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cated acharyas and munis who, giving priority to dhyana in their practice, kept alive an isolated and vanishing system of Jain meditation.
Q. What are the fundamental elements of the dhyana- tradition developed by Lord Mahavir or his successor-acharyas? Is it possible to classify them?
Ans. The tradition of dhyana-sadhana accepted two
- different techniques. The first was the technique of dharmya-dhyana. Acharya Bhadrabahu was the pioneer of this tradition. The technique of dharmya-dhyana is a scientific one. It is the technique of analysing the underlying principle. The analysis of the essential factor is connected with the search for truth. The deeper a sadhak delves into the essence of a thing, the more profound in his immersion into meditation. Imagine how much labour and deep devotion does a scientist put in to make a new discovery. Without hard work and deep devotion no individual can hope to become a scientist. Similarly, only that aspirant may be a successful seeker of truth, who through the medium of dharmya-dhyana delves deep into the fundamental reality.
The second method of meditation was known as shukla-dhyana. Those who practised meditation according to this method, were successful in controlling their mental state, but their knowledge of phenomena could not be developed. Of the four kinds of meditation, shukla-dhyana is the last. It requires a special kind of background to practise this form of meditation. Of the four kinds of meditation referred to above, the two'arta-dhyana' (distress-meditation) and 'raudra-dhyana' (wrathful meditation)-are not very useful from the viewpoint of sadhana, because, instead of development, sadhana in these two undergoes diminution. The one
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