________________ xviii Jaina Meditation vira mentioned in the Ayaro and the Bhagavati Sutra. A similar account is found in the Dasao. The postures in fact played an important role in the practices of the meditator. In Jainism, they are discussed under the category of penance called kayaklesa. The equanimity of the meditator was put to the test in these postures which were considered compulsory and to be strictly maintained at any cost.3 Some of the postures prevalent in early Jainism were thanatie, ukkuduyasanie, padimagthai, virasanie, nesajjie, dandayatie and lagan. dasai. 2. Mental Qualifications The competence of a person to meditate depends on his mental attitudes-cagnitive, conative and emotive. We give below a list of psychical features that qualify an aspirant for successful meditation. These are collected from the earliest strata of the Jaina canon : (i) Samvega : disgust toward worldly life. It generates transcen dental faith in the moral discipline (dhammg-saddha). (ii) Nirveda : the spirit of detachment and renunciation, leading to the abandonment of interest in worldly things. (iii) Ekagrata : concentration or one-pointedness of mind; it helps in suspending the activities of the mind, essential to medita tion. (iv) Gupti : guarding of the self by withdrawing the organs of mind, speech and body, respectively called mano-gupti, vag. gupti and kaya-gupti By means of mano-gupti, the meditator achieves the power of concentration that enables him to observe self-restraint. By means of vag-gupti, he stops the speculative tendencies (vicara), and consequently equips him 1 Ayaro, I. 9.1.5: adu porisim tiriyam bhittim cakkhumasajja amtaso jhai/ Bhagavati, III, 105 : do vi pae sahattu vagghariyapani ega-poggalanivitthadithi animisanayane isipabbharagaenam kaenam, ahapanihiehim gattehim, savvindiehim guttehim egaraiyam mahapadimam uvasampajjetta nam viharami. 2 Dasao, VII. 33 : do vi pae sahattu vagghariyapanissa ega-poggalaniruddhaditthissa animisanayanassa isim pabbharagatenam kaenam ahapanihitehim gattebim savvindiehim guttehim thanam thaittae. 3 Ayaro, I. 8.8.19 : savvagaya-nirodho vi thanato na viubbhame, 4 Thanam, VII. 49. Also see Dasao, VIII. 28-31.
