul which is free from deceit does not acquire that Karman which results in his having a carnal desire for a woman or eunuch,^[6] and annihilates such Karman as he had acquired before. (5)

6. By repenting of one's sins to oneself the soul obtains repentance, and becoming indifferent by repentance he prepares for himself an (ascending) scale of virtues,^[7] by which he destroys the Karman resulting from delusion. (6)

7. By repenting of one's sins before the Guru the soul obtains humiliation; feeling humiliated, he will leave off all blameable occupations,^[8] and apply himself to praiseworthy occupations, whereby a houseless monk will stop infinite disabling^[9] developments. (7)

8. By moral and intellectual purity (literally, equilibrium) the soul ceases from sinful occupations. (8)

9. By the adoration of the twenty-four Jinas the soul arrives at purity of faith. (9)

10. By paying reverence (to the Guru) the soul destroys such Karman as leads to birth in low families, and acquires such Karman as leads to birth in noble families; he wins the affection of people, which results in his being looked upon as an authority, and he brings about general goodwill. (10)

11. By expiation of sins he obviates transgressions of the vows; thereby he stops the āsravas, preserves a pure conduct, practises the eight articles,^[10] does not neglect (the practice of control), and pays great attention to it. (11)

12. By Kāyōtsarga he gets rid of past and present (transgressions which require) Prāyaśchitta;^[11] thereby his mind is set at ease like a porter who is eased of his burden; and engaging in praiseworthy contemplation he enjoys happiness. (12)

13. By self-denial he shuts, as it were, the doors of the āsravas; by self-denial he prevents desires rising in him; by prevention of desires he becomes, as it were, indifferent and cool towards all objects. (13)

14. By praises and hymns he obtains the wisdom consisting in knowledge, faith, and conduct; thereby he gains such improvement, that he will put an end to his worldly existence,^[12] (or) be born afterwards in one of the Kalpas and Vimānas.^[13] (14)

15. By keeping the right time he destroys the Karman which obstructs right knowledge. (15)

16. By practising Prāyaśchitta he gets rid of sins, and commits no transgressions; he who correctly practises Prāyaśchitta, gains the road and the reward of the road,^[14] he wins the reward of good conduct. (16)

17. By begging forgiveness he obtains happiness of mind; thereby he acquires a kind disposition towards all kinds of living beings;^[15] by this kind disposition he obtains purity of character and freedom from fear. (17)

18. By study he destroys the Karman which obstructs right knowledge. (18)

19. By the recital of the sacred texts he obtains destruction of Karman, and contributes to preserve the sacred lore, whereby he acquires the Law of the Tīrtha,^[16] which again leads him to the complete destruction of Karman, and to the final annihilation of worldly existence. (19)

20. By questioning (the teacher) he arrives at a correct comprehension of the Sūtra and its meaning, and he puts an end to the Karman which produces doubts and delusion. (20)

21. By repetition he reproduces the sounds (i.e. syllables) and commits them to memory. (21)

22. By pondering (on what he has learned) he loosens the firm hold which the seven kinds of Karman, except the āyuṣka^[17] (have upon the soul); he shortens their duration when it was to be a long one; he mitigates their power when it was intense; (he reduces their sphere of action when it was a wide one);^[18] he may either acquire āyuṣka-karman or not, but he no more accumulates Karman which produces unpleasant feelings, and he quickly crosses the very large forest of the fourfold Saṃsāra, which is without beginning and end. (22)

23. By religious discourses he obtains destruction of the Karman; by religious discourses he exalts the creed, and by exalting the creed he acquires Karman, which secures, for the future, permanent bliss. (23)

24. By acquisition of sacred knowledge he destroys ignorance, and will not be corrupted by worldliness. (24)

25. By concentration of his thoughts he obtains stability of the mind. (25)

26. By control he obtains freedom from sins. (26)

27. By austerities he cuts off the Karman.^[19] (27)

28. By cutting off the Karman he obtains (the fourth stage of pure meditation characterised by) freedom from actions, by doing no actions he will obtain perfection, enlightenment, deliverance, and final beatitude, and will put an end to all misery. (28)

29. By renouncing pleasures he obtains freedom from false longing, whereby he becomes compassionate, humble, free from sorrow, and destroys the Karman produced by delusion regarding conduct. (29)

30. By mental independence he gets rid of attachment, whereby he will concentrate his thoughts (on the Law), and will for ever be without attachment and fondness (for worldly things). (30)

31. By using unfrequented lodgings and beds he obtains the Gupti of conduct, whereby he will use allowed food, be steady in his conduct, be exclusively delighted with (control), obtain a yearning for deliverance, and cut off the tie of the eightfold Karman. (31)

32. By turning from the world he will strive to do no bad actions, and will eliminate his already acquired Karman by its destruction; then he will cross the forest of the fourfold Saṃsāra. (32)

33. By renouncing collection of alms in one district only^[20] he overcomes obstacles;^[21] unchecked by them he exerts himself to attain liberation; he is content with the alms he gets, and does not hope for, care for, wish, desire, or covet those of a fellow-monk; not envying other monks he takes up a separate, agreeable lodging.^[22] (33)

34. By renouncing articles of use^[23] he obtains successful study; without articles of use he becomes exempt from desires, and does not suffer misery. (34)

35. By renouncing (forbidden) food he ceases to act for the sustenance of his life; ceasing to act for the sustenance of his life he does not suffer misery when without food. (35)

36. By conquering his passions he becomes free from passions; thereby he becomes indifferent to happiness and pains. (36)

37. By renouncing activity he obtains inactivity, by ceasing to act he acquires no new Karman, and destroys the Karman he had acquired before. (37)

38. By renouncing his body he acquires the pre-eminent virtues of the Siddhas, by the possession of which he goes to the highest region of the universe, and becomes absolutely happy. (38)

39. By renouncing company he obtains singleness; being single and concentrating his mind, he avoids disputes, quarrels, passions, and censoriousness, and he acquires a high degree of control, of Saṃvara, and of carefulness.^[24] (39)

40. By renouncing all food he prevents his being born again many hundreds of times. (40)

41. By perfect renunciation^[25] he enters the final (fourth stage of pure meditation), whence there is no return; a monk who is in that state, destroys the four remnants of Karman which even a Kēvalin possesses, viz. vēdanīya, āyuṣka, nāman, and gōtra;^[26] and then he will put an end to all misery. (41)

42. By conforming to the standard of monks^[27] he obtains ease, thereby he will be careful, wear openly the excellent badges of the order, be of perfect righteousness, possess firmness and the Samitis, inspire all beings with confidence, mind but few things,^[28] subdue his senses, and practise, in a high degree, the Samitis and austerities. (42)

43. By doing service he acquires the Karman which brings about for him the nāman and gōtra of a Tīrthakara. (43)

By fulfilling all virtues he secures that he will not be born again; thereby he will become exempt from pains of the body and mind. (44)

45. By freedom from passion he cuts off the ties of attachment and desire; thereby he becomes indifferent to all agreeable and disagreeable sounds, touches, colours, and smells. (45)

46. By patience he overcomes troubles. (46)

47. By freedom from greed he obtains voluntary poverty, whereby he will become inaccessible to desire for property. (47)

48. By simplicity he will become upright in actions, thoughts, and speech, and he will become veracious; thereby he will truly practise the Law. (48)

49. By humility he will acquire freedom from self-conceit; thereby he will become of a kind and meek disposition, and avoid the eight kinds of pride. (49)

50. By sincerity of mind he obtains purity of mind, which will cause him to exert himself for the fulfilment of the Law which the Jinas have proclaimed; and he will practise the Law in the next world too. (50)

51. By sincerity in religious practice he obtains proficiency in it; being proficient in it he will act up to his words. (51)

52. By sincerity of acting he will become pure in his actions. (52)

53. By watchfulness^[29] of the mind he concentrates his thoughts; thereby he truly practises control. (53)

54. By watchfulness of speech he keeps free from prevarication; thereby he enables his mind to act properly. (54)

55. By watchfulness of the body he obtains Saṃvara;^[30] thereby he prevents sinful āsravas. (55)

56. By discipline of the mind he obtains concentration of his thoughts; thereby he obtains development of knowledge, which produces righteousness and annihilates wrong belief. (56)

57. By discipline of the speech he obtains development of faith, whereby he acquires facility of becoming enlightened, and destroys preventing causes. (57)

58. By discipline of the body he obtains development of conduct, which causes him to conduct himself according to the regulation; thereby he destroys the four remnants of Karman which even a Kēvalin possesses;^[31] after that he obtains perfection, enlightenment, deliverance, and final beatitude, and he puts an end to all misery. (58)

59. By possession of knowledge he acquires an understanding of words and their meaning; thereby he will not perish in the forest of the fourfold Saṃsāra; as a needle with its thread will not be lost, thus the soul possessing the sacred lore^[32] will not be lost in the Saṃsāra; he performs all prescribed actions relating to knowledge, discipline, austerities, and conduct, and well versed in his own and in heterodox creeds he will become invincible. (59)

60. By possession of faith he annihilates wrong belief which is the cause of worldly existence, and he will not lose his inner light; but he endues his Self with the highest knowledge and faith, and purifies it.^[33] (60)

61. By possession of conduct he obtains a stability like that of the king of mountains^[34] (viz. Mēru), whereby a houseless monk destroys the four remnants of Karman which even a Kēvalin possesses; after that he obtains perfection, enlightenment, deliverance, and final beatitude, and puts an end to all misery. (61)

62. By subduing the organ of hearing he overcomes his delight with or aversion to all pleasant or unpleasant sounds, he acquires no Karman produced thereby, and destroys the Karman he had acquired before. (62)

63-66. (All this applies also to his) subduing the organs of sight, of smelling, of tasting, and of touch (with regard to) pleasant colours, smells, tastes, and touches. (63-66)

67. By conquering anger he obtains patience; he acquires no Karman productive of anger,^[35] and destroys the Karman he had acquired before. (67)

68. By conquering pride he obtains simplicity, etc. (as in 67, substituting pride for anger). (68)

69. By conquering deceit he obtains humility, etc. (as in 67, substituting deceit for anger). (69)

70. By conquering greed he obtains content, etc. (as in 67, substituting greed for anger). (70)

71. By conquering love, hate, and wrong belief he exerts himself for right knowledge, faith, and conduct, then he will cut off the fetters of the eightfold Karman; he will first destroy the twenty-eight kinds^[36] of Karman, which are productive of delusion; (then) the five kinds of obstruction to right knowledge,^[37] the nine kinds of obstruction to right faith,^[38] and the five kinds of obstacles (called Antarāya): the last three remnants of Karman he destroys simultaneously; afterwards he obtains absolute knowledge and faith, which is supreme, full, complete, unchecked, clear, faultless, and giving light (or penetrating) the whole universe; and while he still acts,^[39] he acquires but such Karman as is inseparable from religious acts;^[40] the pleasant feelings (produced by it) last but two moments: in the first moment it is acquired, in the second it is experienced, and in the third it is destroyed; this Karman is produced, comes into contact (with the soul), takes rise, is experienced, and is destroyed; for all time to come he is exempt from Karman. (71)

72. Then^[41] when his life is spent up to less than half a muhūrta, he discontinues to act, and enters upon the (third degree of) pure meditation,^[42] from which there is no relapse (to lower degrees), and which requires most subtile functions only (of his organs); he first stops the functions of his mind, then the functions of speech, then those of the body, at last he ceases to breathe. During the time required for pronouncing five short syllables, he is engaged in the final pure meditation, in which all functions (of his organs) have ceased, and he simultaneously annihilates the four remnants of Karman, viz. vēdanīya, āyuṣka, nāman, and gōtra.^[43] (72)

73. Then having, by all methods, got rid of his audārika, kārmaṇa (and taijasa) bodies, the soul takes the form of a straight line, goes in one moment, without touching anything and taking up no space,(upwards to the highest Akāśa), and there develops into its natural form, obtains perfection, enlightenment, deliverance, and final beatitude, and puts an end to all misery. (73)

This indeed is the subject of the lecture called exertion in righteousness, which the Venerable Ascetic Mahāvīra has told, declared, explained, demonstrated. (74)

Thus I say.