We may now examine the famous five vows taken by all ascetics. They resemble the first five of the layman's twelve vows, and this accordance bears witness to the fact that these are the five points in the Jaina religion which are to be regarded as of supreme importance.
i. Ahiṁ-
sā. The first vow the Jaina monk takes is that he will never destroy any living thing. This is also the first vow that both Buddhist and Brāhman monks take, and it was the resemblance between the vows that led people for so long to deny the early origin of Jainism.[1]
The Jaina ascetic takes a vow of Non-killing (Ahiṁsā), which is described as follows:
'Not to destroy life, either five-, four-, three-, or two-sensed, or immovable (i.e. one-sensed), even through carelessness, is considered as keeping the vow of non-killing.'[2]
There are five buttressing clauses (Pañċa Bhāvanā), the remembrance of which assists a sādhu to keep this vow. First (Īryā samiti or samai), a monk must be careful never to run the risk of breaking the vow in walking: for instance he must walk by trodden paths, in which the presence of any insect could be detected. He must also (Bhāṣā samiti or Vatiṁ parijāṇāi), be watchful in his speech and always speak in gentle, kindly ways, such as could never give rise to quarrels or murders. If he were not careful as to the alms he received (Eṣaṇā samiti or Āloi pāṇa bhoyaṇa), he might infringe some of the forty-two rules as to receiving alms, e.g. by accepting food containing living insects. When a monk receives or keeps anything that is necessary for religious duties, he must see (Ādānanikṣepaṇā samiti
