should make a fire. He should make his round
of mendicancy in a place whence smoke has ceased to
curl up and where all the inhabitants have already
eaten.[139] The person who is conversant with the
conduct that leads to Emancipation should seek for
alms after the vessels (used in cooking) have been
washed. He should never rejoice when he obtains
anything, and never be depressed if he obtains nothing.
Seeking just what is needed for supporting life, he
should, with concentrated mind, go about his round
of mendicancy, waiting for the proper time. He
should not wish for earnings in common with others,
nor eat when honoured. The man who leads the life
of mendicancy should conceal himself for avoiding
gifts with honour. While eating, he should not
eat such food as forms the remains of another’s
dish, nor such as is bitter, or astringent, or pungent.
He should not also eat such kinds of food as have
a sweet taste. He should eat only so much as is
needed to keep him alive. The person conversant
with Emancipation should obtain his subsistence without
obstructing any creature. In his rounds of mendicancy
he should never follow another (bent on the same purpose).
He should never parade his piety; he should move about
in a secluded place, freed from passion. Either
an empty house, or a forest, or the foot of some tree,
or a river, or a mountain-cave, he should have recourse
to for shelter. In summer he should pass only
one night in an inhabited place; in the season of
rains he may live in one place. He should move
about the world like a worm, his path pointed out
by the Sun. From compassion for creatures, he
should walk on the Earth with his eyes directed towards
it. He should never make any accumulations and
should avoid residence with friends. The man
conversant with Emancipation should every day do all
his acts with pure water. Such a man should always
perform his ablutions with water that has been fetched
up (from the river or the tank).[140] Abstention from
harm, Brahmacharyya, truth, simplicity, freedom from
wrath, freedom from decrying others, self-restraint,
and habitual freedom from backbiting: these eight
vows, with senses restrained, he should steadily pursue.
He should always practise a sinless mode of conduct,
that is not deceptive and not crooked. Freed from
attachment, he should always make one who comes as
a guest eat (at least) a morsel of food. He should
eat just enough for livelihood, for the support of
life. He should eat only such food as has been
obtained by righteous means, and should not pursue
the dictates of desire. He should never accept
any other thing than food and clothing only.
He should, again, accept only as much as he can eat
and nothing more. He should not be induced to
accept gifts from others, nor should he make gifts
to others. Owing to the helplessness of creatures,
the man of wisdom should always share with others.
He should not appropriate what belongs to others,
nor should he take anything without being asked.