The word ‘Digambar’ literally means ‘covered by sky’, a term referring to the uncovered body of Digambar Jain monks.
Living Style
- Digambar ascetics live naked. They wear no clothes. They do not consider themselves to be nude. Rather, they believe they are wearing the environment
- They own nothing except a peacock feather and one bowl for containing water.
- They have no bowl to hold food .At mid day they go for alms and stand where householders are, they receive and eat food from the cavity of there hands.
- They also drinks liquid poured there in while in the standing position.
- They eat and drink once a day, and they sit and sleep on the floor.
- They do not eat when it is dark .
- They always move about on bare feet throughout their life whether it may be scorching sun or cold whether, stony or thorny passage. This Practice is called Vihar.
- Jain Monks and Nuns pluck out their hairs by their hands or they plucked them plucked out by others. As a rule they perform this twice a year at a particular time. It is regarded as an essential rite of their life. This ritual is know as Loch or Kesloch
- They do not stay more than a few days in any one place except during the rainy season, which is about four months in duration. The reason they do not stay anywhere permanently or for a long period in one place is to avoid developing an attachment for material things and the people around them
Besides These:
- They take five major vows and act strictly in accordance with those vows.
- Along with the great vows, they practice five samitis (compartments) and three guptis (restrains)
- All monks and nuns performs essential duties known as Avashyak twice a day before sunrise and after sunset.
Self-Supported
Monks and nuns are self supporting. The whole work is done by themselves. They do not take help from anybody except their colleague monks. A nun is not allowed to be alone to take alms. If a nun is sick, she can be carried in carts drawn by nuns and the monks can be carried by monks.Nuns are more then twice the number as compared to monks. All monks and nuns show the path of wholesome, righteous, disciplined life to everyone through the media of discourses, discussions or spiritual practices.
