As acknowledged in the earliest sacred writings, all parts of the fourfold community have vital roles in the Jain faith. Lay men and women are crucial because they support monks and nuns by giving alms and, secondly, they have children, ensuring that the religion survives. Since the beginning of Jainism, however, becoming a monk or a nun and leading a mendicant lifestyle has been an ideal proposed to followers of the faith. Keeping to this type of life is not possible for all because of its strict rules and requirements so the proportion of mendicants to lay Jains is very small. Usually, monks and nuns remain mendicants for the rest of their lives, although rarely some return to the lay status.
For Jains the ideal condition for spiritual progress is to be completely detached from the world, which can be achieved more easily as a mendicant. The monastic code or monastic rule is the set of restrictions that governs the behaviour of monks and nuns. They vow to give up not just material possessions but also all passions or emotions that cause karma. This includes concern for the physical body, such as tasty food, concern for warmth and personal cleanliness. Thus the new mendicant gives up all elements of householder life, including emotional attachments to other people, places or things.
When a householder decides to become a monk or nun, after due preparation he or she completes the ritual of renunciation or initiation – dīkṣā. The two main Jain sects of Digambaras and Śvetāmbaras follow somewhat different dīkṣā ceremonies and treat the new mendicants slightly differently. In all sects, the initiation of new mendicants is celebrated by all of the fourfold community.
An initiate chooses a mendicant lineage or monastic order to join. These have distinct initiation traditions as well as slightly varying monastic lifestyles. There are usually rules regarding the age or caste of the initiate and the individual who may carry out the ceremony. Joint initiations often take place. Sometimes these see several family members or entire families ordained at once.
The initiation ceremony features the ritual of keśa-loca – ‘pulling out of the hair’ – which indicates indifference to the body. The new monks and nuns perform the Five Great Vows – mahā-vrata. They also receive equipment associated with the order into which they are being initiated. Since one of the mendicant vows specifies non-ownership and non-attachment, the ascetics are not believed to own these objects. Monastic equipment, such as the broom and mouth-cloth, are considered the minimum needed to live a religious life.
