Samādhi (Pali andSanskrit:समाधि), inHinduism,Buddhism,Jainism,Sikhism andyogic schools, is a state ofmeditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivation of Samādhi through various meditation methods is essential for the attainment of spiritual liberation (known variously asnirvana,moksha).[1]
In the oldest Buddhistsutras, on which several contemporary westernTheravada teachers rely, it refers to the development of an investigative andluminous mind that isequanimous and mindful. In the yogic traditions and theBuddhist commentarial tradition, on which the BurmeseVipassana movement and theThai Forest tradition rely, it is interpreted as a meditative absorption or trance attained by the practice ofdhyāna.[5]
Samadhi may refer to a broad range of states.[6][7][8] A common understanding regardssamadhi as meditative absorption:[6]
Sarbacker:samādhi ismeditative absorption or contemplation.[5]
Diener, Erhard & Fischer-Schreiber:samādhi is a non-dualistic state ofconsciousness in which the consciousness of the experiencing subject becomes one with the observing object.[9]
Shivananda: "When the mind is completely absorbed in one object of meditation, it is termed Samadhi."[note 1]
In a Buddhist context, a more nuanced understanding seessamadhi as a state of intensified awareness and investigation of bodily and mental objects or experiences:
Dogen: "The Buddha says: 'When you monks unify your minds, the mind is in samadhi. Since the mind is in samadhi, you know the characteristics of the creation and destruction of the various phenomena in the world [...] When you gain samadhi, the mind is not scattered, just as those who protect themselves from floods guard the levee.'"[10]
Richard Shankman: "The termsamadhi basically means 'undistractedness.'"[11] It may be viewed as "an exclusive focus on a single object,"[12] but also as "a broader state of awareness in which the mind remains steady and unmoving, yet aware of a wide range of phenomena around the meditation object."[12] According to Shankman, the related termcittas'ekaggata may be rendered as "one-pointedness," fixated on a single object, but also as "unification of mind," in which mind becomes very still but does not merge with the object of attention, and is thus able to observe and gain insight into the changing flow of experience.[12]
Dan Lusthaus: "Samadhi provides the methodology and context within which experience is to be examined [...]Samadhi, by training, focusing/collecting, cleansing and calming the mind [...] facilitates things being finally known (janatti) and seen (passati) just as they are (tathata).[13]
Keren Arbel: "Samadhi is depicted [in the Buddhist sutras] as a broad field of awareness, knowing but non-discursive [...] a stable, discerning and focused mind."[6]
Tilmann Vetter argues that the second, third and fourthdhyana in Buddhism,samma-samadhi, "right samadhi," build on a "spontaneous awareness" (sati) and equanimity which is perfected in the fourthdhyana.[14]
In Hinduism,samadhi is also interpreted as the identification with the Absolute:
Various interpretations for the term'setymology are possible, either with the rootsam ("to bring together") orsama ( "the same, equalized, the convergence of two distinct things"). According toDan Lusthaus,samadhi refers to either bringing to consciousness thesamskaras ("buried latencies"), or meditative concentration on a meditation object:[16]
sam, "to bring together";adhi, "to place on, put, to impregnate, to give, to receive": the bringing together of cognitive conditions," "bringing the buried latencies orsamskaras into full view," so "the obscure and hidden become clear objects of cognition," "the womb through which insight is born."[16]
sama, "the same, equalized, the convergence of two distinct things based on some commonality";adhi, "higher, better, most skilfully achieved": "the skillful unification of mind and object," "the mental equanimity conducive to and derived from attention perfectly focused on its object." "[S]ometimes treated as synonymous withekacitta, 'one-focused mind,' i.e. mind (citta) completely focused on and at one (eka) with its object."[16][17]
Etymologies forsam-ā-dhā include:
sam-ā-dhā’: "'to collect' or 'to bring together', thus suggesting the concentration or unification of the mind"; generally translated [in Buddhism] as "concentration."[18]
sam-ā-dhā: "to hold together, to concentrate upon."[19]
sam, "completely";ā, "the return towards the subject";dha, "maintaining together: "to assemble completely"; "the tension borne between two poles of existence (object and thought) is reduced to zero."[20]
sam, "together" or "integrated";ā, "towards";dhā, "to get, to hold": to acquire integration or wholeness, or truth (samāpatti);
sam, "together";ā, "toward"; stem ofdadhati, "puts, places": a putting or joining;
Particular Hindu/yoga interpretations include:
sam, "perfect" or "complete";dhi, "consciousness": "all distinctions between the person who is the subjective meditator, the act of meditation and the object of meditation merge into oneness" (Stephen Sturgess);[21]
sam, "with";ādhi, "Lord": Union with the Lord (Stephen Sturgess);[19]
sama, "balance";ādi, "original": " a state that is equal to the original state, which is the state that prevailed before we came into existence"; "original balance" (Kamlesh D. Patel.[23]
CommonChinese terms forsamādhi include the transliterationssanmei (三昧) andsanmodi (三摩地 or 三摩提), as well as the translation of the term literally asding (定 "stability").Kumarajiva's translations typically usesanmei (三昧), while the translations ofXuanzang tend to useding (定 "stability"). TheChinese Buddhist canon includes these, as well as other translations and transliterations of the term.
Samma-samadhi, "rightsamadhi," is the last of the eight elements of theNoble Eightfold Path.[web 1] Whensamadhi is developed, things are understood as they really are.[24]
Samma-samadhi is explicated asdhyana (jhāna,Pali:𑀛𑀸𑀦), which is traditionally interpreted as one-pointed concentration. Yet, in the stock formula ofdhyānasamādhi is only mentioned in the seconddhyana, to give way to a state ofequanimity andmindfulness, in which one keeps access to the senses in a mindful way, avoiding primary responses to the sense-impressions.[25][26]
The origins of the practice ofdhyāna are a matter of dispute.[27][28] According to Crangle, the development of meditative practices in ancient India was a complex interplay between Vedic and non-Vedic traditions.[29] According to Bronkhorst, the fourrūpa jhāna may be an original contribution of the Buddha to the religious landscape of India, which formed an alternative to the painful ascetic practices of the Jains, while thearūpa jhāna were incorporated from non-Buddhist ascetic traditions.[27] Alexander Wynne argues that dhyāna was incorporated from Brahmanical practices, in the Nikayas ascribed to Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta. These practices were paired tomindfulness andinsight, and given a new interpretation.[28] Kalupahana also argues that the Buddha "reverted to the meditational practices" he had learned from Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta.[30]
In the sutras,jhāna is entered when one 'sits down cross-legged and establishes mindfulness'. According to Buddhist tradition, it may be supported byānāpānasati, mindfulness of breathing, a core meditative practice which can be found in almost all schools of Buddhism. TheSuttapiṭaka and theAgamas describe four stages ofrūpa jhāna.Rūpa refers to the material realm, in a neutral stance, as different from thekāma-realm (lust, desire) and thearūpa-realm (non-material realm).[34] While interpreted in the Theravada-tradition as describing a deepening concentration and one-pointedness, originally thejhānas seem to describe a development frominvestigating body and mind andabandoning unwholesome states, to perfected equanimity and watchfulness,[35] an understanding which is retained in Zen and Dzogchen.[36][35] The stock description of thejhānas, with traditional and alternative interpretations, is as follows:[35][note 2]
Firstjhāna:
Separated (vivicceva) from desire for sensual pleasures, separated (vivicca) from [other]unwholesome states (akusalehi dhammehi, unwholesomedhammas[37]), abhikkhu enters upon and abides in the firstjhana, which is [mental]pīti ("rapture," "joy") and [bodily]sukha ("pleasure"; also: 'lasting', in contrast to 'transient' (dukkha)) "born ofviveka" (traditionally, "seclusion"; alternatively, "discrimination" (of dhamma's)[38][note 3]), accompanied byvitarka-vicara (traditionally, initial and sustained attention to a meditative object; alternatively, initial inquiry andsubsequent investigation[41][42][43] ofdhammas (defilements[44] and wholesome thoughts[45][note 4]); also: "discursive thought"[note 5]).
Secondjhāna:
Again, with the stilling ofvitarka-vicara, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the secondjhana, which is [mental]pīti and [bodily]sukha "born ofsamadhi" (samadhi-ji; trad. born of "concentration"; altern. "knowing but non-discursive [...] awareness,"[6] "bringing the buried latencies orsamskaras into full view"[53][note 6]), and hassampasadana ("stillness,"[54] "inner tranquility"[51][note 7]) andekaggata (unification of mind,[54] awareness) withoutvitarka-vicara;
Thirdjhāna:
With the fading away ofpīti, a bhikkhu abides inupekkhā (equanimity," "affective detachment"[51][note 8]),sato (mindful) and [with]sampajañña ("fully knowing,"[55] "discerning awareness"[56]). [Still] experiencingsukha with the body, he enters upon and abides in the thirdjhana, on account of which the noble ones announce, "abiding in [bodily] pleasure, one is equanimous and mindful".
Fourthjhāna:
With the abandoning of [the desire for]sukha ("pleasure") and [aversion to]dukkha ("pain"[57][56]) and with the previous disappearance of [the inner movement between]somanassa ("gladness,"[58]) anddomanassa ("discontent"[58]), a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the fourthjhana, which isadukkham asukham ("neither-painful-nor-pleasurable,"[57] "freedom from pleasure and pain"[59]) and hasupekkhā-sati-parisuddhi (complete purity ofequanimity and mindfulness).[note 9]
Appended to thejhana-scheme are four meditative states, referred to in the early texts asarupas or asāyatana. They are sometimes mentioned in sequence after the first fourjhānas and thus came to be treated by later exegetes as jhānas. The immaterial are related to, or derived from, yogic meditation, and aim more specific at concentration, while thejhanas proper are related to the cultivation of the mind. The state of complete dwelling in emptiness is reached when the eighthjhāna is transcended. The fourarupas are:
fifth jhāna: infinite space (Paliākāsānañcāyatana, Skt.ākāśānantyāyatana),
eighth jhāna: neither perception nor non-perception (Palinevasaññānāsaññāyatana, Skt.naivasaṃjñānāsaṃjñāyatana).
Although the "Dimension of Nothingness" and the "Dimension of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception" are included in the list of nine jhanas attributed to the Buddha, they are not included in theNoble Eightfold Path. Noble Path number eight is "Samma Samadhi" (Right Concentration), and only the first four Jhanas are considered "Right Concentration". When all the jhanas are mentioned, the emphasis is on the "Cessation of Feelings and Perceptions" rather than stopping short at the "Dimension of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception".
According toGunaratana, the term 'samādhi' derives from the roots 'sam-ā-dhā', which means 'to collect' or 'bring together', and thus it is generally translated as "concentration." In the early Buddhist texts,samādhi is also associated with the termsamatha (calm abiding). In the commentarial tradition,samādhi is defined asekaggata, one-pointedness of mind (Cittass'ekaggatā).[18]
Buddhagosa definessamādhi as "the centering of consciousness and consciousness concomitants evenly and rightly on a single object [...] the state in virtue of which consciousness and its concomitants remain evenly and rightly on a single object, undistracted and unscattered".[61] According to Buddhaghosa, the Theravada Pali texts mention fourattainments ofsamādhi:
Momentary concentration (khanikasamādhi): a mental stabilization which arises duringsamatha meditation.
Preliminary concentration (parikammasamādhi): arises out of the meditator's initial attempts to focus on a meditation object.
Access concentration (upacārasamādhi): arises when thefive hindrances are dispelled, whenjhāna is present, and with the appearance the 'counterpart sign' (patibhaganimitta).
Absorption concentration (appanasamādhi): the total immersion of the mind on its meditation of object and stabilization of all fourjhānas.
According to Buddhaghosa, in his influential standard-workVisuddhimagga,samādhi is the "proximate cause" to the obtainment ofwisdom.[62] The Visuddhimagga describes40 different objects for meditation, which are mentioned throughout the Pali canon, but explicitly enumerated in the Visuddhimagga, such as mindfulness of breathing (ānāpānasati) and loving kindness (mettā).[63]
While the Theravada-tradition interpretsdhyana as one-pointed concentration, this interpretation has become a matter of debate. According to Richard Gombrich, the sequence of the fourrupa-jhanas describes two different cognitive states: "I know this is controversial, but it seems to me that the third and fourth jhanas are thus quite unlike the second."[26][note 10]
Alexander Wynne states that thedhyana-scheme is poorly understood.[64] According to Wynne, words expressing the inculcation of awareness, such assati,sampajāno, andupekkhā, are mistranslated or understood as particular factors of meditative states,[64] whereas they refer to a particular way of perceiving the sense objects.[64][note 11][note 12]
Several western teachers (Thanissaro Bhikkhu, Leigh Brazington, Richard Shankman) make a distinction between 'sutta-oriented'jhana and'Visuddhimagga-oriented'jhāna.[66][full citation needed] Thanissaro Bhikkhu has repeatedly argued that the Pali Canon and theVisuddhimagga give different descriptions of the jhanas, regarding theVisuddhimagga-description to be incorrect.[66][citation needed] Keren Arbel has conducted extensive research on thejhānas and the contemporary criticisms of the commentarial interpretation. Based on this research, and her own experience as a senior meditation-teacher, she gives a reconstructed account of the original meaning of thedhyanas. She argues that the four jhānas are the outcome of both calming the mind and developing insight into the nature of experience and cannot not be seen in the suttas as two distinct and separated meditation techniques, but as integral dimensions of a single process thatleads to awakening. She concludes that "the fourth jhāna is the optimal experiential event for the utter de-conditioning of unwholesome tendencies of mind and for the transformation of deep epistemological structures. This is because one embodies and actualizes an awakened awareness of experience."[35]
The earliest extant Indian Mahāyāna texts emphasize ascetic practices, forest-dwelling, and states of meditative oneness, i.e.samādhi. These practices seem to have occupied a central place in early Mahāyāna, also because they "may have given access to fresh revelations and inspiration".[67]
Indian Mahāyāna traditions refer to numerous forms ofsamādhi, for example, Section 21 of theMahavyutpatti records 118 distinct forms ofsamādhi[68] and theSamadhiraja Sutra has as its main theme asamādhi called 'thesamādhi that is manifested as the sameness of the essential nature of alldharmas' (sarva-dharma-svabhavā-samatā-vipañcita-samādhi).[69][note 13]
According to Polak, these are alternative descriptions of the four dhyanas, describing the cognitive aspects instead of the bodily aspects.[70] According to Polak, in the final stages of dhyana no ideation of experience takes place, and no signs are grasped (animitta samādhi), which means that the concentrated attention cannot be directed (appaṇihita samādhi) towards those signs, and only the perception of the six senses remains, without a notion of "self" (suññata samādhi).[70]
In the Chinese Buddhist tradition these are called the 'three doors of liberation' (sān jiětuō mén,三解脫門):[71] These three are not always cited in the same order.Nagarjuna, aMadhyamaka Buddhist scholar, in hisMaha-prajnaparamita-sastra, listedapraṇihita beforeānimitta in his first explanation on these "threesamādhi", but in later listings and explanations in the same work reverted to the more common order. Others, such asThích Nhất Hạnh, aThien Buddhist teacher, listapraṇihita as the third afterśūnyatā andānimitta.[71][72] Nagarjuna lists these three kinds ofsamādhi among the qualities of thebodhisattva.[71]
According to Nagarjuna, signlessness-samadhi is thesamādhi in which one recognises all dharmas are free of signs (ānimitta).[71] According to Thích Nhất Hạnh, "signs" refer to appearances or form, likening signlessness samadhi to not being fooled by appearances, such as the dichotomy of being and non-being.[73]
According to Nagarjuna, emptiness-samadhi is thesamādhi in which one recognises that the true natures of alldharmas are absolutely empty (atyantaśūnya), and that thefive aggregates are not the self (anātman), do not belong to the self (anātmya), and are empty (śūnya) withoutself-nature.[71]
Indiandhyāna was translated aschán in Chinese, andzen in Japanese. Ideologically theZen-tradition emphasizesprajñā andsudden insight, but in the actual practice prajñā and samādhi, or sudden insight and gradual cultivation, are paired to each other.[74][75] Especially some lineages in theRinzai school of Zen stress sudden insight, while theSōtō school of Zen lays more emphasis onshikantaza, training awareness of the stream of thoughts, allowing them to arise and pass away without interference. Historically, many traditional Japanese arts were developed or refined to attainsamādhi, includingincense appreciation (香道,kodō),flower arranging (華道,kadō), thetea ceremony (茶道,sadō),calligraphy (書道,shodō), and martial arts such asarchery (弓道,kyūdō). The Japanese character 道 meansthe way orthe path and indicates that disciplined practice in the art is a path tosamādhi.[citation needed]
According to Taimni,dhāraṇā,dhyāna, andsamādhi form a graded series:[76]
Dhāraṇā ― Indhāraṇā, the mind learns to focus on a single object of thought. The object of focus is called apratyaya. Indhāraṇā, the yogi learns to prevent other thoughts from intruding on focusing awareness on thepratyaya.
Dhyāna ― Over time and with practice, the yogin learns to sustain awareness of only thepratyaya, transformingdhāraṇā intodhyāna. Indhyāna, the yogin realizes the triplicity of perceiver (the yogin), perceived (thepratyaya), and the act of perceiving. The key distinction ofdhyāna is the gradual minimization of the perceiver, leading to the fusion of the observer with the observed (thepratyaya).
Samādhi ― When the yogin sustains focus on thepratyaya and minimizes self-consciousness, dhyāna transforms into samādhi, where the yogin fuses with thepratyaya. Patanjali compares this to a transparent jewel on a coloured surface: the jewel takes on the colour of the surface. Similarly, insamādhi, the consciousness of the yogin fuses with the object of thought, thepratyaya. Thepratyaya is like the coloured surface, and the yogin's consciousness is like the transparent jewel.[a]
Samādhi is oneness with the object of meditation. There is no distinction between act of meditation and the object of meditation. Samādhi is of two kinds, with and without support of an object of meditation:[77][web 2][web 3]
Samprajñata samādhi (also calledsavikalpa samādhi andsabija samādhi,[web 4][note 16]) refers tosamādhi with the support of an object of meditation.[web 2][note 17] In Sutra 1:17 Patanjali tells us thatsamprajnata samādhi comprises four stages: "complete high consciousness (samprajnata samādhi) is that which is accompanied byvitarka (deliberation),vicara (reflection),ānanda (ecstasy), andasmitā (a sense of 'I'-ness)".[81][82][note 18]
The first two, deliberation and reflection, form the basis of the various types ofsamāpatti:[81][82]
Savitarka, "deliberative":[81][note 19] The mind,citta, is concentrated upon a gross object of meditation, an object with a manifest appearance that is perceptible to our senses, such as a flame of a lamp, the tip of the nose, or the image of a deity.[web 2][84] Conceptualization (vikalpa) still takes place, in the form of perception, the word and the knowledge of the object of meditation.[81] When deliberation ends, this is callednirvitarka samāpatti, where the mind transcends cognitive perception and consciousness directly encounters true reality.[85][86][note 20]
Savichara, "reflective":[84] the mind,citta, is concentrated upon a subtle object of meditation, which is not perceptible to the senses, but arrived at through inference,[web 2][84] such as the senses, the process of cognition, the mind, the I-am-ness,[note 21] thechakras, the inner-breath (prana), thenadis, the intellect (buddhi).[84]Baba Hari Dass noted that insavichāra samādhi mind principally reflects the subtle objects of the senses (tanmātra) and their characteristics of space (deśha) and time (kāla), as well as their causation (nimitta) via the sense of "I-am-ness".[87] The stilling of reflection is callednirvichara samāpatti.[84][note 22]
The last two associations,sānanda samādhi andsāsmitā, are respectively a state of meditation, and an object ofsavichara samādhi:
Ānanda, "with bliss": also known as "supreme bliss", or "with ecstasy", this state emphasizes the still subtler state of bliss in meditation;ānanda is free from vitarka and vicara.[web 2]
Āsmitā, "with egoity": the citta is concentrated upon the sense or feeling of "I-am-ness".[web 2]
Asamprajñata samādhi (also callednirvikalpa samādhi andnirbija samādhi)[web 3] refers tosamādhi without the support of an object of meditation,[web 2] which leads to knowledge ofpurusha or consciousness, the subtlest element.[84][note 23]
According toParamahansa Yogananda, in this state one lets go of the ego and becomes aware of Spirit beyond creation. The soul is then able to absorb the fire of Spirit-Wisdom that "roasts" or destroys the seeds of body-bound inclinations. The soul as the meditator, its state of meditation, and the Spirit as the object of meditation all become one. The separate wave of the soul meditating in the ocean of Spirit becomes merged with the Spirit. The soul does not lose its identity, but only expands into Spirit. In savikalpa samādhi the mind is conscious only of the Spirit within; it is not conscious of the exterior world. The body is in a trancelike state, but the consciousness is fully perceptive of its blissful experience within.[89]
According to Ian Whicher, the status ofānanda andāsmitā in Patanjali's system is a matter of dispute.[91] According to Maehle, the first two constituents, deliberation and reflection, form the basis of the various types ofsamāpatti.[81] According to Feuerstein:
"Joy" and "I-am-ness" [...] must be regarded as accompanying phenomena of every cognitive [ecstasy]. The explanations of the classical commentators on this point appear to be foreign to Patanjali's hierarchy of [ecstatic] states, and it seems unlikely thatānanda andasmita should constitute independent levels ofsamādhi.[91]
Ian Whicher disagrees with Feuerstein, seeingānanda andasmitā as later stages ofnirvicara-samāpatti.[91] Whicher refers toVācaspati Miśra (900–980 CE), the founder of theBhāmatīAdvaita Vedanta who proposes eight types ofsamāpatti:[92]
Savitarka-samāpatti andnirvitarka-samāpatti, both with gross objects as objects of support;
Savicāra-samāpatti andnirvicāra-samāpatti, both with subtle objects as objects of support;
Sānanda-samāpatti andnirānanda-samāpatti, both with the sense organs as objects of support
Sāsmitā-samāpatti andnirasmitā-samāpatti, both with the sense of "I-am-ness" as support.
Vijnana Bikshu (c. 1550–1600) proposes a six-stage model, explicitly rejecting Vacaspati Misra's model. Vijnana Bikshu regards joy (ānanda) as a state that arises when the mind passes beyond thevicara stage.[82] Whicher agrees thatānanda is not a separate stage ofsamādhi.[82] According to Whicher, Patanjali's own view seems to be thatnirvicara-samādhi is the highest form of cognitive ecstasy.[82]
According to Sarasvati Buhrman, "Babaji once explained that when people feel blissful sensations duringsādhanā, on a gross level the breath is equal in both nostrils, and on the subtle levelpranic flow inida andpingalanadis is balanced. This is called thesushumna breath because the residual prana of the sushuma, thekundalini, flows in sushumna nadi, causingsattvaguna to dominate. "It creates a feeling of peace. That peace is ānanda". Insānanda samādhi the experience of that ānanda, that sattvic flow, is untainted by any othervrittis, or thoughts, save the awareness of the pleasure of receiving that bliss".[93]
According to Maehle,asamprajñata samādhi (also callednirvikalpa samādhi andnirbija samādhi)[web 3] leads to knowledge ofpurusha or consciousness, the subtlest element.[84]Heinrich Zimmer distinguishesnirvikalpa samādhi from other states as follows:
Nirvikalpa samādhi, on the other hand, absorption without self-consciousness, is a mergence of the mental activity (cittavṛtti) in the Self, to such a degree, or in such a way, that the distinction (vikalpa) of knower, act of knowing, and object known becomes dissolved — as waves vanish in water, and as foam vanishes into the sea.[94]
Swami Sivananda describesnirbija samādhi (lit. "samādhi" without seeds) as follows:
"Without seeds orSamskaras [...] All the seeds or impressions are burnt by the fire of knowledge [...] all the Samskaras and Vasanas which bring on rebirths are totally freed up. All Vrittis or mental modifications that arise from the mind-lake come under restraint. The five afflictions, viz., Avidya (ignorance), Asmita (egoism), Raga-dvesha (love and hatred) and Abhinivesha (clinging to life) are destroyed and the bonds of Karma are annihilated [...] It gives Moksha (deliverance from the wheel of births and deaths). With the advent of the knowledge of the Self, ignorance vanishes. With the disappearance of the root-cause, viz., ignorance, egoism, etc., also disappear".[web 3]
Sahaja samadhi is a state in which a silent level within the subject is maintained along with (simultaneously with) the full use of the human faculties.[95]
Kevala nirvikalpa samādhi is temporary,[web 5][web 6] whereassahaja nirvikalpa samādhi is a continuous state throughout daily activity.[95] This state seems inherently more complex thansāmadhi, since it involves several aspects of life, namely external activity, internal quietude, and the relation between them.[95] It also seems to be a more advanced state, since it comes after the mastering ofsamādhi.[95][note 24][note 25]
Sahaja is one of the four keywords of theNathsampradaya along withSvecchachara,Sama, andSamarasa.Sahaja meditation and worship was prevalent in Tantric traditions common toHinduism andBuddhism in Bengal as early as the 8th–9th centuries.
Nirvikalpaka yoga is a term in the philosophical system ofShaivism, in which, throughsamādhi, there is a complete identification of the "I" andShiva, in which the very concepts of name and form disappear and Shiva alone is experienced as thereal Self. In that system, this experience occurs when there is complete cessation of all thought-constructs.[96]
Bhāva samādhi is a state of ecstatic consciousness that can sometimes be a seemingly spontaneous experience, but is recognized generally to be the culmination of long periods of devotional practices.[97] It is believed by some groups to be evoked through the presence of "higher beings".[98]Bhāva samādhi has been experienced by notable figures in Indian spiritual history, including SriRamakrishna Paramahamsa and some of his disciples,Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and his chief disciple Nityananda,Mirabai and numerous saints in thebhakti tradition.[99]
In Hindu or Yogic traditions,mahāsamādhi, the "great" and finalsamādhi, is the act of consciously and intentionally leaving one's body at the moment of death.[100] According to this belief, a realized and liberated (Jivanmukta)yogi oryogini who has attained the state ofnirvikalpa samādhi can consciously exit from their body and attainliberation at the moment of death while in a deep, conscious meditative state.[101]
Some individuals have, according to their followers, declared the day and time of theirmahāsamādhi beforehand. These includeLahiri Mahasaya whose death on September 26, 1895, was of this nature, according toParamahansa Yogananda.[101][102] Paramahansa Yogananda's own death on March 7, 1952, was described by his followers as enteringmahāsamādhi.[103] Daya Mata, one of Yogananda's direct disciples, said that Yogananda on the previous evening had asked her "Do you realize that it is just a matter of hours and I will be gone from this earth?"[104]
TheBhagavad Gita describes samadhi as the ultimate state of spiritual realization, marked by profound steadiness of mind and deep absorption in the true self. This state emerges when one transcends attachments to worldly pleasures and power (verse 2.44) and achieves a resolute, unwavering intellect fixed in spiritual truth, free from confusion (verse 2.53).[105]
Patanjali's description ofsamādhi resembles the Buddhistjhānas.[106][note 26] According to Jianxin Li,samprajñata samādhi may be compared to therūpa jhānas of Buddhism.[78] This interpretation may conflict with Gombrich and Wynne, according to whom the first and secondjhāna represent concentration, whereas the third and fourthjhāna combine concentration with mindfulness.[79] According to Eddie Crangle, the firstjhāna resembles Patanjali'ssamprajñata samādhi, which both share the application ofvitarka andvicara.[80]
According toDavid Gordon White, the language of theYoga Sūtras is often closer to "Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, the Sanskrit of the early Mahāyana Buddhist scriptures, than to the classical Sanskrit of other Hindu scriptures".[107] According to Karel Werner:
Patanjali's system is unthinkable without Buddhism. As far as its terminology goes there is much in the Yoga Sutras that reminds us of Buddhist formulations from thePāli Canon and even more so from theSarvastivadaAbhidharma and fromSautrāntika".[108]
Robert Thurman writes that Patañjali was influenced by the success of theBuddhist monastic system to formulate his own matrix for the version of thought he considered orthodox.[109] However, the Yoga Sutra, especially the fourth segment of Kaivalya Pada, contains several polemical verses critical of Buddhism, particularly the Vijñānavāda school of Vasubandhu.[110]
While Patañjali was influenced by Buddhism, and incorporated Buddhist thought and terminology,[111][112][113] the term "nirvikalpa samādhi" is unusual in a Buddhist context, though some authors have equatednirvikalpa samādhi with theformless jhānas and/ornirodha samāpatti.[114][115][116][78]
A similar term,nirvikalpa-jñāna, is found in the BuddhistYogacara tradition, and is translated byEdward Conze as "undifferentiated cognition".[117] Conze notes that, in Yogacara, only the actual experience ofnirvikalpa-jñāna can prove the reports given of it in scriptures. He describes the term as used in the Yogacara context as follows:
The "undiscriminate cognition" knows first the unreality of all objects, then realizes that without them also the knowledge itself falls to the ground, and finally directly intuits the supreme reality. Great efforts are made to maintain the paradoxical nature of thisgnosis. Though without concepts, judgements and discrimination, it is nevertheless not just mere thoughtlessness. It is neither a cognition nor a non-cognition; its basis is neither thought nor non-thought.... There is here no duality of subject and object. The cognition is not different from that which is cognized, but completely identical with it.[118][note 27]
A different sense in Buddhist usage occurs in the Sanskrit expressionnirvikalpayati (Pali:nibbikappa) that means "makes free from uncertainty (or false discrimination)" i.e. "distinguishes, considers carefully".[119]
^Shivananda: "In Samadhi, There is neither physical nor mental consciousness. There is only spiritual consciousness. There is only Existence (Sat). That is your real Svarupa. When the water dries up in a pool, the reflection of the sun in the water also vanishes. When the mind melts in Brahman, when the mind-lake dries up, the reflected Chaitanya (Chidabhasa) also vanishes. The Jivatman (personality) goes away. There remains Existence alone."[citation needed]
^Arbel explains that "viveka" is usually translated as "detachment," "separation," or "seclusion," but the primary meaning is "discrimination." According to Arbel, the usage ofvivicca/vivicceva andviveka in the description of the firstdhyana "plays with both meanings of the verb; namely, its meaning as discernment and the consequent 'seclusion' and letting go," in line with the "discernment of the nature of experience" developed by the foursatipatthanas.[38] Compare Dogen: "Being apart from all disturbances and dwelling alone in a quiet place is called "enjoying serenity and tranquility.""[39] Arbel further argues thatviveka resemblesdhamma vicaya, which is mentioned in thebojjhanga, an alternative description of thedhyanas, but the onlybojjhanga-term not mentioned in the stockdhyana-description.[40] Compare Sutta Nipatha 5.14Udayamāṇavapucchā (The Questions of Udaya): "Pure equanimity and mindfulness, preceded by investigation of principles—this, I declare, is liberation by enlightenment, the smashing of ignorance.” (Translation: Sujato)
^Stta Nipatha 5:13Udaya’s Questions (transl. Thanissaro): "With delight the world’s fettered. With directed thought it’s examined." Chen 2017: "Samadhi with general examination and specific in-depth investigation means getting rid of 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." Arbel 2016, p. 73: "Thus, my suggestion is that we should interpret the existence ofvitakka andvicara in the firstjhana as wholesome 'residues' of a previous development of wholesome thoughts. They denote the 'echo' of these wholesome thoughts, which reverberates in one who enters the firstjhana as wholesome attitudes toward what is experienced."
^In thePali canon,Vitakka-vicāra form one expression, which refers to directing one's thought or attention on an object (vitarka) and investigate it (vicāra).[43][46][47][48][49] 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."[50] The 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 when moving on to the second dhyana.[51][52] According to Fox and Bucknell it may also refer to "the normal process of discursive thought," which is quieted through absorption in the secondjhāna.[52][51]
^The standard translation forsamadhi is "concentration"; yet, this translation/interpretation is based on commentarial interpretations, as explained by a number of contemporary authors.[35] Tilmann Vetter notes thatsamadhi has a broad range of meanings, and "concentration" is just one of them. Vetter argues that the second, third and fourthdhyana aresamma-samadhi, "right samadhi," building on a "spontaneous awareness" (sati) and equanimity which is perfected in the fourthdhyana.[14]
^The common translation, based on the commentarial interpretation ofdhyana as expanding states of absorption, translatessampasadana as "internal assurance." Yet, as Bucknell explains, it also means "tranquilizing," which is more apt in this context.[51] See alsoPassaddhi.
^With the fourthjhāna comes the attainment of higher knowledge (abhijñā), that is, the extinction of all mental intoxicants (āsava), but also psychic powers.[60] For instance inAN 5.28, the Buddha states (Thanissaro, 1997.): "When a monk has developed and pursued the five-factored noble right concentration in this way, then whichever of the six higher knowledges he turns his mind to know and realize, he can witness them for himself whenever there is an opening...." "If he wants, he wields manifold supranormal powers. Having been one he becomes many; having been many he becomes one. He appears. He vanishes. He goes unimpeded through walls, ramparts, and mountains as if through space. He dives in and out of the earth as if it were water. He walks on water without sinking as if it were dry land. Sitting crosslegged he flies through the air like a winged bird. With his hand he touches and strokes even the sun and moon, so mighty and powerful. He exercises influence with his body even as far as the Brahma worlds. He can witness this for himself whenever there is an opening ..."
^Wynne: "Thus the expressionsato sampajāno in the thirdjhāna must denote a state of awareness different from the meditative absorption of the secondjhāna (cetaso ekodibhāva). It suggests that the subject is doing something different from remaining in a meditative state, i.e. that he has come out of his absorption and is now once again aware of objects. The same is true of the wordupek(k)hā: it does not denote an abstract 'equanimity', [but] it means to be aware of something and indifferent to it [...] The third and fourthjhāna-s, as it seems to me, describe the process of directing states of meditative absorption towards the mindful awareness of objects.[65]
^theravadin.wordpress.com: "In this order, therefore, what we should understand as vipassanā is not at all a synonym for sati but rather something which grows out of the combination of all these factors especially of course the last two, samma sati and samma samādhi applied to the ruthless observation of what comes into being (yathābhūta). One could say, vipassanā is a name for the practice of sati+samādhi as applied to anicca/dukkha/anatta (i.e. generating wisdom) directed at the six-sense-process, including any mental activity." According to Gombrich, "the later tradition has falsified the jhana by classifying them as the quintessence of the concentrated, calming kind of meditation, ignoring the other - and indeed higher - element.[26]
^Gomez & Silk: "This samādhi is at the same time the cognitive experience of emptiness, the attainment of the attributes of buddhahood, and the performance of a variety of practices or daily activities of a bodhisattva—including service and adoration at the feet of all buddhas. The word samādhi is also used to mean the sūtra itself. Consequently, we can speak of an equation, sūtra = samādhi = śūnyatā, underlying the text. In this sense, the titleSamadhiraja expresses accurately the content of the sūtra".[69]
^Thich Nhat Hanh, Sherab Chodzin Kohn, Melvin McLeod (2012),You Are Here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment, p.104: "Aimlessness is a form of concentration, one of three practices of deep looking recommended by the Buddha. The other two are concentration on the absence of distinguishing signs (alakshana) and concentration on emptiness (sunyata)."
^Lusthaus 2014, p. 266: "Sangharakshita translatesapraṇihita as 'Aimlessness,' while Conze uses 'Wishless', and writes inBuddhist Thought in India (Ann Arbor:University of Michigan Press, 1967) p. 67: "The word a-pra-ni—hita means literally that one 'places nothing in front' and it designates someone who makes no plans for the future, has no hopes for it, who is aimless, not bent on anything, without predilection or desire for the objects of perception rejected by the concentration on the Signless [animitta]."
^According to Jianxin LiSamprajnata Samadhi may be compared to therupa jhānas of Buddhism.[78] This interpretation may conflict with Gombrich and Wynne, according to whom the first and secondjhāna represent concentration, whereas the third and fourthjhāna combine concentration with mindfulness.[79] According to Eddie Crangle, the firstjhāna resembles Patnajali'ssamprajñata samādhi, which both share the application ofvitarka andvicara.[80]
^Yoga Sutra 1.17: "Objectivesamādhi (samprajnata) is associated with deliberation, reflection, bliss, and I-am-ness (asmita).[83]
^Yoga Sutra 1.42: "Deliberative (savitarka)samāpatti is thatsamādhi in which words, objects, and knowledge are commingled through conceptualization".[81]
^Yoga Sutra 1.43: "When memory is purified, the mind appears to be emptied of its own nature and only the object shines forth. This is superdeliberative (nirvitarka)samāpatti".[86]
^Following Yoga Sutra 1.17, meditation on the sense of "I-am-ness" is also grouped, in other descriptions, as "sāsmitā samāpatti"
^Yoga Sutra 1.44: "In this way, reflective (savichara) and super-reflective (nirvichara)samāpatti, which are based on subtle objects, are also explained".[84]
^According to Jianxin Li,Asamprajnata Samādhi may be compared to thearupa jhānas of Buddhism, and toNirodha-samāpatti.[78] Crangle also notes thatsabija-asamprajnata samādhi resembles the four formlessjhānas.[80] According to Crangle, the fourtharupa jhāna is the stage of transition to Patanjali's "consciousness without seed".[88]
^Karambelkar: The description here of the "samadhi", which is the transformation and culmination of dhyana, is "arthamatra nirbhasam" and "svarupa-sunyam-iva". "Arthamatra nirbhasa" means clear perception of the mere essence behind the form having qualities of the subject, chosen for meditation. The second phrase "svarupa-sunyam-iva" amplifies further this meaning of the first phrase by saying that the "svarupa" i.e. the original form and appearance of the subject becomes almost extinct. Therefore, the subject is now perceived or experienced in its usual way that is experienced in our empirical life, but is experienced or comprehended or better still "realized" in its subtle essence or reality, which is lying behind it.[17]
^abKarambelkar, P V (January 1, 2012).Patanjala Yoga Sutra - English [Yoga sutras]. Kaivalyadhama.ISBN978-8189485177.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
^Buddhaghosa & Nanamoli (1999), pp. 90–91 (II, 27–28, "Development in Brief"), 110ff. (starting with III, 104, "enumeration"). It can also be found sprinkled earlier in this text, as on p. 18 (I, 39, v. 2) and p. 39 (I, 107).
^Nhat Hanh, Thich; Neumann, Rachel (2008).Buddha Mind, Buddha Body. ReadHowYouWant.com. p. 140.ISBN978-1427092922.AIMLESSNESS The third concentration is aimlessness, apraṇihita. Without worry, without anxiety we are free to enjoy each moment of our lives. Not trying, not making great efforts, just being. What a joy! This seems to contradict our normal ...
^Jones, Constance; Ryan, James D. (2007).Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Encyclopedia of world religions. New York: Facts On File. p. 377.ISBN978-0-8160-5458-9.
^Das, Baba Hari (1999).The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali : A Study Guide for Book I Samādhi Pāda. Santa Cruz, California: Sri Ramana Publishing. p. 45.ISBN0-918100-20-8.
^Thomas L. Palotas, "Divine Play, the Silent Teaching of Shivabalayogi", pp 87–9,
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^Yogananda, Paramahansa (1997).Autobiography of a Yogi – Chapter 36. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship.ISBN0-87612-086-9.
^"Mahasamadhi —". Yogoda Satsanga Society of India. Retrieved2020-02-11.
^Goldberg, Philip (2018).The Life of Yogananda. California: Hay House, Inc. p. 277.ISBN978-1-4019-5218-1.
^Donald Jay Rothberg, Sean M. Kelly (1998),Ken Wilber in Dialogue: Conversations with Leading Transpersonal Thinkers
^Candradhara Śarmā (1996), The Advaita Tradition in Indian Philosophy: A Study of Advaita in Buddhism, Vedānta and Kāshmīra Shaivism, Motilal Banarsidass, p.139: "In the Buddhist works, both in Pale and in Sanskrit, the words used for nirvikalpa-samadhi are samnja-vedayita-nirodha and nirodha-samāpatti".
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