Preksha meditation: History and Methods

by Samani Pratibha Pragya | 2016 | 111,074 words

This page relates ‘Meditation in Jainism’ of study dealing with Preksha-Dhyana: a meditation technique created by Acharya Shri Mahapragya (Acarya Mahaprajna) in the late twentieth century. It synthesizes ancient Jain ascetic methods, ritualistic practices, and modern scientific insights, appealing to a global audience. The thesis explores its historical context, theoretical foundations, and the rise of contemporary Jain meditation systems.

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4. Meditation in Jainism

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The English word meditation (from Latin meditatio) is defined as,“the practice of thinking deeply in silence, especially for religious reasons, or in order to make your mind calm”.^[1] This standard definition partially accords with early Jaina texts which portray meditation as a purely solitary, ascetic practice of “concentration”, for instance in the Ācārāṅga-sūtra (hereafter Ācārāṅga-sūtra) the oldest parts of which have been dated 4^th–3^rd c. BCE. The ninth (in some editions: eighth) chapter of Ācārāṅga-sūtra I depicts Mahāvīra as a yet to be enlightened ascetic meditating in solitary by concentrating on objects in the external world with absolute focus of the mind, absence of agitation and delusion.^[2]

In Jaina canonical literature there is a frequent use of the Prakrit word “jhāṇa” for meditative practices. However, a definition or explanation of the term is not available in the early Śvetāmbara canon. The Sanskrit term “dhyāna” is derived from the root √dhyai, which literally means cintāyāṃ^[3] or “thinking”. As a mode of practice, the Jaina Āvaṣyaka-niryukti defined dhyāna as follows: “fourty eight minutes one point positioned consciousness is meditation (dhyāna)”.^[4] In addition to “thinking”, Haribhadra later added two more interpretations of the meaning of the root dhyai: “restraint of physical action” (kāya-yoga-nirodha), and “abstinence from all action (a-yoga).^[5]

Later developments inthe āvaśyaka literature indicate a shift from solitary meditation towards meditation as a collective endeavour by groups of mendicants or lay people (śrāvaka), such as the observance of concentration meditation during obligatory ritualistic repentance (pratikramaṇa) and atonements (prāyaścitta).

However, the date of the earliest texts of the Āvaśyaka tradition is unknown and it has developed over a long period of time. Leumann (1934, 2010:2) regards Āvaśyaka-sūtra 1 as the oldest Jaina text. He states, “The Āvaśyaka, has been handed down in three very different editions, the first of which is represented by two and the second and third, each by numerous recensions. The first edition existed before the schism, the second belongs to the Śvetāmbara, and the third to the Digambara confession”. Leumann’s phrase “before the schism” proves that it is among the oldest of texts. Paṇḍita Sukhala (1957: 196) dates even the Āvaśyaka-sūtra as a whole from 5^th c. BCE to early 4^th c. BCE. It is noted in the Anuyogadvāra-sūtra, one of the youngest Āgama texts, that the āvaśyaka became an obligatory ritual to perform at dawn and dusk for ascetics and laities.^[6]