The Two Traditions of Meditation in Ancient India

This book elucidates the early Buddhist teachings and beliefs concerning meditation and its role in the process to liberation. In a number of cases, the Buddhist canonical texts reject practices which they accept elsewhere. When these practices – sometimes rejected, sometimes accepted – correspond to what is known about non-Buddhist practices, the conclusion is then proposed that they are non-Buddhist texts. A similar procedure enables one to choose between conflicting beliefs. In order to arrive at these results, an analysis is offered of the non-Buddhist (especially Jaina and early Hindu) practices and beliefs as they are described in the non-Buddhist literature of the time. Passages in the Buddhist canon which emphasize the distinctions between Buddhism and other religious currents are also taken into consideration.