Acharya (Jainism)

Image of Āchārya Kundakunda (author of Pancastikayasara, Niyamasara)

Āchārya (Ācārya) means the Head of an order of ascetics. Some of the famous achāryas are Bhadrabahu, Kundakunda, Samantabhadra, Umaswami, Sthulibhadra.

In Digambara Jainism, Āchārya has thirty-six primary attributes (mūla guṇa) consisting in:[1]

  • Twelve kinds of austerities (tapas);
  • Ten virtues (dasa-lakṣaṇa dharma);
  • Five kinds of observances in regard to faith, knowledge, conduct, austerities, and power.
  • Six essential duties (Ṣadāvaśyaka); and
  • Gupti- Controlling the threefold activity of:[2]
    • the body;
    • the organ of speech; and
    • the mind.

According to the Jain text, Dravyasamgraha,

Those who themselves practise the five-fold observances in regard to faith (darśanācāra), knowledge (jñānācāra), power (vīryācāra), conduct (cāritrācāra), and austerities (tapācāra), and guide disciples to follow these observances, are the Chief Preceptors (Ācāryas), worthy of meditation.” (52)

— Dravyasamgraha (52)[3]

Chandanaji became the first Jain woman to receive the title of Acharya in 1987.[4]

  1. ^ Jain 2013, p. 189-191.
  2. ^ Jain 2013, p. 125.
  3. ^ Jain 2013, p. 189.
  4. ^ Christopher Patrick Miller; Jeffery D. Long; Michael Reading (15 December 2019). Beacons of Dharma: Spiritual Exemplars for the Modern Age. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 7, 10–. ISBN 978-1-4985-6485-4.

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