Adhimoksha (Sanskrit, also ''adhimokṣa''; Pali: ''adhimokkha''; Tibetan Wylie: ''mos pa'') is a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

term that is translated as "interest", "intensified interest", or "decision". It is defined as holding onto a certain form object; its function is not to lose the object.Guenther (1975), Kindle Locations 434-440.Kunsang (2004), p. 23. Within the Buddhist

Abhidharma The Abhidharma are ancient (third century BCE and later) Buddhist texts which contain detailed scholastic presentations of doctrinal material appearing in the Buddhist ''sutras''. It also refers to the scholastic method itself as well as the f ...

teachings, adhimoksha is identified as follows: * One of the six occasional mental factors within the Theravada Abhidharma teachings * One of the five object-determining mental factors within the Mahayana Abhidharma teachings

Explanation

Theravada

The

Visuddhimagga The ''Visuddhimagga'' (Pali; English: ''The Path of Purification''), is the 'great treatise' on Buddhist practice and Theravāda Abhidhamma written by Buddhaghosa approximately in the 5th century in Sri Lanka. It is a manual condensing and syst ...

( XIV, 151) gives the following definition of adhimokkha: :The act of resolving is resolution. It has the characteristic of conviction. Its function is not to grope. It is manifested as decisiveness. Its proximate cause is a thing to be convinced about. It should be regarded as like a boundary-post owing to its immovableness with regard to the object.Gorkom (2010)
Definitions of adhimokkha and viriya
/ref> Bhikkhu Bodhi explains: :The word adhimokkha means literally the releasing of the mind onto the object. Hence it has been rendered decision or resolution. It has the characteristic of conviction, the function of not groping, and manifestation as decisiveness. Its proximate cause is a thing to be convinced about. It is compared to a stone pillar owing to its unshakable resolve regarding the object.Bhikkhu Bodhi (2003), pp. 8

/ref>

Mahayana

The

Abhidharma-samuccaya The Abhidharma-samuccaya (Sanskrit; ; English: "Compendium of Abhidharma") is a Buddhist text composed by Asaṅga. The ''Abhidharma-samuccaya'' is a systematic account of Abhidharma. According to J. W. de Jong it is also "one of the most import ...

states: :What is intensified interest? It is to stick to the determined thing just as it has been determined, and the function of intensified interest is that it cannot be taken away.

Herbert Guenther Herbert may refer to: People Individuals * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert Name * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert, ...

states: : It is an awareness by which one stays with what the mind ul-canhas logically established as this is so and not otherwise.

References

Sources

* Berzin, Alexander (2006)
''Primary Minds and the 51 Mental Factors''
* Bhikkhu Bodhi (2003), ''A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma'', Pariyatti Publishing * Guenther, Herbert V. & Leslie S. Kawamura (1975), ''Mind in Buddhist Psychology: A Translation of Ye-shes rgyal-mtshan's "The Necklace of Clear Understanding"'' Dharma Publishing. Kindle Edition. * Kunsang, Erik Pema (translator) (2004). ''Gateway to Knowledge, Vol. 1''. North Atlantic Books. * Nina van Gorkom (2010)
''Cetasikas''
Zolag

External links