Practice of meditation in Buddhism
Buddhist meditation
is the practice of
meditation
in
Buddhism
. The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are
bh?van?
("mental development")
[note 1]
and
jh?na/dhy?na
(mental training resulting in a calm and
luminous mind
).
[note 2]
Buddhists
pursue meditation as part of the path toward
liberation
from defilements (
kleshas
) and clinging and craving (
up?d?na
), also called
awakening
, which results in the attainment of
Nirvana
,
[note 3]
and includes a variety of meditation techniques, most notably
anapanasati
(mindfulness of breathing). Other techniques include
asubha bhavana
("reflections on repulsiveness");
[1]
reflection on
pratityasamutpada
(dependent origination);
anussati
(recollections, including
anapanasati
) and
sati
(mindfulness), culminating in
dhyana
(developing an alert and
luminous mind
);
[4]
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
vipassan?
(insight); and are also said to lead to
abhijn?
(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,
[note 4]
while Mahayana Buddhism stresses the interplay between
samatha
and
vipassana
.
[6]
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").
[note 5]
Etymology
[
edit
]
The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are
bh?van?
(mental development)
[note 1]
and
jh?na/dhy?na
.
[note 2]
Possible influence from pre-Buddhist India
[
edit
]
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
.
According to
Indologist
Johannes Bronkhorst
, "the teaching of the Buddha as presented in the early canon contains a number of contradictions,"
presenting "a variety of methods that do not always agree with each other,"
containing "views and practices that are sometimes accepted and sometimes rejected."
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:
The
Vitakkasanth?na Sutta
of the
Majjhima Nik?ya
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
P?li canon
(in the
Mah?saccaka Sutta, Bodhir?jakum?ra Sutta
and
Sa?g?rava Sutta
) in order to describe the futile attempts of the Buddha before his enlightenment to reach liberation after the manner of the
Jainas
.
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
???ra K?l?ma
and
Uddaka R?maputta
, both of them taught
formless
jhanas
or mental absorptions, a key practice of Theravada Buddhist meditation.
[10]
Alexander Wynne considers these figures historical persons associated with the doctrines of the early
Upanishads
.
[11]
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".
According to the early texts, the Buddha rejected the more extreme Jain ascetic practices in favor of the
middle way
.
Pre-sectarian Buddhism
[
edit
]
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
[
edit
]
Meditation and contemplation are preceded by preparatory practices.
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.
[13]
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
.
[note 6]
Sati/smrti
(mindfulness)
[
edit
]
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 (
satipa??h?nas
) 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.
[16]
According to
Bronkhorst
, there were originally two kinds of mindfulness, "observations of the positions of the body" and the
four
satipa??h?nas
, the "establishment of mindfulness," which constituted formal meditation.
[17]
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.
[17]
Bronkhorst (1985) also argues that the earliest form of the satipa??h?na 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.
[note 7]
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.
[note 8]
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.
According to Grzegorz Polak, the four
upassan?
have been misunderstood by the developing Buddhist tradition, including Theravada, to refer to four different foundations. According to Polak, the four
upassan?
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:
- the
six sense-bases
which one needs to be aware of (
k?y?nupassan?
);
- contemplation on
vedan?s
, which arise with the contact between the senses and their objects (
vedan?nupassan?
);
- the altered states of mind to which this practice leads (citt?nupassan?);
- the development from the
five hindrances
to the
seven factors of enlightenment
(
dhamm?nupassan?
).
Anussati
(recollections)
[
edit
]
Anussati
(
P?li
;
Sanskrit
:
Anusmriti
) means "recollection," "contemplation," "remembrance," "meditation" and "mindfulness."
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)
[
edit
]
Asubha bhavana
is reflection on "the foul"/unattractiveness (P?li:
asubha
). It includes two practices, namely cemetery contemplations, and
Pa
?
ikk?lamanasik?ra
, "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
sam?dhi
(concentration,
dhyana
), this form of meditation is considered to be conducive to overcoming desire and lust.
[24]
Anapanasati
(mindfulness of breathing)
[
edit
]
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.
The
?n?p?nasati 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
p?ti
(rapture), then to
passaddhi
(serenity), which in turn leads to
samadhi
(concentration) and then to
upekkh?
(equanimity). Finally, the Buddha taught that, with these factors developed in this progression, the practice of anapanasati would lead to release (Pali:
vimutti
; Sanskrit
mok?a
) from
dukkha
(suffering), in which one realizes
nibbana
.
[
citation needed
]
Dhy?na/jh?na
[
edit
]
Many scholars of early Buddhism, such as Vetter, Bronkhorst and An?layo, see the practice of
jh?na
(Sanskrit: dhy?na) as central to the meditation of Early Buddhism.
[4]
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
).
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.
According to Vetter,
[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".
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
???ra K?l?ma
and
Uddaka R?maputta
, 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".
[27]
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’."
[28]
Four rupa-jhanas
[
edit
]
Qualities
[
edit
]
In the sutras,
jh?na
is entered when one 'sits down cross-legged and establishes mindfulness'. According to Buddhist tradition, it may be supported by
?n?p?nasati
, mindfulness of breathing, a core meditative practice which can be found in almost all schools of Buddhism. The
Suttapi?aka
and the
Agama
s describe four stages of
r?pa jh?na
.
R?pa
refers to the material realm, in a neutral stance, as different from the
k?ma
-realm (lust, desire) and the
ar?pa
-realm (non-material realm).
While interpreted in the Theravada-tradition as describing a deepening concentration and one-pointedness, originally the
jh?nas
seem to describe a development from
investigating body and mind
and
abandoning unwholesome states
, to perfected equanimity and watchfulness,
an understanding which is retained in Zen and Dzogchen.
The stock description of the
jh?nas
, with traditional and alternative interpretations, is as follows:
[note 9]
- First
jh?na
:
- Separated
(
vivicceva
) from desire for sensual pleasures, separated (
vivicca
) from [other]
unwholesome states
(
akusalehi dhammehi
, unwholesome
dhammas
), a
bhikkhu
enters upon and abides in the first
jhana
, which is [mental]
p?ti
("rapture," "joy") and [bodily]
sukha
("pleasure") "born of
viveka
" (traditionally, "seclusion"; alternatively, "discrimination" (of dhamma's)
[note 10]
), accompanied by
vitarka-vicara
(traditionallly, initial and sustained attention to a meditative object; alternatively, initial inquiry and
subsequent investigation
of
dhammas
(
defilements
[37]
and wholesome thoughts
[note 11]
); also: "discursive thought"
[note 12]
).
- Second
jh?na
:
- Again, with the stilling of
vitarka-vicara
, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the second
jhana
, which is [mental]
p?ti
and [bodily]
sukha
"born of
samadhi
" (
samadhi-ji
; trad. born of "concentration"; altern. "knowing but non-discursive [...] awareness,"
"bringing the buried latencies or
samskaras
into full view"
[note 13]
), and has
sampasadana
("stillness,"
"inner tranquility"
[note 14]
) and
ekaggata
(unification of mind,
awareness) without
vitarka-vicara
;
- Third
jh?na
:
- With the fading away of
p?ti
, a bhikkhu abides in
upekkh?
(equanimity," "affective detachment"
[note 15]
),
sato
(mindful) and [with]
sampajanna
("fully knowing,"
"discerning awareness"
). [Still] experiencing
sukha
with the body, he enters upon and abides in the third
jhana
, on account of which the noble ones announce, "abiding in [bodily] pleasure, one is equanimous and mindful".
- Fourth
jh?na
:
- With the abandoning of [the desire for]
sukha
("pleasure") and [aversion to]
dukkha
("pain"
) and with the previous disappearance of [the inner movement between]
somanassa
("gladness,"
) and
domanassa
("discontent"
), a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the fourth
jhana
, which is
adukkham asukham
("neither-painful-nor-pleasurable,"
"freedom from pleasure and pain"
) and has
upekkh?
-
sati
-
parisuddhi
(complete purity of
equanimity
and mindfulness).
[note 16]
Interpretation
[
edit
]
According to Richard Gombrich, the sequence of the four
rupa-jhanas
describes two different cognitive states.
[note 17]
[57]
Alexander Wynne further explains that the
dhyana
-scheme is poorly understood.
According to Wynne, words expressing the inculcation of awareness, such as
sati
,
sampaj?no
, and
upekkh?
, are mistranslated or understood as particular factors of meditative states,
whereas they refer to a particular way of perceiving the sense objects.
[note 18]
[note 19]
Polak notes that the qualities of the
jhanas
resemble the
bojjha?g?
, the seven factors of awakening]], arguing that both sets describe the same essential practice.
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
.
Upekkh?
, 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-vih?ra
, 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.
According to Gombrich, "the Buddha taught that kindness - what Christians tend to call love - was a way to salvation.
Arupas
[
edit
]
In addition to the four
r?pajh?nas
, there are also meditative attainments which were later called by the tradition the
ar?pajh?nas
, though the early texts do not use the term dhyana for them, calling them
?yatana
(dimension, sphere, base). They are:
- The Dimension of infinite space (Pali
?k?s?nanc?yatana
, Skt.
?k???nanty?yatana
),
- The Dimension of infinite consciousness (Pali
vinn??anc?yatana
, Skt.
vijn?n?nanty?yatana
),
- The Dimension of infinite nothingness (Pali
?kincann?yatana
, Skt.
?ki?cany?yatana
),
- The Dimension of neither perception nor non-perception (Pali
nevasann?n?sann?yatana
, Skt.
naivasa?jn?n?sa?jn?yatana
).
- Nirodha-sam?patti
, also called
sann?-vedayita-nirodha,
'extinction of feeling and perception'.
These formless
jhanas
may have been incorporated from non-Buddhist traditions.
Jhana
and insight
[
edit
]
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.
Discriminating insight into transiency as a separate path to liberation may be a later development,
under pressure of developments in Indian religious thinking, which saw "liberating insight" as essential to liberation.
[66]
This may also have been due to an over-literal interpretation by later scholastics of the terminology used by the
Buddha
,
and to the problems involved with the practice of
dhyana
, and the need to develop an easier method.
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
?savas
.
[69]
[70]
Brahmavih?ra
[
edit
]
Another important meditation in the early sources are the four
Brahmavih?ra
(divine abodes) which are said to lead to
cetovimutti
, a “liberation of the mind”.
[71]
The four
Brahmavih?ra
are:
- Loving-kindness
(P?li:
mett?
, Sanskrit:
maitr?
) is active good will towards all;
[72]
[73]
- Compassion
(P?li and Sanskrit:
karu??
) results from
metta
, it is identifying the suffering of others as one's own;
[72]
[73]
- Empathetic joy
(P?li and Sanskrit:
mudit?
): is the feeling of joy because others are happy, even if one did not contribute to it, it is a form of sympathetic joy;
[72]
- Equanimity
(P?li:
upekkh?
, Sanskrit:
upek??
): is even-mindedness and serenity, treating everyone impartially.
[72]
[73]
According to An?layo:
The effect of cultivating the brahmavih?ras as a liberation of the mind finds illustration in a simile which describes a conch blower who is able to make himself heard in all directions. This illustrates how the brahmavih?ras are to be developed as a boundless radiation in all directions, as a result of which they cannot be overruled by other more limited karma.
[74]
The practice of the four divine abodes can be seen as a way to overcome ill-will and sensual desire and to train in the quality of deep concentration (
samadhi
).
[75]
Early Buddhism
[
edit
]
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)
[
edit
]
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:
vipassan?
) which enables one to see, explore and discern "formations" (conditioned phenomena based on the five
aggregates
).
[note 20]
The Buddha is said to have extolled serenity and insight as conduits for attaining
Nibbana
(Pali; Skt.:
Nirvana
), the unconditioned state as in the "Kimsuka Tree Sutta" (SN 35.245), where the Buddha provides an elaborate metaphor in which serenity and insight are "the swift pair of messengers" who deliver the message of Nibbana via the
Noble Eightfold Path
.
[note 21]
In the
Threefold training
,
samatha
is part of
samadhi
, the eight limb of the threefold path, together with
sati
, mindfulness. According to Mah?si Say?daw, tranquility meditation can lead to the attainment of supernatural powers such as psychic powers and mind reading while insight meditation can lead to the realisation of
nibb?na
.
[76]
In the
P?li Canon
, the Buddha never mentions independent samatha and vipassana meditation practices; instead, samatha and vipassana are two
qualities of mind
, to be developed through meditation.
[note 22]
Nonetheless, according to the Theravada tradition some meditation practices (such as contemplation of a
kasina
object) favor the development of samatha, others are conducive to the development of vipassana (such as contemplation of the
aggregates
), while others (such as
mindfulness of breathing
) are classically used for developing both mental qualities.
[77]
In the "Four Ways to Arahantship Sutta" (AN 4.170), Ven.
Ananda
reports that people attain
arahantship
using serenity and insight in one of three ways:
- 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.
[78]
While the Nikayas state that the pursuit of vipassana can precede the pursuit of samatha, according to the Burmese
Vipassana movement
vipassana
be based upon the achievement of stabilizing "access
concentration
" (
Pali
:
upacara samadhi
). According to the Theravada tradition, through the meditative development of serenity, one is able to suppress obscuring
hindrances
; and, with the suppression of the hindrances, it is through the meditative development of
insight
that one gains liberating
wisdom
.
[79]
Therav?da
[
edit
]
Sutta Pitaka and early commentaries
[
edit
]
The oldest material of the
Therav?da
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
[
edit
]
An early Therav?da meditation manual is the
Vimuttimagga
('Path of Freedom', 1st or 2nd century).
[80]
The most influential presentation though, is that of the 5th-century
Visuddhimagga
('Path of Purification') of
Buddhagho?a
, which seems to have been influenced by the earlier Vimuttimagga in his presentation.
[81]
The
Visuddhimagga
's
doctrine reflects Therav?da
Abhidhamma
scholasticism, which includes several innovations and interpretations not found in the earliest discourses (
suttas
) of the Buddha.
[82]
[83]
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.
The text is centered around
kasina
-meditation, a form of concentration-meditation in which the mind is focused on a (mental) object.
[85]
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."
[85]
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."
[85]
The
Visuddhimagga
describes forty meditation subjects, most being described in the early texts.
[86]
Buddhagho?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" (
kaly??a-mittat?
) who is knowledgeable in the different meditation subjects (Ch. III, § 28).
[87]
Buddhagho?a subsequently elaborates on the forty meditation subjects as follows (Ch. III, §104; Chs. IV?XI):
[88]
- 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
:
Buddh?nussati
, 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
:
mett?
,
karu??
,
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
)
When one overlays Buddhaghosa's 40 meditative subjects for the development of concentration with the Buddha's foundations of mindfulness, three practices are found to be in common: breath meditation, foulness meditation (which is similar to the Sattipatthana Sutta's cemetery contemplations, and to contemplation of bodily repulsiveness), and contemplation of the four elements. According to
Pali commentaries
, breath meditation can lead one to the equanimous fourth jhanic absorption. Contemplation of foulness can lead to the attainment of the first jhana, and contemplation of the four elements culminates in pre-jhana access concentration.
[89]
Contemporary Therav?da
[
edit
]
Vipassana and/or samatha
[
edit
]
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.
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,
while the third and fourth
jhana
are characterized by mindfulness and equanimity.
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.
[90]
According to
An?layo
, 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.
[91]
According to An?layo, "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."
[92]
The position that insight can be practiced from within jhana, according to the early texts, is endorsed by Gunaratna, Crangle and Shankaman.
[93]
[94]
[95]
An?layo 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".
[96]
Arbel has argued that insight precedes the practice of
jhana
.
Vipassana movement
[
edit
]
Particularly influential from the twentieth century onward has been the Burmese
Vipassana movement
, especially the "New Burmese Method" or "Vipassan? School" approach to
samatha
and
vipassan?
developed by
Mingun Sayadaw
and
U N?rada
and popularized by
Mahasi Sayadaw
. Here
samatha
is considered an optional but not necessary component of the practice?
vipassan?
is possible without it. Another Burmese method popularized in the west, notably that of
Pa-Auk
sayadaw
Bhaddanta ?ci??a
, 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).
[97]
Likewise,
Sayadaw U Tejaniya
's method also focuses on mindfulness of the mind.
Thai Forest tradition
[
edit
]
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.
[98]
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.
[99]
Other forms
[
edit
]
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 (1733?1822).
[99]
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.
[99]
A less common type of meditation is practiced in Cambodia and Laos by followers of
Bor?n kamma??h?na
('ancient practices') tradition. This form of meditation includes the use of mantras and visualizations.
Sarv?stiv?da
[
edit
]
The now defunct
Sarv?stiv?da
tradition, and its related sub-schools like the
Sautr?ntika
and the
Vaibh??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
yog?c?ras (
yoga
practitioners
)
were influential in the development of
Sarv?stiv?da
meditation praxis, and some modern scholars such as
Yin Shun
believe they were also influential in the development of
Mahayana
meditation.
[100]
The
Dhy?na sutras
(
Chinese
:
禪?
) or "meditation summaries" (
Chinese
:
禪要
) are a group of early Buddhist meditation texts which are mostly based on the Yogacara
[note 23]
meditation teachings of the Sarv?stiv?da 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
.
[1]
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 Sarv?stiv?da 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.
[101]
Contemplation of the impure, and mindfulness of breathing, was particularly important in this system; they were known as the 'gateways to immortality' (
amrta-dv?ra
).
[102]
The Sarv?stiv?da system practiced breath meditation using the same sixteen aspect model used in the
anapanasati sutta
,
but also introduced a unique six aspect system which consists of:
- 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.
[103]
This sixfold breathing meditation method was influential in East Asia, and expanded upon by the Chinese Tiantai meditation master
Zhiyi
.
[101]
After the practitioner has achieved tranquility, Sarv?stiv?da
Abhidharma
then recommends one proceeds to practice the four applications of mindfulness (
smrti-upasth?na
) in two ways. First they contemplate each specific characteristic of the four applications of mindfulness, and then they contemplate all four collectively.
[104]
In spite of this systematic division of
samatha
and
vipasyana
, the Sarv?stiv?da Abhidharmikas held that the two practices are not mutually exclusive. The
Mahavibhasa
for example remarks that, regarding the six aspects of mindfulness of breathing, "there is no fixed rule here ? all may come under
samatha
or all may come under
vipasyana
."
[105]
The Sarv?stiv?da Abhidharmikas also held that attaining the dhy?nas was necessary for the development of insight and wisdom.
[105]
Indian Mah?y?na Buddhism
[
edit
]
Mah?y?na
practice is centered on the path of the
bodhisattva
, a being which is aiming for full
Buddhahood
. Meditation (
dhy?na
) is one of the transcendent virtues (
paramitas
) which a bodhisattva must perfect in order to reach Buddhahood, and thus, it is central to Mah?y?na Buddhist praxis.
Indian Mah?y?na Buddhism was initially a network of loosely connected groups and associations, each drawing upon various
Buddhist texts
, doctrines and meditation methods.
[106]
Because of this, there is no single set of Indian Mah?y?na practices which can be said to apply to all Indian Mah?y?nists, nor is there is a single set of texts which were used by all of them.
Textual evidence shows that many Mah?y?na Buddhists in northern India as well as in
Central Asia
practiced meditation in a similar way to that of the
Sarv?stiv?da
school outlined above. This can be seen in what is probably the most comprehensive and largest Indian
Mah?y?na
treatise on meditation practice, the
Yog?c?rabh?mi-??stra
(compiled c. 4th century), a compendium which explains in detail
Yog?c?ra
meditation theory, and outlines numerous meditation methods as well as related advice
.
[107]
Among the topics discussed are the various early Buddhist meditation topics such as the four
dhy?nas
, the different kinds of
sam?dhi
, the development of insight (
vipa?yan?
) and tranquility (
?amatha
), the
four foundations of mindfulness
(
sm?tyupasth?na
), the five hindrances (
nivara?a
), and classic Buddhist meditations such as the contemplation of unattractiveness (
a?ubhasa?jn?
), impermanence (
anitya
), suffering (
du?kha
), and contemplation death (
mara?asa?jn?
).
[108]
Other works of the
Yog?c?ra
school, such as
Asa?ga
's
Abhidharmasamuccaya
,
and Vasubandhu's
Madhy?ntavibh?ga
-bh?sya
also discuss classic meditation topics such as
mindfulness
,
sm?tyupasth?na
,
the
37 wings to awakening
,
and
samadhi
.
[109]
Some
Mah?y?na sutras
also teach early Buddhist meditation practices. For example, the
Mah?ratnak??a S?tra
and the
Mah?prajn?p?ramit? S?tra
both teach the
four foundations of mindfulness
.
[110]
In the Prajn?p?ramit? literature
[
edit
]
The
Prajn?p?ramit? Sutras
are some of the earliest Mah?y?na sutras. Their teachings center on the bodhisattva path (viz. the
paramitas
), the most important of which is the perfection of transcendent knowledge or
prajn?p?ramit?.
In the
Prajn?p?ramit? Sutras
,
prajn?p?ramit?
is described as a kind of
sam?dhi
(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
A??as?hasrik? Prajn?p?ramit?
,
possibly the earliest of these texts
,
also equates
prajn?p?ramit?
with what it terms the
aniyato
(unrestricted)
sam?dhi,
“the
sam?dhi
of not taking up (
aparig?h?ta
) any dharma”, and “the
sam?dhi
of not grasping at (
anup?d?na
) any dharma” (as a
self
)
.
[111]
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; xing xi?ng
行相), i.e. to engage in the signs and conceptualization of phenomena, and not to course in
Prajn?p?ramit?
. Even to perceive of oneself as a
bodhisattva
who courses, or the
Prajn?p?ramit?
in which one courses, are likewise coursing in signs.
[112]
Prajn?p?ramit?
is closely associated with the practice of the three
sam?dhis
(traya? sam?dhya?)
:
emptiness
(
??nyat?
), signlessness (
animitta
), and wishlessness or desirelessness (
apra?ihita
).
[113]
These three are found in early Buddhism as the three gates of liberation (tri?i vimok?amukh?ni). The
Pancavi??atis?hasrik?
prajn?p?ramit?
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.
[114]
These three
samadhis
are also described in the
Mah?prajn?p?ramit?pade?a
(Ch.
Da zhidu lun
), chapter X.
[115]
Another key element of the practice of meditation in the
Prajn?p?ramit?
texts is the fact that a bodhisattva must be careful while practicing these meditations to "not realize them" (na s?k??tkaroti), i.e. they must take care not to attain enlightenment prematurely and thus become an
arhat
.
[116]
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 (
maitr?
) directed towards all living beings and on
bodhicitta
(the intention to become a Buddha for the sake of all beings).
[116]
As the
A??ada?as?hasrik?
states
He 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.’
[116]
Innovative meditation methods
[
edit
]
Various Indian
Mah?y?na
texts show new innovative methods which were unique to
Mah?y?na
Buddhism. Texts such as the
Pure Land sutras
, the
Ak?obhya-vy?ha S?tra
and the
Pratyutpanna Sam?dhi S?tra
teach meditations on a particular Buddha (such as
Amit?bha
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.
[117]
[118]
The
Pratyutpanna
sutra
for example, states that if one practices recollection of the Buddha (
Buddh?nusm?ti
) 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.
[119]
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 Mah?y?na sutras which are seen traditionally as direct visionary revelations from the Buddhas in their pure lands.
[120]
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
Mah?y?na
.
[121]
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
.
[113]
Important Mah?y?na sutras such as the
Lotus Sutra
,
Heart Sutra
and others prominently include
dharanis
.
[122]
[123]
Ryuichi Abe states that dharanis are also prominent in the
Prajn?p?ramit? Sutras
wherein the Buddha "praises dharani incantation, along with the cultivation of
samadhi
, as virtuous activity of a
bodhisattva
".
[122]
They are also listed in the
Mah?prajn?p?ramit?pade?a
, chapter X, as an important quality of a bodhisattva.
[115]
Later Yog?c?ra sources also indicate that Mahayanists had begun to see their meditation methods as unique and different from
?r?vakay?nist
(i.e. non-Mahayana Buddhists) methods. For example, the
Sa?dhinirmocanas?tra
criticizes certain early Buddhist meditations as not suitable for Mahayanists, who instead focus their meditation on the true nature of things (suchness,
tathat?
).
[124]
The
?ryasa?dhinirmocanabh??ya
, a commentary attributed to Asa?ga, comments:
In the ?r?vakay?na, one thoroughly knows (*parij?n?ti) the Truth of Suffering, and so on [i.e. the other Truths], while in the Mah?y?na, one thoroughly knows [the Truths] through Suchness (*tathat?), etc.’
[125]
According to Florin Delenau, "the text contrasts, I believe, the ?r?vakay?nika analytical, highly reflective approach to the Mah?y?nika synthetic, ultimately intuitive insight into the essence of the Reality. "
[125]
A later
Mah?y?na
work which discusses meditation practice is
Shantideva's
Bodhicary?vat?ra
(8th century) which depicts how a bodhisattva's meditation was understood in the later period of Indian
Mah?y?na
. 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 (
?amatha
).
[126]
He promotes classic practices like meditating on corpses and living in forests, but these are preliminary to the
Mah?y?na
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
.
[126]
Another late Indian
Mah?y?na
meditation text is
Kamala??la
's
Bh?van?krama
("stages of meditation", 9th century), which teaches insight (
vipa?yan?
) and tranquility (
?amatha
) from a
Yog?c?ra-Madhyamaka
perspective.
[127]
East Asian Mah?y?na
[
edit
]
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
(安世高, 147-168 CE) are some of the earliest meditation texts used by
Chinese Buddhism
and their focus is
mindfulness of breathing
(
annabanna
安那般那). The Chinese translator and scholar
Kumarajiva
(344?413 CE) transmitted various meditation works, including a meditation treatise titled
The S?tra Concerned with Sam?dhi in Sitting Meditation
(坐?三昧?, T.614, K.991) which teaches the
Sarv?stiv?da
system of fivefold mental stillings.
[128]
These texts are known as the
Dhy?na sutras
.
[129]
They reflect the meditation practices of
Kashmiri Buddhists
, influenced by
Sarv?stiv?da
and
Sautrantika
meditation teachings, but also by
Mahayana Buddhism
.
[130]
East Asian Yog?c?ra methods
[
edit
]
The East Asian
Yog?c?ra school
or
"Consciousness only school" (Ch.
Weishi-z?ng
)
, known in Japan as the
Hoss?
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
Yog?c?ra
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.
[131]
Another method of meditation practiced in Chinese Yog?c?ra is called "the five level discernment of
vijnapti-m?tra
"
(impressions only), introduced by Xuanzang's disciple,
Ku?j?
(632?682), which became one of the most important East Asian
Yog?c?ra
teachings.
[132]
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:
[133]
- "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
?amatha-vipa?yan?
[
edit
]
In China it has been traditionally held that the meditation methods used by the
Tiantai
school are the most systematic and comprehensive of all.
[134]
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 ?amatha and vipa?yan?. Of these texts,
Zhiyi's
Concise ?amathavipa?yan?
(小止?),
Mohe Zhiguan
(摩訶止?, Sanskrit
Mah??amathavipa?yan?
), and
Six Subtle Dharma Gates
(六妙法門) are the most widely read in China.
[134]
Rujun Wu identifies the work
Mah?-?amatha-vipa?yan?
of Zhiyi as the seminal meditation text of the Tiantai school.
[135]
Regarding the functions of ?amatha and vipa?yan? in meditation, Zhiyi writes in his work
Concise ?amatha-vipa?yan?
:
The attainment of Nirv??a is realizable by many methods whose essentials do not go beyond the practice of ?amatha and vipa?yan?. ?amatha is the first step to untie all bonds and vipa?yan? is essential to root out delusion. ?amatha provides nourishment for the preservation of the knowing mind, and vipa?yan? is the skillful art of promoting spiritual understanding. ?amatha is the unsurpassed cause of sam?dhi, while vipa?yan? begets wisdom.
[136]
The Tiantai school also places a great emphasis on
?n?p?nasm?ti
,
or mindfulness of breathing, in accordance with the principles of ?amatha and vipa?yan?. Zhiyi classifies breathing into four main categories: panting (喘), unhurried breathing (風), deep and quiet breathing (氣), and stillness or rest (息). 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.
[137]
Zhiyi also outlines four kinds of
samadhi
in his
Mohe Zhiguan
, and ten modes of practicing
vipa?yan?
.
Esoteric practices in Japanese Tendai
[
edit
]
One of the adaptations by the Japanese
Tendai
school was the introduction of
Mikky?
(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
K?kai
encountered in his visit to
Tang China
and
Saich?
's disciples were encouraged to study under K?kai.
[138]
Huayan meditation theory
[
edit
]
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
, 四法界).
[139]
Dharmadhatu
(法界) 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:
[139]
- All dharmas are seen as particular separate events or phenomena (shi 事). This is the mundane way of seeing.
- All events are an expression of
li
(理, the absolute, principle or
noumenon
), which is associated with the concepts of
shunyata
, “One Mind” (
yi xin
一心) 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
理事無?), this is illuminated by the meditation on the "non-obstruction of principle and phenomena."
- All events interpenetrate (
shishi wuai
事事無?), "all distinct phenomenal dharmas interfuse and penetrate in all ways" (
Zongmi
). This is seen through the meditation on “universal pervasion and complete accommodation.”
According to
Paul Williams
, the reading and recitation of the
Avatamsaka sutra
was also a central practice for the tradition, for monks and laity.
[140]
Pure land Buddhism
[
edit
]
In
Pure Land Buddhism
, repeating the name of
Amit?bha
is traditionally a form of
mindfulness of the Buddha
(Skt.
buddh?nusm?ti
). This term was translated into Chinese as
nianfo
(
Chinese
:
念佛
), 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 (
sam?dhi
).
[141]
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.
[141]
Repeating the
Pure Land Rebirth dh?ra??
is another method in Pure Land Buddhism. Similar to the mindfulness practice of repeating the name of Amit?bha Buddha, this dh?ra?? is another method of meditation and recitation in Pure Land Buddhism. The repetition of this dh?ra?? is said to be very popular among traditional Chinese Buddhists.
[142]
Another practice found in Pure Land Buddhism is meditative contemplation and visualization of Amit?bha, his attendant bodhisattvas, and the Pure Land. The basis of this is found in the
Amit?yurdhy?na S?tra
("Amit?bha Meditation S?tra").
[143]
Chan
[
edit
]
During sitting meditation (坐?,
Ch.
zuochan,
Jp.
zazen
,
Ko.
jwaseon
), practitioners usually assume a position such as the
lotus position
,
half-lotus
, Burmese, or
seiza
, often using the
dhy?na
mudr?
. 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.
[144]
Another common form of sitting meditation is called "Silent illumination" (Ch.
mozhao,
Jp
. mokush?
). This practice was traditionally promoted by the
Caodong
school of
Chinese Chan
and is associated with
Hongzhi Zhengjue
(1091?1157).
[145]
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
.
[146]
This practice is also popular in the major schools of
Japanese Zen
, but especially
S?t?
, where it is more widely known as
Shikantaza (Ch. zh?gu?n d?zuo, "Just sitting")
.
During the
Song 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
g?ng'an
(
Koan
).
In
Chinese Chan
and
Korean Seon
, this practice of "observing the
huatou
" (
hwadu
in Korean) is a widely practiced method.
[148]
In the Japanese
Rinzai school
,
k?an
introspection developed its own formalized style, with a standardized curriculum of
k?ans
which must be studies and "passed" in sequence. This process includes standardized questions and answers during a private interview with one's Zen teacher.
[149]
K?an-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). K?an practice is particularly emphasized in
Rinzai
, but it also occurs in other schools or branches of Zen depending on the teaching line.
Tantric Buddhism
[
edit
]
Tantric 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
Vajray?na
, while in China it is known as
Zhenyan
(
Ch
: ?言, "true word", "
mantra
"), as well as
Mijiao
(Esoteric Teaching),
Miz?ng
("Esoteric Tradition") or
Tangmi
("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
).
[151]
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
.
[152]
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
Dharmak?ya
. There are also other practices such as
Dream Yoga
,
Tummo
, the yoga of the intermediate state (at death) or
bardo
,
sexual yoga
and
chod
. The shared preliminary practices of Tibetan Buddhism are called
ngondro
, 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
三密) are seen as the hallmarks of esoteric Buddhism.
[153]
Therapeutic uses of meditation
[
edit
]
Meditation based on Buddhist meditation principles has been practiced by people for a long time for the purposes of effecting mundane and worldly benefit.
[154]
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
,
Thich Nh?t H?nh
,
Pema Chodron
,
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 meditation
[155]
has received the most research attention, loving kindness
[156]
(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
]
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.
[note 24]
However, it is exceedingly common to encounter the Buddha describing meditative states involving the attainment of such magical powers (Sanskrit
?ddhi
, 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,
[157]
[158]
[159]
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.
Key terms
[
edit
]
English
|
Pali
|
Sanskrit
|
Chinese
|
Tibetan
|
mindfulness/awareness
|
sati
|
sm?ti
|
念 (nian)
|
?????? (wylie: dran pa)
|
clear comprehension
|
sampajanna
|
samprajana
|
正知力 (zheng zh? li)
|
????????? shezhin (shes bzhin)
|
vigilance/heedfulness
|
appamada
|
apram?da
|
不放逸座 (bu fang yi zuo)
|
??????? bakyo (bag yod)
|
ardency
|
atappa
|
?tapa?
|
勇猛 (y?ng m?ng)
|
nyima (nyi ma)
|
attention/engagement
|
manasikara
|
manask?ra?
|
如理作意 (ru l? zuo yi)
|
????????????? yila jepa (yid la byed pa)
|
foundation of mindfulness
|
satipa??h?na
|
sm?tyupasth?na
|
念住 (nianzhu)
|
?????????????????? trenpa neybar zhagpa (dran pa nye bar gzhag pa)
|
mindfulness of breathing
|
?n?p?nasati
|
?n?p?nasm?ti
|
安那般那 (?nnab?nna)
|
???????????? w?k trenpa (dbugs dran pa)
|
calm abiding/cessation
|
samatha
|
?amatha
|
止 (zh?)
|
??????? shiney (zhi gnas)
|
insight/contemplation
|
vipassan?
|
vipa?yan?
|
? (gu?n)
|
?????????? (lhag mthong)
|
meditative concentration
|
sam?dhi
|
sam?dhi
|
三昧 (s?nmei)
|
???????????? ting-nge-dzin (ting nge dzin)
|
meditative absorption
|
jh?na
|
dhy?na
|
禪 (
chan
)
|
???????? samten (bsam gtan)
|
cultivation
|
bh?van?
|
bh?van?
|
修行 (xi?xing)
|
??????? (sgom pa)
|
cultivation of analysis
|
vitakka and vic?ra
|
*vic?ra-bh?van?
|
尋伺察 (xun si cha)
|
?????????? (dpyad sgom)
|
cultivation of settling
|
?
|
*sth?pya-bh?van?
|
?
|
?????????? jokgom ('jog sgom)
|
See also
[
edit
]
- General Buddhist practices
- Theravada
Buddhist meditation practices
- Zen
Buddhist meditation practices
- Vajrayana
and
Tibetan Buddhist
meditation practices
- Proper floor-sitting postures and supports while meditating
- Traditional
Buddhist texts
on meditation
- Traditional preliminary practices to Buddhist meditation
- Western mindfulness
- Analog in Vedas
- Analog in Taoism
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
The
Pali
and
Sanskrit
word
bh?van?
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
P?li Canon
, in "The Greater Exhortation to Rahula" (
Maha-Rahulovada Sutta
,
MN
62),
Sariputta
tells
Rahula
(in Pali, based on
VRI, n.d.)
:
?n?p ?nassati?, r?hula, bh?vana? bh?vehi.
Thanissaro (2006)
translates this as: "Rahula, develop the meditation [
bh?vana
] of
mindfulness of in-&-out breathing
." (Square-bracketed Pali word included based on Thanissaro, 2006, end note.)
- ^
a
b
See, for example,
Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), entry for "jh?na
1
"
;
Thanissaro (1997)
; as well as, Kapleau (1989), p. 385, for the derivation of the word "
zen
" from
Sanskrit
"dhy?na."
PTS
Secretary Dr. Rupert Gethin, in describing the activities of
wandering ascetics
contemporaneous with the Buddha, wrote:
[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' (
Sanskrit
:
dhy?na
,
Pali
:
jh?na
) or 'concentrations' (
sam?dhi
); 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.)
- ^
* 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).
- ^
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 ? and by whatever name ? are found in all the major Buddhist traditions." (p. 92)
The forty concentrative meditation subjects refer to
Visuddhimagga
's oft-referenced enumeration.
- ^
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)
- ^
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.
- ^
Kuan refers to Bronkhorst (1985),
Dharma and Abhidharma
, p.312-314.
- ^
Kuan refers to Sujato (2006),
A history of mindfulness: how insight worsted tranquility in the Satipatthana Sutta
, p.264-273
- ^
Keren Arbel refers to Majjhima Nikaya 26,
Ariyapariyesana Sutta, The Noble Search
See also:
* Majjhima Nikaya 111,
Anuppada Sutta
* AN 05.028,
Samadhanga Sutta: The Factors of Concentration
.
See Johansson (1981),
Pali Buddhist texts Explained to Beginners
for a word-by-word translation.
- ^
Arbel explains that "viveka" is usually translated as "detachment," "separation," or "seclusion," but the primary meaning is "discrimination." According to Arbel, the usage of
vivicca/vivicceva
and
viveka
in the description of the first
dhyana
"plays with both meanings of the verb; namely, its meaning as discernment and the consequent 'seclusion' and letting go," in line with the "discernment of the nature of experience" developed by the four
satipatthanas
.
Compare Dogen: "Being apart from all disturbances and dwelling alone in a quiet place is called "enjoying serenity and tranquility.""
Arbel further argues that
viveka
resembles
dhamma vicaya
, which is mentioned in the
bojjhanga
, an alternative description of the
dhyanas
, but the only
bojjhanga
-term not mentioned in the stock
dhyana
-description.
Compare Sutta Nipatha 5.14
Udayam??avapucch?
(The Questions of Udaya): "Pure equanimity and mindfulness, preceded by investigation of principles?this, I declare, is liberation by enlightenment, the smashing of ignorance.” (Translation: Sujato)
- ^
Stta Nipatha 5:13
Udaya’s Questions
(transl. Thanissaro): "With delight the world’s fettered. With directed thought it’s examined."
Chen 2017
: "Samadhi with general examination and specific in-depth investigation means getting rid of the
not virtuous dharmas
, such as greedy desire and hatred, to stay in joy and pleasure caused by nonarising, and to enter the first meditation and fully dwell in it."
Arbel 2016
, p. 73: "Thus, my suggestion is that we should interpret the existence of
vitakka
and
vicara
in the first
jhana
as wholesome 'residues' of a previous development of wholesome thoughts. They denote the 'echo' of these wholesome thoughts, which reverberates in one who enters the first
jhana
as wholesome attitudes toward what is experienced."
- ^
In the
Pali canon
,
Vitakka-vic?ra
form one expression, which refers to directing one's thought or attention on an object (
vitarka
) and investigate it (
vic?ra
).
According to
Dan Lusthaus
,
vitarka-vic?ra
is analytic scrutiny, a form of
prajna
. It "involves focusing on [something] and then breaking it down into its functional components" to understand it, "distinguishing the multitude of conditioning factors implicated in a phenomenal event."
The Theravada commentarial tradition, as represented by
Buddhaghosa
's
Visuddhimagga
, interprets
vitarka
and
vic?ra
as the initial and sustained application of attention to a meditational object, which culminates in the stilling of the mind when moving on to the second dhyana.
According to Fox and Bucknell it may also refer to "the normal process of discursive thought," which is quieted through absorption in the second
jh?na
.
- ^
The standard translation for
samadhi
is "concentration"; yet, this translation/interpretation is based on commentarial interpretations, as explained by a number of contemporary authors.
Tilmann Vetter notes that
samadhi
has a broad range of meanings, and "concentration" is just one of them. Vetter argues that the second, third and fourth
dhyana
are
samma-samadhi
, "right samadhi," building on a "spontaneous awareness" (sati) and equanimity which is perfected in the fourth
dhyana
.
- ^
The common translation, based on the commentarial interpretation of
dhyana
as expanding states of absorption, translates
sampasadana
as "internal assurance." Yet, as Bucknell explains, it also means "tranquilizing," which is more apt in this context.
See also
Passaddhi
.
- ^
Upekkh?
is one of the
Brahmaviharas
.
- ^
With the fourth
jh?na
comes the attainment of higher knowledge (
abhijn?
), that is, the extinction of all mental intoxicants (
?sava
), but also psychic powers.
For instance in
AN
5.28, the Buddha states (Thanissaro, 1997.):
"When a monk has developed and pursued the five-factored noble right concentration in this way, then whichever of the six higher knowledges he turns his mind to know and realize, he can witness them for himself whenever there is an opening...."
"If he wants, he wields manifold supranormal powers. Having been one he becomes many; having been many he becomes one. He appears. He vanishes. He goes unimpeded through walls, ramparts, and mountains as if through space. He dives in and out of the earth as if it were water. He walks on water without sinking as if it were dry land. Sitting crosslegged he flies through the air like a winged bird. With his hand he touches and strokes even the sun and moon, so mighty and powerful. He exercises influence with his body even as far as the Brahma worlds. He can witness this for himself whenever there is an opening ..."
- ^
Gombrich: "I know this is controversial, but it seems to me that the third and fourth jhanas are thus quite unlike the second."
- ^
Wynne: "Thus the expression
sato sampaj?no
in the third
jh?na
must denote a state of awareness different from the meditative absorption of the second
jh?na
(
cetaso ekodibh?va
). 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)h?
: it does not denote an abstract 'equanimity', [but] it means to be aware of something and indifferent to it [...] The third and fourth
jh?na-s
, as it seems to me, describe the process of directing states of meditative absorption towards the mindful awareness of objects.
- ^
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.
- ^
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)
.
- ^
Bodhi (2000), pp. 1251-53. See also
Thanissaro (1998c)
(where this sutta is identified as SN 35.204). See also, for instance, a discourse (Pali:
sutta
) entitled, "Serenity and Insight" (
SN
43.2), where the Buddha states: "And what,
bhikkhus
, is the path leading to the
unconditioned
? Serenity and insight...." (Bodhi, 2000, pp. 1372-73).
- ^
See
Thanissaro (1997)
where for instance he underlines: "When [the Pali discourses] depict the Buddha telling his disciples to go meditate, they never quote him as saying 'go do vipassana,' but always 'go do jhana.' And they never equate the word vipassana with any mindfulness techniques. In the few instances where they do mention vipassana, they almost always pair it with samatha ? not as two alternative methods, but as two qualities of mind that a person may 'gain' or 'be endowed with,' and that should be developed together."
Similarly, referencing
MN
151, vv. 13?19, and
AN
IV, 125-27, Ajahn Brahm (who, like Bhikkhu Thanissaro, is of the
Thai Forest Tradition
) writes: "Some traditions speak of two types of meditation, insight meditation (
vipassana
) and calm meditation (
samatha
). In fact, the two are indivisible facets of the same process. Calm is the peaceful happiness born of meditation; insight is the clear understanding born of the same meditation. Calm leads to insight and insight leads to calm." (Brahm, 2006, p. 25.)
- ^
To be distinguished from the Mahayana
Yogacara school
, though they may have been a precursor.
[1]
- ^
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.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Deleanu, Florin (1992);
Mindfulness of Breathing in the Dhy?na S?tras
. Transactions of the International Conference of Orientalists in Japan (TICOJ) 37, 42-57.
- ^
a
b
An?layo, Early Buddhist Meditation Studies, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies Barre, Massachusetts USA 2017, p 109
- ^
Sujato,
A history of mindfulness
.
- ^
An?layo, Early Buddhist Meditation Studies, 2017, p. 165.
- ^
Wynne, Alexander, The origin of Buddhist meditation, pp. 23, 37
- ^
Analayo,
Early Buddhist Meditation Studies
, p.69-70, 80
- ^
For instance, see Sole-Leris (1986), p. 75; and, Goldstein (2003), p. 92.
- ^
a
b
Sujato, Bhante
(2012),
A History of Mindfulness
(PDF)
, Santipada, p. 148,
ISBN
9781921842108
- ^
from
Teaching Dhamma by pictures: Explanation of a Siamese Traditional Buddhist Manuscript
- ^
Nanamoli (1998), p. 110,
n
. 16, which references the Anapanasati Sutta and the Visuddhimagga, Ch. VI, VIII.
- ^
Wynne, Alexander, The origin of Buddhist meditation, pp. 94-95
- ^
Wynne, Alexander, The origin of Buddhist meditation, pp. 95
- ^
Chen 2017
, p. "samadhi: A calm, stable and concentrative state of mind".
- ^
Original publication:
Gombrich, Richard (2007),
Religious Experience in Early Buddhism
, OCHS Library
- ^
Vetter 1988
, p.
[
page needed
]
.
- ^
Keown, Damien (1992/2001) "The Nature of Buddhist Ethics," p. 79-82, New York: Palgrave.
- ^
Cox, Collett (1992/1994) “Attainment through Abandonment: The Sarv?stiv?da Path of Removing Defilements”, in Paths to Liberation, The M?rga and Its Transformations in Buddhist Thought, R.E. Buswell jr. and R.M. Gimello (ed.), 63?105, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
- ^
An?layo, Early Buddhist Meditation Studies, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies Barre, Massachusetts USA 2017, p 185.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Merv Fowler (1999).
Buddhism: Beliefs and Practices
. Sussex Academic Press. pp. 60?62.
ISBN
978-1-898723-66-0
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
a
b
c
Peter Harvey (2012).
An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices
. Cambridge University Press. pp. 154, 326.
ISBN
978-1-139-85126-8
.
- ^
An?layo, Early Buddhist Meditation Studies, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies Barre, Massachusetts USA 2017, p 186.
- ^
An?layo, Early Buddhist Meditation Studies, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies Barre, Massachusetts USA 2017, p 194.
- ^
Say?daw, Mah?si.
Buddhist Meditation and its Forty Subjects
. Retrieved
26 September
2019
.
- ^
See, for instance,
Bodhi (1999)
and Nyanaponika (1996), p. 108.
- ^
Bodhi (2005), pp. 268, 439
nn
. 7, 9, 10. See also
Thanissaro (1998f)
.
- ^
See, for instance, AN 2.30 in Bodhi (2005), pp. 267-68, and
Thanissaro (1998e)
.
- ^
PV Bapat. Vimuttimagga & Visuddhimagga ? A Comparative Study, p. lv
- ^
PV Bapat. Vimuttimagga & Visuddhimagga ? A Comparative Study, p. lvii
- ^
Kalupahana, David J. (1994), A history of Buddhist philosophy, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited
- ^
Sujato, Bhante
(2012),
A History of Mindfulness
(PDF)
, Santipada, p. 329,
ISBN
9781921842108
- ^
a
b
c
Bhikkhu Thanissaro,
Concentration and Discernment
- ^
Sarah Shaw,
Buddhist meditation: an anthology of texts from the P?li canon.
Routledge, 2006, pages 6-8. A Jataka tale gives a list of 38 of them.
[1]
.
- ^
Buddhaghosa & Nanamoli (1999), pp. 85, 90.
- ^
Buddhagho?a & Nanamoli (1999), p. 110.
- ^
Regarding the jhanic attainments that are possible with different meditation techniques, see
Gunaratana (1988)
.
- ^
Gethin,
Buddhist practice
- ^
An?layo, Early Buddhist Meditation Studies, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies Barre, Massachusetts USA 2017, p 112, 115
- ^
An?layo, Early Buddhist Meditation Studies, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies Barre, Massachusetts USA 2017, p 117
- ^
Edward Fitzpatrick Crangle, The Origin and Development of Early Indian Contemplative Practices, 1994, p 238
- ^
“Should We Come Out of jh?na to Practice vipassan??”, in Buddhist Studies in Honour of Venerable Kirindigalle Dhammaratana, S. Ratnayaka (ed.), 41?74, Colombo: Felicitation Committee. 2007
- ^
Shankman, Richard 2008: The Experience of sam?dhi, An Indepth Exploration of Buddhist Meditation, Boston: Shambala
- ^
An?layo, Early Buddhist Meditation Studies, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies Barre, Massachusetts USA 2017, p 123
- ^
Crosby, Kate (2013). Theravada Buddhism: Continuity, Diversity, and Identity. John Wiley & Sons.
ISBN
9781118323298
- ^
Tiyavanich K. Forest Recollections: Wandering Monks in Twentieth-Century Thailand. University of Hawaii Press, 1997.
- ^
a
b
c
Newell, Catherine. Two Meditation Traditions from Contemporary Thailand: A Summary Overview, Rian Thai : International Journal of Thai Studies Vol. 4/2011
- ^
Suen, Stephen, Methods of spiritual praxis in the Sarv?stiv?da: A Study Primarily Based on the Abhidharma-mah?vibh???, The University of Hong Kong 2009, p. 67.
- ^
a
b
Bhikkhu KL Dhammajoti, Sarv?stiv?da-Abhidharma, Centre of Buddhist Studies The University of Hong Kong 2007, p. 575-576.
- ^
Suen, Stephen, Methods of spiritual praxis in the Sarv?stiv?da: A Study Primarily Based on the Abhidharma-mah?vibh???, The University of Hong Kong 2009, p. 177.
- ^
Suen, Stephen, Methods of spiritual praxis in the Sarv?stiv?da: A Study Primarily Based on the Abhidharma-mah?vibh???, The University of Hong Kong 2009, p. 191.
- ^
Bhikkhu KL Dhammajoti, Sarv?stiv?da-Abhidharma, Centre of Buddhist Studies The University of Hong Kong 2007, p. 576
- ^
a
b
Bhikkhu KL Dhammajoti, Sarv?stiv?da-Abhidharma, Centre of Buddhist Studies The University of Hong Kong 2007, p. 577.
- ^
Drewes, David (2010). "Early Indian Mahayana Buddhism I: Recent Scholarship".
Religion Compass
.
4
(2): 55?65.
doi
:
10.1111/j.1749-8171.2009.00195.x
.
- ^
Delenau, Florin, Buddhist Meditation in the Bodhisattvabhumi, 2013
- ^
Ulrich Timme Kragh (editor),
The Foundation for Yoga Practitioners
:
The Buddhist Yog?c?rabh?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.
- ^
Sujato, Bhante
(2012),
A History of Mindfulness
(PDF)
, Santipada, pp. 363?4,
ISBN
9781921842108
- ^
Sujato, Bhante
(2012),
A History of Mindfulness
(PDF)
, Santipada, p. 356,
ISBN
9781921842108
- ^
Orsborn, Matthew Bryan.
“Chiasmus in the Early Prajn?p?ramit?: Literary Parallelism Connecting Criticism & Hermeneutics in an Early Mah?y?na S?tra”
, University of Hong Kong, 2012, pp. 181-182, 188.
- ^
Huifeng Shi,
An Annotated English Translation of Kum?raj?va's Xia?p?n Prajn?p?ramit? S?tra,
Asian Literature and Translation ISSN 2051-5863
doi
:
10.18573/issn.2051-5863
Vol 4, No. 1, 2017, 187-238.
- ^
a
b
Akira Hirakawa,
A History of Indian Buddhism: From ??kyamuni to Early Mah?y?na,
Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1993, p. 301.
- ^
Delenau, Florin.
Mind Only and Beyond: History of Yogacara Meditation
, 2010, p. 62. Lectures Series (Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies).
- ^
a
b
"Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra by Gelongma Karma Migme Chodron"
.
Wisdom Library
. 2001.
- ^
a
b
c
Delenau, Florin.
Mind Only and Beyond: History of Yogacara Meditation
, 2010, p. 63. Lectures Series (Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies).
- ^
Skilton, Andrew.
A Concise History of Buddhism.
1997. p. 104
- ^
Drewes, David (2010). "Early Indian Mahayana Buddhism II: New Perspectives".
Religion Compass
.
4
(2): 66?74.
doi
:
10.1111/j.1749-8171.2009.00193.x
.
- ^
Williams, Paul.
Mahayana Buddhism the doctrinal foundations, 2nd edition
, 2009, p. 40.
- ^
Williams, Paul,
Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations,
Routledge, 2008, p. 40-41.
- ^
Akira Hirakawa,
A History of Indian Buddhism: From ??kyamuni to Early Mah?y?na,
Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1993, p. 300.
- ^
a
b
Ryuichi Abe (1999).
The Weaving of Mantra: Kukai and the Construction of Esoteric Buddhist Discourse
. Columbia University Press. pp. 164?168.
ISBN
978-0-231-52887-0
.
- ^
Robert N. Linrothe (1999).
Ruthless Compassion: Wrathful Deities in Early Indo-Tibetan Esoteric Buddhist Art
. Serindia Publications. pp. 56?59.
ISBN
978-0-906026-51-9
.
- ^
Keenan, John (2000),
Scripture on the Explication of the Underlying Meaning
, p. 56. Berkeley: Numata Center, ISBN 1886439109
- ^
a
b
Delenau, Florin.
Mind Only and Beyond: History of Yogacara Meditation
, 2010, p. 30. Lectures Series (Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies).
- ^
a
b
Takeuchi Yoshinori (editor),
Buddhist Spirituality: Indian, Southeast Asian, Tibetan, and Early Chinese,
Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1995, pp. 61-62.
- ^
Adam, Martin T.
Meditation and the Concept of Insight in Kamalashila's Bhavanakramas
, 2002.
- ^
Bhante Dhammadipa, KUM?RAJ?VA’S MEDITATIVE LEGACY IN CHINA, 2015.
- ^
Deleanu, Florin (1992); Mindfulness of Breathing in the Dhy?na S?tras. Transactions of the International Conference of Orientalists in Japan (TICOJ) 37, 42-57.
- ^
Thich Hang Dat, A REAPPRAISAL OF KUM?RAJ?VA’S ROLE IN MEDIEVAL CHINESE BUDDHISM: AN EXAMINATION OF KUM?RAJ?VA’S TRANSLATION TEXT ON “THE ESSENTIAL EXPLANATION OF THE METHOD OF DHYANA”
- ^
Gregory, Peter N. (editor),
Traditions of Meditation in Chinese Buddhism,
University of Hawaii Press, 1986, pp. 23-28.
- ^
Gregory, Peter N. (editor),
Traditions of Meditation in Chinese Buddhism,
University of Hawaii Press, 1986, p. 30.
- ^
Gregory, Peter N. (editor),
Traditions of Meditation in Chinese Buddhism,
University of Hawaii Press, 1986, pp. 32-34.
- ^
a
b
Luk, Charles.
The Secrets of Chinese Meditation.
1964. p. 110
- ^
Wu, Rujun
(1993).
T'ien-t'ai Buddhism and Early M?dhyamika
. University of Hawaii Press.
ISBN
978-0-8248-1561-5
.
- ^
Luk, Charles.
The Secrets of Chinese Meditation.
1964. p. 111
- ^
Luk, Charles.
The Secrets of Chinese Meditation.
1964. p. 125
- ^
Abe, Ry?ichi
(2013).
The Weaving of Mantra: K?kai and the Construction of Esoteric Buddhist Discourse
. Columbia University Press. p. 45.
ISBN
978-0-231-52887-0
.
- ^
a
b
Fox, Alan. The Practice of Huayan Buddhism,
http://www.fgu.edu.tw/~cbs/pdf/2013%E8%AB%96%E6%96%87%E9%9B%86/q16.pdf
Archived
2017-09-10 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Williams, Paul. Mahayana Buddhism the doctrinal foundations, 2nd edition, 2009, page 145.
- ^
a
b
Luk, Charles.
The Secrets of Chinese Meditation.
1964. p. 83
- ^
Luk, Charles.
The Secrets of Chinese Meditation.
1964. p. 84
- ^
Luk, Charles.
The Secrets of Chinese Meditation.
1964. p. 85
- ^
Katsuki Sekida,
Zen Training: Methods and Philosophy
, Shambhala Publications, 2005, p. 60.
- ^
Taigen Dan Leighton. Cultivating the Empty Field: The Silent Illumination of Zen Master Hongzhi, Tuttle, 2000, p. 17
- ^
Taigen Dan Leighton. Cultivating the Empty Field: The Silent Illumination of Zen Master Hongzhi, Tuttle, 2000, pp. 1-2
- ^
Buswell, Robert E. (1991).
Tracing Back the Radiance: Chinul's Korean Way of Zen (Classics in East Asian Buddhism)
. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 68?69.
ISBN
0824814274
.
- ^
Bodiford, William M. (2006). Koan practice. In: "Sitting with Koans". Ed. John Daido Loori. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, p. 94.
- ^
Power, John; Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, page 271
- ^
Garson, Nathaniel DeWitt; Penetrating the Secret Essence Tantra: Context and Philosophy in the Mahayoga System of rNying-ma Tantra, 2004, p. 37
- ^
Orzech, Charles D. (general editor) (2011). Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia. Brill, p. 85.
- ^
See, for instance, Zongmi's description of
bonpu
and
ged?
zen, described further below.
- ^
"MARC UCLA"
(PDF)
.
- ^
Hutcherson, Cendri (2008-05-19).
"Loving-Kindness Meditation Increases Social Connectedness"
(PDF)
.
Emotion
.
8
(5): 720?724.
CiteSeerX
10.1.1.378.4164
.
doi
:
10.1037/a0013237
.
PMID
18837623
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 2016-11-18
. Retrieved
2017-01-28
.
- ^
"Iddhipada-vibhanga Sutta: Analysis of the Bases of Power"
.
Access to Insight
.
- ^
"Samannaphala Sutta: The Fruits of the Contemplative Life"
.
Access to Insight
.
- ^
"Kevatta (Kevaddha) Sutta: To Kevatta"
.
Access to Insight
.
Sources
[
edit
]
- An?layo
(2003).
Satipa??h?na : the direct path to realization
. Birmingham: Windhorse.
ISBN
1-899579-54-0
.
- An?layo
(2013),
Perspectives on Satipatth?na
(PDF)
, Cambridge: Windhorse Publications,
ISBN
978-1-909314-03-0
- Arbel, Keren (2016),
Early Buddhist Meditation: The Four Jhanas as the Actualization of Insight
, Taylor & Francis,
ISBN
9781317383994
- Berzin, Alexander (2006),
Primary Minds and the 51 Mental Factors
- Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2005),
In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon
, Simon and Schuster
- Bronkhorst, Johannes
(1993),
The Two Traditions Of Meditation In Ancient India
, Motilal Banarsidass Publ.
- Bronkhorst, Johannes (2012).
Early Buddhist Meditation
. Buddhist Meditation from Ancient India to Modern Asia, Jogye Order International Conference Hall, Seoul, 29 November 2012.
- Bucknell, Robert S. (1993), "Reinterpreting the Jhanas",
Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies
,
16
(2)
- Blyth, R. H. (1966),
Zen and Zen Classics, Volume 4
, Tokyo: Hokuseido Press
- Chen, Naichen (2017),
The Great Prajna Paramita Sutra, Volume 1
, Wheatmark
- Fischer-Schreiber, Ingrid; Ehrhard, Franz-Karl; Diener, Michael S. (2008),
Lexicon Boeddhisme. Wijsbegeerte, religie, psychologie, mystiek, cultuur en literatuur
, Asoka
- Fuller-Sasaki, Ruth (2008),
The Record of Lin-Ji
, University of Hawaii Press
- Gombrich, Richard F. (1997),
How Buddhism Began
, Munshiram Manoharlal
- Guenther, Herbert V.; Kawamura, Leslie S. (1975),
Mind in Buddhist Psychology: A Translation of Ye-shes rgyal-mtshan's "The Necklace of Clear Understanding"
(Kindle ed.), Dharma Publishing
- Johansson, Rune Edvin Anders (1981),
Pali Buddhist Texts: Explained to the Beginner
, Psychology Press
- Kamalashila (2003),
Meditation: The Buddhist art of tranquility and insight
, Birmingham: Windhorse Publications
- Kuan, Tse-fu (2008),
Mindfulness in Early Buddhism: New Approaches through Psychology and Textual Analysis of P?li, Chinese and Sanskrit Sources
, Routledge,
ISBN
978-0-415-43737-0
- Kunsang, Erik Pema (2004),
Gateway to Knowledge, Vol. 1
, North Atlantic Books
- Lachs, Stuart (2006),
The Zen Master in America: Dressing the Donkey with Bells and Scarves
- Loori, John Daido (2006),
Sitting with Koans: Essential Writings on Zen Koan Introspection
, Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications,
ISBN
0-86171-369-9
- Lusthaus, Dan (2002),
Buddhist Phenomenology: A Philosophical Investigation of Yogacara Buddhism and the Ch'eng Wei-shih Lun
, Routledge
- Maezumi, Taizan; Cook, Francis Dojun (2007), "The Eight Awarenesses of the Enlightened Person": Dogen Zenji's Hachidainingaku", in Maezumi, Taizan; Glassman, Bernie (eds.),
The Hazy Moon of Enlightenment
, Wisdom Publications
- Polak, Grzegorz (2011),
Reexamining Jhana: Towards a Critical Reconstruction of Early Buddhist Soteriology
, UMCS
- Rhys-Davids, T.W.; Stede, William, eds. (1921?25),
The Pali Text Society's Pali?English dictionary
, Pali Text Society)
[
permanent dead link
]
- Sangpo, Gelong Lodro; Dhammajoti, Bhikkhu K.L. (2012),
Abhidharmakosa-Bhasya of Vasubandhu: Volume 3
, Motilal Banarsidass
- Sarbacker, Stuart Ray (2021),
Tracing the Path of Yoga: The History and Philosophy of Indian Mind-Body Discipline
, State University of New York Press
- Schmithausen, Lambert (1981),
On some Aspects of Descriptions or Theories of 'Liberating Insight' and 'Enlightenment' in Early Buddhism". In: Studien zum Jainismus und Buddhismus (Gedenkschrift fur Ludwig Alsdorf), hrsg. von Klaus Bruhn und Albrecht Wezler, Wiesbaden 1981, 199?250
- Shankman, Richard (2008),
The Experience of Samadhi: An In-depth Exploration of Buddhist Meditation
, Shambhala
- Shaw, Sarah (2006),
Buddhist Meditation: An Anthology of Texts from the Pali Canon
, Routledge
- Stuart-Fox, Martin (1989), "Jhana and Buddhist Scholasticism",
Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies
,
12
(2)
- Sujato, Bhante
(2012),
A History of Mindfulness
(PDF)
, Santipada,
ISBN
9781921842092
- Vetter, Tilmann (1988),
The Ideas and Meditative Practices of Early Buddhism
, BRILL
- Wayman, Alex (1997), "Introduction",
Calming the Mind and Discerning the Real: Buddhist Meditation and the Middle View, from the Lam Rim Chen Mo Tson-kha-pa
, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers
- Wynne, Alexander (2007),
The Origin of Buddhist Meditation
, Routledge
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Scholarly (general overview)
- Scholarly (origins)
- Stuart-Fox, Martin (1989), "Jhana and Buddhist Scholasticism",
Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies
,
12
(2)
- Bucknell, Robert S. (1993), "Reinterpreting the Jhanas",
Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies
,
16
(2)
- Vetter, Tilmann (1988),
The Ideas and Meditative Practices of Early Buddhism
, BRILL
- Bronkhorst, Johannes
(1993),
The Two Traditions Of Meditation In Ancient India
, Motilal Banarsidass Publ.
- Traditional Theravada
- Burmese Vipassana Movement
- Thai Forest Tradition
- Other Thai traditions
- Re-assessing
jhana
- Quli, Natalie (2008),
"Multiple Buddhist Modernisms: Jhana in Convert Theravada"
(PDF)
,
Pacific World 10:225?249
- Shankman, Richard (2008),
The Experience of Samadhi: An In-depth Exploration of Buddhist Meditation
, Shambhala
- Arbel, Keren (2017),
Early Buddhist Meditation: The Four Jhanas as the Actualization of Insight
, Taylor & Francis,
doi
:
10.4324/9781315676043
,
ISBN
9781317383994
- Zen
- Tibetan Buddhism
- Mipham, Sakyong (2003).
Turning the Mind into an Ally
. NY: Riverhead Books.
ISBN
1-57322-206-2
.
- Buddhist modernism
- Mindfulness
External links
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]
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Techniques
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Leaders
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- Open awareness
- Multiple methods
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