hings are said
either to be existent or non-existent, for their existence is merely
like the mirage which is produced by the beginningless desire
(_vasana_) of creating and perceiving the manifold. This brings us
to the fourth one, which means the right comprehension of the
nature of all things.

The four dhyanas spoken of in the _Lankavatara_ seem to be
different from those which have been described in connection with
the Theravada Buddhism. These dhyanas are called (1) _balopacarika_,
(2) _arthapravichaya_, (3) _tathatalambana_ and (4) _tathagata_.
The first one is said to be that practised by the s'ravakas
and the pratyekabuddhas. It consists in concentrating upon the
doctrine that there is no soul (_pudgalanairatmya_), and that everything
is transitory, miserable and impure. When considering all
things in this way from beginning to end the sage advances on
till all conceptual knowing ceases (_asa@mjnanirodhat_); we have
what is called the valopacarika dhyana (the meditation for beginners).

The second is the advanced state where not only there is
full consciousness that there is no self, but there is also the
comprehension that neither these nor the doctrines of other heretics
may be said to exist, and that there is none of the dharmas that
appears. This is called the _arthapravicayadhyana_, for the sage
concentrates here on the subject of thoroughly seeking out
(_pravichaya_) the nature of all things (_artha_).

The third dhyana, that in which the mind realizes that the
thought that there is no self nor that there are the appearances,
is itself the result of imagination and thus lapses into the thatness
(_tathata_). This dhyana is called _tathatalambana_, because it has for
its object tathata or thatness.

The last or the fourth dhyana is that in which the lapse of
the mind into the state of thatness is such that the nothingness
and incomprehensibility of all phenomena is perfectly realized;

151

and nirvana is that in which all root desires (_vasana_) manifesting
themselves in knowledge are destroyed and the mind with knowledge
and perceptions, making false creations, ceases to work. This
cannot be called death, for it will not have any rebirth and it cannot
be called destruction, for only compounded things (_sa@msk@rta_)
suffer destruction, so that it is different from either death or
destruction. This nirvana is different from that of the s'ravakas
and the pratyekabuddhas for they are satisfied to call