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Saṁvara and Nirjarā
371
2. Pracchană: the questions which need to be addressed to competent persons, in order to assure oneself of the exact meaning of the text and clarify one's doubts.39
3. Anuprekșă: reflection on a text.
4. Āmnāya: repetition of the words of a text with due attention to correct pronunciation and to learning them by heart.40
5. Dharmopadeśa: discourse on the doctrine, on tradition or the lives of especially holy and venerable ascetics.41
v) Vyutsarga: renunciation, both inner and outer, of all forms of the possession, including that of the body. 42
vi) Dhyāna: mental concentration. This is a major feature of the doctrine that concerns the loftiest of all spiritual activities, which, if perfectly practised, brings about nirjarā and thus leads to mokșa.43 On account of its importance and because dhyāna has ofter been neglected during these last centuries, no less as an object of study than as regards its practice, and also because of the growing interest in our own day in this type of activity and methods which enable it, we are going to try in the following chapter to indicate the characteristics of
39 ADh stresses the importance of asking questions; cf. VII, 84-85.
40 The sādhvis, usually from the moment of dikṣā onwards and sometimes before when the period of probation is long, learn certain Agamas by heart, which, given their itinerant life, is extremely useful for them.
41 For svādhyāya, cf. ADH VII, 82-92; MA V, 196; SthS 465; TS IX, 25; US XXX, 34 and P 490 ff.
42 Cf. ADH VII, 93-102; TS IX, 26. Sths and US give dhyana before vyutsarga. Note that vyutsargal which is the same as kāyotsarga) is repeated twice: This is a form of inner asceticism which has also an expiatory function.
43 Cf.DhyanSat 96.
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