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224
Tattvarthasutra
[9. 29-30 Some people consider only counting time by units to be meditation. However, this statement is not accepted in Jain tradition because if the entire process of inhalation and exhalation is completely halted, the body itself cannot sustain. Therefore, even a minimal or the slightest breath continues to persist in the state of meditation. Similarly, when someone counts time by units, the numerous activities involved in counting will disturb the mind rather than maintaining its focus. For this reason, public consensus does not accept prolonged meditation lasting a day, a month, or beyond in Jain tradition. The reason is that prolonged meditation can lead to disturbances of the senses; therefore, it is difficult to extend meditation beyond the internal moment. The statement 'meditated for one day, one day and night, or more' simply means that the flow of meditation continued for that duration. When one focuses on a specific object of meditation (alambana) and later shifts to the same object in a different form or to a different object, the flow of meditation increases. This is the measurement of time in the context of the meditation of the pseudo-stable. The time measurement for the meditation of the omniscient can be even more, as the omniscient can extend the determined efforts of the mind, speech, and body for a longer duration.
The object of meditation is not the entirety of the substance but only a part (one mode), as contemplating a substance is only possible through one of its modes. 27-28.
The types of meditation and their results:
1. Painful,
2. Furious,
3. Dharma, and
4. Pure—these are the four types of meditation. The last two meditations are for the purpose of liberation.
Among these four, painful and furious are worldly due to worldly causes and are undesirable (to be discarded). Dharma and pure are meditative due to the aim of liberation and are desirable (to be accepted). 29-30.
1. The time taken to articulate each short vowel like 'a', 'i', etc., is called one unit (mātrā). The time taken to pronounce a consonant without a vowel is half a unit. Counting time in terms of units allows one to assess other activities. For instance, determining how many units were taken for a particular task is called measuring time by units.