Part 6.1 - Nudity / Begging of Clothes

[Full title: Importance of Ācārāṅga-sūtra (1) Nudity / Begging of Clothes]

The Ācārāṅga-sūtra advises monks and nuns to never indulge in any sort of violence with earth, water, fire, plant, air bodied souls, two sensed beings and the like. Detachment, austerity and self control must be practised to release from the bondage of passion which is the cause of the world. The monk should not deviate from his path while facing favourable and unfavourable circumstances. The monk must be observer of Right knowledge and Right cognition. He should wash away all evil karmas by penance and self control. It advises all to be rid of infatuation and delusion. It exhorts them to preserve self control even at the cost of life. The Ācārāṅga contains various desires like those of food, movement, bed, speech, cloth, pot, shelter, space, excretion, word, form and the like. There are also twenty-five reflections on the five great vows and views about liberation with the help of many similes. The Ācārāṅgasūtra deeply focuses on the religious conduct of monk. We will take up some of religious aspects for critical analysis and evaluation.

In the Jain tradition the practised of Nudity and relinquishment of clothes were prevalent during Lord Mahavīra’s time or earlier and are prevalent even today till modern times. This characteristic of Jain ascetic of staying without clothes is the unique and highly religious.

The Mūlācara the basic text for the conduct of a Digambara monk mentions Nudity^[1], as one of the quality among twenty-eight qualities (mūlaguṇas) of a monk. In Ācārāṅga-sūtra three traditions about robes are mentioned. Some monk renounces the world with three robes, some with two and others with one only.^[2] In all these three traditions, there is the prescription of robes only in the autumn and on the advent of summer, there is the prescription of one robe or nudity.^[3] It seems probable that in the dispensation of Lord Pārśva, all these three systems concerning robe were prevalent. Among those three the Lord Mahavīra adopted the system of one piece of cloth. Mahavīra initiated himself into ascetic life with a robe on, which he later on discarded.

After the Nirvana of Mahavīra the Jaina tradition was divided into two sects, the Digambar and the Śvetambar. The Digambar ascetic till now practice nudity and the Śvetambar uses white clothes to cover and protect their body. The four classes of ascetics have been mentioned in connection with the clothing with three or two or one or no clothing. The acceptance of clothing was twofold general and exceptional. An ascetic engaged in intensive penance uses three pieces of clothing. The monk of ancient Jaina discipline followed this. The monk with two pieces of clothing is necessarily the observance practiser of the Jaina discipline through purification or intensive penance. The monk with one piece of clothing is stronger possessed of strong physical structure in comparison with the monks with three or two pieces of clothing. The desire for fourth cloth is incidental seasonal. A true ascetic never desires for a fourth piece.

Now, it is very clear that the discipline of nude life is a transcendental discipline and not an ordinary doctrine. Living in nudity and the endurance of the hardships of cold etc. is the highest religious conduct for a monk. Even using very ordinary and merger clothing in respect of number, length and cost is mere necessity for protection and save from social shyness.

However, the question can be raised that even in Jaina tradition we find two different kinds of ascetics based on their clothes. It can be simply answered that the practise of religious conduct and hardship of nudity are not equally possible for all. From earlier time to modern times the life style, society and atmosphere have changed. People may not take the nude ascetic as much socially relevant and may even sometimes fear to go near him. People even put forth questions that what is need of it? Is nudity really needed to liberate or gain merit. Why such hard performance to the body.

It is argued that ascetic aim of life is to get liberation. He lives for soul and not for body. Soul cannot sustain without body in worldly life, so body has to be sustain. It is only sustained to do spiritual conduct and destroy the bondage of karma. When the hardships are beared by body through austerities and penances, the soul become light from the bondage of karma and moves fast towards the liberation. It is totally religious conduct or act and nothing else.

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

See Mūlācara, Gātha 2-3

[2]:

See Ācārāṅga-sūtra, 8.43,62,85

[3]:

Ibid, 8.52, 53, 70, 71, 93.