________________ Classical Theory of Meditation XXV Buddhists The nirvicara-dhyana (conceptless meditation) and the rtambhara prajna (wisdom full of truth) of the Yogadarsana of Patanjali find their parallel in the twenty-pinth chapter of the Uttaradhyayana of the Jainas. Here I shall give a short account of Jaina meditation as found in the fourth chapter of the Thanam, the third book of the Ardhamagadhi canon, as commented upon by Abhayadevasuri who also added the views of some later authors. 2. The Definition and Types of Dhyana Dhyana or samadhi or ekagrata is a common feature of all types of mental activity, good or bad, according to the Buddhist Abhidharma as well as the Yoga system of Patanjali. The Jainas also have recognized two types of dhyana that are bad, being due to the rise of intense passions of raga (lust) and dvesa (animosity), as distinguished from the two types of good dhyana that are characterized by a natural love for truth and absolute detachment from the world. Dhyana is defined as 'the concentration of thoughton a particular object' (ekagra. cinta-nirodho dhyanam). The mind is ever restless. The regulation and concentration of it on a particular object is dhyana. The concentration of mind, according to the Jaina thinkers, cannot exceed the limit of forty-eight minutes, though reconcentration on the same object after that period is possible. This is true only in the case of the imperfect beings (chadmastha). But in the case of those who have achieved omniscience, the problem of concentration of mind does not arise at all. The function of dhyana in their case is to stop the physical activity during the last few moments of their worldly career, to be immediately followed by final emancipation. One can canalize one's thought for an evil as well as a good purpose. Accordingly, the dhyana is broadly classified into two categories, viz. inauspicious or evil, (aprasasta) and auspicious or good (prasasta). What leads to the inflow and bondage of bad karmic matter is inauspi. cious concentration, and what is conducive to the dissociation or destruction of karmic matter is auspicious concentration The first category of dhyana is divided into two types, viz. arta and raudra, and the second into the types called dharma (or dhar mya) and sukla. Each of the types is again considered in a number of ways. 3. The Arta Dhyana The word arta is derived from rta, meaning 'agony and anguish', 1 Vide Supra, p. xix, fn. 1. 2 TSu, IX. 27. 3 Studies in Jaina Philosophy, p. 282.
