Jain Studies Blog

International Summer School for Jain Studies

Jain Diet

August 13th, 2008 by Dr Shugan C Jain

1.0  Introduction

Jain term for food is āhāra. Recent literature also uses the term bhojana also. Āhāra is the taking in or absorption ( and not eating) of the matter fit for the three kinds of bodies (1. gross or physical body of human, animals and vegetation kingdom; 2. the transformable body of the celestial and infernal beings; and 3. the project-able or communication body of the saints of high spiritual purification level) and six kinds of completion (called paryāpti; these being assimilation of molecules of matter, formation of body, the senses, the respiratory organs, the organ of speech and the mind)1. 

 

Food means taking external inputs (nutrients, energy and body building and functioning elements) by the living being. It is the most important need of the living beings as without it they may not be able to survive for long time.  It therefore becomes important to know Jain views on food. Food and conduct, as per Jains, have strong correlation. Here also ethical postulates, such as being healthy (to be able to perform right conduct for self purification), non violence, self control (sańyama), attitude and our thinking have strong correlation to the type and quantity of food we take.

 

Pure souls (or siddhas /parmātmā) do not need any external energy to exist as one of their attributes is that they soul possesses infinite energy to enjoy their state of infinite knowledge and bliss.  Even Arhantas (i.e. pure soul with physical body) are said to be able to exist without taking food i.e. kavalāhāra2 even though their body accepts no-karma matter from the environment directly. Mahāvira, during his penance of more than 12.5 years is said to have taken small quantities of food only 265 times.

 

However all living beings need external energy and nutrients to maintain their physical bodies healthy and use it effectively to utilize their faculties (mind, body and speech) to achieve their objectives. Even when a living being dies and adopts a new body, even during this period of leaving the old body and accepting the new body (a fraction of a second as per Jain texts) the particular living being takes some food1. Thus food is the primary need of all living beings. Like cotton is the basic material of cloth, similarly to practice Mokşa Mārga with right vision-knowledge and conduct as main constituents, proper diet is very important. The eight basic virtues or requirements to be a householder (sravaka) have at-least three virtues consisting of abstinence from meat, honey and wine 3 while other acaryas have all the eight associated with associated with abstinence from eight types o food containing innumerable micro living beings. Jain To conclude the underlying principle of Jain diet can be summarized as ‘eat to live to be able to exercise self control and not just maintain the body healthy’ so as to able to perform optimally your duties to achieve the objective and ‘not just live to eat’.

 

1.1 Types of food (āhāra) that living beings (empirical souls) take.4

 

i.         ‘Oza’ or life span determination at the time of birth is the energy the living being takes at the time of birth and this energy stays until his /her death. We hear stories of some living beings buried under debris for days together alive due to the existence of this energy.

ii.       ‘Roma’ or nutrient & energy absorbed from environment directly.  Every pour of body (millions in number) is capable of absorbing nutrients from the air & solar energy (similar to the process called photo synthesis in plants where the leaves absorb all the food from air and sun light and convert them to plant and its branches, leaves, fruits and flowers. Jain texts and modern medical science emphasize and provide several means to enable us use this type of food and minimize the need of the third type i.e. kavalāhāra.

iii.      ‘Kavala’ or food taken as morsels by mouth or injected in the body by other means. Generally we man this type of food to denote all types of food. Few people realize that solar energy and fresh air are components of food (type ii indicated above).

iv.     ‘Mano’ or mental food.  All the necessary nutrients needed are available in the environment around us. However our spiritual capabilities are not so advanced to use this method. Monks do develop such capabilities through their practice of Mokşa Mārga. Stories abound in Jain texts or such developments (generally Jain texts have four types of stories namely Women (stri), Food (bhatta), Kingship (rāja) and country (deśa)). It is also said that celestial beings i.e. heavenly beings (gods and goddesses) have such capabilities and their bodies are even termed as celestial body so that they do not need ‘kavalāhāra’. 

v.        ‘Karmaņa’ or the absorption of karmaņa particles by the empirical soul due to its various non-self activities. These act as insulation for soul’s energy to enjoy its own nature of knowledge & bliss. These particles also reduce the efficiency of body parts to perform their function.  All spiritual practices aim at stopping further accumulation of these particles on the soul and to dissociate the existing bonding particles with soul.

 

2. Basis of Jain Diet

The question now arises, what is the proper food as per Jains? We know that one type of food makes us sick and the other type makes us healthy, calm and composed. Ayurveda divides food in three types namely ‘hita’ or beneficial to the body, mita or eating less than needed and ŗta i.e. which does not depend on exploitation of others and the consumer earns his food.   Jains talk primarily of the third type as the first two are corollaries of this.  We all talk of the kavalāhāra taken from the mouth or through other means introduced in the body as food. Perhaps Jain ethical texts emphasize the importance of food most for a happy life now and to move forward on Mokşa Mārga i.e. path of spiritual beneficiation to attain salvation. Basis of Jain diet can be enumerated as follows:

 

2.1       Non Violence (Ahińsā) 5

Non violence is the heart of Jain philosophy. The entire ethical practices and the doctrine evolve around minutest details of this concept.  ‘Live and let live’ and Non violence is the supreme spiritual value’ are the hallmarks of Jain doctrine. Thus Jain food also is based on the practice of this doctrine. This result in the following boundaries for what is good to eat and what is not good.

  • Total avoidance of killing of 2 to 5 sensed living beings as food. This prohibits consumption of meat, eggs etc of any kind.
  • Minimal killing of one sensed i.e. living beings with air, water, fire and earth as body and plants for food. To live, we cannot avoid harming air, water, fire and earth bodied living beings while we can exercise control and restraint in harming the plant life. This perhaps prohibits consumption of root vegetables or plants and fruits where colonies of micro-living beings exist. Only fruits of the plants free from such considerations are prescribed for consumption.
  • The food taken should be such that it does not enhance the violent nature (like anger, aversion, hatred etc) in the person consuming the food. Excessive consumption of dry (i.e. non oily) or spicy food; consumption of animals or their products create violent feelings.  
  • Exercise carefulness while preparing and taking food e.g. not eating after sunset as the subtle two-three sensed living beings may not be visible and to prepare the food in a clean place after carefully cleaning the food articles by known and well intentioned persons.

 

2.2       Non-eating

One of the pillars of three components Jain doctrine of Anekant namely co-existence of opposites says that eating and non-eating should co-exist to practice Mokşa Mārga. Therefore Jains lay equal importance on not eating also. The first three types of external penance6 are anśana (fasting), unodari (eating less than what is normal food intake) and rasa parityāga (giving up one or more of the five types of tastes namely salty-sweet-oily-dry and bitter foods on specific dates and for periods). Jains (practicing spiritual vows) keep fasts or eat once a day on 8th and 14th day of each fortnight, do the same on almost on all festivals and special occasions, do not eat greens during rainy season and on specified days etc.   Not eating or practicing the three austerities does help the person in maintaining control over his sensual desires and perform spiritual and other duties more rigorously. The community glorifies those individuals who observe the maximum number of fasts during Paryuşaņa Parva. 

 

2.3       Minimization or annihilation of passions (anger, pride, deceit and greed) and maximize self control over sensual pleasures and enhance the capability to observe the vow of celibacy (bŗhamcarya).

The five deterrents to salvation and causes for the kārmika influx and bondage are6:

i.                     Perverted views (mithyātva),

ii.                   Disinterest in observing vows (avirati),

iii.                  Laziness (pramāda),

iv.                 Passions (kaşāya) and  

v.                   Activities of mind/body and speech (yoga).

Food had direct impact on cause’s ii to v. It is well known and proved by science that all types of food have good as well as bad effects depending on the method they are prepared for eating, mixing of different types of foods and the quantity of their intake. Āyurveda also talks of three broad categories of food namely rājasika (rich or heavy to digest), tāmasika (toxic causing laziness and loss of discriminating knowledge) and sātvika (pure food which does not produce perverted views in the consumer’s mind and is fit for consumption to lead a healthy and peaceful life).  Jain diet emphasizes the last type. Rājasika food is said to enhance laziness and disinterest in vows while tāmasika food is said to enhance passions and perverted views. Sātvika food contains all the four essential constituents of food namely food grains, edibles and water, oil, air and solar energy in essential quantities and prepared properly. In today’s terminology it can be said to be as balanced food having carbohydrates, proteins, salt, oil, water, air, minerals and vitamins. Similarly those food items which are said to be aphrodisiac in effect or causes loss of discriminating intellect or cause enhancement of violent nature are to be avoided.  

 

3.0       Preparation and preservation of food:

Discussion here refer primarily for monks but the same hold good for householder but relaxed to meet he individual needs and circumstances.

 

3.1       The person who prepares and serves the food is an extremely important link in this as he /she is supposed to have attributes listed below for serving food to monks6

i.                     Awareness of the needs and limitations of the person for whom food is being prepared.

ii.                    Should be free from any expectation of worldly benefits / pride / anger /indifference towards the person while preparing the food.

iii.                  Should be knowledgeable about the qualities, limits and desirability of various ingredients for food e.g. the shelf life, the ingredient being free from living beings, their beneficial and harmful effects on mind /body and speech etc.

iv.                 Should be in a happy mood and be with pure mind, body and speech

v.                   Offer respect to the person etc.

 

The following persons are not allowed to prepare and serve food: 8

i.          Pregnant or nursing (lactating) women or those having menstrual period.

ii.          Sick or old persons, children, scared or incapacitated (blind /lame etc) persons. 

iii.         Those wearing or touching shoes or standing at a pedestal higher than the one who is taking the food.

 

Most of the Jain texts found in temples and homes having pujās (devotional hymns), sāmāyikas (meditation hymns) and āvaśayakas (essential duties o householders) have a list of edible things, the impact of their mixing with each other and their shelf life. 9

 

3.2       Preparation

The food should be prepared in a clean, well lighted (preferably by sunlight), ventilated and protected (free from mosquitoes, flies, dust etc) place. All the ingredients used should be first manually cleaned (sorting), checked for their suitability (i.e. within the time limit prescribed and free from living beings of any kind) then washed and used. The water to be used should be strained and boiled before use. Similarly the persons cooking, utensils and the place etc should be clean. The food is then prepared by person/s not belonging to banned list and served in the clean place (preferably kitchen itself).

 

4.0              Vegetarian diet

The Jain diet is claimed to be strictly vegetarian, perhaps vegan but relaxed to contain dairy products also (lacto vegetarians). Most of the restaurants and other high end restaurants and food serving organizations present special Jain menus i.e. vegetarian food without root vegetables like onion, garlic, potatoes etc.  Animal products or those products made by using even small quantities of animal products are forbidden (e.g. processed cheese using rant, cereals or medicines using honey/ bone ash or other such things, ice creams using eggs). Here again the method of preparing, consuming sātvika food in limited quantities and times and eating before sunset or after sunrise, so as to avoid contamination of food with mosquitoes and insects are emphasized

 

5.0       Modern medical science and economic views on Jain diet.

We see a significant movement in the world towards adopting vegetarian food and giving up meat eating or even animal based products based on primarily health considerations. Everyday we find new medical reports identifying illnesses correlated to eating meat and poultry products. Similarly we see a number of studies showing economic considerations for being vegetarian and resource constraints in supporting meat eating habits.

 

6.0       Conclusions 

Jain canonical literature gives the following description of a monk’ to support his /her spiritual life 10.

 

That monk, who, without the desire, passions (attachments and aversions) but maintaining an attitude of carefulness and restraints (samitis and guptis) eats proper and worthy for the monk as per the Jain scriptures food and wanders from one place to other place for preaching and stay is said to be free from the flaws of taking food directly.  The soul of that monk, who is busy in meditating on his self and is free from the act of accepting other matter is in fact called a fasting self (nirhari). Thus such monks are said to be free from the flaws of the food accepted by them in enabling them to meditate on their self. Such pure food is accepted once a day during daylight, that too less than the full need of the stomach is balanced in dry-oily-sweet-salt tastes and contents, free from elements like honey, meat etc, is prepared by religious persons aware of the method of preparing and serving. Such food is said to free from the flaws of adhaħ-karma and is taken through begging.

 

With these as ideal, the diet for householders is suitably modified depending upon his /her spiritual inclinations and the place where he /she live. The basic principles of Jain diet are:

  • Non-violence has to be always kept as a supreme factor while planning one’s diet.
  • It should assist us in achieving our objective of the human life by enhancing self control, reducing passions and lead a happy and healthier life.

 

 

 

 

 

References

 

1.         Tattvartha Sutra by Uma Svati and its commentary by PujyaPada sutra 2.30

2.         Bodha Pahuda by Kunda Kundav-34

3.         Rattan Karand Shravakahara by SamantBhadra, commentary Prabha Chandra edited by Dr Panna Lal. Verse 66.

4.         Ahinsak Jivana Shelly by Samani Chinmaya Pragya

5.         Purushartha Siddhi Upaya Amrit Chand Suri v. 61-75

6.         Tattvartha Sutra by Uma Svati and its commentary by PujyaPada sutra viii.1

7.         Purushartha Siddhi Upaya Amrit Chand Suri v.168-170

8.         Bhagawati Aradhana by Shivarya 1206-4-10

9          Puja Patha Pradeep , Samayika ka Saundarya compiled by Dr Mukesh Jain

10.       Pravaana Sara by Kunda Kunda verse 3.26-30; Sutra Kŗatāńga verse 1.3.1- 6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Introduction to Non Voilence Communication

May 27th, 2008 by Jain Studies

At the Dharma Summit religious leaders will explore the meaning and application of Dharma in the present times where fragmentation is so prevalent.  The word Dharma literally means ‘that which holds together’ or ’sustains a being’. It includes religion, but it is much more. It is a combination of rule of law, duties, laws of being, the principles & forces which sustain a being and the path of righteousness. Every action, thought or speech that sustains growth and promotes harmony is part of Dharma. Here I  introduce meditation and nonviolent communication as a key Dharma practice.

 All religions recommend controlling ones passion to enhance ones ability to manifest the divinity which is already present in man.  Passions like anger, greed, deceit and lust result in individual and collective violence in thought, word and action. At the same time we must learn and understand that anger, pride; deceit and greed are very much a part of our lives today and that these will not disappear overnight. Life is filled with frustration, pain, loss and the unpredictable actions of others. We have not been able to change that; but we can change the way we let such events affect us. One requires skills and tools to deal with anger, conflict and stress nonviolently and compassionately.

             The story of Chandakaushik has helped me clarify my understanding about non violence and compassion. Chandakaushik was a big black poisonous snake, and he had bitten many people that few dared go into the fields. Using his powers Lord Mahavir, the Jain prophet and teacher tamed and persuaded Chandakaushik to practice the discipline of nonviolence. Within a short time the villagers discovered that the snake had become harmless. They took to throwing stones at it and dragging it about by its tail.

            After several days Lord Mahavir was very sad to find the snake wounded and battered, and he said to Chandakaushik, “What have you allowed to happen to yourself?” To which the snake replied, “But it was you who taught me to practice the discipline of nonviolence!”  And Lord Mahavir said “Chandakaushik I asked you to stop hurting, but I never told you to stop ‘hissing’.”

            Expressing your angry feelings in an assertive –not aggressive nor by blaming and shaming the other — manner is the healthiest way to express anger. To do this, one has  to learn how to make clear what ones needs (not wants) are, and how to get them met, without hurting others. Being assertive doesn’t mean being pushy or demanding; it means being respectful of oneself and others.

            At an intellectual level this is very easy to understand; at a practical level it is harder. I felt my way through many explosive situations and have learned that to act nonviolently in the face of violence requires a regular practice of meditation.  Quiet moments help to experience compassion within ourselves and allow compassionate alternatives to arise from the heart. Stress stimulates violent inclinations.  A relaxed person is less likely to commit violence. Regular time in prayer and meditation has helped me to find steadiness in my continuing choice of nonviolence over violence. This has helped me to act with long-lasting, life affirming consequences as opposed to a quick fix when faced with any form of violence. Nonviolent living is taking the time and energy to stop, breathe and connect with myself and my inner core which is the source of divine wisdom. Living nonviolently takes great courage, commitment and vigilance in a culture whose values are antithetical to this compassionate ethic of non injury. The environment and the media encourage us to deal with anger violently. Hit someone, break something, throw a fit, and smash a fist into the wall or sometimes into another person! Our inability to be aware that we are angry and then control and manage our anger leads to violence. Conflict in our relationship with people around us is inevitable but how we deal with the conflict is important.

Anger is an emotional state that varies in intensity from mild irritation to intense fury and rage,’ according to Charles Spielberger, Ph.D., a psychologist who specializes in the study of anger. Like other emotions, it is accompanied by physiological and biological changes; when you get angry, your heart rate and blood pressure go up, as does the level of your energy hormones, adrenalin and noradrenalin. Anger is an adaptive response to threats; it inspires powerful, often aggressive, feelings and behaviors, which allow us to fight and to defend ourselves when we are attacked. A certain amount of anger, therefore, is necessary to our survival.  All anger has a life serving core and one can deal with anger nonviolently, this does not mean that you suppress anger; the danger in this type of response is that if it isn’t allowed outward expression, your anger can turn inward — on yourself. Anger turned inward may cause hypertension, ulcers, depression and many other medical problems. The aim is to use the anger energy and convert it into more constructive behavior.  

Developing the ability to say “ouch” when one hurts without blame or shame is a skill I have learned from Marshall Rosenberg, clinical psychologist who teaches a process called Nonviolent Communication. Nonviolent communication is a life-connected language. In speaking this language we connect with others by honestly expressing ourselves but without any blame or criticism, and by empathically receiving communication from others, without hearing any blame or criticism from them, regardless of how they express themselves.

While communicating nonviolently our attention is focused on how people are, and what would enhance their life.  There are four distinct pieces of information, which are the components of nonviolent communication, are 1.Observation without evaluation or judgment. 2. Feelings 3. Needs 4. Request.

According to Marshall Rosenberg anger and conflict management begins by being aware of the situations that trigger the feelings of anger. Being aware that the other person is just a stimulus and not the cause of your anger. At this point we relieve ourselves of thoughts such as, “He, she, or they made me angry when they did that.” Such thinking leads us to express our anger superficially by blaming or punishing the other person.

So to deal with a conflict situation nonviolently would be to be aware of our own feelings and needs rather than going to our head to make a mental analysis of wrongness regarding somebody. In doing so we choose to connect to the life that is within us. Understanding that the cause of our anger lies in our thinking (in thoughts of blame and judgment). The following is an example to help shed some clarity on how focusing on our needs helps to deal with anger nonviolently. If you have an appointment and the other person arrives late and if we are needing assurance that the other person ‘cares about us’, we may feel hurt. If, instead, our need is to spend time purposefully and constructively so we can keep up with the plans of the rest of the day, we may feel frustrated. If on the other hand our need is for thirty minutes of quiet and solitude, we feel grateful for the other person’s delay and not angry at all. Thus, it is not the behavior of the other person, but our need, which causes how we feel. The process of being in touch with our need which may be reassurance, purposefulness, or solitude; we are in touch with our life energy.

In the face of anger the first step is to simply stop and breathe without giving in the temptation of blame, punish or hurt the other person in any way. Simply remain quiet. Violence is not possible in the absence of stress. A relaxed person cannot commit violence. Once we are centered and connected with our selves we become aware of our thoughts and identify the thoughts that are making us angry.  In most cases, however, another step needs to take place before we can expect the other party to connect with what is going on in us. Because it will be difficult for others to receive our feelings and needs in such situations, we would first need to empathize and hear how they are feeling and what needs of theirs are being met. The more we empathize with them the more likely it is that they will be able to understand how we feel and need. It is in this exchange of understanding of the other persons feelings and needs, we recognize our common humanity.

Submitted by : Dr. Hema Pokharna to ISSJS

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Kşmāvāņi Parva. Festival of seeking and giving forgiveness

May 11th, 2008 by Dr Shugan C Jain

Fed up of hearing and experiencing the ills of terrorism, war, anger and hatred in your world. Welcome to the world of forgiveness and join us in understanding and expressing the same on Kşmāvāņi Parva, celebration of seeking and giving forgiveness. Just imagine if Bush and Osama can forgive each other and start a new life. Or take a look at your own life. How much time and energy do you spend in taking revenge from someone who has done some (or perceived to do some) harm to you? We shall be amazed to see how forgiveness adversely affects the anger and ego, and even eliminates them. Anger and ego consume all our energy and deprive us from enjoying our nature i.e. being happy. The well known saying “ To err is human and to forgive is divine’ if practiced sincerely can solve all such problems and bring peace and harmony in life. Read the rest of this entry »

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Category: Ethics | 47 Comments »