Upekṣā
() is the Buddhist concept of equanimity. As one of the brahmaviharas or "virtues of the "Brahma realm" (), it is one of the wholesome mental factors (( ) cultivated on the Buddhist path to nirvāna through the practice of jhāna. Pali literature Many passages in the Pali Canon and post-canonical commentaries identify upekkhā as an important aspect of spiritual development. It is one of the Four Sublime States of Brahmavihara, which purify mental states capable of counteracting the defilements of lust, aversion, and ignorance. As a Brahmavihara, it is also one of the forty traditionally identified subjects of Buddhist meditation ( kammaṭṭhāna). In the Theravada list of ten pāramī (perfections), is the last-identified bodhisatta practice, and in the Seven Factors of Awakening (), it is the ultimate characteristic to develop. To practice is to be unwavering or to stay neutral in the face of the eight vicissitudes of life which are otherwise known as the ''eight ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mental Factors (Buddhism)
Mental factors ( or ''chitta samskara'' ; ; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: སེམས་བྱུང ''sems byung''), in Buddhism, are identified within the teachings of the Abhidhamma (Buddhist psychology). They are defined as aspects of the mind that apprehend the quality of an object, and that have the ability to color the mind. Within the Abhidhamma, the mental factors are categorized as formations () concurrent with mind ().Guenther (1975), Kindle Location 321.Kunsang (2004), p. 23.Geshe Tashi Tsering (2006), Kindle Location 456. Alternate translations for mental factors include "mental states", "mental events", and "concomitants of consciousness". Introduction Mental factors are aspects of the mind that apprehend the quality of an object and have the ability to color the mind. Geshe Tashi Tsering explains: :The Tibetan for mental factors, ''semlay jungwa chö'' (Skt. ''chaitasika dharma''), means phenomena arising from the mind, suggesting that the mental factors are not prim ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Samādhi (Buddhism)
Statue of a meditating Rishikesh.html" ;"title="Shiva, Rishikesh">Shiva, Rishikesh ''Samādhi'' (Pali and ), in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivation of Samādhi through various meditation methods is essential for the attainment of spiritual liberation (known variously as nirvana, moksha). In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yoga tradition, it is the eighth and final limb identified in the '' Yoga Sutras'' of Patanjali. In Jain meditation, samadhi is considered one of the last stages of the practice just prior to liberation. In the oldest Buddhist sutras, on which several contemporary western Theravada teachers rely, it refers to the development of an investigative and luminous mind that is equanimous and mindful. In the yogic traditions and the Buddhist commentarial tradition, on which the Burmese Vipassana movemen ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vīrya
(Sanskrit; ) is a Buddhist term commonly translated as "energy", "diligence", "enthusiasm", "effort" or "heroism" "help". It can be defined as an attitude of gladly engaging in wholesome activities, and it functions to cause one to accomplish wholesome or virtuous actions. Etymology literally means "state of a strong human" or "manliness."See, e.g., which Monier Williams (1899), entry for "Vīryà,p. 1006 Defines in part as: "manliness, valour, strength, power, energy, RV &c. &c.; heroism/heroinism, heroic deed, ibid.; manly vigour, virility, semen virile, MBh.; Kāv. &c;...." In Vedic literature, the term is associated with heroism and virility. In Buddhism, refers to a practitioner's "energy", "persistence", "persevering," "vigour", "effort", "diligence", or "exertion", and is repeatedly identified as a necessary prerequisite for achieving liberation. Mental factor Within the Buddhist Abhidharma teachings, is identified as: *One of the six occasional mental fac ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Maitrī
(Sanskrit; Pali: ) means benevolence, loving-kindness, friendliness, amity, good will, and active interest in others. It is the first of the four sublime states () and one of the ten of the Theravāda school of Buddhism. The cultivation of benevolence () is a popular form of Buddhist meditation. It is a part of the four immeasurables in (divine abidings) meditation. as "compassion meditation" is often practiced in Asia by broadcast chanting, wherein monks chant for the laity. The compassion and universal loving-kindness concept of is discussed in the ''Metta Sutta'' of Buddhism, and is also found in the ancient and medieval texts of Hinduism and Jainism as or . Small sample studies on the potential of suggest potential benefits. However, peer reviews question the quality and sample size of these studies. Etymology and meaning is a Pali word, from which was itself derived from which, states Monier-Williams, means "friend". The term is found in this sense in the Ve ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Seven Factors Of Awakening
In Buddhism, the Seven Factors of Awakening (Pali: ''satta bojjhagā'' or ''satta sambojjhagā''; Skt.: ''sapta bodhyanga'') are: * Mindfulness ('' sati'', Sanskrit ''smṛti''). To maintain awareness of reality, in particular the teachings (''Dhamma''). * Investigation of the nature of reality ('' dhamma vicaya'', Skt. ''dharmapravicaya''). * Energy ('' viriya'', Skt. ''vīrya'') also determination, effort * Joy or rapture (''pīti'', Skt. ''prīti'') * Relaxation or tranquility (''passaddhi'', Skt. prashrabdhi) of both body and mind * Concentration (''samādhi'') a calm, one-pointed state of mind, or "bringing the buried latencies or '' samskaras'' into full view" * Equanimity ('' upekkhā'', Skt. ''upekshā''). To accept reality as-it-is (''yathā-bhuta'') without craving or aversion. This evaluation of seven awakening factors is one of the "Seven Sets" of "Awakening-related states" ('' bodhipakkhiyadhamma''). The Pali word ''bojjhanga'' is a compound of ''bodhi'' ("awaken ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dhyāna In Buddhism
In the oldest texts of Buddhism, ''dhyāna'' () or ''jhāna'' () is a component of the training of the mind (''bhavana''), commonly translated as Buddhist meditation, meditation, to withdraw the mind from the automatic responses to sense-impressions and "burn up" the Kleshas (Buddhism), defilements, leading to a "state of perfect equanimity and awareness (''Upekṣā, upekkhā-Sati (Buddhism), sati-Purity in Buddhism, parisuddhi'')." ''Dhyāna'' may have been the core practice of pre-sectarian Buddhism, in combination with several related practices which together lead to perfected mindfulness and detachment. In the later commentarial tradition, which has survived in present-day Theravada, Theravāda, ''dhyāna'' is equated with "concentration", a state of one-pointed absorption in which there is a diminished awareness of the surroundings. In the contemporary Theravāda-based Vipassana movement, this absorbed state of mind is regarded as unnecessary and even non-beneficial for t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Asava
Āsava is a Pali term (Sanskrit: Āsrava) that is used in Buddhist scripture, philosophy, and psychology, meaning "influx, canker." It refers to the mental defilements of sensual pleasures, craving for existence, and ignorance, which perpetuate '' samsara'', the beginningless cycle of rebirth, '' dukkha'', and dying again. ''Asavas'' are also translated as "karmic predilections" and "karmic propensities" in Buddhism. The term is also common in Jainist literature, and sometimes appears equivalently as ''Asrava'' or ''Anhaya''. However, Buddhism rejects the karma and asava theories of Jainism, and presents a different version instead. Etymology According to Bhikkhu Bodhi, Ajahn Sucitto in his book '' Kamma and the end of Kamma'' describes āsavas as "underlying biases" (that fabricate things, emotions, sensations, and responses), which condition grasping through which samsara operates. Meaning Samsara The āsavas are mental defilements that perpetuate ''samsara'', the beginni ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Āyatana
In Buddhism, ''āyatana'' (Pāli; Sanskrit: आयतन) is a "center of experience" or "mental home," which create one's experience. The term ' (Pāli; Skt. ') refers to six cognitive functions, namely sight, hearing, smelling, tasting, body-cognition, and mind-cognition. ''Āyatana'' may refer to both ordinary experience and the chain of processes leading to bondage, as to awakened experience centered in detachment and meditative accomplishment. The Buddhist path aims to relocate one from the ordinary, sensual centers of experience to the "mental home" of the purified, liberated awareness of the jhanas. Traditionally, the term ''āyatana'' is translated as "sense base", "sense-media" or "sense sphere," due to the influence of later commentators like Buddhaghosa. The ' are traditionally understood as referring to the five senses and the mind. Etymology ''Āyatana'' (Pāli; Sanskrit: आयतन) is a Buddhist term that does not have a single definition or meaning. The st ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brahmavihara
The (sublime attitudes, lit. "abodes of Brahma") is a series of four Buddhist virtues and the meditation practices made to cultivate them. They are also known as the four immeasurables (Pāli: ) or four infinite minds ( Chinese: ). The are: # loving-kindness or benevolence () # compassion () # empathetic joy () # equanimity () According to the '' Metta Sutta'', cultivation of the four immeasurables has the power to cause the practitioner to be reborn into a "Brahma realm" (Pāli: ). Etymology and translations * Pāli: * (sathara brahmavihārā) * , ( Wylie: ) may be parsed as "" and "", which is often rendered into English as "sublime" or "divine abodes". , usually translated as "the immeasurables", means "boundlessness, infinitude, a state that is illimitable". Rhys Davids & Stede, 1921–25, ''Pali-English Dictionary'', Pali Text Society. When developed to a high degree in meditation, these attitudes are said to make the mind "immeasurable" and like the mind of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bhikkhu Bodhi
Bhikkhu Bodhi (born December 10, 1944) () born Jeffrey Block, is an American Theravada Buddhist monk ordained in Sri Lanka. He teaches in the New York and New Jersey area. He was appointed the second president of the Buddhist Publication Society and has edited and authored several publications grounded in the Theravada Buddhist tradition. Early life In 1944, Block was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Jewish parents. He grew up in Borough Park, where he attended elementary school P.S. 160. In 1966, he obtained a B.A. in philosophy from Brooklyn College. In 1972, he obtained a PhD in philosophy from Claremont Graduate University. Career In 1967, while still a graduate student, Bodhi was ordained as a '' sāmaṇera'' (novice) in the Vietnamese Mahayana order. In 1972, after graduation, he traveled to Sri Lanka, where, under Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero, he received ''sāmaṇera'' ordination in the Theravada Order and, in 1973, received full ordination ('' upasampadā'') ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vedanā
''Vedanā'' (Pāli and Sanskrit: वेदना) is an ancient term traditionally translated as either "feeling" or "sensation." In general, ''vedanā'' refers to the pleasant, unpleasant and neutral sensations that occur when our internal sense organs come into contact with external sense objects and the associated consciousness. Vedanā is identified as valence or "hedonic tone" in psychology. Vedanā is identified within the Buddhist teaching as follows: * One of the ''seven universal mental factors'' in the Theravāda Abhidharma. * One of the ''five universal mental factors'' in the Mahāyāna Abhidharma. * One of the twelve links of dependent origination (in both Theravāda and Mahāyāna traditions). * One of the five skandas (in both Theravāda and Mahāyāna traditions). * One of the objects of focus within the four foundations of mindfulness practice. In the context of the twelve links, craving for and attachment to vedanā leads to suffering; reciprocally, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dhamma Vicaya
In Buddhism, ''dhamma vicaya'' (Pali; ) has been variously translated as the "analysis of qualities," "discrimination of '' dhammas''," "discrimination of states," "investigation of doctrine," and "searching the Truth." The meaning is ambivalent; it implies the investigation of the Buddhist teachings (''dhamma''), but also the application of discernment to body-mind phenomena in order to apply right effort, giving way to entry into the first '' jhana''. Etymology According to Rupert Gethin, "''Dhamma-vicaya'' means either the 'discrimination of ''dhammas''' or the 'discernment of ''dhamma'''; to discriminate ''dhammas'' is precisely to discern ''dhamma''." Textual appearances Seven factors of Awakening In the Pali canon's Sutta Pitaka, this is the second of the Seven Factors of Awakening (''satta bojjhagā''). It is preceded by the establishment of mindfulness (''sati'') and applied with energy/effort ('' viriya'') Together, mindfulness, discernment and effort calm the mi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |