| Vipassanā | |
| En: | insight, clear-seeing, special seeing, distinct seeing |
| Pi: | विपस्सना |
| Pi-Latn: | vipassanā |
| Si: | විපස්සනා |
| Si-Latn: | vipassana |
| Sa: | विपश्यना |
| Sa-Latn: | vipaśyanā |
| Marathi: | विपशना |
| My: | ဝိပဿနာ (WiPakThaNar) |
| Zh: | 觀 |
| Zh-Latn: | guān |
| Km: | វិបស្សនា |
| Km-Latn: | vĭbâssânéa |
| Th: | สมถะวิปัสสนา |
| Bo: | ལྷག་མཐོང་ |
| Bo-Latn: | Wylie: lhag mthong; THL: lhak-thong |
| Vi: | quán |
(Sanskrit: शमथ;), "calm," "serenity," "tranquility of awareness," and (Pāli; Sanskrit: विपश्यना; Sinhala: Sinhala; Sinhalese: විදර්ශනා ), literally "special, super, seeing ", are two qualities of the mind developed in tandem in Buddhist practice.
In the Pāli Canon and the these qualities are not specific practices, but elements of "a single path," and are "fulfilled" with the development of mindfulness and meditation (/) and other path-factors. While / has a central role in the Buddhist path, is rarely mentioned separately, but is usually described along with .
The and the commentaries describe and as two separate techniques, taking to mean concentration-meditation, and as a practice to gain insight. In the tradition, is a practice that seeks "insight into the true nature of reality", which is defined as ("impermanence"), ("suffering, unsatisfactoriness"), and ("non-self"): the three marks of existence. In the Mahayana traditions is defined as insight into ("emptiness") and Buddha-nature.
In modern, the relation between and is a matter of dispute. Meditation-practice was reinvented in the tradition in the 18th–20th centuries, based on contemporary readings of the , the , and other texts, centering on and "dry insight" and downplaying . became of central importance in the 20th century Vipassanā movement which favors over .
Some critics point out that both are necessary elements of the Buddhist training, while other critics argue that is not a single-pointed concentration exercise.
See also: enlightenment in Buddhism, sotāpanna, jnana, prajñā (Buddhism), vidya (knowledge) and kenshō.
The Sanskrit word can be translated as "tranquility"; "tranquility of the mind"; "tranquillity of awareness"; "serenity"; "calm"; "meditative calm"; or "quietude of the heart."
The Tibetan term for is Tibetan: ཞི་གནས་ (;). The semantic field of Sanskrit and Tibetan is "pacification", "the slowing or cooling down", "rest." The semantic field of Tibetan is "to abide or remain" and this is cognate or equivalent with the final syllable of the Sanskrit, . According to Jamgon Kongtrul, the terms refer to "peace" and "pacification" of the mind and the thoughts.
is a Pali word derived from the prefix "" and the verbal root "":
The literal meaning is "super-seeing," but is often translated as "insight" or "clear-seeing." Henepola Gunaratana defines as "[l]ooking into something with clarity and precision, seeing each component as distinct and separate, and piercing all the way through so as to perceive the most fundamental reality of that thing." According to Mitchell Ginsberg, is "[i]nsight into how things are, not how we thought them to be."
A synonym for is "perceptible to the senses" (Pāli; Sanskrit: ), literally "before the eyes", which refers to direct experiential perception. Thus, the type of seeing denoted by is that of direct perception, as opposed to knowledge derived from reasoning or argument.
In Tibetan, is . means "higher", "superior", "greater"; is "view, to see". So together, may be rendered into English as "superior seeing", "great vision", or "supreme wisdom". This may be interpreted as a "superior manner of seeing", and also as "seeing that which is the essential nature". Its nature is a lucidity—a clarity of mind.
See also: Pre-sectarian Buddhism.
According to Thanissaro Bhikkhu, ",, and were all part of a single path." According to Keren Arbel, and are not specific practices, but qualities of the mind that a practitioner fulfills as they develop the factors of the Noble Eightfold Path, including ("mindfulness") and / ("meditation"). In the the term "" is hardly mentioned, while those texts frequently mention as the meditative practice to be undertaken. As Thanissaro Bhikkhu writes,
According to Vetter and Bronkhorst, constituted the original "liberating practice" of the Buddha. Vetter further argues that the Noble Eightfold Path constitutes a body of practices that prepare one, and lead up to, the practice of . Vetter and Bronkhorst further note that is not limited to single-pointed concentration, which seems to be described in the first, but develops into equanimity and mindfulness, "born from ." Wynne notes that one is then no longer absorbed in concentration, but is mindfully aware of objects while being indifferent to them, "directing states of meditative absorption towards the mindful awareness of objects."
A number of mention and as mental qualities that are to be developed in tandem. In SN 43.2, the Buddha states: "And what,, is the path leading to the unconditioned? Serenity and insight..."[1] In SN 35.245, the Kimsuka Tree Sutta, the Buddha provides an elaborate metaphor in which serenity and insight are "the swift pair of messengers" who deliver the message of (Pāli; Skt.:) via the noble eightfold path:
Ven. Ānanda reports that people attain ship in one of four ways:
Buddhaghosa, in his influential scholastic treatise Visuddhimagga, states that is induced by, and then is reflected upon with mindfulness, becoming the object of, with the reflector realizing that is marked by the three characteristics.[2] One who uses this method is referred to as a "tranquility worker" (Pāḷi:). However modern Buddhist teachers such as Henepola Gunaratana state that there is virtually no evidence of this method in the Pāḷi .[3] A few describe a method of "bare insight", or "dry insight" where only is practiced, examining ordinary physical and mental phenomena to discern the three marks. Gombrich and Brooks argue that the distinction as two separate paths originates in the earliest interpretations of the Sutta Pitaka, not in the themselves.
According to Richard Gombrich, a development took place in early Buddhism resulting in a change in doctrine that considered to be an alternative means to awakening, alongside the practice of . The contain traces of ancient debates between and schools concerning the interpretation of the teachings and the development of insight. Out of these debates developed the idea that bare insight suffices to reach liberation, by discerning the three marks (qualities) of (human) existence, namely (suffering), (non-self), and (impermanence). Thanissaro Bikkhu also argues that and have a "unified role," whereas "[t]he Abhidhamma and the Commentaries, by contrast, state that and are two distinct meditation paths."
Gunaratana notes that "[t]he classical source for the distinction between the two vehicles of serenity and insight is the Visuddhimagga."[4] Ajahn Brahm (who, like Bhikkhu Thanissaro, is of the Thai Forest Tradition) writes that
By the tenth century meditation was no longer practiced in the Theravada tradition, due to the belief that Buddhism had degenerated, and that liberation was no longer attainable until the coming of the future Buddha, Maitreya. It was reinvented in Myanmar (Burma) in the 18th century by Medawi (1728–1816), leading to the rise of the Vipassanā movement in the 20th century, reinventing meditation, developing simplified meditation techniques (based on the Satipatthana sutta, the Ānāpānasati Sutta, the Visuddhimagga, and other texts), and emphasizing and bare insight. In this approach, is regarded as a preparation for, pacifying the mind and strengthening concentration, so that insight into impermanence can arise, which leads to liberation. Ultimately, these techniques aim at stream entry, which safeguards future development towards full awakening, despite the degenerated age we live in.
According to the tradition, refers to techniques that help to calm the mind. is thought to be developed by, interpreted by the commentatorial tradition as concentration-meditation, the ability to rest the attention on a single object of perception. One of the principal techniques for this purpose is mindfulness of breathing (Pāḷi:). is commonly practiced as a prelude to and in conjunction with wisdom practices.
Some meditation practices, such as contemplation of a object, favor the development of ; others, such as contemplation of the aggregates, are conducive to the development of ; while others, such as mindfulness of breathing, are classically used for developing both mental qualities.[5]
The Visuddhimagga (5th century CE) mentions forty objects of meditation. Mindfulness of breathing (: ; S.) is the most common practice (though this term is also used for meditation). can include other practices as well.
Buddhism describes the development of in terms of three successive mental images or 'signs' and five stages of joy . According to the -tradition,, a feeling of joy, gladness or rapture, arises from the abandonment of the five hindrances in favor of concentration on a single object.[6] These stages are outlined by the exegete Buddhaghosa in his Visuddhimagga (also in Atthasālinī) and the earlier Upatissa (author of the Vimuttimagga). Following the establishment of access concentration, one can enter the four , powerful states of joyful absorption in which the entire body is pervaded with .
In the tradition various understandings of exist:
In modern, liberation is thought to be attained by insight into the transitory nature of phenomena. This is accomplished by establishing (mindfulness) and through the practice of (mindfulness of breathing), using mindfulness for observing the impermanence in the bodily and mental changes, to gain insight (P:, S: ; P:, S:) into the true nature of phenomena.
See also: Vipassana movement and Buddhist modernism.
The term is often conflated with the Movement, which popularised new teachings and practice. It started in the 1950s in Burma, but has gained wide renown mainly through American Buddhist teachers such as Joseph Goldstein, Tara Brach, Gil Fronsdal, Sharon Salzberg, and Jack Kornfield. The movement has a wide appeal due to being inclusive of different Buddhist and non-buddhist wisdom, poetry as well as science. It has together with the modern American Zen tradition served as one of the main inspirations for the "mindfulness movement" as developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn and others. The Movement, also known as the Insight Meditation Movement, is rooted in Buddhism and the revival of meditation techniques, especially the "New Burmese Method", the Thai Forest Tradition, and modern influences on the traditions of Sri Lanka, Burma, Laos, and Thailand.
In the Movement, the emphasis is on the Satipatthana Sutta and the use of mindfulness to gain insight into the impermanence of the self. It argues that the development of strong can be disadvantageous, a stance for which the Vipassana Movement has been criticised, especially in Sri Lanka.[7] The "New Burmese Method" was developed by U Nārada (1868–1955), and popularised by Mahasi Sayadaw (1904–1982) and Nyanaponika Thera (1901–1994). Other influential Burmese proponents include Ledi Sayadaw and Mogok Sayadaw as well as Mother Sayamagyi and S. N. Goenka, who were both students of Sayagyi U Ba Khin. Influential Thai teachers include Ajahn Chah and Buddhadasa. A well-known Indian teacher is Dipa Ma.
Practice begins with the preparatory stage, the practice of (virtue): giving up worldly thoughts and desires.[8] Jeff Wilson notes that morality is a quintessential element of Buddhist practice, and is also emphasized by the first generation of post-war western teachers. However, in the contemporary mindfulness movement, morality as an element of practice has been mostly discarded, "mystifying" the origins of mindfulness.
The practitioner then engages in (mindfulness of breathing), which is described in the Satipatthana Sutta as going into the forest and sitting beneath a tree to simply watch the breath: If the breath is long, to notice that the breath is long, if the breath is short, to notice that the breath is short.[9] [10] In the "New Burmese Method", the practitioner attends to any arising mental or physical phenomenon, engaging in, noting or naming physical and mental phenomena (e.g. "breathing, breathing"), without engaging the phenomenon with further conceptual thinking.[11] By noticing the arising of physical and mental phenomena, the meditator becomes aware how sense impressions arise from the contact between the senses and physical and mental phenomena,[8] as described in the five and . According to Sayadaw U Pandita, one's awareness and observation of these sensations is de-coupled from any kind of physical response, which reconditions one's impulsive responses to stimuli, such that one is less likely to physically or emotionally overreact to the happenings of the world.[12]
The practitioner also becomes aware of the incessant changes involved in breathing, and the arising and passing away of mindfulness. This noticing is accompanied by reflections on causation and other Buddhist teachings, leading to insight into,, and .[13] When these three characteristics have been comprehended,, and the process of noticing accelerates, noting phenomena in general, without necessarily naming them.
According to Thai meditation master Ajahn Lee, the practice of both and together allows one to achieve various mental powers and gnosis (Pāḷi:), including the attainment of, whereas the practice of alone allows for the achievement of, but no other mental powers or gnosis.[14]
are stages that describe the development of in meditation practice as described in modern Burmese meditation.[15] Mahasi Sayadaw's student Sayadaw U Pandita described the four as follows:[16]
meditation and are often considered synonymous by modern, but the four involve a heightened awareness, instead of a narrowing of the mind.
Vetter notes that may refer to the four stages of meditation, but that only the first stage refers to strong concentration, from which arise the other stages, which include mindfulness.
According to Richard Gombrich, the sequence of the four describes two different cognitive states. Gombrich and Wynne note that, while the second denotes a state of absorption, in the third and fourth one comes out of this absorption, being mindfully aware of objects while being indifferent to it. According to Gombrich, "the later tradition has falsified the by classifying them as the quintessence of the concentrated, calming kind of meditation, ignoring the other – and indeed higher – element." Alexander Wynne further explains that the -scheme is poorly understood. According to Wynne, words expressing the inculcation of awareness, such as,, and, are mistranslated or understood as particular factors of meditative states, whereas they refer to a particular way of perceiving the sense objects.
The north Indian Buddhist traditions like the Sarvastivada and the Sautrāntika practiced meditation as outlined in texts like the Abhidharmakośakārikā of Vasubandhu and the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra. The Abhidharmakośakārikā states that is practiced, once one has reached ("absorption"), by cultivating the four foundations of mindfulness .[17] This is achieved, according to Vasubandhu,
Asaṅga's Abhidharma-samuccaya states that the practice of is a part of the beginning of a Bodhisattva's path, in the first "path of preparation" .[18]
The Sthavira nikāya, one of the early Buddhist schools from which the tradition originates, emphasized sudden insight: "In the Sthaviravada [...] progress in understanding comes all at once, 'insight' does not come 'gradually' (successively—)."
The Mahāsāṃghika, another one of the early Buddhist schools, had the doctrine of, "according to which a Buddha knows everything in a single thought-instant". This process however, meant to apply only to the Buddha and paccekabuddhas. Lay people may have to experience various levels of insights to become fully enlightened.
The later Indian Mahāyāna scholastic tradition, as exemplified by Shantideva's Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra, saw as a necessary prerequisite to . Thus, one needed to first begin with calm abiding meditation, and then proceed to insight. In the Pañjikā commentary of Prajñākaramati on the Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra, is defined simply as "wisdom that has the nature of thorough knowledge of reality as it is.[19]
A number of Mahāyāna address, usually in conjunction with . One of the most prominent, the Cloud of Jewels Sutra (Ārya Ratnamegha Sutra, Tib., Chinese Chinese: 寶雲經 T658, Chinese: 大乘寶雲經 T659) divides all forms of meditation into either or, defining as "single-pointed consciousness" and as "seeing into the nature of things."[20]
The Sūtra Unlocking the Mysteries (Samdhinirmocana Sūtra), a, is also often used as a source for teachings on . The Samādhirāja Sūtra is often cited as an important source for instructions by the Kagyu tradition, particularly via the commentary of Gampopa,[21] although scholar Andrew Skilton, who has studied the Samādhirāja Sūtra extensively, reports that the itself "contains no significant exposition of either meditational practices or states of mind."[22]
The Mahayana tradition emphasizes, insight into,, the two truths doctrine, clarity and emptiness, or bliss and emptiness:[23]
The Mahayana Akṣayamati-nirdeśa refers to as seeing phenomena as they really are—that is, empty, without self, nonarisen, and without grasping. The Prajnaparamita in 8,000 lines states that the practice of insight is the non-appropriation of any, including the five aggregates:
Although and Mahayana are commonly understood as different streams of Buddhism, their emphasis on insight is a common denominator: "In practice and understanding Zen is actually very close to the Forest Tradition even though its language and teachings are heavily influenced by Taoism and Confucianism."[24]
In Chinese Buddhism, the works of Tiantai master Zhiyi (such as the Mohe Zhiguan, "Great ") are some of the most influential texts to discuss meditation from a Mahayana perspective. Zhiyi teaches the contemplation of the,,,, false views, and several other elements.[25] Likewise the influential text called the Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana has a section on calm and insight meditation. It states:
The Zen tradition advocates the simultaneous practice of and, and this is called the practice of silent illumination.[26] The classic Chan text known as the Platform Sutra states:
Chan Buddhism emphasizes sudden insight (subitism), though in the Chan tradition, this insight is to be followed by gradual cultivation. This "gradual training" is expressed in teachings as the Five Ranks of enlightenment, the Ten Bulls illustrations that detail the steps on the path, the "three mysterious gates" of Linji, and the "four ways of knowing" of Hakuin Ekaku.
See also: Tibetan Buddhism.
In Tibetan Buddhism, the practice of and is strongly influenced by the Mahāyāna text called the Bhavanakrama of Indian master Kamalaśīla. Kamalaśīla defines as "the discernment of reality" and "accurately realizing the true nature of ".[27]
According to Thrangu Rinpoche, when and are combined (as in the mainstream approach of Shantideva and Kamalashila), through disturbing emotions are abandoned, which thus facilitates, "clear seeing". is cultivated through reasoning, logic, and analysis in conjunction with .
In contrast, in the tradition of the direct approach of Mahamudra and Dzogchen, is ascertained directly through looking into one's own mind. After this initial recognition of, the steadiness of is developed within that recognition. According to Thrangu Rinpoche, it is also common in the direct approach to first develop enough to serve .[28] Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche charts the developmental relationship of the practices of and this way:
Tibetan writers usually define practice as when one's mind remains fixed on a single object without moving. Dakpo Tashi Namgyal for example, defines as:
by fixing the mind upon any object so as to maintain it without distraction... by focusing the mind on an object and maintaining it in that state until finally it is channeled into one stream of attention and evenness.[29]
According to Geshe Lhundup Sopa, is:
just a one-pointedness of mind on a meditative object . Whatever the object may be... if the mind can remain upon its object one-pointedly, spontaneously and without effort, and for as long a period of time as the meditator likes, it is approaching the attainment of meditative stabilization .[29]
furthers the right concentration aspect of the noble eightfold path. The successful result of is sometimes characterized as meditative absorption and meditative equipoise, and as freedom from the five obstructions . It may also result in the of clairvoyance and magical emanation .[30]
, " has five characteristics: effortlessly stable attention, powerful mindfulness, joy, tranquility, and equanimity . The complete state of results from working with stable attention and mindfulness until joy emerges. Joy then gradually matures into tranquility, and equanimity arises out of that tranquility. A mind in is the ideal instrument for achieving Insight and Awakening".[31]
This formulation is found in various Yogācāra sources such as the and the chapter of the .[32] It is also found in the , which shows considerable similarity in arrangement and content to the . In this scheme, śamatha practice is said to progress through nine "mental abidings" or "nine stages of training the mind" (Skt., Tib. sems gnas dgu), leading to śamatha proper (the equivalent of "access concentration" in the Theravāda system), and from there to a state of meditative concentration called the first (Pāli: ; Tib. bsam gtan) which is often said to be a state of tranquility or bliss.[33] [34]
The "Nine Mental Abidings" as described by Kamalaśīla are:[35]
Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism employed both deductive investigation (applying ideas to experience) and inductive investigation (drawing conclusions from direct experience) in the practice of . (These correspond respectively to the "contemplative forms" and "experiential forms" in the school described above.) According to Leah Zahler, only the tradition of deductive analysis in was transmitted to Tibet in the context.[41] One scholar describes his approach thus: "the overall picture painted by Kamalaśīla is that of a kind of serial alternation between observation and analysis that takes place entirely within the sphere of meditative concentration" in which the analysis portion consists of Madhyamaka reasonings. In Tibet direct examination of moment-to-moment experience as a means of generating insight became exclusively associated with .
is approached somewhat differently in the mahāmudrā tradition as practiced in the Kagyu lineage. As Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche explains,
For the Kagyupa, in the context of mahāmudrā, by means of mindfulness of breathing is thought to be the ideal way for the meditator to transition into taking the mind itself as the object of meditation and generating on that basis.[42]
Quite similar is the approach to found in dzogchen semde (Sanskrit: mahāsandhi cittavarga). In the semde system, is the first of the four yogas (Tib. naljor,),[43] the others being, nonduality (advaya, Tib. nyime,), and spontaneous presence (anābogha or nirābogha, Tib. lhundrub,). These parallel the four yogas of mahāmudrā.
Ajahn Amaro, a longtime student in the Thai Forest Theravādin tradition of Ajahn Chah, has also trained in the dzogchen semde approach under Tsoknyi Rinpoche. He found similarities in the approaches of the two traditions to .[44]
Mahāmudrā and Dzogchen use extensively. This includes some methods of the other traditions, but also their own specific approaches. They place a greater emphasis on meditating on symbolic images. Additionally in the Vajrayāna (tantric) path, the true nature of mind is pointed out by the guru, and this serves as a direct form of insight.
Meditations from other religious traditions may also be recognized as meditation, that differ in the focus of concentration. In this sense, is not a strictly Buddhist meditation. in its single-pointed focus and concentration of mind is cognate with the sixth "limb" of, which is concentration . For further discussion, see the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali.