The History of Jaina Meditation

Summary

The essay discusses how confusing descriptions of meditation in Jaina canonical texts have led to various interpretations and innovations in Jaina meditation practices. The term 'dhyāna' refers to both meditative and non-meditative activities, and the canonical lists of dhyāna types have often been misinterpreted as types of meditation. The truly meditative form, 'pure meditation', is viewed as only accessible at death, creating a gap filled by later writers influenced by external sources.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This essay argues that the many discontinuities and innovations in the history of Jaina meditation stem from the confusing descriptions of meditation in canonical texts, including the Āyāraṅga and the Uttarajjhayaṇa. The term used to denote meditation, dhyāna (or jhāna), is also used for non-meditative mental activity, but canonical lists of four types of dhyāna were typically, and confusingly, read as types of meditation. The only truly meditative type of dhyāna in these lists, “pure meditation”, was often seen as occurring only in the last moments before death, and even came to be considered altogether inaccessible in the present age. The resulting vacuum was filled in different ways by various post-canonical writers, among them Hemacandra, sometimes basing themselves on experience and influence from sources outside Jainism.