| Part ofa series on |
| Buddhism |
|---|
 |
| Translations of Vipassanā | |
|---|---|
| English | insight, clear-seeing, special seeing, distinct seeing |
| Sanskrit | विपश्यना (IAST:vipaśyanā) |
| Pali | विपस्सना (vipassanā) |
| Burmese | ဝိပဿနာ (WiPakThaNar) |
| Chinese | 觀 (Pinyin:guān) |
| Khmer | វិបស្សនា (UNGEGN:vĭbâssânéa) |
| Sinhala | විපස්සනා (vipassana) |
| Tibetan | ལྷག་མཐོང་ (Wylie: lhag mthong; THL: lhak-thong) |
| Thai | สมถะวิปัสสนา |
| Vietnamese | Thiền Minh Sát |
| Glossary of Buddhism | |
Samatha (Pāli samathaSanskrit: śamatha शमथ;Chinese:止;pinyin:zhǐ[note 1]), "calm,"[1] "serenity,"[2] "tranquility of awareness,"[web 1] andvipassanā (Pāli vipassanā;Sanskrit: vipaśyanā विपश्यना;Sinhala:විදර්ශනා), literally "special, super (vi-), seeing (-passanā)",[3] are two qualities of the mind developed in tandem inBuddhist practice.
In thePāli Canon and theĀgama these qualities are not specific practices, but elements of "a single path," and are "fulfilled" with the development (bhāvanā) of mindfulness (sati) and meditation (jhāna) and otherpath-factors.[4][5] Whilejhāna has a central role in the Buddhist path,vipassanā is rarely mentioned separately, but is usually described along withsamatha.[4][5]
TheAbhidhamma Pitaka and the commentaries describesamatha andvipassanā as two separate techniques, takingsamatha to mean concentration-meditation, andvipassanā as a practice to gain insight. In theTheravāda tradition,vipassanā is a practice that seeks "insight into the true nature of reality", which is defined asanicca ("impermanence"),dukkha ("suffering, unsatisfactoriness"), andanattā ("non-self"): thethree marks of existence.[6][7] In theMahayana traditionsvipassanā is defined as insight intośūnyatā ("emptiness") andBuddha-nature.
In modernTheravāda, the relation betweensamatha andvipassanā is a matter of dispute. Meditation-practice was reinvented in theTheravāda tradition in the 18th–20th centuries, based on contemporary readings of theSatipaṭṭhāna sutta, theVisuddhimagga, and other texts, centering onvipassanā and "dry insight" and downplayingsamatha.[8]Vipassanā became of central importance in the 20th centuryVipassanā movement[9] which favorsvipassanā oversamatha.
Some critics[like whom?] point out that both are necessary elements of the Buddhist training, while other critics[like whom?] argue thatdhyāna is not a single-pointed concentration exercise.
The Sanskrit wordśamatha can be translated as "tranquility";[6][1] "tranquility of the mind";[1] "tranquillity of awareness";[web 1] "serenity";[2] "calm";[1] "meditative calm";[1] or "quietude of the heart."[1]
TheTibetan term forsamatha isཞི་གནས་ (shiné;Wylie:zhi-gnas).[10] Thesemantic field of Sanskritśama and Tibetanshi is "pacification", "the slowing or cooling down", "rest."[10] The semantic field of Tibetanné is "to abide or remain" which is assumed to be the meaning of the final syllable of the Sanskrit,thā.[11] According toJamgon Kongtrul, the terms refer to "peace" and "pacification" of the mind and the thoughts.[10]
Vipassanā is a Pali word derived from the prefix "vi-" and the verbal root "-passanā":[3]
The literal meaning is "super-seeing,"[3] but is often translated as "insight" or "clear-seeing."[citation needed]Henepola Gunaratana definesvipassanā as "[l]ooking into something with clarity and precision, seeing each component as distinct and separate, and piercing all the way through so as to perceive the most fundamental reality of that thing."[7] According to Mitchell Ginsberg,vipassanā is "[i]nsight into how things are, not how we thought them to be."[12]
Associated withvipassanā is the Pāli termpaccakkha (cognate to Sanskrit:pratyakṣa) "perceptible to the senses", literally "before the eyes", which refers to direct experiential perception. Thus, the type of seeing denoted byvipassanā is that of direct perception, as opposed to knowledge derived from reasoning or argument.[citation needed]
In Tibetan,vipassanā islhaktong (Wylie:lhag mthong).Lhak means "higher", "superior", "greater";tong is "view, to see". So together,lhaktong may be rendered into English as "superior seeing", "great vision", or "supreme wisdom". This may be interpreted as a "superior manner of seeing", and also as "seeing that which is the essential nature". Its nature is a lucidity—a clarity of mind.[13]
According toThanissaro Bhikkhu, "samatha,jhāna, andvipassanā were all part of a single path."[4] According to Keren Arbel,samatha andvipassanā are not specific practices, but qualities of the mind that a practitioner fulfills as they develop the factors of theNoble Eightfold Path, includingsati ("mindfulness") andjhāna ("meditation").[5] In theSutta Piṭaka the term "vipassanā" is hardly mentioned, while those texts frequently mentionjhāna as the meditative practice to be undertaken. As Thanissaro Bhikkhu writes,
When [the Pāli suttas] depict the Buddha telling his disciples to go meditate, they never quote him as saying "go dovipassanā," but always "go dojhāna." And they never equate the word "vipassanā" with any mindfulness techniques. In the few instances where they do mentionvipassanā, they almost always pair it withsamatha — 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.[web 2]
According to Vetter and Bronkhorst,dhyāna constituted the original "liberating practice" of the Buddha.[14][15][16] Vetter further argues that theNoble Eightfold Path constitutes a body of practices that prepare one, and lead up to, the practice ofdhyāna.[17] Vetter and Bronkhorst further note thatdhyāna is not limited to single-pointed concentration, which seems to be described in the firstjhāna, but develops into equanimity and mindfulness,[18][19][note 2] "born fromsamādhi."[20] Wynne notes that one is then no longer absorbed in concentration, but is mindfully aware of objects while being indifferent to them,[21] "directing states of meditative absorption towards the mindful awareness of objects."[22]
A number ofsuttas mentionsamatha andvipassanā as mental qualities that are to be developed in tandem.[note 3] InSN 43.2, the Buddha states: "And what,bhikkhus, is the path leading to theunconditioned? Serenity and insight..."[23] In SN 35.245, theKimsuka Tree Sutta, the Buddha provides an elaborate metaphor in which serenity and insight are "the swift pair of messengers" who deliver the message ofnibbāna (Pāli; Skt.:nirvāṇa) via thenoble eightfold path:[note 4]
These two qualities have a share in clear knowing. Which two? Tranquility (samatha) & insight (vipassanā).
When tranquility is developed, what purpose does it serve? The mind is developed. And when the mind is developed, what purpose does it serve? Passion is abandoned.
When insight is developed, what purpose does it serve? Discernment is developed. And when discernment is developed, what purpose does it serve? Ignorance is abandoned.Defiled by passion, the mind is not released. Defiled by ignorance, discernment does not develop. Thus from the fading of passion is there awareness-release. From the fading of ignorance is there discernment-release.[web 3]
Ven.Ānanda reports that people attainarahantship in one of four ways:
Friends, whoever — monk or nun — declares the attainment of arahantship in my presence, they all do it by means of one or another of four paths. Which four?
There is the case where a monk has developed insight preceded by tranquility. [...]
Then there is the case where a monk has developed tranquillity preceded by insight. [...]
Then there is the case where a monk has developed tranquillity in tandem with insight. [...]
Then there is the case where a monk's mind has its restlessness concerning theDhamma [Comm: the corruptions of insight] well under control.
Buddhaghosa, in his influentialTheravāda scholastic treatiseVisuddhimagga, states thatjhāna is induced bysamatha, and thenjhāna is reflected upon with mindfulness, becoming the object ofvipassanā, with the reflector realizing thatjhāna is marked by the three characteristics.[24] One who uses this method is referred to as a "tranquility worker" (Pāḷi:samatha yānika).[8] However modern Buddhist teachers such asHenepola Gunaratana state that there is virtually no evidence of this method in the Pāḷisuttas.[25] A fewsuttas describe a method of "bare insight", or "dry insight" where onlyvipassanā is practiced, examining ordinary physical and mental phenomena to discern the three marks.[8] Gombrich and Brooks argue that the distinction as two separate paths originates in the earliest interpretations of theSutta Pitaka,[26] not in thesuttas themselves.[note 6]
According toRichard Gombrich, a development took place in early Buddhism resulting in a change in doctrine that consideredprajñā to be an alternative means to awakening, alongside the practice of meditation.[27] Thesuttas contain traces of ancientdebates betweenMahāyāna andTheravāda schools concerning the interpretation of the teachings and the development of insight. Out of these debates developed the idea that bare insight suffices to reachliberation, by discerning thethree marks (qualities) of (human) existence (tilakkhaṇa), namelydukkha (suffering),anattā (non-self), andanicca (impermanence).[28] Thanissaro Bikkhu also argues thatsamatha andvipassanā have a "unified role," whereas "[t]heAbhidhamma and the Commentaries, by contrast, state thatsamatha andvipassanā are two distinct meditation paths."[note 7]
Gunaratana notes that "[t]he classical source for the distinction between the two vehicles of serenity and insight is theVisuddhimagga."[29] Ajahn Brahm (who, like Bhikkhu Thanissaro, is of theThai Forest Tradition) writes that
Some traditions speak of two types of meditation, insight meditation (vipassanā) 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."[30]
By the tenth century meditation was no longer practiced in the Theravada tradition, due to the belief that Buddhism had degenerated, and that liberation was no longer attainable until the coming of the future Buddha,Maitreya.[6][note 8] It was reinvented in Myanmar (Burma) in the 18th century byMedawi (1728–1816), leading to the rise of theVipassanā movement in the 20th century, reinventingvipassanā meditation, developing simplified meditation techniques (based on theSatipatthana sutta, theĀnāpānasati Sutta, theVisuddhimagga, and other texts), and emphasizingsatipaṭṭhāna and bare insight.[31][32] In this approach,samatha is regarded as a preparation forvipassanā, pacifying the mind and strengthening concentration, so that insight into impermanence can arise, which leads toliberation. Ultimately, these techniques aim atstream entry, which safeguards future development towards full awakening, despite the degenerated age we live in.[note 9]
According to theTheravāda tradition,samatha refers to techniques that help to calm the mind.Samatha is thought to be developed bysamādhi, interpreted by theTheravāda commentatorial tradition as concentration-meditation, the ability to rest the attention on a single object of perception. One of the principal techniques for this purpose is mindfulness of breathing (Pāḷi:ānāpānasati).[citation needed]Samatha is commonly practiced as a prelude to and in conjunction with wisdom practices.[citation needed]
Some meditation practices, such as contemplation of akasiṇa object, favor the development ofsamatha; others, such as contemplation of theaggregates, are conducive to the development ofvipassanā; while others, such asmindfulness of breathing, are classically used for developing both mental qualities.[33]
TheVisuddhimagga (5th century CE) mentionsforty objects of meditation. Mindfulness (sati) of breathing (ānāpāna:ānāpānasati; S.ānāpānasmṛti) is the most commonsamatha practice (though this term is also used forvipassanā meditation).Samatha can include othersamādhi practices as well.
Theravāda Buddhism describes the development ofsamatha in terms of three successive mental images or 'signs' (nimitta)[note 10] and five stages of joy (Pīti).[note 11] According to theTheravāda-tradition,pīti, a feeling of joy, gladness or rapture, arises from the abandonment of the five hindrances in favor of concentration on a single object.[35] These stages are outlined by theTheravāda exegeteBuddhaghosa in hisVisuddhimagga (also inAtthasālinī) and the earlier Upatissa (author of theVimuttimagga). Following the establishment of access concentration (upacāra-samādhi), one can enter thefourjhānas, powerful states of joyful absorption in which the entire body is pervaded withpīti.
In theTheravāda tradition various understandings ofsamatha exist:[note 12]
In modernTheravāda, liberation is thought to be attained by insight into the transitory nature of phenomena. This is accomplished by establishingsati (mindfulness) andsamatha through the practice ofānāpānasati (mindfulness of breathing), using mindfulness for observing the impermanence in the bodily and mental changes, to gain insight (P:vipassanā, S:vipaśyanā; P:paññā, S:prajñā) into the true nature of phenomena.[37][38]
The termvipassanā is often conflated with theVipassanā Movement, which popularised newvipassanā teachings and practice. It started in the 1950s in Burma, but has gained wide renown mainly through American Buddhist teachers such asJoseph Goldstein,Tara Brach,Gil Fronsdal,Sharon Salzberg, andJack Kornfield. The movement has a wide appeal due to being inclusive of different Buddhist and non-buddhist wisdom, poetry as well as science. It has together with the modern American Zen tradition served as one of the main inspirations for the "mindfulness movement" as developed byJon Kabat-Zinn and others. TheVipassanā Movement, also known as the Insight Meditation Movement, is rooted inTheravāda Buddhism and the revival of meditation techniques, especially the "New Burmese Method", theThai Forest Tradition, and modern influences[9] on the traditions ofSri Lanka,Burma,Laos, andThailand.
In theVipassanā Movement, the emphasis is on theSatipatthana Sutta and the use ofmindfulness to gain insight into the impermanence of the self. It argues that the development of strongsamatha can be disadvantageous,[39] a stance for which the Vipassana Movement has been criticised, especially in Sri Lanka.[40][41] The "New Burmese Method" was developed byU Nārada (1868–1955), and popularised byMahasi Sayadaw (1904–1982) andNyanaponika Thera (1901–1994). Other influential Burmese proponents include Ledi Sayadaw and Mogok Sayadaw as well asMother Sayamagyi andS. N. Goenka, who were both students ofSayagyi U Ba Khin.[42] Influential Thai teachers includeAjahn Chah andBuddhadasa. A well-known Indian teacher isDipa Ma.
Practice begins with the preparatory stage, the practice ofśīla (virtue): giving up worldly thoughts and desires.[43][44] Jeff Wilson notes that morality is a quintessential element of Buddhist practice, and is also emphasized by the first generation of post-war western teachers. However, in the contemporary mindfulness movement, morality as an element of practice has been mostly discarded, "mystifying" the origins of mindfulness.[43]
The practitioner then engages inānāpānasati (mindfulness of breathing), which is described in theSatipatthana Sutta as going into the forest and sitting beneath a tree to simply watch the breath: If the breath is long, to notice that the breath is long, if the breath is short, to notice that the breath is short.[45][46] In the "New Burmese Method", the practitionerattends to any arising mental or physical phenomenon, engaging invitarka, noting or naming physical and mental phenomena (e.g. "breathing, breathing"), without engaging the phenomenon with further conceptual thinking.[44][47] By noticing the arising of physical and mental phenomena, the meditator becomes aware how sense impressions arise from the contact between the senses and physical and mental phenomena,[44] as described in the fiveskandhas andpaṭiccasamuppāda. According to Sayadaw U Pandita, one's awareness and observation of these sensations is de-coupled from any kind of physical response, which reconditions one's impulsive responses to stimuli, such that one is less likely to physically or emotionally overreact to the happenings of the world.[48]
The practitioner also becomes aware of the incessant changes involved in breathing, and the arising and passing away of mindfulness.[49] This noticing is accompanied by reflections oncausation and other Buddhist teachings, leading to insight intodukkha,anattā, andanicca.[44][49] When these three characteristics have been comprehended,reflection subdues[clarification needed], and the process of noticing accelerates, noting phenomena in general, without necessarily naming them.[44][37][38]
According to Thai meditation masterAjahn Lee, the practice of bothsamatha andvipassanā together allows one to achieve various mental powers and gnosis (Pāḷi:abhiññā), including the attainment ofnirvāṇa, whereas the practice ofvipassanā alone allows for the achievement ofnirvāṇa, but no other mental powers or gnosis.[50]
Vipassanā jhānas are stages that describe the development ofsamatha invipassanā meditation practice as described in modern BurmeseVipassanā meditation.[51]Mahasi Sayadaw's studentSayadaw U Pandita described the fourvipassanā jhānas as follows:[52]
Samatha meditation andjhāna (dhyāna) are often considered synonymous by modernTheravāda, but the fourjhānas involve aheightened awareness, instead of a narrowing of the mind.[citation needed]
Vetter notes thatsamādhi may refer to the four stages ofdhyāna meditation, but that only the first stage refers to strong concentration, from which arise the other stages, which include mindfulness.[note 13]
According to Richard Gombrich, the sequence of the fourrūpa-jhānas describes two different cognitive states.[19][note 14][note 15] Gombrich and Wynne note that, while the secondjhāna denotes a state of absorption, in the third and fourthjhāna one comes out of this absorption, being mindfully aware of objects while being indifferent to it.[21] According to Gombrich, "the later tradition has falsified thejhāna by classifying them as the quintessence of the concentrated, calming kind of meditation, ignoring the other – and indeed higher – element."[19] Alexander Wynne further explains that thedhyāna-scheme is poorly understood.[53] According to Wynne, words expressing the inculcation of awareness, such assati,sampajāno, andupekkhā, are mistranslated or understood as particular factors of meditative states,[53] whereas they refer to a particular way of perceiving the sense objects.[note 16]
The north Indian Buddhist traditions like theSarvastivada and theSautrāntika practiced meditation as outlined in texts like theAbhidharmakośakārikā ofVasubandhu and theYogācārabhūmi-śāstra. TheAbhidharmakośakārikā states thatvipaśyanā is practiced, once one has reachedsamādhi ("absorption"), by cultivating the four foundations ofmindfulness (smṛtyupasthāna).[54] This is achieved, according toVasubandhu,
[b]y considering the unique characteristics (svālakṣaṇa) and the general characteristics (sāmānyalakṣaṇā) of the body, sensation, the mind, and the dharmas.
"The unique characteristics" means its self nature (svabhāva).
"The general characteristics" signifies the fact that "All conditioned things are impermanent; all impuredharmas are suffering; and that all thedharmas are empty (śūnya) and not-self (anātmaka).[54]
Asaṅga'sAbhidharma-samuccaya states that the practice ofśamatha-vipaśyanā is a part of the beginning of a Bodhisattva's path, in the first "path of preparation" (sambhāramarga).[55]
TheSthavira nikāya, one of theearly Buddhist schools from which theTheravāda tradition originates, emphasized sudden insight: "In theSthaviravada [...] progress in understanding comes all at once, 'insight' (abhisamaya) does not come 'gradually' (successively—anapurva)."[56]
TheMahāsāṃghika, another one of the early Buddhist schools, had the doctrine ofekakṣaṇacitta, "according to which a Buddha knows everything in a single thought-instant".[57] This process however, meant to apply only to the Buddha andpaccekabuddhas. Lay people may have to experience various levels of insights to become fully enlightened.
The later Indian Mahāyāna scholastic tradition, as exemplified byShantideva'sBodhisattvacaryāvatāra, sawśamatha as a necessary prerequisite tovipaśyanā. Thus, one needed to first begin with calm abiding meditation, and then proceed to insight.[citation needed] In the Pañjikā commentary of Prajñākaramati (Wylie:shes rab 'byung gnas blo gros) on theBodhisattvacaryāvatāra,vipaśyanā is defined simply as "wisdom (prajñā) that has the nature of thorough knowledge of reality as it is.[58]
A number of Mahāyānasūtras addressśamatha, usually in conjunction withvipaśyanā. One of the most prominent, theCloud of Jewels Sutra (Ārya Ratnamegha Sutra, Tib.phags-pa dkon-mchog sprin-gyi mdo, Chinese寶雲經 T658,大乘寶雲經 T659) divides all forms of meditation into eitherśamatha orvipaśyanā, definingśamatha as "single-pointed consciousness" andvipaśyanā as "seeing into the nature of things."[59]
TheSūtra Unlocking the Mysteries (Samdhinirmocana Sūtra), ayogācārasūtra, is also often used as a source for teachings onśamatha. TheSamādhirāja Sūtra is often cited as an important source forśamatha instructions by theKagyu tradition, particularly via the commentary ofGampopa,[60] although scholar Andrew Skilton, who has studied theSamādhirāja Sūtra extensively, reports that thesūtra itself "contains no significant exposition of either meditational practices or states of mind."[61]
TheMahayana tradition emphasizesprajñā, insight intośūnyatā,dharmatā, thetwo truths doctrine, clarity and emptiness, or bliss and emptiness:[62]
[T]he very title of a large corpus of early Mahayana literature, thePrajnaparamita, shows that to some extent the historian may extrapolate the trend to extol insight,prajñā, at the expense of dispassion,virāga, the control of the emotions.[38]
The MahayanaAkṣayamati-nirdeśa refers tovipaśyanā as seeing phenomena as they really are—that is, empty, without self, nonarisen, and without grasping. ThePrajnaparamitasūtra in 8,000 lines states that the practice of insight is the non-appropriation of anydharmas, including thefive aggregates:
So too, a Bodhisattva coursing in perfect wisdom and developing as such, neither does nor even can stand in form, feeling, perception, impulse, and consciousness... This concentrated insight of a Bodhisattva is called "the non-appropriation of alldharmas".[63]
AlthoughTheravāda and Mahayana are commonly understood as different streams of Buddhism, their emphasis on insight is a common denominator: "In practice and understanding Zen is actually very close to theTheravāda Forest Tradition even though its language and teachings are heavily influenced byTaoism andConfucianism."[64][note 17]
InChinese Buddhism, the works ofTiantai masterZhiyi (such as theMohe Zhiguan, "Greatśamatha-vipaśyanā") are some of the most influential texts to discussvipaśyanā meditation from a Mahayana perspective. Zhiyi teaches the contemplation of theskandhas,āyatanas,dhātus,kleshas, false views, and several other elements.[65] Likewise the influential text called theAwakening of Faith in the Mahayana has a section on calm and insight meditation. It states:
He who practices "clear observation" should observe that all conditioned phenomena in the world are unstationary and are subject to instantaneous transformation and destruction; that all activities of the mind arise and are extinguished from moment to moment; and that, therefore, all of these induce suffering. He should observe that all that had been conceived in the past was as hazy as a dream, that all that is being conceived in the future will be like clouds that rise up suddenly. He should also observe that the physical existences of all living beings in the world are impure and that among these various filthy things there is not a single one that can be sought after with joy.[66]
TheZen tradition advocates the simultaneous practice ofśamatha andvipaśyanā, and this is called the practice ofsilent illumination.[67] The classic Chan text known as thePlatform Sutra states:
Calming is the essence of wisdom. And wisdom is the natural function of calming [i.e.,prajñā andsamādhi]. At the time ofprajñā,samādhi exists in that. At the time ofsamādhi,prajñā exists in that. How is it thatsamādhi andprajñā are equivalent? It is like the light of the lamp. When the lamp exists, there is light. When there is no lamp, there is darkness. The lamp is the essence of light. The light is the natural function of the lamp. Although their names are different, in essence, they are fundamentally identical. The teaching ofsamādhi andprajñā is just like this.[67]
Chan Buddhism emphasizes sudden insight (subitism),[56] though in the Chan tradition, this insight is to be followed by gradual cultivation. This "gradual training" is expressed in teachings as theFive Ranks of enlightenment, theTen Bulls illustrations that detail the steps on the path,the "three mysterious gates" of Linji, and the"four ways of knowing" of Hakuin Ekaku.
InTibetan Buddhism, the practice ofśamatha andvipaśyanā is strongly influenced by the Mahāyāna text called theBhavanakrama of Indian masterKamalaśīla. Kamalaśīla definesvipaśyanā as "the discernment of reality" (bhūta-pratyavekṣā) and "accurately realizing the true nature ofdharmas".[68]
According toThrangu Rinpoche, whenśamatha andvipaśyanā are combined (as in the mainstreamMādhyamaka approach ofShantideva andKamalashila), throughśamatha disturbing emotions are abandoned, which thus facilitatesvipaśyanā, "clear seeing".Vipaśyanā is cultivated through reasoning, logic, and analysis in conjunction withśamatha.
In contrast, in thesiddha tradition of the direct approach ofMahamudra andDzogchen,vipaśyanā is ascertained directly through looking into one's own mind. After this initial recognition ofvipaśyanā, the steadiness ofśamatha is developed within that recognition. According to Thrangu Rinpoche, it is also common in the direct approach to first develop enoughśamatha to servevipaśyanā.[69]Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche charts the developmental relationship of the practices ofśamatha andvipaśyanā this way:
The ways these two aspects of meditation are practised is that one begins with the practice ofshamatha; on the basis of that, it becomes possible to practicevipashyana orlhagthong. Through one's practice ofvipashyana being based on and carried on in the midst ofshamatha, one eventually ends up practicing a unification [yuganaddha] ofshamatha andvipashyana. The unification leads to a very clear and direct experience of the nature of all things. This brings one very close to what is called the absolute truth.[70]
Tibetan writers usually definesamatha practice as when one's mind remains fixed on a single object without moving.Dakpo Tashi Namgyal for example, definessamatha as:
by fixing the mind upon any object so as to maintain it without distraction... by focusing the mind on an object and maintaining it in that state until finally it is channeled into one stream of attention and evenness.[71]
According to GesheLhundup Sopa,samatha is:
just a one-pointedness of mind (cittaikāgratā) on a meditative object (ālambana). Whatever the object may be... if the mind can remain upon its object one-pointedly, spontaneously and without effort (nābhisaṃskāra), and for as long a period of time as the meditator likes, it is approaching the attainment of meditative stabilization (śamatha).[71]
Śamatha furthers the right concentration aspect of thenoble eightfold path. The successful result ofśamatha is sometimes characterized as meditative absorption (samādhi,ting nge ’dzin) and meditative equipoise (samāhita,mnyam-bzhag), and as freedom from the five obstructions (āvaraṇa,sgrib-pa). It may also result in thesiddhis of clairvoyance (abhijñā,mgon shes) and magical emanation (nirmāṇa,sprul pa).[72]
According to Culadasa[clarification needed], "Samatha has five characteristics:effortlessly stable attention (samādhi),powerful mindfulness (sati), joy (pīti), tranquility (passaddhi), and equanimity (upekkhā). The complete state ofsamatha results from working with stable attention (samādhi) and mindfulness (sati) until joy emerges. Joy then gradually matures into tranquility, and equanimity arises out of that tranquility. A mind insamatha is the ideal instrument for achieving Insight and Awakening". The idea here is that in order to achieve awakening, you have to master both attention, and peripheral awareness. Such as focusing on the breath and being aware of one's peripheral awareness simultaneously.[73]
This formulation is found in variousYogācāra sources such as theAbhidharmasamuccaya and theŚrāvakabhūmi chapter of theYogācārabhūmi-śāstra.[74] It is also found in theMahāyānasūtrālaṅkāra, which shows considerable similarity in arrangement and content to theBodhisattva-bhūmi.[note 18] In this scheme, śamatha practice is said to progress through nine "mental abidings" or "nine stages of training the mind" (Skt.navākārā cittasthiti, Tib.sems gnas dgu), leading to śamatha proper (the equivalent of "access concentration" in the Theravāda system), and from there to a state of meditative concentration called the firstdhyāna (Pāli:jhāna; Tib.bsam gtan) which is often said to be a state of tranquility or bliss.[75][76]
The "Nine Mental Abidings" as described byKamalaśīla are:[77][75]
Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism employed bothdeductive investigation (applying ideasto experience) andinductive investigation (drawing conclusionsfrom direct experience) in the practice ofvipaśyanā. (These correspond respectively to the "contemplative forms" and "experiential forms" in theTheravāda school described above.)[note 19] According to Leah Zahler, only the tradition of deductive analysis invipaśyanā was transmitted to Tibet in thesūtrayāna context.[84][note 20] One scholar describes his approach thus: "the overall picture painted by Kamalaśīla is that of a kind of serial alternation between observation and analysis that takes place entirely within the sphere of meditative concentration" in which the analysis portion consists ofMadhyamaka reasonings. In Tibet direct examination of moment-to-moment experience as a means of generating insight became exclusively associated withvajrayāna.[note 21][note 22]
Samatha is approached somewhat differently in themahāmudrā tradition as practiced in the Kagyu lineage. AsTraleg Kyabgon Rinpoche explains,
In the practice of Mahamudra tranquility meditation [...] we treat all thoughts as the same in order to gain sufficient distance and detachment from our current mental state, which will allow us to ease naturally into a state of tranquility without effort or contrivance [...] In order for the mind to settle, we need to suspend the value judgments that we impose on our mental activities [...] it is essential that we not try tocreate a state of tranquility but allow the mind to enter into tranquility naturally. This is an important notion in the Mahamudra tradition, that of nondoing. We do notdo tranquility meditation, we allow tranquility to arise of its own accord, and it will do so only if we stop thinking of the meditative state as a thing that we need to do actively [...] In a manner of speaking, catching yourself in the act of distraction is the true test of tranquility meditation, for what counts is not the ability to prevent thoughts or emotions from arising but the ability to catch ourselves in a particular mental or emotional state. This is the very essence of tranquility meditation [in the context of Mahāmudrā] [...] The Mahamudra style of meditation does not encourage us toward the different levels of meditative concentration traditionally described in the exoteric meditation manuals [...] From the Mahamudra point of view, we should not desire meditative equipoise nor have an aversion to discursive thoughts and conflicting emotions but view both of these states with equanimity. Again, the significant point is not whether meditative equipoise is present but whether we are able to maintain awareness of our mental states. If disturbing thoughts do arise, as they certainly will, we should simply recognize these thoughts and emotions as transient phenomena.[87]
For the Kagyupa, in the context of mahāmudrā,śamatha by means ofmindfulness of breathing is thought to be the ideal way for the meditator to transition into taking the mind itself as the object of meditation and generatingvipaśyanā on that basis.[88]
Quite similar is the approach tośamatha found indzogchensemde (Sanskrit:mahāsandhi cittavarga). In thesemde system,śamatha is the first of the four yogas (Tib.naljor,Wylie:rnal-’byor),[89] the others beingvipaśyanā (Wylie:lhag-mthong), nonduality (advaya, Tib.nyime,Wylie:gnyis-med),[90] and spontaneous presence (anābogha ornirābogha, Tib.lhundrub,Wylie:lhun-grub).[91] These parallel the four yogas ofmahāmudrā.
Ajahn Amaro, a longtime student in theThai Forest Theravādin tradition ofAjahn Chah, has also trained in thedzogchensemdeśamatha approach underTsoknyi Rinpoche. He found similarities in the approaches of the two traditions tośamatha.[92]
Mahāmudrā andDzogchen usevipaśyanā extensively. This includes some methods of the other traditions, but also their own specific approaches. They place a greater emphasis on meditating on symbolic images. Additionally in the Vajrayāna (tantric) path, the true nature of mind ispointed out by the guru, and this serves as a direct form of insight.[note 23]
Meditations from other religious traditions may also be recognized assamatha meditation, that differ in the focus of concentration. In this sense,samatha is not a strictly Buddhist meditation.Samatha in its single-pointed focus and concentration of mind is cognate with the sixth "limb" ofaṣṭāṅga yoga,rāja yoga which isconcentration (dhāraṇā). For further discussion, seethe Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali.
After emerging from ajhāna the meditator will proceed to examine the jhanic consciousness and to discern the way it exemplifies the three universal marks.
.svg)
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) | This article'suse ofexternal links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Pleaseimprove this article by removingexcessive orinappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate intofootnote references.(November 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
