Ahiṃsā, restraint, purification and right vision
House of AnandaMovement · Stillness · Wisdom · JourneyMeditation Traditions · Non-violence, restraint and liberation
Jain contemplative traditions.
Attention shaped by ahiṃsā.
Approach sāmāyika, kāyotsarga, anuprekṣā and modern Prekṣā meditation within Jain ethics and cosmology.
Begin with context
Jain traditions have their own accounts of soul, karmic matter, non-violence, restraint and liberation. They must not be presented as a minor branch of Hindu yoga or Buddhism. Digambara and Śvetāmbara communities, monastic orders and modern movements differ in text and practice.
Sāmāyika · kāyotsarga · anuprekṣā
Freedom of the jīva from karmic bondage
Modern Prekṣā is a twentieth-century system
Sāmāyika and equanimity
Sāmāyika is a disciplined period of equanimity, ethical recollection and restraint practised by mendicants and lay Jains in different forms. It belongs to a life organised around non-violence and careful conduct, not simply a timed mindfulness session.
- Ritual procedure differs by sect and community.
- Prakrit and Sanskrit terms carry specifically Jain meanings.
- Lay and mendicant commitments should not be conflated.
Kāyotsarga and contemplation
Kāyotsarga literally suggests relinquishing or abandoning the body: a still standing or seated practice of withdrawing identification and enduring bodily sensation with equanimity. Anuprekṣā or bhāvanā refers to repeated contemplation of themes such as impermanence, solitude of the soul and the difficulty of liberation.
- Stillness is held inside Jain metaphysics of jīva and karma.
- Ascetic intensity should not be copied without context or guidance.
- Ahiṃsā includes care toward one’s own capacity as well as other life.
Prekṣā meditation
Prekṣā Dhyāna was systematised in the twentieth century within the Śvetāmbara Terāpanth tradition, especially through Ācārya Mahāprajña and the movement of Ācārya Tulsi. It combines attention to body, breath and subtle centres with contemplations and ethical training. Its modern formation should be named rather than described as an unchanged ancient method.
- A modern lineage may draw on older Jain principles.
- Scientific language used by a movement should be evaluated separately from spiritual teaching.
- Practitioners should consult living Jain sources for sect-specific practice.
Practice with care
An introduction is not an initiation.
Use this room to understand language, history and context. Where a practice depends on vows, empowerment, mantra transmission, advanced breath retention or close supervision, learn through a recognised living lineage and an appropriately qualified teacher.
Return to the practical meditation library ↗Source path
Read beyond
the summary.
House of Ananda names both primary-text collections and institutions that preserve, teach or research these traditions. Translations and historical interpretations still differ.
Continue comparing traditions