Meditation

Buddhist meditation is the practice of meditation in Buddhism. The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are bhavana ("mental development")[note 1] and jhana/dhyana (mental training resulting in a calm and luminous mind).[note 2]

Buddhists pursue meditation as part of the path toward liberation, awakening and Nirvana,[note 3] and includes a variety of meditation techniques, most notably asubha bhavana ("reflections on repulsiveness");[1] reflection on pratityasamutpada (dependent origination); sati (mindfulness) and anussati (recollections), including anapanasati (breath meditation); dhyana (developing an alert and luminous mind);[2][3][4][5][6] and the Brahma-viharas (loving-kindness and compassion). These techniques aim to develop equanimity and sati (mindfulness); samadhi (concentration) c.q. samatha (tranquility) and vipassana (insight); and are also said to lead to abhijña (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. In the Theravada tradition, reflecting developments in early Buddhism, meditation techniques are classified as either samatha (calming the mind) and vipassana (gaining insight).[note 4] Chinese and Japanese Buddhism preserved a wide range of meditation techniques, which go back to early Buddhism, most notably Sarvastivada. In Tibetan Buddhism, deity yoga includes visualisations, which precede the realization of sunyata ("emptiness").[note 5]

Etymology

The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are bhavana (mental development)[note 1] and jhana/dhyana.[note 2]

Pre-Buddhist India

Modern Buddhist studies have attempted to reconstruct the meditation practices of pre-sectarian Early Buddhism, mainly through philological and text critical methods using the early canonical texts.[7]

According to Indologist Johannes Bronkhorst, "the teaching of the Buddha as presented in the early canon contains a number of contradictions,"[8] presenting "a variety of methods that do not always agree with each other,"[9] containing "views and practices that are sometimes accepted and sometimes rejected."[8] 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 Vitakkasanthana Sutta of the Majjhima Nikaya 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 Pali canon (in the Mahasaccaka Sutta, Bodhirajakumara Sutta and Sa?garava Sutta) in order to describe the futile attempts of the Buddha before his enlightenment to reach liberation after the manner of the Jainas.[7]

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 A?ara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta, both of them taught formless jhanas or mental absorptions, a key practice of proper 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".[12] According to the early texts, the Buddha rejected the more extreme Jain ascetic practices in favor of the middle way.

Pre-sectarian Buddhism

The early Buddhist tradition also taught other meditation postures, such as the standing posture and the lion posture performed lying down on one side. Early Buddhism, as it existed before the development of various schools, is called pre-sectarian Buddhism. Its meditation-techniques are described in the Pali Canon and the Chinese Agamas.

Preparatory practices

Meditation and contemplation are preceded by preparatory practices.[13] 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.[14] 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 practice of dhyana.[15][16][note 6]

Asubha bhavana (reflection on unattractiveness)

Asubha bhavana is reflection on "the foul"/unattractiveness (Pali: asubha). It includes two practices, namely cemetery contemplations, and Pa?ikkulamanasikara, "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 samadhi (concentration, dhyana), this form of meditation is considered to be conducive to overcoming desire and lust.[17]

Anussati (recollections)

Illustration of mindfulness of death using corpses in a charnel ground, a subset of mindfulness of the body, the first satipatthana. From an early-20th-century manuscript found in Chaiya District, Surat Thani Province, Thailand.[18] Anussati (Pali; Sanskrit: Anusmriti) means "recollection," "contemplation," "remembrance," "meditation" and "mindfulness."[19] 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.

Sati/smrti (mindfulness) and satipatthana (establishment of mindfulness)

An important quality to be cultivated by a Buddhist meditator is mindfulness (sati). Mindfulness is a polyvalent term which refers to remembering, recollecting and "bearing in mind". It also relates to remembering the teachings of the Buddha and knowing how these teachings relate to one's experiences. The Buddhist texts mention different kinds of mindfulness practice. According to Bronkhorst, there were originally two kinds of mindfulness, "observations of the positions of the body" and the four satipa??hanas, the "establishment of mindfulness," which constituted formal meditation.[20] Bhikkhu Sujato and Bronkhorst both argue that the mindfulness of the positions of the body wasn't originally part of the four satipatthana formula, but was later added to it in some texts.[20]

In the Pali Satipatthana Sutta and its parallels as well as numerous other early Buddhist texts, the Buddha identifies four foundations for mindfulness (satipa??hanas): 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.[21]

According to Grzegorz Polak, the four upassana have been misunderstood by the developing Buddhist tradition, including Theravada, to refer to four different foundations. According to Polak, the four upassana 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:[22]

the six sense-bases which one needs to be aware of (kayanupassana); contemplation on vedanas, which arise with the contact between the senses and their objects (vedananupassana); the altered states of mind to which this practice leads (cittanupassana); the development from the five hindrances to the seven factors of enlightenment (dhammanupassana). Anapanasati (mindfulness of breathing)

Anapanasati, mindfulness of breathing, is a core meditation practice in Theravada, Tiantai and Chan traditions of Buddhism as well as a part of many mindfulness programs. In both ancient and modern times, anapanasati by itself is likely the most widely used Buddhist method for contemplating bodily phenomena.[23]

The Anapanasati 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 piti (rapture), then to passaddhi (serenity), which in turn leads to samadhi (concentration) and then to upekkha (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]

Dhyana/jhana

Many scholars of early Buddhism, such as Vetter, Bronkhorst and Analayo, see the practice of jhana (Sanskrit: dhyana) as central to the meditation of Early Buddhism.[2][3][5] 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).[24] 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.[13] 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".[25]

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 A?ara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta, 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".[26] For Wynne, this idea that liberation required not just meditation but an act of insight, was radically different than the Brahminic meditation, "where it was thought that the yogin must be without any mental activity at all, ‘like a log of wood’."[27]

Four rupa-jhanas

Qualities

The Suttapitaka and the Agamas describe four rupa-jhanas. Rupa refers to the material realm, in a neutral stance, as different form the kama realm (lust, desire) and the arupa-realm (non-material realm).[28] The qualities associated with the first four jhanas are as follows:[13][29][note 7]

First dhyana: the first dhyana can be entered when one is secluded from sensuality and unskillful qualities. There is piti ("rapture") and non-sensual sukha ("pleasure") as the result of seclusion, while vitarka-vicara ("discursive thought") continues;[note 8]

Second dhyana: there is piti ("rapture") and non-sensual sukha ("pleasure") as the result of concentration (samadhi-ji, "born of samadhi"[32]); ekaggata (unification of awareness) free from vitarka ("directed thought") and vicara ("evaluation"); and inner tranquility;[note 9]

Third dhyana: Upekkha (equanimous), mindful, and alert; senses pleasure with the body;

Fourth dhyana: upekkhasatiparisuddhi[note 10] (purity of equanimity and mindfulness); neither-pleasure-nor-pain.

Interpretation

According to Richard Gombrich, the sequence of the four rupa-jhanas describes two different cognitive states.[34][note 11][35] Alexander Wynne further explains that the dhyana-scheme is poorly understood.[36] According to Wynne, words expressing the inculcation of awareness, such as sati, sampajano, and upekkha, are mistranslated or understood as particular factors of meditative states,[36] whereas they refer to a particular way of perceiving the sense objects.[36][note 12][note 13] Polak notes that the qualities of the jhanas resemble the bojjha?ga, the seven factors of awakening]], arguing that both sets describe the same essential practice.[16] 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.[16][15]

Upekkha, 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-vihara, 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.[38] According to Gombrich, "the Buddha taught that kindness - what Christians tend to call love - was a way to salvation.[39]

Arupas

In addition to the four rupajhanas, there are also meditative attainments which were later called by the tradition the arupajhanas, though the early texts do not use the term dhyana for them, calling them ayatana (dimension, sphere, base). They are:

The Dimension of infinite space (Pali akasanañcayatana, Skt. akasanantyayatana),

The Dimension of infinite consciousness (Pali viñña?añcayatana, Skt. vijñananantyayatana),

The Dimension of infinite nothingness (Pali akiñcaññayatana, Skt. aki?canyayatana),

The Dimension of neither perception nor non-perception (Pali nevasaññanasaññayatana, Skt. naivasa?jñanasa?jñayatana).

Nirodha-samapatti, also called sañña-vedayita-nirodha, 'extinction of feeling and perception'.

These formless jhanas may have been incorporated from non-Buddhist traditions.[40][41]

Jhana and insight

Various early sources mention the attainment of insight after having achieved jhana. In the Mahasaccaka Sutta, dhyana is followed by insight into the four noble truths. The mention of the four noble truths as constituting "liberating insight" is probably a later addition.[42][43][40][41] Discriminating insight into transiency as a separate path to liberation was a later development,[44][45] under pressure of developments in Indian religious thinking, which saw "liberating insight" as essential to liberation.[13][page needed] This may also have been due to an over-literal interpretation by later scholastics of the terminology used by the Buddha,[46] and to the problems involved with the practice of dhyana, and the need to develop an easier method.[47]

Brahmavihara

Another important meditation in the early sources are the four Brahmavihara (divine abodes) which are said to lead to cetovimutti, a “liberation of the mind”.[48] The four Brahmavihara are:

Loving-kindness (Pali: metta, Sanskrit: maitri) is active good will towards all;[49][50]

Compassion (Pali and Sanskrit: karu?a) results from metta, it is identifying the suffering of others as one's own;[49][50]

Empathetic joy (Pali and Sanskrit: mudita): is the feeling of joy because others are happy, even if one did not contribute to it, it is a form of sympathetic joy;[49]

Equanimity (Pali: upekkha, Sanskrit: upek?a): is even-mindedness and serenity, treating everyone impartially.[49][50]

According to Analayo:

The effect of cultivating the brahmaviharas 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 brahmaviharas 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.[51]

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).[52]

Early Buddhism

Traditionally, Eighteen schools of Buddhism are said to have developed after the time of the Buddha. The Sarvastivada school was the most influential, but the Theravada is the only school that still exists.

Samatha (serenity) and vipassana (insight)

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: vipassana) which enables one to see, explore and discern "formations" (conditioned phenomena based on the five aggregates).[note 14]

It is said that 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 nibbana.[53] In the Pali 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 15] Nonetheless, 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.[54]

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.[55]

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).

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.[56] Moreover, 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 16] In the Threefold training, samatha is part of samadhi, the eight limb of the threefold path, together withsati, mindfulness.

Theravada

Buddhaghosa with three copies of Visuddhimagga, Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara

Sutta Pitaka and early commentaries

The oldest material of the Theravada tradition on meditation can be found in the Pali Nikayas, and in texts such as the Patisambhidamagga which provide commentary to meditation suttas like the Anapanasati sutta.

Buddhaghosa

An early Theravada meditation manual is the Vimuttimagga ('Path of Freedom', 1st or 2nd century).[57] 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.[58]

The Visuddhimagga's doctrine reflects Theravada Abhidhamma scholasticism, which includes several innovations and interpretations not found in the earliest discourses (suttas) of the Buddha.[59][60] 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.[61]

The text is centered around kasina-meditation, a form of concentration-meditation in which the mind is focused on a (mental) object.[62] 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."[62] 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."[62]

The Visuddhimagga describes forty meditation subjects, most being described in the early texts.[63] 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" (kalya?a-mittata) who is knowledgeable in the different meditation subjects (Ch. III, § 28).[64] Buddhagho?a subsequently elaborates on the forty meditation subjects as follows (Ch. III, §104; Chs. IV–XI):[65]

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: Buddhanussati, 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: metta, karu?a, 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.[66]

Contemporary Theravada

The modern Thai Forest Tradition advocates practicing in the wilderness.

The practice of meditation by Buddhist laypersons is a key feature of the modern vipassana movement.

Vipassana and/or samatta

The role of samatha in Buddhist practice, and the exact meaning of samatta, are points of contention and investigation in contemporary Theravada and western vipassanan. Burmese vipassana teachers have tended to disregard samatta as unnecessary, while Thai teachers see samatha and vipassana as intertwined.

The exact meaning of samatta is also not clear, and westerners have started to question the receive wisdom on this.[67] 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,[68] while the third and fourth jhana are characterized by mindfulness and equanimity.[69] 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.[70]

According to Analayo, 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.[71] According to Analayo, "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."[72]

The position that insight can be practiced from within jhana, according to the early texts, is endorsed by Gunaratna, Crangle and Shankaman.[73][74][75] Analayo 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".[76]

Arbel has argued that insight precedes the practice of jhana.[77]

Vipassana movement

Particularly influential from the twentieth century onward has been the Burmese Vipassana movement, especially the "New Burmese Method" or "Vipassana School" approach to samatha and vipassana developed by Mingun Sayadaw and U Narada and popularized by Mahasi Sayadaw. Here samatha is considered an optional but not necessary component of the practice—vipassana is possible without it. Another Burmese method, derived from Ledi Sayadaw via Ba Khin and S. N. Goenka, takes a similar approach. Other Burmese traditions popularized in the west, notably that of Pa Auk Sayadaw, uphold the emphasis on samatha explicit in the commentarial tradition of the Visuddhimagga. 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).[78] Likewise, Sayadaw U Tejaniya's method also focuses on mindfulness of the mind.

Thai Forest tradition

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.[79] 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.[80]

Other forms

There are other less mainstream forms of Theravada meditation practiced in Thailand which include the vijja dhammakaya meditation developed by Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro and the meditation of former supreme patriarch Suk Kai Thuean (1733–1822).[80] 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.[80]

A less common type of meditation is practiced in Cambodia and Laos by followers of Boran kamma??hana ('ancient practices') tradition. This form of meditation includes the use of mantras and visualizations.

Sarvastivada See also: Dhyana sutras

The now defunct Sarvastivada tradition, and its related sub-schools like the Sautrantika and the Vaibha?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 yogacaras (yoga practitioners) were influential in the development of Sarvastivada meditation praxis, and some modern scholars such as Yin Shun believe they were also influential in the development of Mahayana meditation.[81] The Dhyana sutras (Chinese: ??) or "meditation summaries" (Chinese: ??) are a group of early Buddhist meditation texts which are mostly based on the Yogacara[note 17] meditation teachings of the Sarvastivada 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 Sarvastivada 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.[82]

Contemplation of the impure, and mindfulness of breathing, was particularly important in this system; they were known as the 'gateways to immortality' (amrta-dvara).[83] The Sarvastivada 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.[84]

This sixfold breathing meditation method was influential in East Asia, and expanded upon by the Chinese Tiantai meditation master Zhiyi.[82]

After the practitioner has achieved tranquility, Sarvastivada Abhidharma then recommends one proceeds to practice the four applications of mindfulness (smrti-upasthana) in two ways. First they contemplate each specific characteristic of the four applications of mindfulness, and then they contemplate all four collectively.[85]

In spite of this systematic division of samatha and vipasyana, the Sarvastivada 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."[86] The Sarvastivada Abhidharmikas also held that attaining the dhyanas was necessary for the development of insight and wisdom.[86]

Indian Mahayana Buddhism

Asa?ga, a Mahayana scholar who wrote numerous works and is believed to have contributed to the development of the Yogacarabhumi.

A dharani written in two languages – Sanskrit and central Asian Sogdian

Mahayana practice is centered on the path of the bodhisattva, a being which is aiming for full Buddhahood. Meditation (dhyana) is one of the transcendent virtues (paramitas) which a bodhisattva must perfect in order to reach Buddhahood, and thus, it is central to Mahayana Buddhist praxis.

Indian Mahayana Buddhism was initially a network of loosely connected groups and associations, each drawing upon various Buddhist texts, doctrines and meditation methods.[87] Because of this, there is no single set of Indian Mahayana practices which can be said to apply to all Indian Mahayanists, nor is there is a single set of texts which were used by all of them.

Textual evidence shows that many Mahayana Buddhists in northern India as well as in Central Asia practiced meditation in a similar way to that of the Sarvastivada school outlined above. This can be seen in what is probably the most comprehensive and largest Indian Mahayana treatise on meditation practice, the Yogacarabhumi-Sastra (compiled c. 4th century), a compendium which explains in detail Yogacara meditation theory, and outlines numerous meditation methods as well as related advice.[88] Among the topics discussed are the various early Buddhist meditation topics such as the four dhyanas, the different kinds of samadhi, the development of insight (vipasyana) and tranquility (samatha), the four foundations of mindfulness (sm?tyupasthana), the five hindrances (nivara?a), and classic Buddhist meditations such as the contemplation of unattractiveness (asubhasa?jna), impermanence (anitya), suffering (du?kha), and contemplation death (mara?asa?jña).[89] Other works of the Yogacara school, such as Asa?ga's Abhidharmasamuccaya, and Vasubandhu's Madhyantavibhaga-bhasya also discuss meditation topics such as mindfulness, sm?tyupasthana, the 37 wings to awakening, and samadhi.[90]

Some Mahayana sutras also teach early Buddhist meditation practices. For example, the Maharatnaku?a Sutra and the Mahaprajñaparamita Sutra both teach the four foundations of mindfulness.[91]

The Prajñaparamita Sutras are some of the earliest Mahayana sutras. Their teachings center on the bodhisattva path (viz. the paramitas), the most important of which is the perfection of transcendent knowledge or prajñaparamita. This knowledge is associated with the early Buddhist practice of the three samadhis (meditative concentrations): emptiness (sunyata), signlessness (animitta), and wishlessness or desirelessness (apra?ihita).[92] These three samadhis are also mentioned in the Mahaprajñaparamitopadesa (Ch. Dà zhìdù lùn), chapter X.[93] In the Prajñaparamita Sutras, prajñaparamita is described as a kind of samadhi 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??asahasrika Prajñaparamita, possibly the earliest of these texts, also equates prajñaparamita with what it terms the aniyato (unrestricted) samadhi, “the samadhi of not taking up (aparig?hita) any dharma”, and “the samadhi of not grasping at (anupadana) any dharma” (as a self).[94] 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; xíng xiang ??), i.e. to engage in the signs and conceptualization of phenomena, and not to course in Prajñaparamita. Even to perceive of oneself as a bodhisattva who courses, or the Prajñaparamita in which one courses, are likewise coursing in signs.[95]

Other Indian Mahayana texts show new innovative methods which were unique to Mahayana Buddhism. Texts such as the Pure Land sutras, the Ak?obhya-vyuha Sutra and the Pratyutpanna Samadhi Sutra teach meditations on a particular Buddha (such as Amitabha 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.[96][97] The Pratyutpanna sutra for example, states that if one practices recollection of the Buddha (Buddhanusm?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.[98] 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 Mahayana sutras which are seen traditionally as direct visionary revelations from the Buddhas in their pure lands.[99]

Another popular 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 Mahayana.[100] 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.[92] Important Mahayana sutras such as the Lotus Sutra, Heart Sutra and others prominently include dharanis.[101][102] Ryûichi Abé states that dharanis are also prominent in the Prajñaparamita Sutras wherein the Buddha "praises dharani incantation, along with the cultivation of samadhi, as virtuous activity of a bodhisattva".[101] They are also listed in the Mahaprajñaparamitopadesa, chapter X, as an important quality of a bodhisattva.[93]

A later Mahayana work which discusses meditation practice is Shantideva's Bodhicaryavatara (8th century) which depicts how a bodhisattva's meditation was understood in the later period of Indian Mahayana. Shantideva begins by stating that isolating the body and the mind from the world (ie from discursive thoughts) is necessary for the practice of meditation, which must begin with the practice of tranquility (samatha).[103] He promotes classic practices like meditating on corpses and living in forests, but these are preliminary to the Mahayana 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.[103]

Another late Indian Mahayana meditation text is Kamalasila's Bhavanakrama ( "stages of meditation", 9th century), which teaches insight (vipasyana) and tranquility (samatha) from a Yogacara-Madhyamaka perspective.[104]

East Asian Mahayana

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 (???, 147-168 CE) are some of the earliest meditation texts used by Chinese Buddhism and their focus is mindfulness of breathing (annabanna ????). The Chinese translator and scholar Kumarajiva (344–413 CE) transmitted various meditation works, including a meditation treatise titled The Sutra Concerned with Samadhi in Sitting Meditation (?????, T.614, K.991) which teaches the Sarvastivada system of fivefold mental stillings.[105] These texts are known as the Dhyana sutras.[106] They reflect the meditation practices of Kashmiri Buddhists, influenced by Sarvastivada and Sautrantika meditation teachings, but also by Mahayana Buddhism.[107]

East Asian Yogacara methods

The East Asian Yogacara school or "Consciousness only school" (Ch. Wéishí-zong), known in Japan as the Hosso 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 Yogacara 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.[108]

Another method of meditation practiced in Chinese Yogacara is called "the five level discernment of vijñapti-matra" (impressions only), introduced by Xuanzang's disciple, Kuiji (632–682), which became one of the most important East Asian Yogacara teachings.[109] 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:[110]

"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 samatha-vipasyana

In China it has been traditionally held that the meditation methods used by the Tiantai school are the most systematic and comprehensive of all.[111] 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 samatha and vipasyana. Of these texts, Zhiyi's Concise Samathavipasyana (???), Mohe Zhiguan (????, Sanskrit Mahasamathavipasyana), and Six Subtle Dharma Gates (????) are the most widely read in China.[111] Rujun Wu identifies the work Maha-samatha-vipasyana of Zhiyi as the seminal meditation text of the Tiantai school.[112] Regarding the functions of samatha and vipasyana in meditation, Zhiyi writes in his work Concise Samatha-vipasyana:

The attainment of Nirva?a is realizable by many methods whose essentials do not go beyond the practice of samatha and vipasyana. Samatha is the first step to untie all bonds and vipasyana is essential to root out delusion. Samatha provides nourishment for the preservation of the knowing mind, and vipasyana is the skillful art of promoting spiritual understanding. Samatha is the unsurpassed cause of samadhi, while vipasyana begets wisdom.[113]

The Tiantai school also places a great emphasis on anapanasm?ti, or mindfulness of breathing, in accordance with the principles of samatha and vipasyana. Zhiyi classifies breathing into four main categories: panting (?), unhurried breathing (?), deep and quiet breathing (?), and stillness or rest (?). 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.[114] Zhiyi also outlines four kinds of samadhi in his Mohe Zhiguan, and ten modes of practicing vipasyana.

Esoteric practices in Japanese Tendai

One of the adaptations by the Japanese Tendai school was the introduction of Mikkyo (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 Kukai encountered in his visit to Tang China and Saicho's disciples were encouraged to study under Kukai.[115]

Huayan meditation theory

The Huayan school was a major school of Chinese Buddhism, which also strongly influenced Chan Buddhism. An important element of their meditation theory and practice is what was called the "Fourfold Dharmadhatu" (sifajie, ???).[116] Dharmadhatu (??) 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:[116]

All dharmas are seen as particular separate events or phenomena (shi ?). This is the mundane way of seeing.

All events are an expression of li (?, the absolute, principle or noumenon), which is associated with the concepts of shunyata, “One Mind” (yi xin ??) 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 ????), this is illuminated by the meditation on the "non-obstruction of principle and phenomena."

All events interpenetrate (shishi wuai ????), "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.[117]

Pure land Buddhism

In Pure Land Buddhism, repeating the name of Amitabha is traditionally a form of mindfulness of the Buddha (Skt. buddhanusm?ti). This term was translated into Chinese as nianfo (Chinese: ??), 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 (samadhi).[118] 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.[118]

Repeating the Pure Land Rebirth dhara?i is another method in Pure Land Buddhism. Similar to the mindfulness practice of repeating the name of Amitabha Buddha, this dhara?i is another method of meditation and recitation in Pure Land Buddhism. The repetition of this dhara?i is said to be very popular among traditional Chinese Buddhists.[119]

Another practice found in Pure Land Buddhism is meditative contemplation and visualization of Amitabha, his attendant bodhisattvas, and the Pure Land. The basis of this is found in the Amitayurdhyana Sutra ("Amitabha Meditation Sutra").[120]

Chán

Kodo Sawaki practicing Zazen

During sitting meditation (??, Ch. zuòchán, Jp. zazen, Ko. jwaseon), practitioners usually assume a position such as the lotus position, half-lotus, Burmese, or seiza, often using the dhyana mudra. 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.[121]

Another common form of sitting meditation is called "Silent illumination" (Ch. mòzhào, Jp. mokusho). This practice was traditionally promoted by the Caodong school of Chinese Chan and is associated with Hongzhi Zhengjue (1091—1157).[122] 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.[123] This practice is also popular in the major schools of Japanese Zen, but especially Soto, where it is more widely known as Shikantaza (Ch. zhiguan dazuò, "Just sitting").

During the Sòng dynasty, a new meditation method was popularized by figures such as Dahui, which was called kanhua chan ("observing the phrase" meditation) which referred to contemplation on a single word or phrase (called the huatou, "critical phrase") of a gong'àn (Koan).[124] In Chinese Chan and Korean Seon, this practice of "observing the huatou" (hwadu in Korean) is a widely practiced method.[125]

In the Japanese Rinzai school, koan introspection developed its own formalized style, with a standardized curriculum of koans which must be studies and "passed" in sequence. This process includes standardized questions and answers during a private interview with one's Zen teacher.[126] Koan-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). Koan practice is particularly emphasized in Rinzai, but it also occurs in other schools or branches of Zen depending on the teaching line.[127]

Tantric Buddhism

Meditation through the use of complex guided imagery based on Buddhist deities like Tara is a key practice in Vajrayana. Visual aids such as this thangka are often used.

Diamond Realm (Kongokai) Mandala of the Shingon school

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 Vajrayana, while in China it is known as Zhenyan (Ch: ??, "true word", "mantra"), as well as Mìjiao (Esoteric Teaching), Mìzong ("Esoteric Tradition") or Tángmì ("Tang Esoterica"). Tantric Buddhism generally includes all of the traditional forms of Mahayana meditation, but its focus is on several unique and special forms of "tantric" or "esoteric" meditation practices, which are seen as faster and more efficacious. These Tantric Buddhist forms are derived from texts called the Buddhist Tantras. To practice these advanced techniques, one is generally required to be initiated into the practice by an esoteric master (Sanskrit: acarya) or guru (Tib. lama) in a ritual consecration called abhiseka (Tib. wang).

In Tibetan Buddhism, the central defining form of Vajrayana meditation is Deity Yoga (devatayoga).[128] 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.[129] Advanced Deity Yoga involves imagining yourself as the deity and developing "divine pride", the understanding that oneself and the deity are not separate.

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 Dharmakaya. There are also other practices such as Dream Yoga, Tummo, the yoga of the intermediate state (at death) or bardo, sexual yoga and chöd. The shared preliminary practices of Tibetan Buddhism are called ngöndro, which involves visualization, mantra recitation, and many prostrations.

Chinese esoteric Buddhism focused on a separate set of tantras than Tibetan Buddhism (such as the Mahavairocana Tantra and Vajrasekhara Sutra), and thus their practices are drawn from these different sources, though they revolve around similar techniques such as visualization of mandalas, mantra recitation and use of mudras. This also applies for the Japanese Shingon school and the Tendai school (which, though derived from the Tiantai school, also adopted esoteric practices). In the East Asian tradition of esoteric praxis, the use of mudra, mantra and mandala are regarded as the "three modes of action" associated with the "Three Mysteries" (sanmi ??) are seen as the hallmarks of esoteric Buddhism.[130]

Therapeutic uses of meditation

Meditation based on Buddhist meditation principles has been practiced by people for a long time for the purposes of effecting mundane and worldly benefit.[131] Mindfulness and other Buddhist meditation techniques have been advocated in the West by psychologists and expert Buddhist meditation teachers such as Thích Nh?t H?nh, Pema Chödrön, Clive Sherlock, Mya Thwin, 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[132] has received the most research attention, loving kindness[133] (metta) and equanimity (upekkha) meditation are beginning to be used in a wide array of research in the fields of psychology and neuroscience.

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 18] 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,[134][135][136] 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

English Pali Sanskrit Chinese Tibetan

mindfulness/awareness sati sm?ti ? (niàn) ?????? (wylie: dran pa)

clear comprehension sampajañña samprajaña ??? (zhèng zhi lì) ????????? shezhin (shes bzhin)

vigilance/heedfulness appamada apramada ???? (bù fàng yì zuò) ??????? bakyö (bag yod)

ardency atappa atapa? ?? (yong meng) nyima (nyi ma)

attention/engagement manasikara manaskara? ???? (rú li zuò yì) ????????????? yila jepa (yid la byed pa)

foundation of mindfulness satipa??hana sm?tyupasthana ?? (niànzhù) ?????????????????? trenpa neybar zhagpa (dran pa nye bar gzhag pa)

mindfulness of breathing anapanasati anapanasm?ti ???? (annàbannà) ???????????? wuk trenpa (dbugs dran pa)

calm abiding/cessation samatha samatha ? (zhi) ??????? shiney (zhi gnas)

insight/contemplation vipassana vipasyana ? (guan)

?????????? (lhag mthong)

meditative concentration samadhi samadhi ?? (sanmèi) ???????????? ting-nge-dzin (ting nge dzin)

meditative absorption jhana dhyana ? (chán) ???????? samten (bsam gtan)

cultivation bhavana bhavana ?? (xiuxíng) ??????? (sgom pa)

cultivation of analysis Vitakka and Vicara *vicara-bhavana ??? (xún sì chá) ?????????? (dpyad sgom)

cultivation of settling — *sthapya-bhavana — ?????????? jokgom ('jog sgom)