Facets of Jaina Religiousness in Comparative Light

Author(s): L M Joshi
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 17

FACETS OF JAINA RELIGIOUSNESS
Pali forms which are cognates of anuprekşā, namely anupekkhati and anupekkhanatā. The former is explained thus : 'to concentrate oneself on, to look carefully, to consider, to show consideration for,” while the latter is translated as "concentration (of thought)”.30
The context in which anupekkhati occurs in a canonical text is clearly soteriological; it occurs in the Vimuttāyatanasutta of the Anguttara collection in the course of a description of five spheres (āyatana) of release. These spheres are related to the study, teaching, repetition, investigation, and understanding of the Doctrine taught by the Tathāgata. The aim of these forms of scriptural study and reflection is to secure release of the mind by understanding the Dharma in both the spirit and letter. Therefore, the monk, who is on his way to release, "reflects in his heart on the Dharma, considers it, and concentrates his mind on it" (dhammam cetasā anuvitakk eti anuvicăreti manasā anupekkhati).31
There seem to be two meanings of bhāvanā in Jaina texts. In its early occurrences, it is understood in the sense of 'observance' of certain measures with a view to strengthening practice of five great ethical precepts (mahāvrata). Jacobi's remark that “the bhāvanās are sub-divisions of the five great vows" is therefore correct. The list of twenty-five bhāvanās or observances given in several texts32 shows that they belong to the area of ethical practices as much as to that of mindfulness.33 The close relation between five vratas and five bhāvanās, associated with each vrata, continued to be discussed and stressed in the later literature of Jainism.
In non-canonical texts we find the second meaning of bhāvanā as a standard synonym of anuprekşă. Its use in the sense of reflection or meditation became so universal that it almost replaced anuprekşā. However, in the time of Kunda kunda the two words seem to have been used as interchangeable symbols even in the context of twenty-five observances. 34
The use of bhāvanā in the sense of anupreksa is found in the Praśamaratiprakarana (VIII, 150) attributed to Umāsvāti, the Jñānārņava (II.2) of Subhacandra, the Yogaśāstra (IV. 55) of Hemacandra, and the Mülācära (VIII. 73) of Vattakera. The Kārttikeyānuprekşā also uses bhāvanā (verse 87) besides the usual anuprekşā. Two soteriological manuals carry the word bhāvana in their titles, viz. Dvādaśabhāvanā and
30. T. W. Rhys Davids and William Stede, Pali-English Dictionary, p. 39. 31. Anguttaranikāya, vol. II, (Nalanda edition), p. 291. 32. Tattvārthasūtra, VII, 3-8; Hermann Jacobi, Jaina Sūtras, Part I, p. 189. 33. See Ayāro (Ladnun edition), pp. 231 ff. 34. A. N. Upadhye, op. cit., p. 39, cites a line from a work of Kundakunda which runs thus
bhāvahi anuvekkhão avare panavisa bhāvana bhavi etc.