Etymology
''Bhavana'' derives from the word '' Bhava'' meaning ''becoming'' or the subjective process of arousing mental states. To explain the cultural context of the historical Buddha's employment of the term, Glenn Wallis emphasizes ''bhavana''s sense of cultivation. He writes that a farmer performs ''bhavana'' when he or she prepares soil and plants a seed. Wallis infers the Buddha's intention with this term by emphasizing the terrain and focus on farming in northern India at the time in the following passage:Hinduism
In Hindu literature, bhavana is a concept that is often attributed to deities, such as Krishna in theBuddhism
In the Pali Canon ''bhāvanā'' is often found in a compound phrase indicating personal, intentional effort over time with respect to the development of that particular faculty. For instance, in the Pali Canon and post-canonical literature one can find the following compounds: :* '' citta-bhāvanā'', translated as "development of mind"See, e.g., DN 33.1.10(48), trans. by Walshe (1995), p. 486; and, MN 36, trans. by Ñāamoli & Bodhi (2001), pp. 332-343.Jainism
In Jainism, ''bhāvana'' refers to "right conception or notion" or "the moral of a fable".See also
* Ānāpānasati (''Notes
Sources
* Ireland, John D. (trans.) (1997). ''The Udāna & the Itivuttaka''. Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society. . Retrieved 9 December 2008 from "Access to Insight" (1999, excerpts) at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/iti/iti.intro.irel.html. * Monier-Williams, Monier (1899, 1964). ''A Sanskrit-English Dictionary''. London: Oxford University Press. . Retrieved 2008-12-09 from "Cologne University" at http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/index.php?sfx=pdf. * Ñāamoli, Bhikkhu (trans.) & Bodhi, Bhikkhu (ed.) (2001). ''The Middle-Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikāya''. Boston: Wisdom Publications. . * Nyanatiloka Mahathera, ''Buddhist Dictionary: Manual of Terms And Doctrines'', Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka, fourth Edition, 1980 * Nyanaponika Thera (trans.) & Bhikkhu Bodhi (trans., ed.) (1999). ''Numerical Discourses of the Buddha: An Anthology of Suttas from the Aguttara Nikāya''. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press. . * Rhys Davids, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5). ''The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English Dictionary''. Chipstead: Pali Text Society. Retrieved 2008-12-09 from "U. Chicago" at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/. * Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1995). ''Pabhassara Sutta: Luminous'' ( AN 1.49-52). Retrieved 9 December 2008 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an01/an01.049.than.html. * Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997). ''Samadhi Sutta: Concentration'' ( AN 4.41). Retrieved 11 December 2008 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an04/an04.041.than.html. * Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1998a). ''Culavedalla Sutta: The Shorter Set of Questions-and-Answers'' ( MN 44). Retrieved 11 December 2008 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.044.than.html. * Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1998b). ''Yuganaddha Sutta: In Tandem'' ( AN 4.170). Retrieved 11 December 2008 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an04/an04.170.than.html. * Thanissaro, Bhikkhu (trans.) (2004). ''Karaniya Metta Sutta: Good Will'' ( Sn 1.8). Retrieved 9 December 2008 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.1.08.than.html. * Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2006). ''Ekadhamma Suttas: A Single Thing'' ( AN 1.21-24). Retrieved 9 December 2008 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an01/an01.021-040.than.html. * Walshe, Maurice (1995). ''The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Dīgha Nikāya''. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications. . {{Buddhism topics Buddhist meditation Mindfulness (Buddhism) Buddhist philosophical concepts Hindu philosophical concepts