Jain meditation () includes various practices of reflection and meditation. Jainism considers yoga and dhyana as necessary practices, and an "an adjunct to austerity" to still mental and physical activity. According to the Jain-canon, the only means to attain liberation is sukla-dhyāna, but essential knowledge of dhyana may have been lost early in the Jain-tradition, and the Tattvārtha-sūtra (2nd-5th c. CE) "states that pure meditation (sukla-dhyāna, e.g. samadhi) is unattainable in the current time-cycle." Nevertheless, sāmāyika (equanimity) is an essential practice in Jainism.
The oldest descriptions of Jain yoga and meditation can be found in the Acaranga Sutra (300 BCE), which describes the solitary ascetic meditation of Mahavira. It mentions Trāṭaka (fixed gaze) meditation, and uses the phrase "kāyaṃ vosajjamaṇgāre" (ĀS1, 9.3.7.), "an ascetic who has given up the body," which may be an early reference to Kayotsarga, "giving up the body," an essential Jain meditative practice, in which one stands motionless, signifying the death of the body, achieving tranquility and purity of mind, resembling the three limbs of dharana, dhyana, and samadhi of Patanjali's eight limb yoga. The Sutrakritanga (2nd c. BCE) mentions preksha (self-observation), and states that "the ultimate means for emancipation are dhyana, yoga and titiksa (tolerance). It also states that yoga and meditation can be completed by kayotsarga.
Texts attributed to a Kundakunda (collective authorship, ca. 450 to 1150 CE) incorporated samkhya, Buddhist and Advaita Vedanta influences. The 8th century Jain philosopher Haribhadra wrote the Yogadṛṣṭisamuccaya, developing his own unique system that "depart[ed] from the scriptures," assimilating many elements from Patañjali's Yoga-sūtra into his new Jain yoga. The 20th century saw the development and spread of new modernist forms of Jain dhyana, including prekṣā-dhyāna of the Śvētāmbara Terāpanth-sect, which sought to rediscover Jain meditation; and the stress on direct recognition the self or atman by various teachers, and by Digambara lay-movements who are inspired by texts attributed to a Kundakunda (450-1100 CE).
Influences and practices
Adjunct to austerity Paul Dundas notes that Jainism never “fully developed a culture of true meditative contemplation.” According to Dundas, Jainism
According to Dundas, while earliest Jainism may have had a tradition of stilling the mind inherited by highly accomplished kevalins, the knowledge of these skills was lost at an early date in the history of Jainism, leaving Jains incapable of attaining these states.
Influences Jainism has been influenced by other Indian religions and traditions, including yoga, samkhya, Buddhism, and Advaita Vedanta. Texts attributed to a Kundakunda (collective authorship, ca. 450 to 1150 CE) incorporated samkhya, Buddhist and Advaita Vedanta influences. The 8th century Jain philosopher Haribhadra assimilated many elements from Patañjali’s Yoga-sūtra into his new Jain yoga.
Practices
Tapas (austerities) According to Sagarmal Jain, "the Jain sadhana of the canonical age was centered on a three- or fourfold path of emancipation, i.e. right faith, right knowledge, right conduct, and right austerity." Meditation is a form of austerity and ascetic practice (tapas), which is a central feature of Jainism. Ascetic life may include nakedness, symbolizing non-possession even of clothes, fasting, body mortification, and penance, to burn away past karma and stop producing new karma, both of which are believed essential for reaching siddha and moksha ("liberation from rebirths" and "salvation").
Jain texts like Tattvartha Sūtra and Uttaradhyayana Sūtra discuss austerities in detail. Six outer and six inner practices are oft-repeated in later Jain texts. Outer austerities include complete fasting, eating limited amounts, eating restricted items, abstaining from tasty foods, mortifying the flesh, and guarding the flesh (avoiding anything that is a source of temptation). Inner austerities include expiation, confession, respecting and assisting mendicants, studying, meditation, and ignoring bodily wants in order to abandon the body. Lists of internal and external austerities vary with the text and tradition. Asceticism is viewed as a means to control desires, and to purify the jiva (soul).
Kayotsarga (body-detachment) and sukla-dhyana (pure meditation) Kayotsarga, "giving up the body," is an essential practice in the earliest texts. According to Jain-tradition, this was practiced by Mahavira when he attained liberation.
In kayotsarga one stands motionless, "unaffected by physical surroundings as well as emotions," signifying the death of the body, and achieving tranquility and purity of mind. The intense meditation described in these texts "is an activity that leads to a state of motionlessness, which is a state of inactivity of body, speech and mind, essential for eliminating karma."
According to Sagarmal Jain, kayotsarga resembling the three limbs of dharana, dhyana, and samadhi of Patanjali's eight limb yoga.
Sukla-dhyana (pure meditation) Sukla-dhyana, "pure" or "clean" meditation, also rendered as "abstract" meditation, is another essential practice in the earliest texts, according to Jain-tradition practiced by Mahavira when he attained liberation.
Sukla-dhyana] has four elements: Separatory contemplation (pṛthaktva-vitarka-savicāra); Unitary contemplation (aikatva-vitarka-nirvicāra); Subtle infallible physical activity (sūkṣma-kriyā-pratipāti); Irreversible stillness of the soul (vyuparata-kriyā-anivarti).
The first two are said to require knowledge of the lost Jain scriptures known as purvas, and thus since ca. 150-350 CE pure meditation is considered to be no longer possible. The other two forms are said in the Tattvartha sutra to be only accessible to Kevalins (enlightened ones). The Tattvārtha-sūtra "states that pure meditation (sukla-dhyāna, e.g. samadhi) is unattainable in the current time-cycle." yet, the Jain-tradition solved this problem of non-accessibility by the mytheme of Mahavideha, a non-earthly realm were this knowledge is preserved, and people who are reborn in this realm can access this knowledge.
According to Jain accounts, first attested by Jayasena (ca. 1150–1200), Kundakunda visited Mahavideha receiving the teachings from Jina Simandhara, which gave Kundakunda insight into the true nature of the soul. Kanji Swami elaborated on the Kundakunda-narrative, by claiming that, in a previous life, he was present when This presence was suggested to him by Campabahen Mataji, a female disciple, who said that she also had been present then.
Anuprekṣā (contemplation)
Anuprekṣā ('contemplation'), also called bhāvanā ('reflection') is one of the central practices of Jainism. Anuprekṣā typically refers to the twelve reflections: anitya bhāvanā – the transitoriness of the world; aśaraņa bhāvanā – the helplessness of the soul. saṃsāra – the pain and suffering implied in transmigration; aikatva bhāvanā – the inability of another to share one’s suffering and sorrow; anyatva bhāvanā – the distinctiveness between the body and the soul; aśuci bhāvanā – the filthiness of the body; āsrava bhāvanā – influx of karmic matter; saṃvara bhāvanā – stoppage of karmic matter; nirjarā bhāvanā – gradual shedding of karmic matter; loka bhāvanā – the form and divisions of the universe and the nature of the conditions prevailing in the different regions – heavens, hells, and the like; bodhidurlabha bhāvanā – the extreme difficulty in obtaining human birth and, subsequently, in attaining true faith; and dharma bhāvanā – the truth promulgated by Lord Jina.
Sāmāyika (equanimity)
According to Sagarma Jain, the threefold path can be summarized in sāmāyika or samatva yoga, and is "the principal concept of Jainism." It is the first of the six avashyak (duties) for monks and householders.
According to Padmanabh Jaini, Sāmāyika is a practice of "brief periods in meditation" in Jainism that is a part of siksavrata (ritual restraint). The goal of Sāmāyika is to achieve equanimity, and it is the second siksavrata.
According to Johnson, as well as Jaini, samayika connotes more than meditation, and for a Jain householder is the voluntary ritual practice of "assuming temporary ascetic status". According to Dundas, samayika seems to have meant "correct behavior" in early Jainism.
The samayika ritual is practiced at least three times a day by mendicants, while a layperson includes it with other ritual practices such as Puja in a Jain temple and doing charity work. It consits of: pratikramana, recounting the sins committed and repenting for them, pratyākhyanā, resolving to avoid particular sins in future, sāmāyika karma, renunciation of personal attachments, and the cultivation of a feeling of regarding every body and thing alike, stuti, praising the four and twenty Tīrthankaras, vandanā, devotion to a particular Tirthankara, and kāyotsarga, withdrawal of attention from the body (physical personality) and becoming absorbed in the contemplation of the spiritual Self.
Digambara self-other (body) distinction The Digambara-tradition developed meditative parctices which center on the distinction between "self" (atman) and "other" (body), akin to the Samkhya purusha-prakriti dualism. Foundational in this regard are the writings by Kundakunda (collective authorship, ca. 450 to 1150 CE), which show influences from Samkhya, Mahayana Buddhism, and especially Advaita Vedanta, reflected in the distinction between niścayanaya or ‘ultimate perspective’ and vyavahāranaya or ‘mundane perspective’, or the pure atman and the material world. The recognition of this distinction is called bhed-jnan, bhedvijnan, bheda-vijnana, bhedvigyan, or bhedgnan.
With the Kundakunda-texts the Digambara developed a mystical tradition focusing on the direct realization of the ultimate perspective of the pure soul. Kundakunda's emphasis on liberating knowledge has become a mainstream view in Digambara Jainism, and the Kundakunda-texts were an important inspiration for Shrimad Rajchandra (1867–1901), who in turn inspired Kanji Swami (1890–1980), Rakesh Jhaveri and the Shrimad Rajchandra Mission, and Dada Bhagwan (1908–1988).
Pre-canonical (before 6th c. BCE)
Sagarmal Jain divides the history of Jaina yoga and meditation into five stages: 1. pre-canonical (before 6th century BCE); 2. canonical age (5th century BCE to 5th century CE); 3. post-canonical (6th century CE to 12th century CE); 4. age of tantra and rituals (13th to 19th century CE); 5. modern age (20th century on).
In the pre-canonical period, Jainism developed as one of the sramana-movements in the 6th-5th century BCE, just like Buddhism, Ajivika, Samkhya and Yoga.
Canonical (5th c. BCE - 5th c. CE)
In this era, the Jain canon was recorded and Jain philosophy systematized. Sagarmal Jain notes that during the canonical age of Jaina meditation, one finds strong analogues with the 8 limbs of Patanjali Yoga, including the yamas and niyamas, through often under different names. Sagarmal also notes that during this period the Yoga systems of Jainism, Buddhism and Patanjali Yoga had many similarities. Nevertheless, "the Jain sadhana of the canonical age was centered on a three- or fourfold path of emancipation, i.e. right faith, right knowledge, right conduct, and right austerity."
Ācārāṅga Sūtra (3rd c. BCE) and Sutrakritanga (2nd c. BCE) The earliest mention of yogic practices appear in early Jain canonical texts like the Ācārāṅga Sūtra (3rd c. BCE), Sutrakritanga (2nd c. BCE), and Rsibhasita.