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Buddhist meditation
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{{Short description|Practice of meditation in Buddhism}}File:Monkey gives honey to Buddha Shakyamuni, India, Bihar, probably Kurkihar, Pala dynasty, c. 1000 AD, black stone - Ãstasiatiska museet, Stockholm - DSC09270.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2| Buddha Shakyamuni meditating in the lotus position, India, Bihar, probably Kurkihar, Pala dynasty, c. 1000 AD, black stone - Ãstasiatiska museet, Stockholm, SwedenSweden{{Buddhism}}{{Mindfulness|Buddhism}}Buddhist meditation is the practice of meditation in Buddhism. The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are bhÄvanÄ (“mental development“){{refn|group=note|name=“bhÄvanÄ“}} and jhÄna/dhyÄna (mental training resulting in a calm and luminous mind).{{refn|group=note|name=“dhyana“}}Buddhists pursue meditation as part of the path toward liberation from defilements (kleshas) and clinging and craving (upÄdÄna), also called awakening, which results in the attainment of Nirvana,{{refn|group=note|* Kamalashila (2003), p. 4, states that Buddhist meditation “includes any method of meditation that has awakening as its ultimate aim.“* Bodhi (1999): “To arrive at the experiential realization of the truths it is necessary to take up the practice of meditation [...] At the climax of such contemplation the mental eye [...] shifts its focus to the unconditioned state, Nibbana.“* Fischer-Schreiber et al. (1991), p. 142: ”Meditation – general term for a multitude of religious practices, often quite different in method, but all having the same goal: to bring the consciousness of the practitioner to a state in which he can come to an experience of ‘awakening,’ ‘liberation,’ ‘enlightenment.’“* Kamalashila (2003) further allows that some Buddhist meditations are “of a more preparatory nature” (p. 4).}} and includes a variety of meditation techniques, most notably anapanasati (mindfulness of breathing). Other techniques include asubha bhavana (“reflections on repulsiveness“);Deleanu, Florin (1992); Mindfulness of Breathing in the DhyÄna SÅ«tras. Transactions of the International Conference of Orientalists in Japan (TICOJ) 37, 42-57. reflection on pratityasamutpada (dependent origination); anussati (recollections, including anapanasati) and sati (mindfulness), culminating in dhyana (developing an alert and luminous mind);{{sfn|Vetter|1988}}{{sfnp|Bronkhorst|1993}}AnÄlayo, Early Buddhist Meditation Studies, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies Barre, Massachusetts USA 2017, p 109{{sfn|Arbel|2016}} and the Brahma-viharas (loving-kindness and compassion). These techniques aim to develop equanimity and sati (mindfulness); samadhi (unification of mind) c.q. samatha (tranquility) and vipassanÄ (insight); and are also said to lead to abhijÃ±Ä (supramundane powers). These meditation techniques are preceded by and combined with practices which aid this development, such as moral restraint and right effort to develop wholesome states of mind.While these techniques are used across Buddhist schools, there is also significant diversity. A basic classification of meditation techniques is samatha (calming the mind) and vipassana (gaining insight). In the Theravada tradition, emphasizing vipassana, these are seen as opposing techniques,{{refn|group=note|Goldstein (2003) writes that, in regard to the Satipatthana Sutta, “there are more than fifty different practices outlined in this Sutta. The meditations that derive from these foundations of mindfulness are called vipassana [...] and in one form or another â and by whatever name â are found in all the major Buddhist traditions.” (p. 92)The forty concentrative meditation subjects refer to Visuddhimagga’s oft-referenced enumeration.}} while Mahayana Buddhism stresses the interplay between samatha and vipassana.Sujato, A history of mindfulness. In both traditions, breath meditation is a central practice. Chinese and Japanese Buddhism also preserved a wide range of meditation techniques, which go back to early Buddhism, and were transmitted via Sarvastivada Buddhism. In Tibetan Buddhism, deity yoga includes visualisations, which precede the realization of sunyata’’ (“emptiness“).{{refn|group=note|Regarding Tibetan visualizations, Kamalashila (2003), writes: “The Tara meditation [...] is one example out of thousands of subjects for visualization meditation, each one arising out of some meditator’s visionary experience of enlightened qualities, seen in the form of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.” (p. 227)}}- the content below is remote from Wikipedia
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Etymology
The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are bhÄvanÄ (mental development){{refn|group=note|name=“bhÄvanÄ“|The Pali and Sanskrit word bhÄvanÄ literally means “development” as in “mental development.” For the association of this term with “meditation,” see Epstein (1995), p. 105; and, Fischer-Schreiber et al. (1991), p. 20. As an example from a well-known discourse of the PÄli Canon, in “The Greater Exhortation to Rahula” (Maha-Rahulovada Sutta, MN 62), Sariputta tells Rahula (in Pali, based on VRI, n.d.): {{IAST|ÄnÄp Änassatiá¹, rÄhula, bhÄvanaá¹ bhÄvehi.}} Thanissaro (2006) translates this as: “Rahula, develop the meditation [{{IAST|bhÄvana}}] of mindfulness of in-&-out breathing.” (Square-bracketed Pali word included based on Thanissaro, 2006, end note.)}} and jhÄna/dhyÄna.{{refn|group=note|name=“dhyana“|See, for example, Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), entry for “jhÄna1”; Thanissaro (1997); as well as, Kapleau (1989), p. 385, for the derivation of the word “zen” from Sanskrit “dhyÄna.” PTS Secretary Dr. Rupert Gethin, in describing the activities of wandering ascetics contemporaneous with the Buddha, wrote:{{Blockquote|[T]here is the cultivation of meditative and contemplative techniques aimed at producing what might, for the lack of a suitable technical term in English, be referred to as ‘altered states of consciousness’. In the technical vocabulary of Indian religious texts, such states come to be termed ‘meditations’ (, ) or ‘concentrations’ (samÄdhi); the attainment of such states of consciousness was generally regarded as bringing the practitioner to deeper knowledge and experience of the nature of the world.” (Gethin, 1998, p. 10.)}}}}Possible influence from pre-Buddhist India
Modern Buddhist studies have attempted to reconstruct the meditation practices of early Buddhism, mainly through philological and text critical methods using the early canonical texts.{{sfnp|Bronkhorst|2012}}According to Indologist Johannes Bronkhorst, “the teaching of the Buddha as presented in the early canon contains a number of contradictions,“{{sfnp|Bronkhorst|2012|p=2}} presenting “a variety of methods that do not always agree with each other,“{{sfnp|Bronkhorst|2012|p=4}} containing “views and practices that are sometimes accepted and sometimes rejected.“{{sfnp|Bronkhorst|2012|p=2}} These contradictions are due to the influence of non-Buddhist traditions on early Buddhism. One example of these non-Buddhist meditative methods found in the early sources is outlined by Bronkhorst:{{Blockquote|The VitakkasanthÄna Sutta of the Majjhima NikÄya and its parallels in Chinese translation recommend the practicing monk to ‘restrain his thought with his mind, to coerce and torment it’. Exactly the same words are used elsewhere in the PÄli canon (in the MahÄsaccaka Sutta, BodhirÄjakumÄra Sutta and Saá¹ gÄrava Sutta) in order to describe the futile attempts of the Buddha before his enlightenment to reach liberation after the manner of the Jainas.{{sfnp|Bronkhorst|2012}}}}According to Bronkhorst, such practices which are based on a “suppression of activity” are not authentically Buddhist, but were later adopted from the Jains by the Buddhist community.The two major traditions of meditative practice in pre-Buddhist India were the Jain ascetic practices and the various Vedic Brahmanical practices. There is still much debate in Buddhist studies regarding how much influence these two traditions had on the development of early Buddhist meditation. The early Buddhist texts mention that Gautama trained under two teachers known as ÄḷÄra KÄlÄma and Uddaka RÄmaputta, both of them taught formless jhanas or mental absorptions, a key practice of Theravada Buddhist meditation.AnÄlayo, Early Buddhist Meditation Studies, 2017, p. 165. Alexander Wynne considers these figures historical persons associated with the doctrines of the early Upanishads.Wynne, Alexander, The origin of Buddhist meditation, pp. 23, 37 Other practices which the Buddha undertook have been associated with the Jain ascetic tradition by the Indologist Johannes Bronkhorst including extreme fasting and a forceful “meditation without breathing”.{{sfnp|Bronkhorst|1993|p=10}} According to the early texts, the Buddha rejected the more extreme Jain ascetic practices in favor of the middle way.Pre-sectarian Buddhism
(File:Lying Buddha Statue Polonnaruwa.jpg|thumb|The early Buddhist tradition also taught other meditation postures, such as the standing posture and the lion posture performed lying down on one side.)Early Buddhism, as it existed before the development of various schools, is called pre-sectarian Buddhism. Its meditation-techniques are described in the Pali Canon and the Chinese Agamas.Preparatory practices
Meditation and contemplation are preceded by preparatory practices.{{sfn|Vetter|1988}} As described in the Noble Eightfold Path, right view leads to leaving the household life and becoming a wandering monk. Sila, morality, comprises the rules for right conduct. Sense restraint and right effort, c.q. the four right efforts, are important preparatory practices. Sense restraint means controlling the response to sensual perceptions, not giving in to lust and aversion but simply noticing the objects of perception as they appear.Analayo, Early Buddhist Meditation Studies, p.69-70, 80 Right effort aims to prevent the arising of unwholesome states, and to generate wholesome states. By following these preparatory steps and practices, the mind becomes set, almost naturally, for the onset of dhyana.{{sfn|Vetter|1988|p=xxv}}{{sfn|Polak|2011}}{{refn|group=note|Polak refers to Vetter, who noted that in the suttas right effort leads to a calm state of mind. When this calm and self-restraint had been reached, the Buddha is described as sitting down and attaining the first jhana, in an almost natural way.{{sfn|Polak|2011}}}}Sati/smrti (mindfulness)“>Sati/smrti (mindfulness)
An important quality to be cultivated by a Buddhist meditator is mindfulness (sati). Mindfulness is a polyvalent term which refers to remembering, recollecting and “bearing in mind”. It also relates to remembering the teachings of the Buddha and knowing how these teachings relate to one’s experiences. The Buddhist texts mention different kinds of mindfulness practice.The Pali Satipatthana Sutta and its parallels as well as numerous other early Buddhist texts enumerates four subjects (satipaá¹á¹hÄnas) on which mindfulness is established: the body (including the four elements, the parts of the body, and death); feelings (vedana); mind (citta); and phenomena or principles (dhammas), such as the five hindrances and the seven factors of enlightenment. Different early texts give different enumerations of these four mindfulness practices. Meditation on these subjects is said to develop insight.For instance, see Solé-Leris (1986), p. 75; and, Goldstein (2003), p. 92.According to Bronkhorst, there were originally two kinds of mindfulness, “observations of the positions of the body” and the four satipaá¹á¹hÄnas, the “establishment of mindfulness,” which constituted formal meditation.{{citation|last=Sujato|first=Bhante|author-link=Bhante Sujato|title=A History of Mindfulness|publisher=Santipada|year=2012|url=http://santifm.org/santipada/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/A_History_of_Mindfulness_Bhikkhu_Sujato.pdf|isbn=9781921842108|page=148}} Bhikkhu Sujato and Bronkhorst both argue that the mindfulness of the positions of the body (which is actually “clear comprehension“) wasn’t originally part of the four satipatthana formula, but was later added to it in some texts.Bronkhorst (1985) also argues that the earliest form of the satipaá¹á¹hÄna sutta only contained the observation of the impure body parts under mindfulness of the body, and that mindfulness of dhammas was originally just the observation of the seven awakening factors.{{sfn|Kuan|2008|p=107}}{{refn|group=note|Kuan refers to Bronkhorst (1985), Dharma and Abhidharma, p.312-314.}} Sujato’s reconstruction similarly only retains the contemplation of the impure under mindfulness of the body, while including only the five hindrances and the seven awakening factors under mindfulness of dhammas.{{sfn|Kuan|2008|p=108}}{{refn|group=note|Kuan refers to Sujato (2006), A history of mindfulness: how insight worsted tranquility in the Satipatthana Sutta, p.264-273}} According to Analayo, mindfulness of breathing was probably absent from the original scheme, noting that one can easily contemplate the body’s decay taking an external object, that is, someone else’s body, but not be externally mindfull of the breath, that is, someone else’s breath. {{sfn|AnÄlayo|2013|p=48-49}}According to Grzegorz Polak, the four upassanÄ have been misunderstood by the developing Buddhist tradition, including Theravada, to refer to four different foundations. According to Polak, the four upassanÄ do not refer to four different foundations of which one should be aware, but are an alternate description of the jhanas, describing how the samskharas are tranquilized:{{sfn|Polak|2011|pp=153-156, 196-197}}- the six sense-bases which one needs to be aware of (kÄyÄnupassanÄ);
- contemplation on vedanÄs, which arise with the contact between the senses and their objects (vedanÄnupassanÄ);
- the altered states of mind to which this practice leads (cittÄnupassanÄ);
- the development from the five hindrances to the seven factors of enlightenment (dhammÄnupassanÄ).
Anussati (recollections)
File:Asubha_Body_Contemplation.png|thumb|right|alt=Asubha Contemplation Illustration|Illustration of mindfulness of death using corpses in a charnel ground, a subset of mindfulness of the body, the first satipatthana. From an early-20th-century manuscript found in Chaiya District, Surat Thani Province, (Thailand]].from Teaching Dhamma by pictures: Explanation of a Siamese Traditional Buddhist Manuscript)Anussati (PÄli; Sanskrit: Anusmriti) means “recollection,” “contemplation,” “remembrance,” “meditation” and “mindfulness.“{{sfnp|Rhys-Davids|Stede|1921â25|p=45, “Anussati“}} It refers to specific meditative or devotional practices, such as recollecting the sublime qualities of the Buddha or anapanasati (mindfulness of breathing), which lead to mental tranquillity and abiding joy. In various contexts, the Pali literature and Sanskrit Mahayana sutras emphasize and identify different enumerations of recollections.Asubha bhavana (reflection on unattractiveness)“>Asubha bhavana (reflection on unattractiveness)
Asubha bhavana is reflection on “the foul“/unattractiveness (PÄli: asubha). It includes two practices, namely cemetery contemplations, and Pa{{IAST|á¹}}ikkÅ«lamanasikÄra, “reflections on repulsiveness”. Patikulamanasikara is a Buddhist meditation whereby thirty-one parts of the body are contemplated in a variety of ways. In addition to developing sati (mindfulness) and samÄdhi (concentration, dhyana), this form of meditation is considered to be conducive to overcoming desire and lust.Nanamoli (1998), p. 110, n. 16, which references the Anapanasati Sutta and the Visuddhimagga, Ch. VI, VIII.Anapanasati (mindfulness of breathing)“>Anapanasati (mindfulness of breathing)
Anapanasati, mindfulness of breathing, is a core meditation practice in Theravada, Tiantai and Chan traditions of Buddhism as well as a part of many mindfulness programs. In both ancient and modern times, anapanasati by itself is likely the most widely used Buddhist method for contemplating bodily phenomena.{{sfnp|AnÄlayo|2003|p=125}}The ÄnÄpÄnasati Sutta specifically concerns mindfulness of inhalation and exhalation, as a part of paying attention to one’s body in quietude, and recommends the practice of anapanasati meditation as a means of cultivating the Seven Factors of Enlightenment: sati (mindfulness), dhamma vicaya (analysis), viriya (persistence), which leads to pÄ«ti (rapture), then to passaddhi (serenity), which in turn leads to samadhi (concentration) and then to upekkhÄ (equanimity). Finally, the Buddha taught that, with these factors developed in this progression, the practice of anapanasati would lead to release (Pali: vimutti; Sanskrit moká¹£a) from dukkha (suffering), in which one realizes nibbana.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}}DhyÄna/jhÄna“>DhyÄna/jhÄna
Many scholars of early Buddhism, such as Vetter, Bronkhorst and AnÄlayo, see the practice of jhÄna (Sanskrit: dhyÄna) as central to the meditation of Early Buddhism.{{sfn|Vetter|1988}}{{sfnp|Bronkhorst|1993}} According to Bronkhorst, the oldest Buddhist meditation practice are the four dhyanas, which lead to the destruction of the asavas as well as the practice of mindfulness (sati).{{sfnp|Bronkhorst|2012}} According to Vetter, the practice of dhyana may have constituted the core liberating practice of early Buddhism, since in this state all “pleasure and pain” had waned.{{sfn|Vetter|1988}} According to Vetter, {{Blockquote|[P]robably the word “immortality” (a-mata) was used by the Buddha for the first interpretation of this experience and not the term cessation of suffering that belongs to the four noble truths [...] the Buddha did not achieve the experience of salvation by discerning the four noble truths and/or other data. But his experience must have been of such a nature that it could bear the interpretation “achieving immortality”.{{sfn|Vetter|1988|pp=5-6}}}}Alexander Wynne agrees that the Buddha taught a kind of meditation exemplified by the four dhyanas, but argues that the Buddha adopted these from the Brahmin teachers ÄḷÄra KÄlÄma and Uddaka RÄmaputta, though he did not interpret them in the same Vedic cosmological way and rejected their Vedic goal (union with Brahman). The Buddha, according to Wynne, radically transformed the practice of dhyana which he learned from these Brahmins which “consisted of the adaptation of the old yogic techniques to the practice of mindfulness and attainment of insight”.Wynne, Alexander, The origin of Buddhist meditation, pp. 94-95 For Wynne, this idea that liberation required not just meditation but an act of insight, was radically different from the Brahminic meditation, “where it was thought that the yogin must be without any mental activity at all, ‘like a log of wood’.“Wynne, Alexander, The origin of Buddhist meditation, pp. 95Four rupa-jhanas
Qualities
{{Dhyana}}Interpretation
According to Richard Gombrich, the sequence of the four rupa-jhanas describes two different cognitive states.{{sfnp|Wynne|2007|p=140, note 58}}{{refn|group=note|Gombrich: “I know this is controversial, but it seems to me that the third and fourth jhanas are thus quite unlike the second.“{{sfnp|Wynne|2007|p=140, note 58}}}}Original publication: {{Citation |last=Gombrich |first=Richard |year=2007 |title=Religious Experience in Early Buddhism |publisher=OCHS Library |url=http://www.ochs.org.uk/lectures/religious-experience-early-buddhism}} Alexander Wynne further explains that the dhyana-scheme is poorly understood.{{sfnp|Wynne|2007|p=106}} According to Wynne, words expressing the inculcation of awareness, such as sati, sampajÄno, and upekkhÄ, are mistranslated or understood as particular factors of meditative states,{{sfnp|Wynne|2007|p=106}} whereas they refer to a particular way of perceiving the sense objects.{{sfnp|Wynne|2007|p=106}}{{refn|group=note|Wynne: “Thus the expression sato sampajÄno in the third jhÄna must denote a state of awareness different from the meditative absorption of the second jhÄna (cetaso ekodibhÄva). It suggests that the subject is doing something different from remaining in a meditative state, i.e., that he has come out of his absorption and is now once again aware of objects. The same is true of the word upek(k)hÄ: it does not denote an abstract ‘equanimity’, [but] it means to be aware of something and indifferent to it [...] The third and fourth jhÄna-s, as it seems to me, describe the process of directing states of meditative absorption towards the mindful awareness of objects.{{sfnp|Wynne|2007|pp=106-107}}}}{{refn|group=note|According to Gombrich, “the later tradition has falsified the jhana by classifying them as the quintessence of the concentrated, calming kind of meditation, ignoring the other - and indeed higher - element.{{sfnp|Wynne|2007|p=140, note 58}}}} Polak notes that the qualities of the jhanas resemble the bojjhaá¹ gÄ, the seven factors of awakening]], arguing that both sets describe the same essential practice.{{sfn|Polak|2011}} Polak further notes, elaborating on Vetter, that the onset of the first dhyana is described as a quite natural process, due to the preceding efforts to restrain the senses and the nurturing of wholesome states.{{sfn|Polak|2011}}{{sfn|Vetter|1988|p=xxv}}UpekkhÄ, equanimity, which is perfected in the fourth dhyana, is one of the four Brahma-vihara. While the commentarial tradition downplayed the Brahma-viharas, Gombrich notes that the Buddhist usage of the brahma-vihÄra, originally referred to an awakened state of mind, and a concrete attitude toward other beings which was equal to “living with Brahman” here and now. The later tradition took those descriptions too literally, linking them to cosmology and understanding them as “living with Brahman” by rebirth in the Brahma-world.{{sfnp|Gombrich|1997|pp=84-85}} According to Gombrich, “the Buddha taught that kindness - what Christians tend to call love - was a way to salvation.{{sfnp|Gombrich|1997|p=62}}Arupas
In addition to the four rÅ«pajhÄnas, there are also meditative attainments which were later called by the tradition the arÅ«pajhÄnas, though the early texts do not use the term dhyana for them, calling them Äyatana (dimension, sphere, base). They are:- The Dimension of infinite space (Pali ÄkÄsÄnañcÄyatana, Skt. ÄkÄÅÄnantyÄyatana),
- The Dimension of infinite consciousness (Pali viññÄá¹añcÄyatana, Skt. vijñÄnÄnantyÄyatana),
- The Dimension of infinite nothingness (Pali ÄkiñcaññÄyatana, Skt. Äkiá¹canyÄyatana),
- The Dimension of neither perception nor non-perception (Pali nevasaññÄnÄsaññÄyatana, Skt. naivasaá¹jñÄnÄsaá¹jñÄyatana).
- Nirodha-samÄpatti, also called saññÄ-vedayita-nirodha, ‘extinction of feeling and perception’.
Jhana and insight
Various early sources mention the attainment of insight after having achieved jhana. In the Mahasaccaka Sutta, dhyana is followed by insight into the four noble truths. The mention of the four noble truths as constituting “liberating insight” is probably a later addition.{{sfnp|Schmithausen|1981}}{{sfn|Vetter|1988|pp=5-6}}{{sfnp|Bronkhorst|1993}}{{sfnp|Wynne|2007}} Discriminating insight into transiency as a separate path to liberation may be a later development,{{sfn|Vetter|1988|pp=xxxivâxxxvii}}{{sfnp|Gombrich|1997|p=131}} under pressure of developments in Indian religious thinking, which saw “liberating insight” as essential to liberation.{{sfn|Vetter|1988|p={{Page needed|date=March 2015}}}} This may also have been due to an over-literal interpretation by later scholastics of the terminology used by the Buddha,{{sfnp|Gombrich|1997|pp=96-134}} and to the problems involved with the practice of dhyana, and the need to develop an easier method.{{sfn|Vetter|1988|p=xxxv}}{{sfnp|Schmithausen|1981}}{{sfn|Vetter|1988|pp=5-6}}{{sfnp|Bronkhorst|1993}}{{sfnp|Wynne|2007}} Collett Cox and Damien Keown question the existence of a dichotomy between dhyana and insight, arguing that samadhi is a key aspect of the later Buddhist process of liberation, which cooperates with insight to remove the Äsavas.Keown, Damien (1992/2001) “The Nature of Buddhist Ethics,” p. 79-82, New York: Palgrave.Cox, Collett (1992/1994) “Attainment through Abandonment: The SarvÄstivÄda Path of Removing Defilements”, in Paths to Liberation, The MÄrga and Its Transformations in Buddhist Thought, R.E. Buswell jr. and R.M. Gimello (ed.), 63â105, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.BrahmavihÄra“>BrahmavihÄra
Another important meditation in the early sources are the four BrahmavihÄra (divine abodes) which are said to lead to cetovimutti, a “liberation of the mind”.AnÄlayo, Early Buddhist Meditation Studies, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies Barre, Massachusetts USA 2017, p 185. The four BrahmavihÄra are:- Loving-kindness (PÄli: mettÄ, Sanskrit: maitrÄ«) is active good will towards all;
- Compassion (PÄli and Sanskrit: karuá¹Ä) results from metta, it is identifying the suffering of others as one’s own;
- Empathetic joy (PÄli and Sanskrit: muditÄ): is the feeling of joy because others are happy, even if one did not contribute to it, it is a form of sympathetic joy;
- Equanimity (PÄli: upekkhÄ, Sanskrit: upeká¹£Ä): is even-mindedness and serenity, treating everyone impartially.BOOK, Merv Fowler, Buddhism: Beliefs and Practices,books.google.com/books?id=A7UKjtA0QDwC, 1999, Sussex Academic Press, 978-1-898723-66-0, 60â62, {{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}BOOK, Peter Harvey, An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices,books.google.com/books?id=8XAgAwAAQBAJ, 2012, Cambridge University Press, 978-1-139-85126-8, 154, 326,
Early Buddhism
Traditionally, Eighteen schools of Buddhism are said to have developed after the time of the Buddha. The Sarvastivada school was the most influential, but the Theravada is the only school that still exists.Samatha (serenity) and vipassana (insight)“>Samatha (serenity) and vipassana (insight)
The Buddha is said to have identified two paramount mental qualities that arise from wholesome meditative practice:- “serenity” or “tranquillity” (Pali: samatha; Sanskrit: samadhi) which steadies, composes, unifies and concentrates the mind;
- “insight” (Pali: vipassanÄ) which enables one to see, explore and discern “formations” (conditioned phenomena based on the five aggregates).{{refn|group=note|These definitions of samatha and vipassana are based on the “Four Kinds of Persons Sutta” (AN 4.94). This article’s text is primarily based on Bodhi (2005), pp. 269-70, 440 n. 13. See also Thanissaro (1998d).}}
- they develop serenity and then insight (Pali: samatha-pubbangamam vipassanam)
- they develop insight and then serenity (Pali: vipassana-pubbangamam samatham)
- they develop serenity and insight in tandem (Pali: samatha-vipassanam yuganaddham) as in, for instance, obtaining the first jhana, and then seeing in the associated aggregates the three marks of existence, before proceeding to the second jhana.Bodhi (2005), pp. 268, 439 nn. 7, 9, 10. See also Thanissaro (1998f).
TheravÄda
(File:Buddhaghosa with three copies of Visuddhimagga.jpg|thumb|Buddhaghosa with three copies of Visuddhimagga, Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara)Sutta Pitaka and early commentaries
The oldest material of the TheravÄda tradition on meditation can be found in the Pali Nikayas, and in texts such as the Patisambhidamagga which provide commentary to meditation suttas like the Anapanasati sutta.Buddhaghosa
An early TheravÄda meditation manual is the Vimuttimagga (’Path of Freedom’, 1st or 2nd century).PV Bapat. Vimuttimagga & Visuddhimagga â A Comparative Study, p. lv The most influential presentation though, is that of the 5th-century Visuddhimagga (’Path of Purification’) of Buddhaghoá¹£a, which seems to have been influenced by the earlier Vimuttimagga in his presentation.PV Bapat. Vimuttimagga & Visuddhimagga â A Comparative Study, p. lviiThe Visuddhimagga{{’s}} doctrine reflects TheravÄda Abhidhamma scholasticism, which includes several innovations and interpretations not found in the earliest discourses (suttas) of the Buddha.Kalupahana, David J. (1994), A history of Buddhist philosophy, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited{{citation|last=Sujato|first=Bhante|author-link=Bhante Sujato|title=A History of Mindfulness|publisher=Santipada|year=2012|url=http://santifm.org/santipada/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/A_History_of_Mindfulness_Bhikkhu_Sujato.pdf|isbn=9781921842108|page=329}} Buddhaghosa’s Visuddhimagga includes non-canonical instructions on Theravada meditation, such as “ways of guarding the mental image (nimitta),” which point to later developments in Theravada meditation.{{sfnp|Shaw|2006|p=5}}The text is centered around kasina-meditation, a form of concentration-meditation in which the mind is focused on a (mental) object.Bhikkhu Thanissaro, Concentration and Discernment According to Thanissaro Bhikkhu, “[t]he text then tries to fit all other meditation methods into the mold of kasina practice, so that they too give rise to countersigns, but even by its own admission, breath meditation does not fit well into the mold.” In its emphasis on kasina-meditation, the Visuddhimagga departs from the Pali Canon, in which dhyana is the central meditative practice, indicating that what “jhana means in the commentaries is something quite different from what it means in the Canon.“The Visuddhimagga describes forty meditation subjects, most being described in the early texts.Sarah Shaw, Buddhist meditation: an anthology of texts from the PÄli canon. Routledge, 2006, pages 6-8. A Jataka tale gives a list of 38 of them. weblink. Buddhaghoá¹£a advises that, for the purpose of developing concentration and consciousness, a person should “apprehend from among the forty meditation subjects one that suits his own temperament” with the advice of a “good friend” (kalyÄá¹a-mittatÄ) who is knowledgeable in the different meditation subjects (Ch. III, § 28).Buddhaghosa & Nanamoli (1999), pp. 85, 90. Buddhaghoá¹£a subsequently elaborates on the forty meditation subjects as follows (Ch. III, §104; Chs. IVâXI):Buddhaghoá¹£a & Nanamoli (1999), p. 110.- ten kasinas: earth, water, fire, air, blue, yellow, red, white, light, and “limited-space”.
- ten kinds of foulness: “the bloated, the livid, the festering, the cut-up, the gnawed, the scattered, the hacked and scattered, the bleeding, the worm-infested, and a skeleton”.
- ten recollections: BuddhÄnussati, the Dhamma, the Sangha, virtue, generosity, the virtues of deities, death (see the Upajjhatthana Sutta), the body, the breath (see anapanasati), and peace (see Nibbana).
- four divine abodes: mettÄ, karuá¹Ä, mudita, and upekkha.
- four immaterial states: boundless space, boundless perception, nothingness, and neither perception nor non-perception.
- one perception (of “repulsiveness in nutriment“)
- one “defining” (that is, the four elements)
Contemporary TheravÄda
File:Buddhist monk in Mae Klang Waterfall.jpg|thumb|right|The modern Thai Forest TraditionThai Forest TraditionFile:Meditation Hall, Burmese Buddhist Temple, Singapore - 20070721.jpg|thumb|right|The practice of meditation by Buddhist laypersons is a key feature of the modern vipassana movementvipassana movementVipassana and/or samatha
The role of samatha in Buddhist practice, and the exact meaning of samatha, are points of contention and investigation in contemporary Theravada and western vipassanan. Burmese vipassana teachers have tended to disregard samatha as unnecessary, while Thai teachers see samatha and vipassana as intertwined.The exact meaning of samatha is also not clear, and westerners have started to question the received wisdom on this.{{sfn|Polak|2011}}{{sfn|Arbel|2016}} While samatha is usually equated with the jhanas in the commentarial tradition, scholars and practitioners have pointed out that jhana is more than a narrowing of the focus of the mind. While the second jhana may be characterized by samadhi-ji, “born of concentration,” the first jhana sets in quite naturally as a result of sense-restraint,{{sfn|Vetter|1988|p=xxv}}{{sfn|Polak|2011}} while the third and fourth jhana are characterized by mindfulness and equanimity.{{sfnp|Bronkhorst|1993}}{{sfnp|Wynne|2007}}{{sfn|Polak|2011}} Sati, sense-restraint and mindfulness are necessary preceding practices, while insight may mark the point where one enters the “stream” of development which results in vimukti, release.Gethin, Buddhist practice According to AnÄlayo, the jhanas are crucial meditative states which lead to the abandonment of hindrances such as lust and aversion; however, they are not sufficient for the attainment of liberating insight. Some early texts also warn meditators against becoming attached to them, and therefore forgetting the need for the further practice of insight.AnÄlayo, Early Buddhist Meditation Studies, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies Barre, Massachusetts USA 2017, p 112, 115 According to AnÄlayo, “either one undertakes such insight contemplation while still being in the attainment, or else one does so retrospectively, after having emerged from the absorption itself but while still being in a mental condition close to it in concentrative depth.“AnÄlayo, Early Buddhist Meditation Studies, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies Barre, Massachusetts USA 2017, p 117The position that insight can be practiced from within jhana, according to the early texts, is endorsed by Gunaratna, Crangle and Shankaman.Edward Fitzpatrick Crangle, The Origin and Development of Early Indian Contemplative Practices, 1994, p 238“Should We Come Out of jhÄna to Practice vipassanÄ?”, in Buddhist Studies in Honour of Venerable Kirindigalle Dhammaratana, S. Ratnayaka (ed.), 41â74, Colombo: Felicitation Committee. 2007Shankman, Richard 2008: The Experience of samÄdhi, An Indepth Exploration of Buddhist Meditation, Boston: Shambala AnÄlayo meanwhile argues, that the evidence from the early texts suggest that “contemplation of the impermanent nature of the mental constituents of an absorption takes place before or on emerging from the attainment”.AnÄlayo, Early Buddhist Meditation Studies, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies Barre, Massachusetts USA 2017, p 123Arbel has argued that insight precedes the practice of jhana.{{sfn|Arbel|2016}}Vipassana movement
{{See also|Vipassana movement}}Particularly influential from the twentieth century onward has been the Burmese Vipassana movement, especially the “New Burmese Method” or “VipassanÄ School” approach to samatha and vipassanÄ developed by Mingun Sayadaw and U NÄrada and popularized by Mahasi Sayadaw. Here samatha is considered an optional but not necessary component of the practiceâvipassanÄ is possible without it. Another Burmese method popularized in the west, notably that of Pa-Auk sayadaw Bhaddanta Äciá¹á¹a, uphold the emphasis on samatha explicit in the commentarial tradition of the Visuddhimagga. Other Burmese traditions, derived from Ledi Sayadaw via Sayagyi U Ba Khin and popularized in the west by Mother Sayamagyi and S. N. Goenka, takes a similar approach. These Burmese traditions have been influential on Western Theravada-oriented teachers, notably Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg and Jack Kornfield.There are also other less well known Burmese meditation methods, such as the system developed by U Vimala, which focuses on knowledge of dependent origination and cittanupassana (mindfulness of the mind).Crosby, Kate (2013). Theravada Buddhism: Continuity, Diversity, and Identity. John Wiley & Sons. {{ISBN|9781118323298}} Likewise, Sayadaw U Tejaniya’s method also focuses on mindfulness of the mind.Thai Forest tradition
{{See also|Kammaá¹á¹hÄna}}Also influential is the Thai Forest Tradition deriving from Mun Bhuridatta and popularized by Ajahn Chah, which, in contrast, stresses the inseparability of the two practices, and the essential necessity of both practices. Other noted practitioners in this tradition include Ajahn Thate and Ajahn Maha Bua, among others.Tiyavanich K. Forest Recollections: Wandering Monks in Twentieth-Century Thailand. University of Hawaii Press, 1997. There are other forms of Thai Buddhist meditation associated with particular teachers, including Buddhadasa Bhikkhu’s presentation of anapanasati, Ajahn Lee’s breath meditation method (which influenced his American student Thanissaro) and the “dynamic meditation” of Luangpor Teean Cittasubho.Newell, Catherine. Two Meditation Traditions from Contemporary Thailand: A Summary Overview, Rian Thai : International Journal of Thai Studies Vol. 4/2011Other forms
There are other less mainstream forms of Theravada meditation practiced in Thailand which include the vijja dhammakaya meditation developed by Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro and the meditation of former supreme patriarch Suk Kai Thuean (1733â1822). Newell notes that these two forms of modern Thai meditation share certain features in common with tantric practices such as the use of visualizations and centrality of maps of the body.A less common type of meditation is practiced in Cambodia and Laos by followers of BorÄn kammaá¹á¹hÄna (’ancient practices’) tradition. This form of meditation includes the use of mantras and visualizations.SarvÄstivÄda
{{See also|DhyÄna sutras}}The now defunct SarvÄstivÄda tradition, and its related sub-schools like the SautrÄntika and the VaibhÄá¹£ika, were the most influential Buddhists in North India and Central Asia. Their highly complex Abhidharma treatises, such as the Mahavibhasa, the Sravakabhumi and the Abhidharmakosha, contain new developments in meditative theory which had a major influence on meditation as practiced in East Asian Mahayana and Tibetan Buddhism. Individuals known as yogÄcÄras (yoga practitioners) were influential in the development of SarvÄstivÄda meditation praxis, and some modern scholars such as Yin Shun believe they were also influential in the development of Mahayana meditation.Suen, Stephen, Methods of spiritual praxis in the SarvÄstivÄda: A Study Primarily Based on the Abhidharma-mahÄvibhÄá¹£Ä, The University of Hong Kong 2009, p. 67. The DhyÄna sutras ({{zh|c=禪çµ}}) or “meditation summaries” ({{zh|c=禪è¦}}) are a group of early Buddhist meditation texts which are mostly based on the Yogacara{{refn|group=note|To be distinguished from the Mahayana Yogacara school, though they may have been a precursor.}} meditation teachings of the SarvÄstivÄda school of Kashmir circa 1st-4th centuries CE, which focus on the concrete details of the meditative practice of the Yogacarins of northern Gandhara and Kashmir. Most of the texts only survive in Chinese and were key works in the development of the Buddhist meditation practices of Chinese Buddhism.According to K.L. Dhammajoti, the SarvÄstivÄda meditation practitioner begins with samatha meditations, divided into the fivefold mental stillings, each being recommended as useful for particular personality types:- contemplation on the impure (asubhabhavana), for the greedy type person.
- meditation on loving kindness (maitri), for the hateful type
- contemplation on conditioned co-arising, for the deluded type
- contemplation on the division of the dhatus, for the conceited type
- mindfulness of breathing (anapanasmrti), for the distracted type.Bhikkhu KL Dhammajoti, SarvÄstivÄda-Abhidharma, Centre of Buddhist Studies The University of Hong Kong 2007, p. 575-576.
- counting the breaths up to ten,
- following the breath as it enters through the nose throughout the body,
- fixing the mind on the breath,
- observing the breath at various locations,
- modifying is related to the practice of the four applications of mindfulness and
- purifying stage of the arising of insight.Suen, Stephen, Methods of spiritual praxis in the SarvÄstivÄda: A Study Primarily Based on the Abhidharma-mahÄvibhÄá¹£Ä, The University of Hong Kong 2009, p. 191.
Indian MahÄyÄna Buddhism
File:Muchaku Hokuendo Kofukuji 2.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Asaá¹ ga, a Mahayana scholar who wrote numerous works and is believed to have contributed to the development of the YogÄcÄrabhÅ«miYogÄcÄrabhÅ«miMahÄyÄna practice is centered on the path of the bodhisattva, a being which is aiming for full Buddhahood. Meditation (dhyÄna) is one of the transcendent virtues (paramitas) which a bodhisattva must perfect in order to reach Buddhahood, and thus, it is central to MahÄyÄna Buddhist praxis.Indian MahÄyÄna Buddhism was initially a network of loosely connected groups and associations, each drawing upon various Buddhist texts, doctrines and meditation methods.JOURNAL, Drewes, David, Early Indian Mahayana Buddhism I: Recent Scholarship, Religion Compass, 4, 2, 2010, 55â65, 10.1111/j.1749-8171.2009.00195.x, Because of this, there is no single set of Indian MahÄyÄna practices which can be said to apply to all Indian MahÄyÄnists, nor is there is a single set of texts which were used by all of them.Textual evidence shows that many MahÄyÄna Buddhists in northern India as well as in Central Asia practiced meditation in a similar way to that of the SarvÄstivÄda school outlined above. This can be seen in what is probably the most comprehensive and largest Indian MahÄyÄna treatise on meditation practice, the YogÄcÄrabhÅ«mi-ÅÄstra (compiled c. 4th century), a compendium which explains in detail YogÄcÄra meditation theory, and outlines numerous meditation methods as well as related advice.Delenau, Florin, Buddhist Meditation in the Bodhisattvabhumi, 2013 Among the topics discussed are the various early Buddhist meditation topics such as the four dhyÄnas, the different kinds of samÄdhi, the development of insight (vipaÅyanÄ) and tranquility (Åamatha), the four foundations of mindfulness (smá¹tyupasthÄna), the five hindrances (nivaraá¹a), and classic Buddhist meditations such as the contemplation of unattractiveness (aÅubhasaá¹jnÄ), impermanence (anitya), suffering (duḥkha), and contemplation death (maraá¹asaá¹jñÄ).Ulrich Timme Kragh (editor), The Foundation for Yoga Practitioners: The Buddhist YogÄcÄrabhÅ«mi Treatise and Its Adaptation in India, East Asia, and Tibet, Volume 1 Harvard University, Department of South Asian studies, 2013, pp. 51, 60 - 230. Other works of the YogÄcÄra school, such as Asaá¹ ga’s Abhidharmasamuccaya, and Vasubandhu’s MadhyÄntavibhÄga-bhÄsya also discuss classic meditation topics such as mindfulness, smá¹tyupasthÄna, the 37 wings to awakening, and samadhi.{{citation|last=Sujato|first=Bhante|author-link=Bhante Sujato|title=A History of Mindfulness|publisher=Santipada|year=2012|url=http://santifm.org/santipada/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/A_History_of_Mindfulness_Bhikkhu_Sujato.pdf|isbn=9781921842108|pages=363â4}} Some MahÄyÄna sutras also teach early Buddhist meditation practices. For example, the MahÄratnakÅ«á¹a SÅ«tra and the MahÄprajñÄpÄramitÄ SÅ«tra both teach the four foundations of mindfulness.{{citation|last=Sujato|first=Bhante|author-link=Bhante Sujato|title=A History of Mindfulness|publisher=Santipada|year=2012|url=http://santifm.org/santipada/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/A_History_of_Mindfulness_Bhikkhu_Sujato.pdf|isbn=9781921842108|page=356}}In the PrajñÄpÄramitÄ literature
The PrajñÄpÄramitÄ Sutras are some of the earliest MahÄyÄna sutras. Their teachings center on the bodhisattva path (viz. the paramitas), the most important of which is the perfection of transcendent knowledge or prajñÄpÄramitÄ. In the PrajñÄpÄramitÄ Sutras, prajñÄpÄramitÄ is described as a kind of samÄdhi (meditative absorption) which is also a deep understanding of reality arising from meditative insight that is totally non-conceptual and completely unattached to any person, thing or idea. The Aá¹£á¹asÄhasrikÄ PrajñÄpÄramitÄ, possibly the earliest of these texts, also equates prajñÄpÄramitÄ with what it terms the aniyato (unrestricted) samÄdhi, “the samÄdhi of not taking up (aparigá¹hÄ«ta) any dharma”, and “the samÄdhi of not grasping at (anupÄdÄna) any dharma” (as a self).Orsborn, Matthew Bryan. “Chiasmus in the Early PrajñÄpÄramitÄ: Literary Parallelism Connecting Criticism & Hermeneutics in an Early MahÄyÄna SÅ«tra”, University of Hong Kong, 2012, pp. 181-182, 188. According to Shi Huifeng, this meditative concentration:entails not only not clinging to the five aggregates as representative of all phenomena, but also not clinging to the very notion of the five aggregates, their existence or non-existence, their impermanence or eternality, their being dissatisfactory or satisfactory, their emptiness or self-hood, their generation or cessation, and so forth with other antithetical pairs. To so mistakenly perceive the aggregates is to “course in a sign” (nimite carati; xÃng xiÄng è¡ç¸), i.e. to engage in the signs and conceptualization of phenomena, and not to course in PrajñÄpÄramitÄ. Even to perceive of oneself as a bodhisattva who courses, or the PrajñÄpÄramitÄ in which one courses, are likewise coursing in signs.Huifeng Shi, An Annotated English Translation of KumÄrajÄ«va’s XiaÅpÄn PrajñÄpÄramitÄ SÅ«tra, Asian Literature and Translation ISSN 2051-5863 {{doi|10.18573/issn.2051-5863}} Vol 4, No. 1, 2017, 187-238.PrajñÄpÄramitÄ is closely associated with the practice of the three samÄdhis (trayaḥ samÄdhyaḥ): emptiness (ÅÅ«nyatÄ), signlessness (animitta), and wishlessness or desirelessness (apraá¹ihita).Akira Hirakawa, A History of Indian Buddhism: From ÅÄkyamuni to Early MahÄyÄna, Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1993, p. 301. These three are found in early Buddhism as the three gates of liberation (triá¹i vimoká¹£amukhÄni). The Pañcaviá¹ÅatisÄhasrikÄ prajñÄpÄramitÄ describes these three contemplations as follows:The focused state (sthiti) of mind examining all phenomena as being empty of individual characteristics is called the gate of liberation [through] emptiness, [or] the contemplation of emptiness. The focused state of mind examining all phenomena as being without [distinctive] signs [or: characteristics] is called the gate of liberation [through] signlessness, [or] the contemplation of signlessness. The focused state of mind examining all phenomena as being un[worthy of] desire [or: of directing one’s attention to them] is called the gate of liberation [through] desirelessness, [or] the contemplation of desirelessness.Delenau, Florin. Mind Only and Beyond: History of Yogacara Meditation, 2010, p. 62. Lectures Series (Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies).These three samadhis are also described in the MahÄprajñÄpÄramitÅpadeÅa (Ch. Dà zhìdù lùn), chapter X.WEB, 2001, Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra by Gelongma Karma Migme Chödrön,www.wisdomlib.org/buddhism/book/maha-prajnaparamita-sastra/d/doc225093.html, Wisdom Library, Another key element of the practice of meditation in the PrajñÄpÄramitÄ texts is the fact that a bodhisattva must be careful while practicing these meditations to “not realize them” (na sÄká¹£Ätkaroti), i.e. they must take care not to attain enlightenment prematurely and thus become an arhat.Delenau, Florin. Mind Only and Beyond: History of Yogacara Meditation, 2010, p. 63. Lectures Series (Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies). This would entail a failure to stay on the bodhisattva path to full Buddhahood and to fall into the lesser vehicle (hinayana). To stay on the path of the bodhisattva while also practicing these powerful meditations, the bodhisattva must base themselves on universal friendliness (maitrÄ«) directed towards all living beings and on bodhicitta (the intention to become a Buddha for the sake of all beings). As the Aá¹£á¹adaÅasÄhasrikÄ statesHe does not cling to the disciples’ level or the level of Solitary Buddhas. On the contrary, it occurs to him, ‘Having intently practised the perfection of contemplation, my duty here [in this world] is to liberate all beings from the cycle of rebirths.’Innovative meditation methods
file:Western Paradise of the Buddha Amitabha, Hebei province, Fengfeng, southern Xiangtangshan Cave Temples, Cave 2, Northern Qi dynasty, 550-577 AD, limestone with traces of pigment - Freer Gallery of Art - DSC05703.JPG|thumb|Buddhafield of Buddha Amitabha, Xiangtangshan Caves, HebeiHebeiVarious Indian MahÄyÄna texts show new innovative methods which were unique to MahÄyÄna Buddhism. Texts such as the Pure Land sutras, the Aká¹£obhya-vyÅ«ha SÅ«tra and the Pratyutpanna SamÄdhi SÅ«tra teach meditations on a particular Buddha (such as AmitÄbha or Akshobhya). Through the repetition of their name or some other phrase and certain visualization methods, one is said to be able to meet a Buddha face to face or at least to be reborn in a Buddha field (also known as “Pure land“) like Abhirati and Sukhavati after death.Skilton, Andrew. A Concise History of Buddhism. 1997. p. 104JOURNAL, Drewes, David, Early Indian Mahayana Buddhism II: New Perspectives, Religion Compass, 4, 2, 2010, 66â74, 10.1111/j.1749-8171.2009.00193.x, The Pratyutpanna sutra for example, states that if one practices recollection of the Buddha (BuddhÄnusmá¹ti) by visualizing a Buddha in their Buddha field and developing this samadhi for some seven days, one may be able to meet this Buddha in a vision or a dream so as to learn the Dharma from them.Williams, Paul. Mahayana Buddhism the doctrinal foundations, 2nd edition, 2009, p. 40. Alternatively, being reborn in one of their Buddha fields allows one to meet a Buddha and study directly with them, allowing one to reach Buddhahood faster. A set of sutras known as the Visualization Sutras also depict similar innovative practices using mental imagery. These practices been seen by some scholars as a possible explanation for the source of certain MahÄyÄna sutras which are seen traditionally as direct visionary revelations from the Buddhas in their pure lands.Williams, Paul, Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, Routledge, 2008, p. 40-41.File:Incantation to the Blue-throated Avalokitesvara (NÄ«lakaá¹á¹ha DhÄraá¹Ä«).jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|The NÄ«lakaá¹á¹ha DhÄraá¹Ä« written in two languages â Sanskrit and central Asian Sogdian ]]Another popular Mahayana practice was the memorization and recitation of various texts, such as sutras, mantras and dharanis. According to Akira Hirakawa, the practice of reciting dharanis (chants or incantations) became very important in Indian MahÄyÄna.Akira Hirakawa, A History of Indian Buddhism: From ÅÄkyamuni to Early MahÄyÄna, Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1993, p. 300. These chants were believed to have “the power to preserve good and prevent evil”, as well as being useful to attain meditative concentration or samadhi. Important MahÄyÄna sutras such as the Lotus Sutra, Heart Sutra and others prominently include dharanis.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=0ExNmHIACskC, The Weaving of Mantra: Kûkai and the Construction of Esoteric Buddhist Discourse, Ryûichi Abé, Columbia University Press, 1999, 978-0-231-52887-0, 164â168, BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=AdtYxZoG228C&pg=PA56, Ruthless Compassion: Wrathful Deities in Early Indo-Tibetan Esoteric Buddhist Art, Robert N. Linrothe, Serindia Publications, 1999, 978-0-906026-51-9, 56â59, Ryûichi Abé states that dharanis are also prominent in the PrajñÄpÄramitÄ Sutras wherein the Buddha “praises dharani incantation, along with the cultivation of samadhi, as virtuous activity of a bodhisattva”. They are also listed in the MahÄprajñÄpÄramitÅpadeÅa, chapter X, as an important quality of a bodhisattva.Later YogÄcÄra sources also indicate that Mahayanists had begun to see their meditation methods as unique and different from ÅrÄvakayÄnist (i.e. non-Mahayana Buddhists) methods. For example, the Saá¹dhinirmocanasÅ«tra criticizes certain early Buddhist meditations as not suitable for Mahayanists, who instead focus their meditation on the true nature of things (suchness, tathatÄ).Keenan, John (2000), Scripture on the Explication of the Underlying Meaning, p. 56. Berkeley: Numata Center, ISBN 1886439109 The Äryasaá¹dhinirmocanabhÄá¹£ya, a commentary attributed to Asaá¹ ga, comments: In the ÅrÄvakayÄna, one thoroughly knows (*parijÄnÄti) the Truth of Suffering, and so on [i.e. the other Truths], while in the MahÄyÄna, one thoroughly knows [the Truths] through Suchness (*tathatÄ), etc.’Delenau, Florin. Mind Only and Beyond: History of Yogacara Meditation, 2010, p. 30. Lectures Series (Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies).According to Florin Delenau, “the text contrasts, I believe, the ÅrÄvakayÄnika analytical, highly reflective approach to the MahÄyÄnika synthetic, ultimately intuitive insight into the essence of the Reality. “A later MahÄyÄna work which discusses meditation practice is Shantideva’s BodhicaryÄvatÄra (8th century) which depicts how a bodhisattva’s meditation was understood in the later period of Indian MahÄyÄna. Shantideva begins by stating that isolating the body and the mind from the world (i.e. from discursive thoughts) is necessary for the practice of meditation, which must begin with the practice of tranquility (Åamatha).Takeuchi Yoshinori (editor), Buddhist Spirituality: Indian, Southeast Asian, Tibetan, and Early Chinese, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1995, pp. 61-62. He promotes classic practices like meditating on corpses and living in forests, but these are preliminary to the MahÄyÄna practices which initially focus on generating bodhicitta, a mind intent on awakening for the benefit of all beings. An important of part of this practice is to cultivate and practice the understanding that oneself and other beings are actually the same, and thus all suffering must be removed, not just “mine”. This meditation is termed by Shantideva “the exchange of self and other” and it is seen by him as the apex of meditation, since it simultaneously provides a basis for ethical action and cultivates insight into the nature of reality, i.e. emptiness.Another late Indian MahÄyÄna meditation text is KamalaÅÄ«la’s BhÄvanÄkrama (“stages of meditation”, 9th century), which teaches insight (vipaÅyanÄ) and tranquility (Åamatha) from a YogÄcÄra-Madhyamaka perspective.Adam, Martin T. Meditation and the Concept of Insight in Kamalashila’s Bhavanakramas, 2002.East Asian MahÄyÄna
The meditation forms practiced during the initial stages of Chinese Buddhism did not differ much from those of Indian Mahayana Buddhism, though they did contain developments that could have arisen in Central Asia.The works of the Chinese translator An Shigao (å®ä¸é«, 147-168 CE) are some of the earliest meditation texts used by Chinese Buddhism and their focus is mindfulness of breathing (annabanna å®é£è¬é£). The Chinese translator and scholar Kumarajiva (344â413 CE) transmitted various meditation works, including a meditation treatise titled The SÅ«tra Concerned with SamÄdhi in Sitting Meditation (åç¦ ä¸æ§ç», T.614, K.991) which teaches the SarvÄstivÄda system of fivefold mental stillings.Bhante Dhammadipa, KUMÄRAJĪVA’S MEDITATIVE LEGACY IN CHINA, 2015. These texts are known as the DhyÄna sutras.Deleanu, Florin (1992); Mindfulness of Breathing in the DhyÄna SÅ«tras. Transactions of the International Conference of Orientalists in Japan (TICOJ) 37, 42-57. They reflect the meditation practices of Kashmiri Buddhists, influenced by SarvÄstivÄda and Sautrantika meditation teachings, but also by Mahayana Buddhism.Thich Hang Dat, A REAPPRAISAL OF KUMÄRAJĪVA’S ROLE IN MEDIEVAL CHINESE BUDDHISM: AN EXAMINATION OF KUMÄRAJĪVA’S TRANSLATION TEXT ON “THE ESSENTIAL EXPLANATION OF THE METHOD OF DHYANA”East Asian YogÄcÄra methods
The East Asian YogÄcÄra school or “Consciousness only school” (Ch. WéishÃ-zÅng), known in Japan as the HossÅ school was a very influential tradition of Chinese Buddhism. They practiced several forms of meditation. According to Alan Sponberg, they included a class of visualization exercises, one of which centered on constructing a mental image of the Bodhisattva (and presumed future Buddha) Maitreya in Tusita heaven. A biography the Chinese YogÄcÄra master and translator Xuanzang depicts him practicing this kind of meditation. The goal of this practice seems to have been rebirth in Tusita heaven, so as to meet Maitreya and study Buddhism under him.Gregory, Peter N. (editor), Traditions of Meditation in Chinese Buddhism, University of Hawaii Press, 1986, pp. 23-28.Another method of meditation practiced in Chinese YogÄcÄra is called “the five level discernment of vijñapti-mÄtra” (impressions only), introduced by Xuanzang’s disciple, KuÄ«jÄ« (632â682), which became one of the most important East Asian YogÄcÄra teachings.Gregory, Peter N. (editor), Traditions of Meditation in Chinese Buddhism, University of Hawaii Press, 1986, p. 30. According to Alan Sponberg, this kind of vipasyana meditation was an attempt “to penetrate the true nature of reality by understanding the three aspects of existence in five successive steps or stages”. These progressive stages or ways of seeing (kuan) the world are:Gregory, Peter N. (editor), Traditions of Meditation in Chinese Buddhism, University of Hawaii Press, 1986, pp. 32-34.- “dismissing the false - preserving the real” (ch ‘ien-hsu ts’un-shih)
- “relinquishing the diffuse - retaining the pure” (she-lan liu-ch ‘un)
- “gathering in the extensions - returning to the source” (she-mo kuei-pen)
- “suppressing the subordinate - manifesting the superior” (yin-lueh hsien-sheng)
- “dismissing the phenomenal aspects - realizing the true nature” (ch ‘ien-hsiang cheng-hsing)
Tiantai Åamatha-vipaÅyanÄ
In China it has been traditionally held that the meditation methods used by the Tiantai school are the most systematic and comprehensive of all.Luk, Charles. The Secrets of Chinese Meditation. 1964. p. 110 In addition to its doctrinal basis in Indian Buddhist texts, the Tiantai school also emphasizes use of its own meditation texts which emphasize the principles of Åamatha and vipaÅyanÄ. Of these texts, Zhiyi’s Concise ÅamathavipaÅyanÄ (å°æ¢è¦³), Mohe Zhiguan (æ©è¨¶æ¢è¦³, Sanskrit MahÄÅamathavipaÅyanÄ), and Six Subtle Dharma Gates (å å¦æ³é) are the most widely read in China. Rujun Wu identifies the work MahÄ-Åamatha-vipaÅyanÄ of Zhiyi as the seminal meditation text of the Tiantai school.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=Q79b8T3inIMC, T’ien-t’ai Buddhism and Early MÄdhyamika, Wu, Rujun, University of Hawaii Press, 1993, 978-0-8248-1561-5, Rujun Wu, Regarding the functions of Åamatha and vipaÅyanÄ in meditation, Zhiyi writes in his work Concise Åamatha-vipaÅyanÄ:{{Blockquote|The attainment of NirvÄá¹a is realizable by many methods whose essentials do not go beyond the practice of Åamatha and vipaÅyanÄ. Åamatha is the first step to untie all bonds and vipaÅyanÄ is essential to root out delusion. Åamatha provides nourishment for the preservation of the knowing mind, and vipaÅyanÄ is the skillful art of promoting spiritual understanding. Åamatha is the unsurpassed cause of samÄdhi, while vipaÅyanÄ begets wisdom.Luk, Charles. The Secrets of Chinese Meditation. 1964. p. 111}}The Tiantai school also places a great emphasis on ÄnÄpÄnasmá¹ti, or mindfulness of breathing, in accordance with the principles of Åamatha and vipaÅyanÄ. Zhiyi classifies breathing into four main categories: panting (å), unhurried breathing (風), deep and quiet breathing (æ°£), and stillness or rest (æ¯). Zhiyi holds that the first three kinds of breathing are incorrect, while the fourth is correct, and that the breathing should reach stillness and rest.Luk, Charles. The Secrets of Chinese Meditation. 1964. p. 125 Zhiyi also outlines four kinds of samadhi in his Mohe Zhiguan, and ten modes of practicing vipaÅyanÄ.Esoteric practices in Japanese Tendai
One of the adaptations by the Japanese Tendai school was the introduction of MikkyŠ(esoteric practices) into Tendai Buddhism, which was later named Taimitsu by Ennin. Eventually, according to Tendai Taimitsu doctrine, the esoteric rituals came to be considered of equal importance with the exoteric teachings of the Lotus Sutra. Therefore, by chanting mantras, maintaining mudras, or performing certain meditations, one is able to see that the sense experiences are the teachings of Buddha, have faith that one is inherently an enlightened being, and one can attain enlightenment within this very body. The origins of Taimitsu are found in China, similar to the lineage that Kūkai encountered in his visit to Tang China and SaichŒs disciples were encouraged to study under Kūkai.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=0ExNmHIACskC, The Weaving of Mantra: Kūkai and the Construction of Esoteric Buddhist Discourse, Abe, Ryūichi, Columbia University Press, 2013, 978-0-231-52887-0, 45, Ryuichi Abe,Huayan meditation theory
The Huayan school was a major school of Chinese Buddhism, which also strongly influenced Chan Buddhism. An important element of their meditation theory and practice is what was called the “Fourfold Dharmadhatu” (sifajie, åæ³ç).Fox, Alan. The Practice of Huayan Buddhism,www.fgu.edu.tw/~cbs/pdf/2013%E8%AB%96%E6%96%87%E9%9B%86/q16.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910083143www.fgu.edu.tw/~cbs/pdf/2013%E8%AB%96%E6%96%87%E9%9B%86/q16.pdf |date=2017-09-10 }} Dharmadhatu (æ³ç) is the goal of the bodhisattva’s practice, the ultimate nature of reality or deepest truth which must be known and realized through meditation. According to Fox, the Fourfold Dharmadhatu is “four cognitive approaches to the world, four ways of apprehending reality”. Huayan meditation is meant to progressively ascend through these four “increasingly more holographic perspectives on a single phenomenological manifold.“These four ways of seeing or knowing reality are:- All dharmas are seen as particular separate events or phenomena (shi äº). This is the mundane way of seeing.
- All events are an expression of li (ç, the absolute, principle or noumenon), which is associated with the concepts of shunyata, “One Mind” (yi xin ä¸å¿) and Buddha nature. This level of understanding or perspective on reality is associated with the meditation on “true emptiness”.
- Shi and Li interpenetrate (lishi wuai çäºç¡ç¤), this is illuminated by the meditation on the “non-obstruction of principle and phenomena.”
- All events interpenetrate (shishi wuai äºäºç¡ç¤), “all distinct phenomenal dharmas interfuse and penetrate in all ways” (Zongmi). This is seen through the meditation on “universal pervasion and complete accommodation.”
Pure land Buddhism
File:Amitabha Mantra.png|thumb|Engraving of a Sanskrit dhÄraá¹Ä« for AmitÄbha written in the Siddhaá¹ script. Mogao Caves, Dunhuang, ChinaChinaIn Pure Land Buddhism, repeating the name of AmitÄbha is traditionally a form of mindfulness of the Buddha (Skt. {{IAST|buddhÄnusmá¹ti}}). This term was translated into Chinese as nianfo ({{zh|t=念ä½}}), by which it is popularly known in English. The practice is described as calling the buddha to mind by repeating his name, to enable the practitioner to bring all his or her attention upon that Buddha (samÄdhi).Luk, Charles. The Secrets of Chinese Meditation. 1964. p. 83 This may be done vocally or mentally, and with or without the use of Buddhist prayer beads. Those who practice this method often commit to a fixed set of repetitions per day, often from 50,000 to over 500,000.Repeating the Pure Land Rebirth dhÄraá¹Ä« is another method in Pure Land Buddhism. Similar to the mindfulness practice of repeating the name of AmitÄbha Buddha, this dhÄraá¹Ä« is another method of meditation and recitation in Pure Land Buddhism. The repetition of this dhÄraá¹Ä« is said to be very popular among traditional Chinese Buddhists.Luk, Charles. The Secrets of Chinese Meditation. 1964. p. 84Another practice found in Pure Land Buddhism is meditative contemplation and visualization of AmitÄbha, his attendant bodhisattvas, and the Pure Land. The basis of this is found in the AmitÄyurdhyÄna SÅ«tra (“AmitÄbha Meditation SÅ«tra“).Luk, Charles. The Secrets of Chinese Meditation. 1964. p. 85Chán
missing image!
- Kodo Sawaki Zazen.jpg -
upright=0.8|KÅdÅ Sawaki practicing Zazen
During sitting meditation (åç¦
, Ch. zuòchán, Jp. zazen, Ko. jwaseon), practitioners usually assume a position such as the lotus position, half-lotus, Burmese, or seiza, often using the dhyÄna mudrÄ. Often, a square or round cushion placed on a padded mat is used to sit on; in some other cases, a chair may be used. Various techniques and meditation forms are used in the different Zen traditions. Mindfulness of breathing is a common practice, used to develop mental focus and concentration.Katsuki Sekida, Zen Training: Methods and Philosophy, Shambhala Publications, 2005, p. 60.Another common form of sitting meditation is called “Silent illumination” (Ch. mòzhà o, Jp. mokushÅ). This practice was traditionally promoted by the Caodong school of Chinese Chan and is associated with Hongzhi Zhengjue (1091â1157).Taigen Dan Leighton. Cultivating the Empty Field: The Silent Illumination of Zen Master Hongzhi, Tuttle, 2000, p. 17 In Hongzhi’s practice of “nondual objectless meditation” the mediator strives to be aware of the totality of phenomena instead of focusing on a single object, without any interference, conceptualizing, grasping, goal seeking, or subject-object duality.Taigen Dan Leighton. Cultivating the Empty Field: The Silent Illumination of Zen Master Hongzhi, Tuttle, 2000, pp. 1-2 This practice is also popular in the major schools of Japanese Zen, but especially SÅtÅ, where it is more widely known as Shikantaza (Ch. zhÇguÇn dÇzuò, “Just sitting“).During the Sòng dynasty, a new meditation method was popularized by figures such as Dahui, which was called kanhua chan (“observing the phrase” meditation) which referred to contemplation on a single word or phrase (called the huatou, “critical phrase“) of a gÅng’à n (Koan).{{sfnp|Blyth|1966}} In Chinese Chan and Korean Seon, this practice of “observing the huatou” (hwadu in Korean) is a widely practiced method.Buswell, Robert E. (1991). Tracing Back the Radiance: Chinul’s Korean Way of Zen (Classics in East Asian Buddhism). University of Hawaii Press. pp. 68â69. {{ISBN|0824814274}}.In the Japanese Rinzai school, kÅan introspection developed its own formalized style, with a standardized curriculum of kÅans which must be studies and “passed” in sequence. This process includes standardized questions and answers during a private interview with one’s Zen teacher.Bodiford, William M. (2006). Koan practice. In: “Sitting with Koans”. Ed. John Daido Loori. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, p. 94. KÅan-inquiry may be practiced during zazen (sitting meditation), kinhin (walking meditation), and throughout all the activities of daily life. The goal of the practice is often termed kensho (seeing one’s true nature). KÅan practice is particularly emphasized in Rinzai, but it also occurs in other schools or branches of Zen depending on the teaching line.{{sfnp|Loori|2006}}- Kodo Sawaki Zazen.jpg -
upright=0.8|KÅdÅ Sawaki practicing Zazen
Tantric Buddhism
File:Paubha waumha tara.jpg|thumb|Meditation through the use of complex guided imagery based on Buddhist deities like Tara is a key practice in Vajrayana. Visual aids such as this thangkathangkaFile:Kongokai.jpg|thumb|Diamond Realm (Kongokai) Mandala of the ShingonShingonTantric Buddhism (Esoteric Buddhism or Mantrayana) refers to various traditions which developed in India from the fifth century onwards and then spread to the Himalayan regions and East Asia. In the Tibetan tradition, it is also known as VajrayÄna, while in China it is known as Zhenyan (Ch: çè¨, “true word”, “mantra“), as well as Mìjiao (Esoteric Teaching), MìzÅng (“Esoteric Tradition“) or Tángmì (“Tang Esoterica“). Tantric Buddhism generally includes all of the traditional forms of Mahayana meditation, but its focus is on several unique and special forms of “tantric” or “esoteric” meditation practices, which are seen as faster and more efficacious. These Tantric Buddhist forms are derived from texts called the Buddhist Tantras. To practice these advanced techniques, one is generally required to be initiated into the practice by an esoteric master (Sanskrit: acarya) or guru (Tib. lama) in a ritual consecration called abhiseka (Tib. wang).In Tibetan Buddhism, the central defining form of Vajrayana meditation is Deity Yoga (devatayoga).Power, John; Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, page 271 This involves the recitation of mantras, prayers and visualization of the yidam or deity (usually the form of a Buddha or a bodhisattva) along with the associated mandala of the deity’s Pure Land.Garson, Nathaniel DeWitt; Penetrating the Secret Essence Tantra: Context and Philosophy in the Mahayoga System of rNying-ma Tantra, 2004, p. 37 Advanced Deity Yoga involves imagining yourself as the deity and developing “divine pride”, the understanding that oneself and the deity are not separate. “Yidam” in Tibetan technically means “tight mind” which suggests that the use of a deity as an object of meditation is intended to create total absorption into the meditative experience. Yidam practice focuses on three essential aspects of deities which, in turn, are the three principal aspects of all being: body, speech and mind. Practitioners meditate on the body of the deity, usually visually themselves becoming that body. Chanting mantra becomes the manifestation of enlightened speech with the meditation ultimately aspiring to become Buddha mind. Most tantric practices incorporate these three aspects sequentially or simultaneously. Deity practice should be differentiated from worship of gods in other religions. One way of describing tantric practice is to understand it as a “strong method” for developing an awareness of the true nature of consciousness.Other forms of meditation in Tibetan Buddhism include the Mahamudra and Dzogchen teachings, each taught by the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages of Tibetan Buddhism respectively. The goal of these is to familiarize oneself with the ultimate nature of mind which underlies all existence, the DharmakÄya. There are also other practices such as Dream Yoga, Tummo, the yoga of the intermediate state (at death) or bardo, sexual yoga and chöd. The shared preliminary practices of Tibetan Buddhism are called ngöndro, which involves visualization, mantra recitation, and many prostrations.Chinese esoteric Buddhism focused on a separate set of tantras than Tibetan Buddhism (such as the Mahavairocana Tantra and Vajrasekhara Sutra), and thus their practices are drawn from these different sources, though they revolve around similar techniques such as visualization of mandalas, mantra recitation and use of mudras. This also applies for the Japanese Shingon school and the Tendai school (which, though derived from the Tiantai school, also adopted esoteric practices). In the East Asian tradition of esoteric praxis, the use of mudra, mantra and mandala are regarded as the “three modes of action” associated with the “Three Mysteries” (sanmi ä¸å¯) are seen as the hallmarks of esoteric Buddhism.Orzech, Charles D. (general editor) (2011). Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia. Brill, p. 85.Therapeutic uses of meditation
Meditation based on Buddhist meditation principles has been practiced by people for a long time for the purposes of effecting mundane and worldly benefit.See, for instance, Zongmi’s description of bonpu and gedÅ zen, described further below. Mindfulness and other Buddhist meditation techniques have been advocated in the West by psychologists and expert Buddhist meditation teachers such as Dipa Ma, Anagarika Munindra, ThÃch Nhất Hạnh, Pema Chödrön, Clive Sherlock, Mother Sayamagyi, S. N. Goenka, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, Tara Brach, Alan Clements, and Sharon Salzberg, who have been widely attributed with playing a significant role in integrating the healing aspects of Buddhist meditation practices with the concept of psychological awareness, healing, and well-being. Although mindfulness meditationWEB,marc.ucla.edu/workfiles/pdfs/marc-mindfulness-research-summary.pdf, MARC UCLA, has received the most research attention, loving kindnessJOURNAL, Hutcherson, Cendri, 2008-05-19, Loving-Kindness Meditation Increases Social Connectedness, Emotion, 8, 5, 720â724,www.emmaseppala.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/research-Hutcherson_08_2-1.pdf, 10.1037/a0013237, 10.1.1.378.4164, 18837623, 2017-01-28, 2016-11-18,www.emmaseppala.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/research-Hutcherson_08_2-1.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20161118120450www.emmaseppala.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/research-Hutcherson_08_2-1.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20161118120450www.emmaseppala.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/research-Hutcherson_08_2-1.pdf, dead, (metta) and equanimity (upekkha) meditation are beginning to be used in a wide array of research in the fields of psychology and neuroscience.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}The accounts of meditative states in the Buddhist texts are in some regards free of dogma, so much so that the Buddhist scheme has been adopted by Western psychologists attempting to describe the phenomenon of meditation in general.{{refn|group=note|Michael Carrithers, The Buddha, 1983, pages 33-34. Found in Founders of Faith, Oxford University Press, 1986. The author is referring to Pali literature. See however B. Alan Wallace, The bridge of quiescence: experiencing Tibetan Buddhist meditation. Carus Publishing Company, 1998, where the author demonstrates similar approaches to analyzing meditation within the Indo-Tibetan and Theravada traditions.}} However, it is exceedingly common to encounter the Buddha describing meditative states involving the attainment of such magical powers (Sanskrit á¹ddhi, Pali iddhi) as the ability to multiply one’s body into many and into one again, appear and vanish at will, pass through solid objects as if space, rise and sink in the ground as if in water, walking on water as if land, fly through the skies, touching anything at any distance (even the moon or sun), and travel to other worlds (like the world of Brahma) with or without the body, among other things,WEB,www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn51/sn51.020.than.html, Iddhipada-vibhanga Sutta: Analysis of the Bases of Power, Access to Insight, WEB,www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.02.0.than.html, Samaññaphala Sutta: The Fruits of the Contemplative Life, Access to Insight, WEB,www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.11.0.than.html, Kevatta (Kevaddha) Sutta: To Kevatta, Access to Insight, and for this reason the whole of the Buddhist tradition may not be adaptable to a secular context, unless these magical powers are seen as metaphorical representations of powerful internal states that conceptual descriptions could not do justice to.mindfulness/awareness | Sati (Buddhism)>sati|smá¹ti|念 (nià n)|à½à¾²à½à¼à½à¼ (wylie: dran pa) |
clear comprehension|sampajañña|samprajaña|æ£ç¥å (zhèng zhÄ« lì)|ཤེསà¼à½à½à½²à½à¼ shezhin (shes bzhin) |
vigilance/heedfulness|appamada|apramÄda|ä¸æ¾é¸åº§ (bù fà ng yì zuò)|à½à½à¼à½¡à½¼à½à¼ bakyö (bag yod) |
ardency|atappa|Ätapaḥ|åç (yÇng mÄng)|nyima (nyi ma) |
attention/engagement|manasikara|manaskÄraḥ|å¦çä½æ (rú lÇ zuò yì)|ཡིà½à¼à½£à¼à½à¾±à½ºà½à¼à½à¼ yila jepa (yid la byed pa) |
foundation of mindfulness|satipaá¹á¹hÄna|smá¹tyupasthÄna|å¿µä½ (nià nzhù)|à½à¾²à½à¼à½à¼à½à½ºà¼à½à½¢à¼à½à½à½à¼à½à¼ trenpa neybar zhagpa (dran pa nye bar gzhag pa) |
mindfulness of breathing|ÄnÄpÄnasati|ÄnÄpÄnasmá¹ti|å®é£è¬é£ (Ännà bÄnnà )|à½à½à½´à½à½¦à¼à½à¾²à½à¼à½à¼ wÅ«k trenpa (dbugs dran pa) |
calm abiding/cessation|samatha|Åamatha|æ¢ (zhÇ)|à½à½²à¼à½à½à½¦à¼ shiney (zhi gnas) |
insight/contemplation|vipassanÄ|vipaÅyanÄ|観 (guÄn)|ལྷà½à¼à½à½à½¼à½à¼à¼ (lhag mthong) |
meditative concentration|samÄdhi|samÄdhi|ä¸æ§ (sÄnmèi)|à½à½²à½à¼à½à½ºà¼à½ à½à½²à½à¼ ting-nge-dzin (ting nge dzin) |
meditative absorption|jhÄna | DhyÄna in Buddhism>dhyÄna | Zen>chán)|à½à½¦à½à¼à½à½à½à¼ samten (bsam gtan) |
cultivation|bhÄvanÄ|bhÄvanÄ|ä¿®è¡ (xiÅ«xÃng)| སà¾à½¼à½à¼à½à¼ (sgom pa) |
cultivation of analysis | Vitarka-vicÄra>vitakka and vicÄra|*vicÄra-bhÄvanÄ|å°ä¼ºå¯ (xún sì chá) | à½à½à¾±à½à¼à½¦à¾à½¼à½à¼ (dpyad sgom) |
cultivation of settling|â|*sthÄpya-bhÄvanÄ|â| འà½à½¼à½à¼à½¦à¾à½¼à½à¼ jokgom (’jog sgom) |
See also
{{div col}}- General Buddhist practices:
- Mindfulness â awareness in the present moment
- Satipatthana - Four Foundations of Mindfulness, based on Satipaá¹á¹hÄna Sutta
- Anapanasati â focusing on the breath, reference to ÄnÄpÄnasati Sutta
- Theravada Buddhist meditation practices:
- Samatha â calm-abiding, which steadies, composes, unifies and concentrates the mind
- VipassanÄ â insight, which enables one to see, explore and discern “formations” (conditioned phenomena based on the five aggregates)
- Satipatthana â Mindfulness of body, sensations, mind and mental phenomena
- Brahmavihara â including loving-kindness (Metta), compassion (Karuá¹Ä), sympathetic joy (Mudita) and equanimity (Upekkha)
- BuddhÄnussati â meditation on the nine Noble Qualities of Lord Buddha
- Patikkulamanasikara
- Kammaá¹á¹hÄna
- Mahasati Meditation
- Dhammakaya Meditation
- Zen Buddhist meditation practices:
- Shikantaza â just sitting
- Kinhin
- Zazen
- Koan
- Hua Tou
- Suizen (historically practiced by the Fuke sect)
- Vajrayana and Tibetan Buddhist meditation practices:
- Deity yoga
- Ngondro â preliminary practices
- Tonglen â giving and receiving
- Phowa â transference of consciousness at the time of death
- Chöd â cutting through fear by confronting it
- Mahamudra â the Kagyu version of ‘entering the all-pervading Dharmadatu’, the ‘nondual state’, or the ‘absorption state’
- Dzogchen â the natural state, the Nyingma version of Mahamudra
- Tantra techniques
- Proper floor-sitting postures and supports while meditating:
- Floor sitting: cross-legged (full lotus, half lotus, Burmese) or seiza
- Cushions: zafu, zabuton
- Traditional Buddhist texts on meditation:
- Anapanasati Sutta (in the Pali Nikayas) and parallels in the Ägamas (ÄnÄpÄnasmá¹ti SÅ«tra)
- Satipatthana Sutta (in the Pali Nikayas) and its parallel in the Ägamas (Smá¹tyupasthÄna SÅ«tra)
- Upajjhatthana Sutta (in the Pali Nikayas)
- KÄyagatÄsati Sutta (in the Pali Nikayas)
- Buddhaghosa’s Visuddhimagga (’The path of Purification’), used in Theravada Buddhism
- YogÄcÄrabhÅ«mi-ÅÄstra (Treatise on the Stages of Yoga), a classic north Indian compendium on meditation used by the Indian YogÄcÄra school, remains influential in East Asian Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism used in Tibetan Buddhism
- Zhiyi’s Great Concentration and Insight (Mohe Zhiguan) â used in the Chinese Tiantai school
- Seventeen tantras â Major Tibetan Dzogchen texts.
- The Wangchuk Dorje’s ”Ocean of Definitive Meaning”, major text on Tibetan Mahamudra meditation in the Kagyu school.
- Dakpo Tashi Namgyal’s ”Mahamudra: The Moonlight â Quintessence of Mind and Meditation”
- Fukan-zazengi (Advice on Zazen) â By Dogen, used in the Japanese Soto Zen school.
- Traditional preliminary practices to Buddhist meditation:
- Taking refuge in the Triple Gem
- Five Precepts
- Eight Precepts
- Awgatha
- Gadaw
- prostrations (also see Ngondro)
- Western mindfulness
- Mindfulness (psychology) â Western applications of Buddhist ideas
- Analog in Vedas:
- Analog in Taoism:
Notes
{{Reflist|group=note|30em}}References
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year =2008 publisher =Asoka}} - {{Citation | last =Fuller-Sasaki | first =Ruth | year =2008 | title =The Record of Lin-Ji | publisher =University of Hawaii Press}}
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- {{Citation | last1 =Guenther | first1 =Herbert V. | last2 =Kawamura | first2 =Leslie S. | year =1975 | title =Mind in Buddhist Psychology: A Translation of Ye-shes rgyal-mtshan’s “The Necklace of Clear Understanding” | publisher =Dharma Publishing | edition =Kindle}}
- {{Citation | last =Johansson | first =Rune Edvin Anders | year =1981 | title =Pali Buddhist Texts: Explained to the Beginner | publisher =Psychology Press}}
- {{Citation | last =Kamalashila | year =2003 | title =Meditation: The Buddhist art of tranquility and insight | publisher =Birmingham: Windhorse Publications}}
- {{Citation | last = Kuan | first =Tse-fu | year =2008 | title =Mindfulness in Early Buddhism: New Approaches through Psychology and Textual Analysis of PÄli, Chinese and Sanskrit Sources | publisher =Routledge | isbn =978-0-415-43737-0}}
- {{Citation | last =Kunsang | first =Erik Pema | year =2004 | title =Gateway to Knowledge, Vol. 1 | publisher =North Atlantic Books}}
- {{Citation |last = Lachs |first = Stuart |year = 2006 |title = The Zen Master in America: Dressing the Donkey with Bells and Scarves |url =www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/CriticalZen/Zen_Master_in_America.html }}
- {{Citation |last = Loori |first = John Daido |year = 2006 |title = Sitting with Koans: Essential Writings on Zen Koan Introspection |place= Somerville, MA |publisher = Wisdom Publications |isbn = 0-86171-369-9}}
- {{Citation | last =Lusthaus | first =Dan | year =2002 | title =Buddhist Phenomenology: A Philosophical Investigation of Yogacara Buddhism and the Ch’eng Wei-shih Lun | publisher =Routledge}}
- {{Citation | last1 =Maezumi | first1 =Taizan | last2 =Cook | first2 =Francis Dojun | year =2007 | chapter =The Eight Awarenesses of the Enlightened Person”: Dogen Zenji’s Hachidainingaku | editor-last1 =Maezumi | editor-first1 =Taizan | editor-last2 =Glassman | editor-first2 =Bernie | title =The Hazy Moon of Enlightenment | publisher =Wisdom Publications}}
- {{Citation | last =Polak | first = Grzegorz | year =2011 | title =Reexamining Jhana: Towards a Critical Reconstruction of Early Buddhist Soteriology | publisher =UMCS}}
- {{Citation | editor-last1 =Rhys-Davids | editor-first1 =T.W. | editor-last2 =Stede | editor-first2 =William | year =1921â25 | title =The Pali Text Society’s PaliâEnglish dictionary | publisher =Pali Text Society) | url =https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.3:1:1489.pali }}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
- {{Citation | last1 =Sangpo | first1 =Gelong Lodro | last2 =Dhammajoti | first2 =Bhikkhu K.L. | year =2012 | title =Abhidharmakosa-Bhasya of Vasubandhu: Volume 3 | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass}}
- {{Citation | last =Sarbacker | first =Stuart Ray | year =2021 | title =Tracing the Path of Yoga: The History and Philosophy of Indian Mind-Body Discipline | publisher =State University of New York Press}}
- {{Citation | last =Schmithausen | first =Lambert | year =1981 | title =On some Aspects of Descriptions or Theories of ‘Liberating Insight’ and ‘Enlightenment’ in Early Buddhism”. In: Studien zum Jainismus und Buddhismus (Gedenkschrift für Ludwig Alsdorf), hrsg. von Klaus Bruhn und Albrecht Wezler, Wiesbaden 1981, 199â250}}
- {{Citation | last =Shankman | first =Richard | year =2008 | title =The Experience of Samadhi: An In-depth Exploration of Buddhist Meditation | publisher =Shambhala}}
- {{Citation | last =Shaw | first =Sarah | year =2006 | title =Buddhist Meditation: An Anthology of Texts from the Pali Canon | publisher =Routledge}}
- {{Citation | last =Stuart-Fox | first =Martin | year =1989 |title =Jhana and Buddhist Scholasticism | journal =Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies |volume=12 |issue=2}}
- {{Citation|last=Sujato|first=Bhante|author-link=Bhante Sujato|year=2012|title=A History of Mindfulness|url=http://santifm.org/santipada/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/A_History_of_Mindfulness_Bhikkhu_Sujato.pdf|publisher=Santipada|isbn=9781921842092}}
- {{Citation | last =Vetter | first =Tilmann | year =1988 | title =The Ideas and Meditative Practices of Early Buddhism | publisher =BRILL}}
- {{Citation | last =Wayman | first =Alex | year =1997 | chapter =Introduction | title =Calming the Mind and Discerning the Real: Buddhist Meditation and the Middle View, from the Lam Rim Chen Mo Tson-kha-pa | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass Publishers}}
- {{Citation | last =Wynne | first =Alexander | year =2007 | title =The Origin of Buddhist Meditation | publisher = Routledge}}
Further reading
- Scholarly (general overview)
- Gethin, Rupert (1998). The Foundations of Buddhism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-289223-1}}
- Scholarly (origins)
- {{Citation|ref=none | last =Stuart-Fox | first =Martin | year =1989 | title =Jhana and Buddhist Scholasticism | journal =Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies |volume=12 |issue=2}}
- {{Citation|ref=none | last =Bucknell | first =Robert S. | year =1993 | title =Reinterpreting the Jhanas | journal =Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies |volume=16 |issue=2 }}
- {{Citation|ref=none | last =Vetter | first =Tilmann | year =1988 | title =The Ideas and Meditative Practices of Early Buddhism | publisher =BRILL}}
- {{Citation|ref=none | last =Bronkhorst | first =Johannes | author-link = Johannes Bronkhorst | year =1993 | title=The Two Traditions Of Meditation In Ancient India | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass Publ.}}
- Traditional Theravada
- Gunaratana, Henepola (1988), The Jhanas in Theravada Buddhist Meditation (Wheel No. 351/353). Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society. {{ISBN|955-24-0035-X}}.
- Burmese Vipassana Movement
- Nyanaponika Thera (1996), The Heart of Buddhist Meditation. York Beach, ME: Samuel Weiser, Inc. {{ISBN|0-87728-073-8}}.
- Hart, William (1987), The Art of Living: Vipassana Meditation: As Taught by S.N. Goenka. HarperOne. {{ISBN|0-06-063724-2}}
- Thai Forest Tradition
- Brahm, Ajahn (2006), Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond: A Meditator’s Handbook. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications. {{ISBN|0-86171-275-7}}
- Ajahn Amaro (2017), The Breakthrough, based upon talks and meditation instructions during retreat at Amaravati
- Thanissaro Bhikkhu, Wings to Awakening, a study of the factors taught by Gautama Buddha as being essential for awakening
- Other Thai traditions
- Buddhadasa, Heartwood of the Bodhi Tree
- Re-assessing jhana
- {{citation|ref=none | last =Quli | first =Natalie | year =2008 | title =Multiple Buddhist Modernisms: Jhana in Convert Theravada | journal =Pacific World 10:225â249 | url =www.leighb.com/Jhana_in_Theravada_Quli.pdf}}
- {{Citation|ref=none | last =Shankman | first =Richard | year =2008 | title =The Experience of Samadhi: An In-depth Exploration of Buddhist Meditation | publisher =Shambhala}}
- {{Citation|ref=none | last =Arbel | first=Keren | year=2017 | title=Early Buddhist Meditation: The Four Jhanas as the Actualization of Insight | publisher=Taylor & Francis | doi =10.4324/9781315676043 | isbn =9781317383994 |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781317383994}}
- Zen
- Hakuin, Hakuin on Kensho. The Four Ways of Knowing. Shambhala
- Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind
- Kapleau, Phillip (1989), The Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice and Enlightenment. NY: Anchor Books. {{ISBN|0-385-26093-8}}
- Tibetan Buddhism
- Mipham, Sakyong (2003). Turning the Mind into an Ally. NY: Riverhead Books. {{ISBN|1-57322-206-2}}.
- Buddhist modernism
- Jack Kornfield, A Path With Heart
- Goldstein, Joseph (2003). One Dharma: The Emerging Western Buddhism. NY: HarperCollins Publishers. {{ISBN|0-06-251701-5}}
- Mindfulness
- Kabat-Zinn, Jon (2001). Full Catastrophe Living. NY: Dell Publishing. {{ISBN|0-385-30312-2}}
External links
{{Commons category}} {{Buddhism topics}}{{Meditation}}{{Authority control}}
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