________________ CITTASAMAHITTHANAS or The Ten Stages of the Concentrated Mind Dr. Nathmal Tatia I. INTRODUCTORY The fifth chapter of the Ayaradasao gives a very lucid and simple exposition of the entire course of spiritual development, starting with the practice of the five samitis (comportments) and three guptis (restraints), and passing to the various stages of knowledge, through the practice of meditation. The chapter can be considered as one of the earliest Ardhamagadbi texts embodying the essence of Mahavira's teaching. It gives in fact the nirgrantha ideology in its simplest form. The eight matrices of the scripture (pravacana-mata) are here held to constitute the entire course of preliminary conduct which is the basis of spiritual progress. They are followed by the practice of meditation which leads to the various stages of enlightenment. These stages are briefly ten as described below. II. THE TEN STAGES 1. At the first stage of the concentrated mind, there arises the knowledge of the essential nature of things (dhamma-cinta) that was never experienced before at any time and the entire range of the dhammas is comprehended as a result thereof. Such knowledge has a very close affinity to what is expressed in the following utterance of the Buddha when he attained enlightenment about the first noble truth called dukkha (suffering): idam dukkhar ariya-saccam ti me, bhikkhave, pubbe ananussutesu dhammesu cakkhun udapadi, nanan udapadi, panna udapadi, vijja udapadi, aloko udapadi (on realizing that this indeed is the noble truth of suffering, there arose in me vision, knowledge, insight, wisdom, light, not heard of before at any time). Such experience is repeated in respect of the other three noble truths, viz, the cause of suffering, the cessation of suffering and the path leading to the cessation of suffering. Such enlightenment is called dhammacakkhu ( the eye that discerns the nature of the truth). The dhamma-cinta mentioned above is identical with what is called
