“O long-lived (Gambûsvâmin)! I (Sudharman) have heard the following discourse from the venerable (Mahâvîra). […] Sir, what does the soul obtain by the desire of the [Dharma] Law?”
“By praises and hymns he obtains the wisdom consisting in knowledge, faith, and conduct; thereby he gains such improvement, that he will put an end to his worldly existence, (or) be born afterwards in one of the [heavens of the Vaimânika gods]. By keeping the right time he destroys the Karman which obstructs right knowledge.
By practicing Prâyaskitta [atonement] he gets rid of sins, and commits no transgressions; he who correctly practices Prâyaskitta [atonement], gains the road and the reward of the road, he wins the reward of good conduct. By begging forgiveness he obtains happiness of mind; thereby he acquires a kind disposition towards all kinds of living beings; by this kind disposition he obtains purity of character and freedom from fear.
By study he destroys the Karman which obstructs right knowledge. By the recital of the sacred texts he obtains destruction of Karman, and contributes to preserve the sacred lore, whereby he acquires the [Dharma] Law of the Tîrtha, which again leads him to the complete destruction of Karman, and to the final annihilation of worldly existence. By questioning (the teacher) he arrives at a correct comprehension of the Sûtra and its meaning, and he puts an end to the Karman which produces doubts and delusion. By repetition he reproduces the sounds (for example, syllables) and commits them to memory.
By pondering (on what he has learned) he loosens the firm hold which the seven kinds of Karman, except the Âyushka [influx of karma] (have upon the soul); he shortens their duration when it was to be a long one; he mitigates their power when it was intense; (he reduces their sphere of action when it was a wide one); he may either acquire Âyushka-karman or not, but he no more accumulates Karman which produces unpleasant feelings, and he quickly crosses the very large forest of the fourfold Samsâra [cycle of birth and death], which is without beginning and end.
By religious discourses he obtains destruction of the Karman; by religious discourses he exalts the creed, and by exalting the creed he acquires Karman, which secures, for the future, permanent bliss. By acquisition of sacred knowledge he destroys ignorance, and will not be corrupted by worldliness.
By concentration of his thoughts he obtains stability of the mind. By control he obtains freedom from sins. By austerities he cuts off the Karman. By cutting off the Karman he obtains (the fourth stage of pure meditation characterized by) freedom from actions, by doing no actions he will obtain perfection, enlightenment, deliverance, and final beatitude, and will put an end to all misery. By renouncing pleasures he obtains freedom from false longing, whereby he becomes compassionate, humble, free from sorrow, and destroys the Karman produced by delusion regarding conduct. By mental independence he gets rid of attachment, whereby he will concentrate his thoughts (on the [Dharma] Law), and will forever be without attachment and fondness (for worldly things).
By using unfrequented lodgings and beds he obtains the Gupti [the three rules] of conduct, whereby he will use allowed food, be steady in his conduct, be exclusively delighted with (control), obtain a yearning for deliverance, and cut off the tie of the eightfold Karman. By turning from the world he will strive to do no bad actions, and will eliminate his already acquired Karman by its destruction; then he will cross the forest of the fourfold Samsâra [cycle of birth and death].
By renouncing collection of alms in one district only he overcomes obstacles; unchecked by them he exerts himself to attain liberation; he is content with the alms he gets, and does not hope for, care for, wish, desire, or covet those of a fellow-monk; not envying other monks he takes up a separate, agreeable lodging. By renouncing articles of use he obtains successful study; without articles of use he becomes exempt from desires, and does not suffer misery. By renouncing (forbidden) food he ceases to act for the sustenance of his life; ceasing to act for the sustenance of his life he does not suffer misery when without food.
By conquering his passions he becomes free from passions; thereby he becomes indifferent to happiness and pains. By renouncing activity he obtains inactivity, by ceasing to act he acquires no new Karman, and destroys the Karman he had acquired before. By renouncing his body he acquires the pre-eminent virtues of the Siddhas [enlightened beings], by the possession of which he goes to the highest region of the universe, and becomes absolutely happy.
By renouncing company he obtains singleness; being single and concentrating his mind, he avoids disputes, quarrels, passions, and censoriousness, and he acquires a high degree of control, of Samvara [restraint], and of carefulness. By renouncing all food he prevents his being born again many hundreds of times. By perfect renunciation he enters the final (fourth stage of pure meditation), whence there is no return; a monk who is in that state, destroys the four remnants of Karman which even a Kêvalin [the highest spiritual being] possesses, namely [Karman relating to sensations, life-span karmas, personal identity, and lineage karmas]; and then he will put an end to all misery.
By conforming to the standard of monks he obtains ease, thereby he will be careful, wear openly the excellent badges of the order, be of perfect righteousness, possess firmness and the Samitis [five rules of conduct], inspire all beings with confidence, mind but few things, subdue his senses, and practice, in a high degree, the Samitis [five rules of conduct] and austerities.”
