The Way of Jainism
He, who does not abandon
the notion of "mine"
over the body and possessions,
that `I am this and this is mine',
gives up the sramanya
(the status of a saint)
and goes astray.
`I do not belong to others,
nor do others belong to me;
I am mere knowledge';
he, who meditates thus in concentration,
comes to meditate on his (pure) self.
(Pravachansara, Book 2, verses 190-191)
Those who are without possessions
and free from delusion,
who endure twenty-two kinds of hardships.
Have subdued the evil passions
and are free from the paraphernalia
for (indulging in) sin,
are on the way to emancipation.
"In the upper, the lower,
and the middle world
no one is mine, I am all alone."
Through such mental attitude
the yogis attain everlasting bliss.
Devotees of God and the preceptor,
bearing in mind
the traditions of non-attachment,
absorbed in meditation
with rectitude of conduct.
such people are
on the way to emancipation.
(Ashta Pahuda, Acharya Kund kund, Book 6, v 80-82)
On gaining the desired object,
one should not feel elated.
On not receiving the desired object,
one should not feel dejected.
In case of obtaining anything in excess,
one should not hoard it.
One should abstain from acquisitiveness.
One who sees Reality
should consume things
in a manner different
from that of a layman.
(Acarangasutra 2.114-19)
Once upon a time, there lived a king. One day, he decided to offer gold coins to monks. He called one of his ministers and gave him a bag of gold coins. The king told him to give the coins to all the monks in the town.
The minister searched for monks all day, but he could not find a single monk to give the coins to. He gave the bag of coins back to the king. The minister very politely told the king that he could not find a monk to give the coins to. The king became very angry and said, "What is this nonsense! You could not find a single monk, in such a big city." The minister admired the king for his good intention, and said that real monks did not accept the gold coins. The others who did want to accept the coins, were not true monks, because true monks do not take money. He added that the king would not want to give gold coins to greedy people, who wore the clothes of monks but did not observe the religious principles. After listening to the explanation of the minister, the king became calm and started thinking. He realized that his minister was right, and gave him one hundred gold coins as a reward.
True monks don't have or keep any wealth. Jain monks and nuns don't keep or ask for money for any reason. They don't ask anyone to collect and keep money for them either. They have given up all the concerns about their future needs and do not need any money. They may encourage you to give to charities out of compassion, but they don't get involved in its management.
Mahavir