This paper discusses the consequences of bad forms of meditation according to the 14 stages of spiritual progress (guṇasthāna) with a focus on two texts: the Tattvārthasūtra (TAS) of Umāsvāmin, a treatise on the essential principles of Jainism, and the Sarvārthasiddhi (SS) of Pūjyapāda (6th century), the oldest Digambara commentary on TAS. It will show that Pūjyapāda presents unique views on the relationship between the meditator and bad forms of meditation.
Meditation is divided into four different types of meditation, namely, afflicted (ārta), wrathful (raudra), virtuous (dharmya), and pure (śukla). The former two are regarded as bad forms of meditation as they cause reincarnation.
Afflicted meditation is subdivided into four kinds, including desire toward the future (nidāna), according to the TAS. The SS emphasizes that the four occur in the 4th and 5th stages, three excluding desire toward the future occur in the 6th stage. Wrathful meditation occurs in the 4th and 5th stages, according to the TAS. Pūjyapāda emphasizes that from the 6th stage onwards, renouncers who aspire for liberation from reincarnation could not engage in afflicted meditation of desire toward the future, and if they were to indulge in wrathful meditation, they would retrogress from the 6th stage.
