of  the  article.

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　　   Ⅰ.  INTRODUCTION

　　　　 It is well known that the Buddhists in its process

　　   of growth incorporated  and modified many non-Buddhist

　　   ideas  and  practices.  This  process  seems  to  have

　　   started  with  Gotama  still  faring  on  his  journey

　　   towards  enlightment.(  注 1) The  ideas  modified  by

　　   Gotama  the Bodhisttva  remained  a part and parcel of

　　   the Way later preached by the Buddha.This  process can

　　   be  fruitfully  studied  with  reference  to  what  is

　　   generally  known as the system of four rupa meditations

　　   (jhana).

　　　　 The Brahmajala-sutta mentions the four jhanas as a

　　   part of the spiritual  practice of the religious  sect

　　   of the Parama-dittha-dhamma-nibbanavadins.  （注 2) It

　　   appears  that this  was the earliest  of the religious

　　   sects to be associated with the four jhanas.Again  the

　　   Buddhist suttas speak of a system of meditation  where

　　   the four  jhanas are  followed  by the  four  a ?

　　   rupya-samapattis.( 注  3)  These  eight  stages   of

　　   meditation are jointly called attha-samapattis  in the

　　   Nikayas.It  appears  that  the  followers  of the a ?

　　   rupya meditation  also practised  the four jhanas  but

　　   did not accept  these stages  as final attainments, as

　　   the Nirvana in this very world, and proceeded  further

　　   upto   the   stage　　 of　　 neither-perception-

　　   nor-not-perception.We  will later  see that both these

　　   groups of meditators  followed  the same technique  of

　　   negating  the  undesiarable  mental  factor  only  for

　　   attaining  a higher state of meditation.

　　　　   This view may be objected  on the ground that the

　　   account  in which the four jhanas precede the four

　　   arupya  samapattis  is  a  creation  of  the Buddhists

　　   and does not reflect the original tradition of the a-

　　   rupya meditators.In support of this

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　　   (1) The Dvedhavitakkasutta (Majjhima Nikaya.  Vol.  I.

　　　　  P.  114ff.  Ed.  V.  Trencker, P.T.S.  1979) bears

　　　　  testimony  to the fact of Gotama's practising  and

　　　　  modifying  the system  of four  rupa jhanas  which

　　　　  appears  to  have  been  originally  developed  by

　　　　  the pre-Buddhist　　 Sramans　　 sect　　 of　　 the