Agam 30 Prakirnak 01 Gachchhachar Sutra English Translation - Book Summary

Here is a comprehensive summary of the Jain text "Agam 30 Prakirnak 01 Gachchhachar Sutra English Translation":

Title: Gachchhachar (Aagam Sutra-30/1, Prakirnak-Sutra-7/1) Author: Compiled by Muni Deepratnasagar Publisher: Deepratnasagar Purpose: To provide an English translation and explanation of the Gachchhachar Prakirnak, a Jain scripture detailing the conduct and characteristics of monastic groups and their members.

Overview:

The Gachchhachar Prakirnak, a seventh Prakirnak within the Jain Agam literature, focuses on the importance of righteous monastic conduct and the characteristics of a proper monastic community (Gachchha). It emphasizes the guidance and discipline necessary for monks and nuns to achieve spiritual liberation, contrasting it with the pitfalls of associating with wayward or corrupt monastic groups. The text is compiled from various canonical works and serves as a guide for spiritual aspirants.

Key Themes and Content:

Benediction and Statement of Purpose (Verse 1): The text begins with a salutation to Lord Mahavira and a declaration of intent to describe the conduct within monastic groups, drawing from scriptural knowledge.
Harms of Wayward Monastic Groups and Gains of Righteous Ones (Verses 2-7):
- Staying in incorrect or wandering monastic groups leads to continued cycles of birth and death.
- Conversely, associating with righteous monastic groups, even for short periods, provides motivation, enthusiasm, and the ability to overcome laziness, pride, doubt, and sadness. This engagement leads to vigorous pursuit of monastic duties and the destruction of accumulated karma.
- The text strongly advises monks to identify and remain in righteous monastic groups for their entire lives.
Characteristics of an Acharya (Spiritual Leader) (Verses 8-40):
- An Acharya must be reliable, supportive, and possess right vision.
- Identifying a Wrong Path: An Acharya is on the wrong path if they:
  - Follow arbitrary conduct.
  - Engage in unrighteous or violent activities.
  - Are comfort-loving.
  - Are careless in preserving waterborne life.
  - Have deviated from primary and secondary virtues.
  - Do not confess and repent daily.
  - Engage in spiritually useless talk.
- Confession and Repentance: Even virtuous Acharyas should confess their flaws daily to other group members or another Acharya, accepting atonement.
- Monastic Necessities: An Acharya must accept monastic necessities (clothes, pots, shelter) according to canonical dictates and circumstances.
- Ordaining and Guiding: Acharyas who ordain monks and nuns but don't insist on the observance of rules, or who treat new disciples with affection without showing the correct path, are considered enemies.
- True Benefactors: Those who, even if harsh, show the correct path are benefactors. A disciple who cautions a negligent Acharya is also beneficial.
- Essence of Jina's Preaching: A true Acharya motivates and establishes members in right knowledge, belief, and conduct.
- Righteous Conduct: Accepting food, equipage, and shelter for promoting monastic conduct while avoiding flaws in their acquisition is righteous.
- Protection and Vigilance: A skilled Acharya protects the monastic group like a vigilant eye, halting karmic stoppage and viewing all equally.
- True Leadership: Acharyas who motivate disciples according to scripture, explain its meaning, and are like friends and leaders are meritorious. They are compared to eyes guiding worldly creatures.
- Destruction of Faith: Three types of Acharyas destroy faith: the corrupt, those who shelter the corrupt, and those who follow the wrong path.
- Consequences of Wrong Path: A disciple serving a wrong-path Acharya, or an Acharya following the wrong path, leads to prolonged worldly wandering.
- Importance of Stating the Path: Even if one cannot fully observe the path, stating it as preached by the Jinas earns merit.
- Support for Virtuous Monks: Virtuous practitioners should be well looked after.
- Role of Fear: The fear of the master (Acharya) is desirable to prevent disciples from becoming self-opinionated. Acharyas who don't address negligence degrade Jain faith.
Characteristics of Monks (Verses 41-106):
- Qualities of a Real Monastic Group: Consists of monks who know scriptural meaning, desire liberation, are free from sloth and negligence, steadfastly observe vows, have incorruptible conduct, and are free from attachment and aversion.
- Company: Monks should stay with omniscient or ordinary monks who have overcome pride, controlled passions, and restrained senses.
- Avoiding Bad Company: Shun company of monks devoid of the desire for supreme accomplishment, as they lead to bad destinies.
- Canon-Learned vs. Canon-Ignorant: Words of the canon-learned are nectar, even if bitter, while words of the canon-ignorant are poison, even if sweet. Leave the company of the canon-ignorant and unrighteous.
- Qualities of a True Monastic Group (Continued):
  - Disciples are not given to attachment, aversion, or pride.
  - Protection from vices through constant reminders and correction.
  - Humble obedience to the master, patient bearing of hardships, absence of pride, lust, vanity, and arguments.
  - Forgiving, sense-conquered, protectors of self and others, engaged in the detached monastic path, observing tenfold codes.
  - Absence of envy, condemnation of the guru, defamation of the group, doing the undoable, or decrying Jina's precepts.
  - Accepting harsh commands with submission.
  - Detachment from clothes, pots, and even the body.
  - Avoiding 42 flaws in seeking food, taking it only for monastic responsibilities.
  - Six reasons for taking food: hunger, serving guru, peregrinations, observing monasticism, survival, practice/propagation of faith.
  - Proper maintenance of distinction between elders and juniors, with reverence.
  - Monks not accepting food from nuns thoughtlessly, even in danger.
  - Monks not looking at ladies' physiology or indulging in loose talk with nuns.
  - Contact with nuns is forbidden like fire and poison.
  - Even a virtuous monk earns a bad name by keeping company with nuns.
  - True celibacy requires constant alertness around women.
  - Independence comes from detachment; contact with nuns leads to slavishness.
  - Monks who verbally corrupt monasticism, even with supernatural powers, should be awarded expiation.
  - Fear of touching impure or flawed food.
  - Carefulness in seeking and consuming food, observance of conduct, humility, soft-spokenness, absence of mockery, bantering, quarrelling, and inappropriate conduct. Moving only in suitable seeking areas.
  - Undertaking difficult penance and atonement that even gods awe.
  - Not hurting any living being even in dire circumstances.
  - Using specific brooms (palm leaves, jute) does not imply lack of compassion.
  - Not drinking untreated live water even when dying of thirst.
  - Drinking only treated lifeless water.
  - Not lighting fires even when afflicted by severe pains.
  - Taking services of good lay followers with utmost care.
  - Not touching or tormenting live objects.
  - Absence of jocularity, amorous talk, objectionable talk, heresies, running, leaping, or jumping.
  - Considering touching women's hands forbidden like poisonous serpents or fire.
  - Not touching young girl-babies, old women, granddaughters, daughters, and sisters.
  - An Acharya touching women's hands corrupts the monastic group.
  - Not following exceptions not mentioned in scriptures, even on special occasions.
  - Expulsion of a monk corrupt of basic monastic virtues, regardless of background or powers.
  - Avoidance of wearing gold/silver ornaments, using holed seats/chairs/bedsteads made of base metals or crystal.
  - Wearing colored or ochre clothes (instead of white) is corrupt and unrestrained.
  - Not touching others' gold and silver even for a moment.
  - Not using monastic equipment brought by nuns.
  - Not partaking of invigorating medicines brought by nuns.
  - A monk sitting alone with a woman, especially a nun, is corrupt.
  - A steadfast, detached monk teaching alone to women or nuns makes the group corrupt.
  - A monastic group where nuns roar, neigh, are uncontrollable, or deceitful, and are not controlled, is a "women-kingdom."
  - Nuns entering the monks' assembly during food is a "women-kingdom."
  - Monks whose passions are not aroused even by others' passions, or who do not arouse others' passions out of fear, are true monks.
  - Rise of passions is checked and pardoned for.
  - Presence of canon-learned monks who fear hindrance in conduct, penance, charity, and reflection.
  - Leaving groups that use agencies of violence (pounding pit, mill, hearth, well).
  - Living in groups of virtuous conduct, not with those practicing violence.
  - Leaving groups that indulge in buying and selling, or are corrupt.
  - Living amongst the righteous, avoiding those attached to violence.
  - Scrutinizing monastic groups for righteous conduct before joining.
  - A group where a half-monk, old monk, or newly ordained monk is guardian is unrestrained.
Characteristics of Nuns (Verses 107-134):
- Celibacy Concerns: Low standard of celibacy in seminaries where half-nuns or young nuns live alone.
- Night Excursions: A nun going out alone at night is corrupt.
- Talking to Monks: A nun talking to a monk, even her brother, devoids the group of virtues.
- Householder Interactions: A nun indulging in amorous talk with a householder leads to wandering in worldly existences.
- Angry Nuns: An angry nun speaking loudly of householders is devoid of monastic virtues.
- Discarding White Clothes: Nuns discarding white clothes and wearing colored clothes are not true nuns.
- Prohibited Activities: Sewing, embroidering, filling with cotton-wool, massaging with oil, walking with lusty gait, sleeping on cotton-filled matters, maintaining body with bathing, delivering sermons at householders' residences and inviting young men, delivering sermons at night, quarreling, speaking householder language, practicing astrology and mesmerism, not looking after ill or newly ordained nuns, doing the undoable, wearing colored clothes, keeping fancy sweeps, distracting even older men with gestures, washing faces/limbs/arm-pits often, interest in musical tunes, arguing with monks, speaking with pre-ordination relationship terms.
- Best Monastic Order of Nuns: Absence of mutual quarrel, not speaking householder language, sleeping alternately (old and young), supporting right-knowledge and right-conduct.
- True Nun Qualities: Humility, respect, awarding severe punishments when needed, scriptural studies, meditation, sheltering the flock, maintaining appropriate equipage.
- Nuns to be Left: Nuns who are corrupt of faith and conduct, encourage falsehood, and overstep limitations.
- Nuns and Worldly Wandering: Nuns can increase worldly wandering; except for religious discourse, there should be no other involvement.
- Quarrelsome Nuns: Severe penance for a nun who quarrels with hurtful language is a waste compared to the sin incurred.
Conclusion (Verses 135-137):
- The Gachchhachar has been quoted from canonical works for the benefit of monks and nuns.
- Monks and nuns must always study this Prakirnak, which is an essence of noble canonical works.
- Those desiring self-emancipation must act as prescribed after reading or listening to its exposition.

Overall Significance:

The Gachchhachar Prakirnak provides a detailed code of conduct for Jain monks and nuns, emphasizing the critical role of a righteous monastic community (Gachchha) and wise leadership (Acharya) in the pursuit of spiritual liberation. It serves as a stark warning against the detrimental effects of associating with improperly conducted monastic groups and highlights the virtues and disciplines required for spiritual progress. The text underscores the importance of scriptural adherence, detachment, self-control, and ethical conduct for both individuals and the collective monastic body.