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196 Harmless Souls
With this rapid sketch of one strand of doctrinal development in mind, we must now return to a more detailed analysis of Kundakunda's internalised mechanism of liberation.
6.3 Tapas and dhyāna
The ninth adhyāya of the Tattvārtha Sūtra deals with samvara and nirjarā, the obstruction of the influx of karmic material and the destruction of that already bound. Samvara is effected by gupti (restraint), samiti (carefulness), dharma, anuprekṣā (reflection), parīṣahajaya (victory over the twenty-two afflictions) and caritra (conduct of five kinds) (Tattvärtha Sūtra 9:2).38 Nirjarā is effected by tapas (austerities / penance) (Tattvārtha Sutra 9:3). The Sarvārthasiddhi adds that tapas causes both samvara and nirjarā; indeed, it is the chief cause of samvara.39 This, says Pujyapāda, is why tapas is mentioned separately here, although it is also included as a sub-category of dharma (at Tattvärtha Sutra 9:6). From this it is clear that tapas is by far the most important element in the process of achieving permanent liberation from the bondage of karman. (There are, of course, degrees of tapas, and so also of samvara and nirjarā, but not of final liberation.)
Umāsvāti divides tapas into two categories, bāhya (external) and uttara ('higher', i.e. the internal) (Tattvärtha Sūtra 9:19-20). External tapas need not detain us here, other than to remark that it consists of:
1) anaśana - fasting
2) avamaudarya - reduction in food intake
3) vṛtti-parisamkhyāna - restrictions on the begging of food 4) rasa-parityāga - rejection of stimulating or delicious food
5) vivikta-sayyāsana - sitting / sleeping in a lonely place
38 On caritra, see TS 9:18; cf. p. 185ff. above.
39
samvaram prati prādhānya pratipadanärtham - SS on TS 9:3.
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