Kshama Tatha Kshamapana - Book Summary

Here's a comprehensive summary of the provided Jain text "Kshama tatha Kshamapana" by Bechardas Doshi, translated into English:

The book "Kshama tatha Kshamapana" (Forgiveness and Seeking Forgiveness) by Bechardas Doshi emphasizes the profound importance of forgiveness and seeking forgiveness in human life, which is inherently social and familial. It acknowledges that humans constantly interact with individuals of diverse thoughts and behaviors, often leading to conflicts and stressful situations.

The Nature of Human Conflict and Inner Turmoil:

Universal Struggle: From infancy to old age, individuals engage with others who have different natures, thoughts, and practices. This interaction, often driven by self-interest, necessitates a degree of tolerance, even if it's superficial and accompanied by internal resentment.
Roots of Vice: Lack of true understanding leads to outward tolerance but inward dissatisfaction, fostering negative qualities like anger, hatred, envy, pride, contempt, and deceit. When these inner vices combine with physical and sensory actions, they can cause significant destruction.
The Mind as the Source: The text strongly aligns with Buddhist philosophy, stating that the mind is the root of all actions and the driving force behind them. When the mind is overwhelmed by negative impulses and cannot control them, it dictates the body and senses, leading to unrestrained actions that disrupt relationships and create widespread chaos.
The Cycle of Suffering: Humans are blessed with forgetfulness, but the underlying issues persist. Despite the potential for resolution, individuals often fail to make the conscious decision to address these inner conflicts.

Solutions and Paths to Inner Peace:

Buddhist Perspective: Quoting the Buddha, the text highlights that those who dwell on others' faults and remember past hurts will continue to suffer, just as a cart follows the ox. Conversely, those who maintain a joyful mind, focus on their own internal state, and let go of others' actions will experience continuous happiness, like their shadow.
Bhagavad Gita's Wisdom: The Bhagavad Gita advises treating pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat equally, and surrendering to divine will. This equanimity prevents one from being overwhelmed by worldly joys or sorrows.
Jain Tradition's Approach: The Jain tradition emphasizes self-control over external control. It is considered superior to take charge of oneself and remain content in any given situation, making efforts with a cheerful disposition.
The Power of Resolve: While acknowledging the presence of destructive "seeds" of negative tendencies within the mind, the text stresses that humans possess the strength of resolve to overcome formidable challenges, even reaching the moon. However, they often remain powerless against their inner impulses.
Escapism vs. Confrontation: Some may seek refuge in renunciation or isolation to escape conflict. However, the text argues that this is not a true solution. True peace cannot be found by abandoning responsibilities. The text points to the current state of ascetics as an example that such external detachment, without inner purification, does not guarantee genuine peace.
The True Solution: Inner Purification: The core of the message is the necessity of uprooting these deep-seated inner "thorns" or negative tendencies. No amount of external religious rituals, austerities, or indulgences will bring lasting peace as long as these inner vices provide a sense of fleeting pleasure.
Breaking Habits: The text uses the analogy of removing stubborn dirt from the skin to illustrate the effort required to cleanse the mind. Similarly, it compares the mind's internal "dirt" and "thorns" to physical ailments that require diligent effort for their removal.
The Role of Mindfulness and Practice: The text advocates for practices like contemplation, association with the virtuous (satsang), self-study (swadhyaya), and introspection to weaken these mental "thorns." It also emphasizes gaining mastery over the senses, mind, and body, and making a strong resolve to change old habits.
Overcoming Addiction and Vices: It highlights how people become slaves to their desires (like for tea, tobacco, alcohol) and the negative consequences of this enslavement, including loss of dignity. The text poses a crucial question: if resolve led to these desires, can it not also lead to freedom from them?
The Power of Habit Formation: Just as bad habits are formed through repeated indulgence, good habits can be cultivated through consistent practice and strong resolve. The text asserts that the "thorns" in the mind can be removed through persistent effort and adherence to virtuous practices.
The Analogy of the Fox and the Camel: A cautionary tale illustrates the danger of acting on impulses without consideration. The fox, despite the camel's advice, sings prematurely and gets beaten, as does the camel. This story underscores the need to control impulses and seek forgiveness from those wronged, making a firm commitment not to repeat the offense.
The Foundation of Forgiveness: True forgiveness and seeking forgiveness involve acknowledging one's faults, confessing them, seeking pardon, resolving not to repeat them, and extending forgiveness and goodwill to others.
Understanding the Root Cause: The text explains that childhood innocence masks these negative tendencies. As children witness the behavior of adults and society, these seeds sprout and grow, leading to widespread unrest.
The Importance of Conscious Effort: The book stresses that no individual or society can achieve true happiness and peace without making a conscious and strong effort to reform their habits and rectify their inner inclinations.
The Childlike State: The text idealizes the innocent state of a child who shares freely and has no sense of "mine" or "yours." It suggests that societal conditioning often leads to selfishness and alienation, making us like we are today.
The Bus Analogy: The example of boarding a crowded bus illustrates how selfish impulses and injustices arise. It advocates for a humble apology when one errs, demonstrating true remorse and seeking forgiveness.
The Necessity of Practice: The text reiterates that living in a conflict-ridden world will inevitably lead to mistakes driven by impulses. Therefore, cultivating the habit of forgiveness and seeking forgiveness is essential. This practice must be accompanied by genuine change in behavior.
Sustained Effort for Purity: The book compares the consistent cleaning of a house and utensils to the need for mental purification. It questions why people readily clean their physical surroundings but neglect the "dirt" and "thorns" within their minds.
The Analogy of the Well: The image of a well's stones being worn down by the continuous action of the well's rope illustrates how persistent effort, coupled with a strong resolve for forgiveness and seeking forgiveness, can overcome ingrained mental tendencies.
The Power of Repetition: The text compares forgiveness and seeking forgiveness to a mantra that, when repeated with concentration and understanding, becomes potent. It acknowledges that the practice may initially be external but, with continued effort and contemplation, will become an internal realization.
The Patient's Approach: The analogy of a sick person diligently following a doctor's advice, diet, and medication is used to highlight the commitment required for spiritual healing. Just as physical ailments need specific medicines and care, mental "thorns" require forgiveness as the primary medicine, along with strict adherence to virtuous practices and self-control.
The "Three Monkeys" Principle: The text suggests emulating the "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" principle in challenging situations. When provoked or faced with an inappropriate situation, one should resist the impulse to react, thereby preventing the "thorns" from causing further harm.
The Interconnectedness of Action and Intention: The text emphasizes that the effectiveness of any action depends on the underlying intention. Without a strong resolve to overcome impulses, even outward practices become meaningless.
Across Traditions: The text concludes by noting that various religious traditions, including Zoroastrianism, Vedic, Jain, Buddhist, Islam, and Christianity, advocate for introspection, prayer, and rituals for self-purification. Specific practices like "Patet" in Zoroastrianism, prayers for forgiveness in Vedic traditions, and the Jain practice of seeking forgiveness during festivals like "Paryushan" are mentioned. It laments that often, the celebratory aspects of these festivals overshadow their true purpose of inner purification.

In essence, "Kshama tatha Kshamapana" presents a comprehensive guide to achieving inner peace and harmony by emphasizing the transformative power of forgiveness, self-awareness, and consistent, sincere practice. It calls for a radical shift in perspective, moving from outward observances to a deep, internal commitment to cultivating virtuous qualities and overcoming negative mental tendencies.