Monks and Acharyas
The Art of Leaving Well
The Art of Leaving Well is a Jain story from the Monks and Acharyas collection about dying well, forgiveness, equanimity, sallekhana and impermanence. An eighty-eight year old monk whose illness can no longer be treated asks his teacher for samadhi-marana, and a young monk who has only seen frightened deaths in hospitals keeps the vigil. Night by night the teacher explains what aradhana and sallekhana really are, and why the vow belongs only at the very end, and tells the old tales the books of aradhana have always told at a deathbed: Sukumal of Ujjain, Sukoshal and the tigress, Dhanna Anagar on Vipulgiri and Acharya Bhadrabahu at Shravanabelagola.
| Teaches | Dying well, Forgiveness, Equanimity, Sallekhana, Impermanence |
|---|---|
| Collection | Monks and Acharyas |
| Tellings | The full story (18 min) |
| Who it suits | For grown-ups |
| Tradition | Told in both Shvetambar and Digambar traditions |
| Thought to keep | The art of leaving well is learned while staying: in every quarrel made right and every anger let go. |
Read the opening of The Art of Leaving Well
The opening of the story
In a small town at the foot of the hills, where the road from the plains begins to climb, there was an upashray with a courtyard of old stone and a neem tree that had shaded three generations of monks. In the last winter of his life, Muni Vinaychandra lay in the inner room there, on a thin mat by the window, where he could see the light move across the courtyard. He was eighty-eight. He had been a monk for sixty-one years.
The illness had come slowly, over two years. First he could not walk to the next town, then not to the end of the street, and then not across the courtyard. The vaidya of the town, a careful man who had treated him without charge for twenty years, came one morning, sat a long while with his fingers on the old monk's wrist, and then went out and spoke quietly with the Acharya under the neem tree. The Acharya came back in and sat down beside the mat. Muni Arjav, the youngest monk in the group, who had been given the work of caring for the old man, stood by the door and listened.
Read the whole story of The Art of Leaving Well See plans
What The Art of Leaving Well teaches
Values Dying well Forgiveness Equanimity Sallekhana Impermanence
To carry into the day
The art of leaving well is learned while staying: in every quarrel made right and every anger let go.
To talk about together
Is there someone you would want to forgive, or ask forgiveness of, before your own last hour, and what stops you doing it now?
This story touches on death. If you or someone you know is struggling, please talk to someone. In India, Tele MANAS is free and open day and night: call 14416. Elsewhere, contact your local emergency or helpline services.
Sources
Retold for JainStory from the traditional story and checked against 6 published sources: