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We find a systematic exposition of dhyāna in Amitagati's Sravakacara Chapter 15. He classifies dhyāna into the traditional (i.e., ārta etc. ) and non-traditional categories. The former is taken up in 15:9-23. The latter is independently treated on the basis of the four aspects, i.e., meditator, object of meditation, technique, and result. Under the head of the object of meditation, the four sthas are enumerated in the sequence of padastha (15:31-49), pindastha (15:50-53), rūpastha (15:54), and arūpastha (15:55-56). Regarding padastha, the method of reciting mantra and yantra is described at length, which is summarized in short in our Dhyanastava, stanza 29. Pindastha means, according to Amitagati, the concentra. tion of the mental activity on Arhat or Jinendra who has accomplished so called jīvanmukta state. Rūpastha dhyāna is considered in reference to the aspirant's pure mental activity in meditating on the qualities of Parame. schis (i.e., Arhat, Siddha, Acārya, Upadhyāya, and Sadhu) attributed to their idols or images. He regards the spirit. ual qualities of Siddha as the object of arūpastha dhyāna, which is also so held by Bhaskaranandi. In our Dhyanas. tava, the object of pindastha is taken as the embodied lord with cosmic extension who should be identified as the aspirant's own self; and the object of rupastha is restricted to the spiritual qualities of the embodied lord Arhat. Thus from Amitagati to Bhaskaranandi, there is a definite vestige of conceptual development in pindastha particularly, which was naturally followed by the change of its sequence, i.e., pindlastha, padastha, rūpastha, and rūpátita.
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