brahma-cariya:'pure (chaste) or holy life',is a term for the life of the monk.Also a lay-devotee who observes the 8 moral precepts (sikkhāpada,q.v.),takes as the third precept the vow of chastity,i.e.full abstention from sexual relations.The highest aim and purpose of b. is,according to M.29,the 'unshakable deliverance of mind' (akuppā ceto-vimutti).