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The Doctrines of the Jainas
mani). The last great vow is freedom from possessions (Cf. Buddhist Jataruparajatapatiggahanaveramani).1 The non-hankering after worldly possessions may be internal and external. The external hankering is an obstacle to religious practice and the internal hankering leads a person to the incorrectness of method, recklessness, thoughtlessness and moral contaminations according to the Panhavagaranaim.
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The Avasyaka sutra (Avassaya suya) refers to the Samayika vow which means the maintenance of a balanced state of mind with regard to all blamable actions, passions and hatred. The Samayika vow as a preliminary to the Jaina religious practices primarily means virati abstinence.
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The Thananga which is the third Anga of the Jain Canon, mentions four kinds of mental concentration (jhana) each with its four varieties. The jhana is defined in Jainism as the resting of consciousness on a single object even for a moment (anto muhuttamattam cittavatthanam egavatthummi). The first is called artadhyana of which the characteristic mark is self-mortification or that which is resorted to by a person who is oppressed by the fear of the world. The second is terrific (raudra) as it is attended by the worst cruelties to life. The third is dharmya or pious, as it is not bereft of the practices of piety as enjoined in the scriptures. The fourth is sukla or purificatory, as it serves to purge all impurities due to the karmic effect.
It is interesting to note that in Jainism there are twelve meditations on transitoriness, helplessness, mun
1. Sutrakrtanga, II, 7.17.
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