| Translations of Vitarka | |
|---|---|
| English | thought[1] applied thought[2] inquiry[3] initial inquiry[4] applied attention[2] initial mental application[5] initial intellectual investigative intent[5] reflection[1] |
| Sanskrit | वितर्क |
| Pali | 𑀯𑀺𑀢𑀓𑁆𑀓 |
| Burmese | ဝိစာရ |
| Chinese | 尋 (T) / 寻 (S) |
| Japanese | 尋 (Rōmaji:jin) |
| Korean | 심 (RR:sim) |
| Tibetan | རྟོག་པ། (Wylie: rtog pa; THL: tokpa) |
| Thai | วิตก (RTGS:witok) |
| Vietnamese | Tầm (tìm) |
| Glossary of Buddhism | |
| Translations of Vicāra | |
|---|---|
| English | examination[1] investigation[3][4] subsequent discursive reasoning and thought[5] investigating what has been focused on byvitakka[5] |
| Sanskrit | vicāra, विचार |
| Pali | vicāra, 𑀯𑀺𑀘𑀸𑀭 |
| Chinese | 伺 (T) / 伺 (S) |
| Japanese | 伺 (Rōmaji:shi) |
| Korean | 사 (RR:sa) |
| Tibetan | དཔྱོད་པ། (Wylie: dpyod pa; THL: chöpa) |
| Thai | วิจาร (RTGS:wichan) |
| Vietnamese | Tứ (Hán Việt): dò xét |
| Glossary of Buddhism | |
| Part ofTheravāda Abhidhamma |
| 52Cetasikas |
|---|
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| Theravāda Buddhism |
7 universal(sabbacittasādhāraṇa) |
25 beautiful(sobhana)
|
InBuddhism,vitarka (वितर्क;Pali:𑀯𑀺𑀢𑀓𑁆𑀓,romanized: vitakka;Tibetan:རྟོག་པ།,Wylie:rtog pa,THL:tokpa), "applied thought,"[2](initial) inquiry,"[3][4] andvicāra (विचार and𑀯𑀺𑀘𑀸𑀭;Tibetan:དཔྱོད་པ།,Wylie:dpyod pa,THL:chöpa), "investigating what has been focused on byvitakka,[5] are qualities or elements of the firstdhyāna orjhāna.
In thePali canon,Vitakka-vicāra form one expression, which refers to directing one's thought or attention on an object (vitarka) and investigating it (vicāra),[6][7][8][9][10] "breaking it down into its functional components" to understand it [and] distinguishing the multitude of conditioning factors implicated in a phenomenal event."[11]
The later Theravada commentarial tradition, as represented byBuddhaghosa'sVisuddhimagga, interpretsvitarka andvicāra as the initial and sustained application of attention to a meditational object, which culminates in the stilling of the mind. According to Fox and Bucknellvitarka-vicāra may also refer to "the normal process of discursive thought," which is quieted through absorption in the secondjhāna.[12][13]
Vitarka (Sanskrit: वितर्क ) - "thoughts,"[14][2] "applied thought,"[15][2] "applied attention,"[2] "inquiry,"[3] "initial inquiry,"[4] "initial mental application, or initial intellectual investigative intent."[5] Its roots are:
Vitarka may refer to mental activities that are manifest both in normal consciousness and in the first stage ofdhyana.[2] According to Buswel and Lopez, in general, it means "thought," "applied thought," or "distracted thoughts."[2] According to Bhikkhu Bodhi, "In the Suttas, the word Vittaka is often used in the loose sense of thought, but in the Abhidhamma it is used in a precise technical sense to mean the mental factor that mounts or directs the mind towards an object."[14]
Vicāra (Sanskrit: विचार) - "investigation,"[3][4] "subsequent discursive reasoning and thought, i.e., investigating what has been focused on byvitakka."[5] Its roots are:
Vitarka investigates things roughly, whilevicāra investigates things exactly.[7][8][9][10] According toDan Lusthaus, it is
Vitarka andvicāra are two of themental factors (cetasika) present during the firstdhyāna (Pali:jhāna), and which are absent in the higher jhanas.[18][19] According to Shankman, "two distinct meanings are suggested [...] one indicating mental activities such as thinking, reflecting, and so on, and the other referring to the mental activity of connecting and sustaining the attention on a meditation object."[1]
According toDan Lusthaus,vitarka-vicāra is analytic scrutiny, a form ofprajna. 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."[11]
According to Polak, in the Pali Canonvitarka andvicāra are mostly related to thinking about the sense-impressions, whichgive rise to further egoistical thought and action.[20] The stilling of this thinking fits into the Buddhist training of sense-withdrawal and right effort, culminating in the equanimity and mindfulness ofdhyana-practice.[20][21]
Ulrich Timme Kragh explains vitarka (discernment) and vicāra (discursiveness), as understood by theYogācārabhūmi-Śāstra, thus: discernment is "the cognitive operation that is responsible for ascertaining what is perceived by the senses by initially labeling it with a name", while discursiveness is "the subsequent conceptual operation of deciding whether the perceived sense-object is desirable and what course of action one might want to take in relation to it".[22]
According to Chaicen, "Samadhi with general examination and specificin-depth investigation means getting rid of thenot 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."[23]
According to Stuart-Fox, the Abhidhamma separatedvitarka fromvicāra, andekaggatā (onepointedness) was added to the description firstjhāna to give an equal number of five hindrances and five antidotes.[24] The commentarial tradition regards the qualities of the firstjhāna to be antidotes to the five hindrances, andekaggatā may have been added to the firstjhāna to give exactly five anti-dotes for the five hindrances.[25][note 1]
While initially simply referring to thought, which is present at the onset ofdhyāna, the termsvitarka andvicāra were re-interpreted by the developing Abhidharma and commentarial tradition. In Theravāda,vitarka is one of the mental factors that apprehend the quality of an object. It is the "initial application of attention"[2] or the mind to its object,[19] whilevicāra is the sustained application of the mind on an object.[14]Vitarka is regarded in the Theravāda tradition as an antidote forthina-middha (sloth and torpor), one of thefive hindrances.[14]
According to Roderick S. Bucknell, "vitakka-vicāra, the factor that particularly characterizes the first jhāna, is probably nothing other than the normal process of discursive thought, the familiar but usually unnoticed stream ofmental imagery and verbalization".[18][note 2]
Martin Stuart-Fox explains, referring to Rhys Davids and Stede, whenvitarka-vicāra are mentioned in tandem, they are one expression, "to coverall varieties of thinking, including sustained and focused thought. It is thinking in this inclusive sense that the meditator suppresses through concentration when he attains one-ness of mind and thus moves from first to secondjhāna".[12]
TheYogacara termmanas means both "intentionality"[26] or 'self-centered thinking',[27] and "discriminative thinking" (vikalpa). The process of meditation aims at "non-thinking," stopping both these cognitive processes.[26]
TheVitarka mudrā, "mudra of discussion," expressesvitarka, joining the tips of the thumb and the index together, and keeping the other fingers straight. This mudra has a great number of variants inMahāyāna Buddhism, and is also known asPrajñāliṅganabhinaya andVyākhyāna mudrā ("mudra of explanation"). TheVitarka mudrā is thought to symbolize teaching and instruction and is associated with significant moments in the Buddha's life, such as his first discourse on theFour Noble Truths and the miracle atSravasti, where he revealed his divine form. Initially depicted with the right hand, since the 8th century CE, it has also been represented using the left hand.[28]
Mahāyāna tradition:
Theravāda tradition:
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