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is the abode of all kinds of lives and creatures like celestial gods, men, animals, hellish beings, insects, germs etc.. and ponder that he has been taking birth in one or other type of life uptil now as result of his own passions as stated above. 127 One can easily appreciate the importance of these sub-divisions of dharma dhyāna, as they help the practitioner understand the basic concepts regarding philosophy, knowledge of the self, reasons of his beginningless sufferings and the need to get rid of the causes of suffering by means of meditation.
Further sub-divisions of dharma dhyāna are made on the basis of its symptoms or effects on the practitioner. These are the following stages:
1) The sadhaka begins to comprehend the preachings of the Jinas,
2) He follows the rules of right conduct as a natural course of action,
3) He comes to love reading, brooding over and digesting scriptural knowledge, and finally,
4) He always listens to such preachings wholeheartedly.
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