Aspects of Jaina Monasticism

Author(s): Nathmal Tatia, Mahendramuni
Publisher: Jain Vishva Bharati

Page 68

VIII
CITTASAMĀHITTHĀŅAS
or The Ten Stages of the Concentrated Mind
I. INTRODUCTORY
time and the entire range of the
dhammas is comprehended as a The fifth chapter of the Ayara- result thereof. dasão gives a very lucid and simple S uch knowledge has a very close exposition of the entire course of
affinity to what is expressed in the spiritual development, starting with
following utterance of the Buddha the practice of the five samitis (com
when he attained enlightenment portment) and three guptis (res- about the first noble truth called traints), and passing to the various
dukkha (suffering i : idam dukkham stages of knowledge, through the
ariya-saccam ti me, bhikkhave, pubbe practice of meditation. The chapter
ananussutesu dhammesu cakkhum can be considered as one of the ear
| udapādi, mãnam tudapādi, paññã liest Ardhamāgadhi texts embody
udapādi, vijjā udapādi, äloko udaing the essence of Mahāvīra's teach
pädi (on realizing that this indeed ing. It gives in fact the nirgrantha is the noble truth of suffering, there ideology in its simplest form. The arose in me vision, knowledge, eight matrices of the scripture insight, wisdom, light, not heard of (pravacana-mātā) are here held to before at any time). Such expericonstitute the entire course of ence is repeated in respect of the preliminary conduct which is the other three noble truths, viz. the basis of spiritual progress. They are cause of suffering, the cessation of followed by the practice of medita- suffering and the path leading to tion which leads to the various the cessation of suffering. Such stages of enlightenment. These enlightenment is called dhammacastages are briefly ten as described kkhu (the eye that discerns the below :
nature of the truth).
The dhamma-cintă mentioned II. THE TEN STAGES
above is identical with what is 1. At the first stage of the con- called samyag-darsana (right vision) centrated mind, there arises the that is identical with the fourth knowledge of the essential nature gunasthāna. Even as the person of things (dhamma-cintä) that was born blind can see the world as it never experienced before at any is on the sudden acquisition of the