Buddhism

===Meditation – ''Sama-amādhi'' and ''dhyāna''===
{{Main|Buddhist meditation|Samadhi|Samatha|Rupajhana}}
[[File:Kodo Sawaki Zazen.jpg|thumb|[[Kōdō Sawaki]] practicing [[Zazen]] ("sitting dhyana")]]
A wide range of meditation practices has developed in the Buddhist traditions, but "meditation" primarily refers to the attainment of ''[[Samādhi (Buddhism)|samādhi]]'' and the practice of ''[[Dhyāna in Buddhism|dhyāna]]'' (Pali: ''jhāna''). ''Samādhi'' is a calm, undistracted, unified and concentrated state of awareness. It is defined by Asanga as "one-pointedness of mind on the object to be investigated. Its function consists of giving a basis to knowledge (''jñāna'')."<ref name="Boin-Webb, Sara 2001 p. 9"/>
''Dhyāna'' is "state of perfect equanimity and awareness (''upekkhā-sati-parisuddhi'')," reached through focused mental training.<ref>Vetter, Tilmann (1988), "''The Ideas and Meditative Practices of Early Buddhism''," p. 5. BRILL.</ref>

The practice of ''dhyāna'' aids in maintaining a calm mind and avoiding disturbance of this calm mind by mindfulness of disturbing thoughts and feelings.{{sfnp|Williams|2000|pp=45–46}}{{refn|group=note|Williams refers to {{harvtxt|Frauwallner|1973|p=155}}}}

====Origins====
The earliest evidence of yogis and their meditative tradition, states Karel Werner, is found in the [[Keśin]] hymn 10.136 of the [[Rigveda]].<ref name=karelwernerkesinrv>{{cite journal |first=Karel |last=Werner |date=1977 |title=Yoga and the Ṛg Veda: An Interpretation of the Keśin Hymn (RV 10, 136) |journal=Religious Studies |volume=13 |issue=3 |pages=289–302|doi=10.1017/S0034412500010076 |s2cid=170592174 }}</ref> While evidence suggests [[meditation]] was practised in the centuries preceding the Buddha,{{sfnp|Carrithers|1986|p=30}} the meditative methodologies described in the Buddhist texts are some of the earliest among texts that have survived into the modern era.{{sfnp|Gombrich|1988|p=44}}{{sfnp|Miller|1996|p=8}} These methodologies likely incorporate what existed before the Buddha as well as those first developed within Buddhism.{{sfnp|Bronkhorst|1993|pp=1–17}}{{Refn|group=note|Many ancient [[Upanishad]]s of Hinduism describe [[yoga]] and meditation as a means to liberation.{{sfnp|Collins|2000|p=199}}<ref>Mark Singleton (2010), Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-539534-1}}, pp. 25–34</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last =White|first =David Gordon|title =Yoga, Brief History of an Idea |year =2011| publisher =Princeton University Press|pages=3–5}}</ref>}}

There is no scholarly agreement on the origin and source of the practice of ''dhyāna.'' Some scholars, like Bronkhorst, see the ''four dhyānas'' as a Buddhist invention.{{sfnp|Bronkhorst|1993|p=99}} Alexander Wynne argues that the Buddha learned ''dhyāna'' from Brahmanical teachers.{{sfnp|Wynne|2007|p={{page needed|date=October 2020}}}}

Whatever the case, the Buddha taught meditation with a new focus and interpretation, particularly through the ''four dhyānas'' methodology,{{sfnp|Bronkhorst|1993|p=Part I: page 5}} in which mindfulness is maintained.{{sfnp|Bronkhorst|1993|p=88}}{{sfnp|Gombrich|2007}} Further, the focus of meditation and the underlying theory of liberation guiding the meditation has been different in Buddhism.{{sfnp|Carrithers|1986|p=30}}{{sfnp|Norman|1997|p=29}}{{sfnp|Gombrich|1997|p=131}} For example, states Bronkhorst, the verse 4.4.23 of the ''Brihadaranyaka Upanishad'' with its "become calm, subdued, quiet, patiently enduring, concentrated, one sees soul in oneself" is most probably a meditative state.{{sfnp|Bronkhorst|1993|p=Chapter 9, page 86}} The Buddhist discussion of meditation is without the concept of soul and the discussion criticises both the ascetic meditation of Jainism and the "real self, soul" meditation of Hinduism.{{sfnp|Bronkhorst|1993|pp=74 (Chapter 8); 102 (Conclusion)}}

====The formless attainments====
Often grouped into the ''jhāna''-scheme are four other meditative states, referred to in the early texts as ''arupa samāpattis'' (formless attainments). These are also referred to in commentarial literature as immaterial/formless ''jhānas'' (''arūpajhānas''). The first formless attainment is a place or realm of infinite space (''ākāsānañcāyatana'') without form or colour or shape. The second is termed the realm of infinite consciousness (''viññāṇañcāyatana''); the third is the realm of nothingness (''ākiñcaññāyatana''), while the fourth is the realm of "neither perception nor non-perception".<ref name="Wayman1984p86">{{cite book|author=Alex Wayman|title=Buddhist Insight: Essays|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BNIdOsp3KIgC|date=1984|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-0675-7|pages=86–89}}</ref> The four ''rupa-jhānas'' in Buddhist practice leads to rebirth in successfully better ''rupa'' Brahma heavenly realms, while ''arupa-jhānas'' leads into arupa heavens.<ref>{{cite book|author=Bruno Petzold|title=The Classification of Buddhism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iZH29oiIuIkC|year=1995|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-03373-2|pages=502–503}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Lewis Hodous|author2=William E. Soothill|title=A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms: With Sanskrit and English Equivalents and a Sanskrit-Pali Index|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ecaRAgAAQBAJ|year=2003|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-79123-0|page=179}}</ref>

====Meditation and insight====
{{See also|Four Noble Truths#Substituting "liberating insight"|l1=Meditation and insight|Yoga|l2=Yoga|}}
[[File:Farsari Daibutsu.jpg|thumb|''[[Kamakura Daibutsu]]'', [[Kōtoku-in]], Kamakura, Japan]]

In the Pali canon, the Buddha outlines two meditative qualities which are mutually supportive: ''[[samatha]]'' (Pāli; Sanskrit: ''śamatha''; "calm") and ''[[vipassanā]]'' (Sanskrit: ''vipaśyanā'', insight).{{sfnp|Bodhi|2005|pp=269–270, 440 ''n''. 13}} The Buddha compares these mental qualities to a "swift pair of messengers" who together help deliver the message of ''nibbana'' (SN 35.245).{{sfnp|Bodhi|2000|pp=1251-1253}}

The various Buddhist traditions generally see Buddhist meditation as being divided into those two main types.{{sfnp|Welch|1967|p=396}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/theravada.html|title=What is Theravada Buddhism?|access-date=17 August 2013|work=Access to Insight|archive-date=21 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130821040134/http://www.accesstoinsight.org/theravada.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Samatha is also called "calming meditation", and focuses on stilling and concentrating the mind i.e. developing samadhi and the four ''dhyānas''. According to [[Damien Keown]], ''vipassanā'' meanwhile, focuses on "the generation of penetrating and critical insight (''paññā'')".{{sfnp|Keown|1996|pp=106–107, context: Chapter 7}}

There are numerous doctrinal positions and disagreements within the different Buddhist traditions regarding these qualities or forms of meditation. For example, in the Pali ''Four Ways to Arahantship Sutta'' (AN 4.170), it is said that one can develop calm and then insight, or insight and then calm, or both at the same time.{{sfnp|Bodhi|2005|pp=268, 439}} Meanwhile, in Vasubandhu's ''Abhidharmakośakārikā'', vipaśyanā is said to be practiced once one has reached samadhi by cultivating the four foundations of mindfulness (''smṛtyupasthāna''s).<ref>De La Vallee Poussin (trans.); Pruden, Leo M. (trans.) ''Abhidharmakosabhasyam of Vasubandhu''. Vol. III, page 925.</ref>

Beginning with comments by [[Louis de La Vallée-Poussin|La Vallee Poussin]], a series of scholars have argued that these two meditation types reflect a tension between two different ancient Buddhist traditions regarding the use of ''dhyāna,'' one which focused on insight based practice and the other which focused purely on ''dhyāna''.{{sfnp|Bronkhorst|1993}}<ref name="buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de">Anālayo. [https://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/pdf/5-personen/analayo/briefcriticism.pdf "A Brief Criticism of the 'Two Paths to Liberation' Theory"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321164937/https://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/pdf/5-personen/analayo/briefcriticism.pdf |date=21 March 2020 }} JOCBS. 2016 (11): 38-51.</ref> However, other scholars such as Analayo and Rupert Gethin have disagreed with this "two paths" thesis, instead seeing both of these practices as complementary.<ref name="buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de"/>{{sfnp|Gethin|2001|p=xiv}}

====The ''Brahma-vihara''====
{{main|Brahmavihara}}
[[File:Phra Buddha Jinaraj - Phitsanulok.jpg|thumb|alt=gilded statue of Buddha in Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat, Thailand|Statue of Buddha in [[Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat]], [[Phitsanulok]], Thailand]]
The four immeasurables or four abodes, also called ''Brahma-viharas'', are virtues or directions for meditation in Buddhist traditions, which helps a person be reborn in the heavenly (Brahma) realm.{{sfnp|Hirakawa |1993|pp=172–174}}{{sfnp|Harvey|2013|pp=154, 326}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Carl Olson |year=2009|title=The A to Z of Buddhism|publisher=Scarecrow|isbn=978-0-8108-7073-4|page=73 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L62wiLSf0swC}}</ref> These are traditionally believed to be a characteristic of the deity Brahma and the heavenly abode he resides in.<ref>{{cite book|author=Diane Morgan |year=2010|title=Essential Buddhism: A Comprehensive Guide to Belief and Practice |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-38452-3|page=125 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2vgbURej-qAC&pg=PA125}}</ref>

The four ''Brahma-vihara'' are:
# Loving-kindness (Pāli: ''[[mettā]]'', Sanskrit: ''maitrī'') is active good will towards all;{{sfnp|Harvey|2013|pp=154, 326}}{{sfnp|Fowler|1999|pp=60–62}}
# Compassion (Pāli and Sanskrit: ''[[karuṇā]]'') results from ''metta''; it is identifying the suffering of others as one's own;{{sfnp|Harvey|2013|pp=154, 326}}{{sfnp|Fowler|1999|pp=60–62}}
# Empathetic joy (Pāli and Sanskrit: ''[[mudita|muditā]]''): is the feeling of joy because others are happy, even if one did not contribute to it; it is a form of sympathetic joy;{{sfnp|Fowler|1999|pp=60–62}}
# Equanimity (Pāli: ''[[upekkha|upekkhā]]'', Sanskrit: ''upekṣā''): is even-mindedness and serenity, treating everyone impartially.{{sfnp|Harvey|2013|pp=154, 326}}{{sfnp|Fowler|1999|pp=60–62}}

====Tantra, visualization and the subtle body====
{{See also|Tibetan Tantric Practice|Vajrayana#Tantra_techniques}}
[[File:Schildering uit reeks over de Sarvavid Vairocana Mandala - Licht, anoniem, ca 1799, MAS.jpg|thumb|An 18th century Mongolian miniature which depicts the generation of the Vairocana Mandala]]
[[File:Практика_туммо.jpg|thumb|A section of the Northern wall mural at the [[Lukhang]] Temple depicting ''tummo'', the three channels (''nadis'') and ''phowa'']]

Some Buddhist traditions, especially those associated with Tantric Buddhism (also known as Vajrayana and Secret Mantra) use images and symbols of deities and Buddhas in meditation. This is generally done by mentally visualizing a Buddha image (or some other mental image, like a symbol, a mandala, a syllable, etc.), and using that image to cultivate calm and insight. One may also visualize and identify oneself with the imagined deity.{{sfnp|Trainor|2004|p=87}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Luis Gomez|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zaC4CgAAQBAJ|title=Buddhism in Practice|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2015|isbn=978-1-4008-8007-2|editor=Donald S. Lopez Jr.|pages=236–243}}</ref> While visualization practices have been particularly popular in Vajrayana, they may also found in Mahayana and Theravada traditions.{{sfnp|Trainor|2004|pp=86–87}}

In Tibetan Buddhism, unique tantric techniques which include visualization (but also [[mantra]] recitation, [[mandala]]s, and other elements) are considered to be much more effective than non-tantric meditations and they are one of the most popular meditation methods.{{sfnp|Powers|2007|p=250}} The methods of ''[[Anuttarayoga Tantra|Unsurpassable Yoga Tantra]]'', (''anuttarayogatantra'') are in turn seen as the highest and most advanced. Anuttarayoga practice is divided into two stages, the ''Generation Stage'' and the ''Completion Stage.'' In the Generation Stage, one meditates on emptiness and visualizes oneself as a deity as well as visualizing its mandala. The focus is on developing clear appearance and divine pride (the understanding that oneself and the deity are one).<ref>Garson, Nathaniel DeWitt (2004). ''Penetrating the Secret Essence Tantra: Context and Philosophy in the Mahayoga System of rNying-ma Tantra'', p. 52</ref> This method is also known as deity yoga (''devata yoga''). There are numerous meditation deities (''[[yidam]]'') used, each with a mandala, a circular symbolic map used in meditation.{{sfnp|Trainor|2004|pp=88–89}}