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Dhāraṇā
''Dhāraṇā'' () is translated as "collection or concentration of the mind (joined with the retention of breath)", or "the act of holding, bearing, wearing, supporting, maintaining, retaining, keeping back (in remembrance), a good memory", or "firmness, steadfastness, certainty". This term is related to the verbal Sanskrit roots ''dha'' and ''ana,'' to hold, carry, maintain, resolve. Dharana is the noun. ''Dhāraṇā'' is the sixth limb of eight elucidated by Patanjali's Ashtanga Yoga or Raja Yoga in his ''Yoga Sutras of Patanjali''. Overview ''Dhāraṇā'' may be translated as "holding", "holding steady", "concentration", or "single focus". The prior limb Pratyahara involves withdrawing the senses from external phenomena. ''Dhāraṇā'' builds further upon this by refining it further to ''ekagrata'' or ''ekagra chitta'', that is single-pointed concentration and focus, which is in this context cognate with Samatha. Gregor Maehle (2006: p. 234) defines Dharana as: "The ...
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Ekagrata
Ekāgratā ( sa, एकाग्रता, "one-pointedness"; Pali: ekaggatā) is intent pursuit of one object, close and undisturbed attention. Yoga emphasises regular practice (''Abhyasa'') of meditation and self-imposed discipline to acquire . Overview The faculty called may be increased by integrating the psycho-mental flux ( or variously-directed, discontinuous, and diffuse attention) so that one gains genuine will and a happiness different from the experience of pleasure from sense-objects. It is harder to achieve if the body is in a tiring or uncomfortable posture or if the breathing is improper. Austerity (''Tapas (Sanskrit), tapas'') is allied to this conception of . Badarayana's Brahma Sutras (chapter 3) uses the term to mean dharana, concentration: it is held to be a quality resulting from practices discussed in the previous chapter, which are briefly mentioned in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad and Chandogya Upanishad. According to the Bhagavad Gita the seeker aft ...
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Samyama
''Samyama'' (from Sanskrit संयम saṃ-yama—holding together, tying up, binding, integration) is the combined simultaneous practice of Dhāraṇā (concentration), Dhyāna (meditation) and Samādhi (union). Description Samyama is a tool to receive deeper knowledge of qualities of the object. It is a term summarizing the "catch-all" process of psychological absorption in the object of meditation. Sansonese, J. Nigro (1994). ''The Body of Myth: Mythology, Shamanic Trance, and the Sacred Geography of the Body''. Inner Traditions. . SourceGoogle Books p.26. For Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras, Pratyahara is the preceding stage to practicing and developing Samyama; the "spiritually unevolved" should spend time understanding Ashtanga yoga. Framework Samyama, as Patanjali's Yoga Sutras states, engenders prajñā. Adi Yoga or Mahasandhi discusses the ' mūla prajñā' of "listening/studying, investigation/contemplation, realization/meditation" which are a transposition of the ...
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Ekagrata
Ekāgratā ( sa, एकाग्रता, "one-pointedness"; Pali: ekaggatā) is intent pursuit of one object, close and undisturbed attention. Yoga emphasises regular practice (''Abhyasa'') of meditation and self-imposed discipline to acquire . Overview The faculty called may be increased by integrating the psycho-mental flux ( or variously-directed, discontinuous, and diffuse attention) so that one gains genuine will and a happiness different from the experience of pleasure from sense-objects. It is harder to achieve if the body is in a tiring or uncomfortable posture or if the breathing is improper. Austerity (''Tapas (Sanskrit), tapas'') is allied to this conception of . Badarayana's Brahma Sutras (chapter 3) uses the term to mean dharana, concentration: it is held to be a quality resulting from practices discussed in the previous chapter, which are briefly mentioned in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad and Chandogya Upanishad. According to the Bhagavad Gita the seeker aft ...
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Yoga Sutras Of Patanjali
The ''Yoga Sutras of Patañjali'' is a collection of Sanskrit sutras (aphorisms) on the theory and practice of yoga – 195 sutras (according to Vyāsa and Krishnamacharya) and 196 sutras (according to others, including BKS Iyengar). The ''Yoga Sutras'' was compiled in the early centuries CE, by the sage Patanjali in India who synthesized and organized knowledge about yoga from much older traditions. The ''Yoga Sutras'' is best known for its reference to '' ashtanga'', eight elements of practice culminating in ''samadhi''. The eight elements are ''yama'' (abstinences), ''niyama'' (observances), '' asana'' (yoga postures), ''pranayama'' (breath control), ''pratyahara'' (withdrawal of the senses), '' dharana'' (concentration of the mind), ''dhyana'' (meditation) and ''samadhi'' (absorption). The main aim of practice is ''kaivalya'', discernment of ''purusha'', the witness-consciousness, as distinct from '' prakriti'', the cognitive apparatus, and disentanglement of ''purush ...
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Ashtanga (eight Limbs Of Yoga)
Ashtanga yoga (, "the eight limbs of yoga") is Patanjali's classification of classical yoga, as set out in his ''Yoga Sutras''. He defined the eight limbs as yamas (abstinences), niyama (observances), asana (postures), pranayama (breathing), pratyahara (withdrawal), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation) and samadhi (absorption). The eight limbs form a sequence from the outer to the inner. Postures, important in modern yoga as exercise, form just one limb of Patanjali's scheme; he states only that they must be steady and comfortable. The main aim is ''kaivalya'', discernment of ''Purusha'', the witness-conscious, as separate from '' prakriti'', the cognitive apparatus, and disentanglement of ''Purusha'' from its muddled defilements. Definition of yoga Patanjali begins his treatise by stating the purpose of his book in the first sutra, followed by defining the word "yoga" in his second sutra of Book 1: * Sanskrit Original with Translation 1The Yoga PhilosophyTR Tatya (T ...
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Ganana
Gaṇanā (Pali, "counting") is the technique of breath counting in Buddhist meditation. It focuses on drawing mental attention to breathing by counting numerically inhalation and exhalation. It is part of the six stages of anapanasati described by auhors like Vasubandhu and Zhiyi, composed by counting breath (''ganana''), following the motions of the air flow (''anugama''), stilling thought in the body (''sthana'' or ''sthapana''), observing the elements of air (''upalakshana''), transformation of the mind focused on the air (''vivarthana'') and entering the path of vision (''parisuddhi''). Those stages are increasingly subtle and lead to control of mind, producing samadhi in order to achieve vipassana. In Zen buddhism, the art of breath counting is named sūsoku-kan (数息観, "number breath viewing"), although the word is used to refer to anapanasati in a general way. Technique The practitioner must fix the mind upon the inhalation and exhalation, without giving consideration t ...
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Samādhi
''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditation, meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga (eight limbs of yoga), Ashtanga Yoga tradition, it is the eighth and final limb identified in the ''Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Yoga Sutras'' of Patanjali. In the oldest Buddhist sutra, suttas, on which several contemporary western Theravada teachers rely, it refers to the development of an investigative and luminous mind which is Upekkha, equanimous and mindful. In the yogic traditions, and the Buddhist commentarial tradition on which the Burmese Vipassana movement and the Thai Forest Tradition, Thai Forest tradition rely, it is interpreted as a meditative absorption or trance, attained by the practice of ''Dhyāna in Buddhism, dhyāna''. Definitions ''Samadhi'' may refer to a broad range of states. A common understanding regards ...
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Monier Monier-Williams
Sir Monier Monier-Williams (; né Williams; 12 November 1819 – 11 April 1899) was a British scholar who was the second Boden Professor of Sanskrit at University of Oxford, Oxford University, England. He studied, documented and taught Languages of Asia, Asian languages, especially Sanskrit, Persian language, Persian and Hindustani language, Hindustani. Early life Monier Williams was born in Mombai, Bombay, the son of Colonel Monier Williams, Surveyor general, surveyor-general in the Bombay presidency. His surname was "Williams" until 1887, when he added his given name to his surname to create the hyphenated "Monier-Williams". In 1822, he was sent to England to be educated at private schools at Hove, Chelsea and Finchley. He was educated at King's College School, Balliol College, Oxford (1838–40), the East India Company College (1840–41) and University College, Oxford (1841–44). He took a fourth-class honours degree in Literae Humaniores in 1844. He married Julia Granth ...
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Beginner's Mind
''Shoshin'' ( ja, text=初心) is a concept from Zen Buddhism meaning beginner's mind. It refers to having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when studying, even at an advanced level, just as a beginner would. The term is especially used in the study of Zen Buddhism and Japanese martial arts, and was popularized outside of Japan by Shunryū Suzuki's 1970 book ''Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind''. The practice of ''shoshin'' acts as a counter to the hubris and closed-mindedness often associated with thinking of oneself as an expert. This includes the Einstellung effect, where a person becomes so accustomed to a certain way of doing things that they do not consider or acknowledge new ideas or approaches. The word ''shoshin'' is a combination of ''sho'' ( ja, text=初, links=no), meaning "beginner" or "initial", and ''shin'' ( ja, text=心, links=no), meaning "mind". History The concept was taught in the thirteenth century by Dōgen Zenji, the founder of the ...
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Atman (Hinduism)
Atman or Ātman may refer to: Film * ''Ātman'' (1975 film), a Japanese experimental short film directed by Toshio Matsumoto * ''Atman'' (1997 film), a documentary film directed by Pirjo Honkasalo People * Pavel Atman (born 1987), Russian handball player Religion * ''Ātman'' (Jainism), or ''Jīva'', a philosophical term used within Jainism to identify the soul * ''Ātman'' (Hinduism), meaning "Self", a philosophical concept common to all schools of Hindu philosophy * ''Ātman'' (Buddhism), ''attā'' or ''attan'', a reference to the essential self ** '' Anattā'' or ''anātman'' — "not-self", central concept in Buddhism * '' Atman jnana'' — "knowledge" in the context of Indian philosophy and religions See also * Ataman, a title of Cossack and haidamak leaders of various kinds * World Soul (other) World Soul may refer to: * Anima mundi, the "world-soul" in Plato and derived traditions in Western philosophy ** ''Weltseele'' "world-soul" in German philosophy, ...
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Dhyana In Hinduism
''Dhyana'' () in Hinduism means contemplation and meditation. ''Dhyana'' is taken up in Yoga practices, and is a means to ''samadhi'' and self-knowledge. The various concepts of ''dhyana'' and its practice originated in the Sramanic movement of ancient India, which started before the 6th century BCE (pre-Buddha, pre-Mahavira), and the practice has been influential within the diverse traditions of Hinduism. It is, in Hinduism, a part of a self-directed awareness and unifying Yoga process by which the yogi realizes Self (Atman, soul), one's relationship with other living beings, and Ultimate Reality.Edwin Bryant (2009), The Yoga sūtras of Patañjali: a new edition, translation, and commentary with insights from the traditional commentators, North Point Press, , pages xxii, xxix-xxx Dhyana is also found in other Indian religions such as Buddhism and Jainism. These developed along with dhyana in Hinduism, partly independently, partly influencing each other. The term ''Dhyana'' ...
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Brahman
In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' ( sa, ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part XII In major schools of Hindu philosophy, it is the material, efficient, formal and final cause of all that exists.For dualism school of Hinduism, see: Francis X. Clooney (2010), ''Hindu God, Christian God: How Reason Helps Break Down the Boundaries between Religions'', Oxford University Press, , pages 51–58, 111–115;For monist school of Hinduism, see: B. Martinez-Bedard (2006), ''Types of Causes in Aristotle and Sankara'', Thesis – Department of Religious Studies (Advisors: Kathryn McClymond and Sandra Dwyer), Georgia State University, pages 18–35 It is the pervasive, infinite, eternal truth, consciousness and bliss which does not change, yet is the cause of all changes. ''Brahman'' as a metaphysical concept refers to the single bi ...
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