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Samatha (Pali; Skt. śamatha) has been translated as "calm,"[1] "composure,"[2] "peace,"[3] "quiet,"[4] "quietude of heart,"[5] "resolution,"[6] "serenity"[7] and "tranquillity."[8]

In Buddhism's 2,000-year-old Pali Canon, samatha is a mind-stabilizing state needed to achieve liberation from suffering. In the post-canonical Theravada commentaries, the notion of samatha is further extended to describe certain meditation subjects or "vehicles" by which one attains the concentrated mental state of samatha (see samatha meditation).[9]

In the Pali Canon[edit]

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In the Pali Canon's Sutta Pitaka, samatha arises from the steadying, unification and concentration of the mind. Samatha is frequently mentioned in terms of the "internal serenity of mind" (ajjhattaṃ ceto-samathassa)[10] and the "stilling of all mental formations" (sabba-saṅkhāra-samatho).[11] Throughout the Canon[12] it is said that samatha developed in tandem with insight (vipassana) leads to nirvana (nibbāna).

In a similar vein, in the Canon's Abhidhamma Pitaka, samatha is identified as a wholesome mental state (dhammā kusalā) described in part as "the concentration which is a factor in the Great Awakening" (samādhi-sambojjhaṅgo). Samatha is also used to describe a serene quality in other mental states, including both right concentration (sammā-samādhi) and wrong concentration (micchā-samādhi).

Internal serenity of mind[edit]

In the Tatiya-samādhi Sutta ("Third Concentration Discourse," AN 4.94), it is discussed as to what a monk should do who has not yet "attained the internal serenity of mind" (lābhī ajjhattaṃ ceto-samathassa, below translated as "internal tranquillity of awareness").[13] The response is:

... [H]e should approach an individual who has attained internal tranquillity of awareness... and ask him, 'How should the mind be steadied? How should it be made to settle down? How should it be unified? How should it be concentrated?' The other will answer in line with what he has seen & experienced: 'The mind should be steadied in this way. The mind should be made to settle down in this way. The mind should be unified in this way. The mind should be concentrated in this way.' Then eventually he [the first] will become one who has attained ... internal tranquillity of awareness....[14]

Thus, implicitly the internal stilling of thought (ajjhattaṃ cetosamatha) is achieved through the steadying (saṇṭhapeti), composing (sannisādeti), unification (ekodi) and concentration (samādahāti) of the mind.[15]

Expand: A similar sequence of development — steadying, unifying and concentrating the mind — is used throughout the Canon to allude to the development of the four material absorptions (rupajhana), the four immaterial aborptions (arupajhana) and "signless" concentration (animitta) ... see for instance SN 40.1 through SN 40.9 (Bodhi, 2000, pp. 1302-1308).

Stilling all formations[edit]

"Stilling all mental formations"[16] (sabba-saṅkhāra-samatho) is a threshold experience for the attainment of Nibbana. Epitomizing this accomplishment, the following narrative formula (stated here in English and Pali, where sabba-saṅkhāra-samatho is rendered as "the resolution of all fabrications") can be found in over a dozen discourses:[17]

'This is peace, this is exquisite —
the resolution of all fabrications;
the relinquishment of all acquisitions;
the ending of craving;
dispassion; cessation; Unbinding.'[18]

Etaṃ santaṃ etaṃ paṇītaṃ yadidaṃ
sabbasaṅkhārasamatho
sabbupadhipaṭinissaggo
taṇhakkhayo
virāgo nirodho nibbānanti.[19]

For instance, this formula can be seen in the Samadhi Sutta ("Concentration Discourse," AN 10.6) whereby the Buddha instructs Ananda that there is a type of concentration beyond the four material and immaterial jhanic attainments:

"As he was sitting there, [Ananda] said to the Blessed One, "Lord, could a monk have an attainment of concentration such that he would neither be percipient of earth with regard to earth, nor of water with regard to water, nor of fire... wind... the dimension of the infinitude of space... the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness... the dimension of nothingness... the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception... this world... nor of the next world with regard to the next world, and yet he would still be percipient?"....
[The Buddha replies:] "There is the case, Ananda, where the monk would be percipient in this way: 'This is peace, this is exquisite — the resolution of all fabrications; the relinquishment of all acquisitions; the ending of craving; dispassion; cessation; Unbinding.'...." [20]
  The 12 Nidānas:  
Ignorance
↓
Formations
↓
Consciousness
↓
Name & Form
↓
Six Sense Bases
↓
Contact
↓
Feeling
↓
Craving
↓
Clinging
↓
Becoming
↓
Birth
↓
Old Age & Death
 

One way of further contextualizing this stilling of all formations is within the central Buddhist framework of Dependent Origination. In this framework, as represented in the diagram to the right, karmically ladened "formations" are the second nidāna or cause in this samsaric chain, arising from suffering's ultimate condition, ignorance (avijjā). Formations condition the arising of life-perpetuating consciousness which in turn conditions bodily and mental processes, then sensory experiences, next resultant feelings, and ultimately culminating in "the whole mass of suffering" (kevalassa dukkha-khandha) inherent in birth, aging and death. Therefore, conversely, with the cessation of the formations, one's samsaric existence ends and all suffering ceases.[21]

While the stilling of mental formations is a requisite for Nibbana, as will be explored further below, the ultimate attainment of Nibbana requires the co-development of higher wisdom borne of insight (vipassana).

Samatha vs. passaddhi[edit]

See also: passaddhi

In the Pali Canon, while a distinction is not always clearcut, samatha is rarely applied to the pre-jhanic calming of the body and thoughts; for such calming, the word passaddhi (and its verbal form, passambhati) is generally used.[22][23] Put another way, passaddhi is often described as preceding concentration (samadhi) whereas, in turn, concentration is often mentioned as a precursor for samatha.

As an example, it is passaddhi-related passambhaya ("calming"), not samatha, that is referenced in this well-known passage from the Anapanasati Sutta (MN 118, stated in English and Pali):

He trains himself, 'I will breathe in calming bodily fabrication.'
He trains himself, 'I will breathe out calming the bodily fabrication....'
He trains himself, 'I will breathe in calming mental fabrication.'
He trains himself, 'I will breathe out calming mental fabrication....'[24]

Passambhayaṃ kāyasaṅkhāraṃ assasissāmīti sikkhati.
Passambhayaṃ kāyasaṅkhāraṃ passasissāmīti sikkhati....
Passambhayaṃ cittasaṅkhāraṃ assasissāmīti sikkhati.
Passambhayaṃ cittasaṅkhāraṃ passasissāmīti sikkhati....[25]

This excerpt illustrates that, in the Canon, technically speaking, when such meditation techniques are related to the notion of samatha, samatha is not used to describe the actual act of calming the body, mental processes or consciousness; but, as indicated in aforementioned discourses, samatha is itself a liberating mental state that arises from the concentration that is achieved as a result of this technique. In the words of the later commentaries (see in more detail below), a technique such as this can become a "vehicle" (yāna) for samatha.[26]

Serenity and insight[edit]

The Buddha identified two paramount mental states, used in tandem,[27] that lead to the arahant-preceding extinction of mental "taints" (āsava)[28] and the attaining of Nibbana: serenity (samatha) and insight (vipassana).[29]

Underlining their centrality, the Kāla Sutta ("Time Discourse," AN 4.146) states in its entirety (in Engilsh and Pali):

"Monks, there are four times. What four?
Time for hearing the Dhamma,
Time for talking about Dhamma,
Time for serenity, time for insight.
These, monks, are the four times."[30]

Cattārome bhikkhave kālā. Katame cattāro?
Kālena dhammasavaṇaṃ,
kālena dhammasākacchā,
kālena samatho, kālena vipassanā.
Ime kho bhikkhave cattāro kālāti.[31]

The very next discourse, Dutiya-Kāla Sutta ("Time [2] Discourse," AN 4.147) states that these four times lead to the gradual destruction of mental taints (anupubbena āsavānaṃ khayaṃ), the achievement of which is synonymous with arahantship.[32]

Additionally, in the Ākankheyya Sutta ("If a Bhikkhu Should Wish," MN 6), the Buddha repeatedly identifies just five things that can bring a monk everything from the respect of other monks to final deliverance:

  • keeping the precepts (sīlesvevassa)
  • applying oneself to internal mental serenity (ajjhattaṃ ceto samathamanuyutto)
  • not neglecting jhanic meditation (anirākatajjhāno)[9]
  • being endowed with insight (vipassanāya samannāgato)
  • frequenting solitary places (brūhetā suññāgārānaṃ).[33]

Similarly, in the Nandaka Sutta ("To Nandaka Discourse," AN 9.4), the Buddha states that a monk should be accomplished (paripūretabba) in four limbs (aṅga):

  • faith (saddho)
  • virtues (sīlavā)
  • attainment of internal mental serenity (lābhī ajjhattaṃ cetosamathassa)
  • attainment of higher wisdom of insight into phenomena (lābhī adhipaññādhammavipassanāya)

Without one of these limbs, a monk is like a lame four-footed creature (pāṇako catuppādako).[34]

In the brief Vijja-bhagiya Sutta ("Partake of True Knowledge Discourse," AN 2.30), it is stated that, when serenity is developed, the mind (citta) is developed, then lust (rāga) is abandoned and the mind is liberated (ceto-vimutti).[35] When insight is developed, wisdom (paññā) is developed, then ignorance (avijjā) is abandoned and there is "liberation by wisdom" (paññā-vimutti).[36]

Furthermore, in one of the Canon's more memorable metaphors, in the Kimsuka Sutta ("Kimsuka Tree Discourse," SN 35.245), the Buddha analogizes serenity and insight to "the swift pair of messengers" who deliver the message of Nibbana via the Noble Eightfold Path.[37]

Likewise, in both the aforementioned Tatiya-samādhi Sutta ("Third Concentration Discourse," AN 4.94) and the Samatha Sutta ("Serenity Discourse," AN 10.54), it is stated:

"... [T]he person who gains both internal serenity of mind and the higher wisdom of insight into phenomena should establish himself in just these wholesome states and make a further effort for the destruction of the taints."[38][39]

Moreover, in this Samatha Sutta it states that if one has attained either serenity or insight but not the other, then one should establish (patiṭṭāya) themselves in the one they have attained and then they should practice (yogo) the one they lack so that at a later time they attain both.[40]

Similarly, in the Yuganaddha Sutta ("In Tandem Discourse," AN 4.170), Ven. Ananda reported that people attain arahantship using serenity and insight in one of three ways:

  1. they develop serenity and then insight (samatha-pubbangamam vipassanam)
  2. they develop insight and then serenity (vipassana-pubbangamam samatham)[41]
  3. they develop serenity and insight in tandem (samatha-vipassanam yuganaddham), for instance, obtaining the first jhana and then seeing in the associated aggregates the three marks of existence, before proceeding to the second jhana.[42]

Abhidhammic mental state (dhamma)[edit]

In the Abhidhamma Pitaka, samatha is recognized as a mental state (dhamma) among both those states that are wholesome as well as those states that constitute the aggregate of mental formations (saṅkhārakkhandho). In addition, the quality of samatha is frequently used to describe various concentrative mental states.

The Abhidhamma Pitaka's Dhammasangani starts by analyzing states ethically:[43] between those states that are wholesome (kusala) and those that are unwholesome (akusala). The first chapter identifies 56 states of material-world consciousness that are wholesome, including samatho (below translated as "quiet"), upon which the text elaborates:

"What on that occasion is quiet?
The stability, solidity, absorbed steadfastness of thought which on that occasion is the absence of distraction, balance, imperturbed mental procedure, quiet, the faculty and the power of concentration, right concentration, the concentration which is a factor in the Great Awakening, a 'Path-component,' 'contained in the Path' - this is the conception that there then is."[44]

Katamo tasmiṃ samaye samatho hoti?
Yā tasmiṃ samaye cittassa ṭhiti saṇḍhiti avaṭṭhiti avisāhāro avikkhepo avisāhaṭamānasatā samatho samādhindriyaṃ samādhibalaṃ sammāsamādhi samādhisambojjhaṅgo maggaṅgaṃ maggapariyāpannaṃ, ayaṃ tasmiṃ samaye samatho hoti.[45]

This definition is also referenced as denoting "the mark of composure" (samatha-nimittaṃ)[46] and the "Peace of the Higher Ideal" (lokuttaraṃ samathaṃ).[47]

In addition, the Dhammasangani subsequently examines states in terms of their psychological category. In this regard, samatha is identified as one of fifty components of the mental aggregate of formations (saṅkhāra-khandho).[48]

Beyond being a mental state (dhamma) unto itself, samatha is also used in the Dhammasangani and Vibhanga adjectivally, as a descriptor for other mental states, especially those dealing with concentration (samādhi). In particular, samatha describes in part the following mental states: self-collectedness (cittassekaggatā),[49] the faculty of concentration (samādhindriyaṃ),[50] right concentration (sammāsamādhi),[51] the power of concentration (samādhibalaṃ),[52] samatho itself,[53] balance (avikkhepo),[54] and wrong concentration (micchāsamādhi).[55]

In the "Path of Purification" (Visuddhimagga)[edit]

Buddhaghosa's 5th c. CE exegetic opus, the Visuddhimagga ("Path of Purification"), analyzes the canonical teachings in terms of the Threefold training of virtue, concentration and wisdom. Throughout this text there are references to how a practice or pursuit is approached differently from the development of either samatha or vipassana. In this way, the text simultaneously underlines the need for both samatha and vipassana in order to achieve liberation while also extending the post-canonical vocabulary for distinguishing these attainments.

Expand!

Serenity power[edit]

In the chapter on "Purification of View" (Vism. Ch. XXIII), in the section on the "attainment of cessation" (§ 16ff.), ....[56]

samathabalaṃ (once in Ch. 22 and multiple instances in Ch. 23, e.g.: Vism XXII, 46; Vism XXIII,20; and, Vism XXIII, 28 [Buddhaghosa & Ñāṇamoli, 1999, pp. 707, 731, 733): "serenity power." The Visuddhimagga mentions different attainments based on differential development of serenity power vs. "insight power" (vipassanābalaṃ).

Note: According to a La Trobe search, "serenity power" is found only nine times in the Pali literature: five times in the Patisambhidamagga; once in the para-canonical Petakopadesa; and, three times in the Visuddhimagga.

Serenity meditation subjects[edit]

samathakammaṭṭhānaṃ (one instance: Vism VIII,60 [PTS p. 243; Nanamoli, p. 239]): Nanamoli (1975/1991) translates this as "serenity meditation subject." More specifically, it comes up in the following single instance:

"Herein, it [the body] is an insight meditation subject that is expounded as elements and a serenity meditation subject that is expounded as repulsiveness."[57]

In Pali literature, this term only occurs in the Visuddhimagga (one time).[1]

The vehicle of serenity[edit]

samathayāniko/ena (two instances: Vism XVIII,3 [PTS p. 587; Buddhaghosa & Ñāṇamoli (1999), p. 605] and Vism XVIII,5 [PTS p. 588; Nanamoli, p. 606]): Nanamoli translates this as "serenity vehicle." It comes up early in the chapter on "purification of view" and is contrasted with suddhavipassanāyāniko ("one whose vehicle is pure insight").

In Pali literature, this term only occurs in the Visuddhimagga (twice).[2]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ For instance, in Walshe (1995), p. 393; and, Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 682, entry for "Samatha." Retrieved 2007-10-08 at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.3:1:3317.pali.
  2. ^ Rhys Davids (1900), pp. 354, 355.
  3. ^ Rhys Davids (1900), p. 95, when referring to supra-mundane (lokuttara) samatha.
  4. ^ Rhys Davids (1900), p. 25.
  5. ^ Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 682, entry for "Samatha."
  6. ^ Thanissaro (2004b).
  7. ^ Ñāṇamoli & Bodhi (2001), passim.
  8. ^ Thanissaro (2004a).
  9. ^ a b In the Pali Canon, neither samatha nor vipassana is used as a descriptor of a specific type of meditation. Such meditation-specific uses of these terms is not found until the post-canonical commentaries. Thus Thanissaro (1997b) states:
    When [the Pali discourses] depict the Buddha telling his disciples to go meditate, they never quote him as saying 'go do vipassana,' but always 'go do jhana.' And they never equate the word vipassana with any mindfulness techniques. In the few instances where they do mention vipassana, they almost always pair it with samatha — not as two alternative methods, but as two qualities of mind that a person may 'gain' or 'be endowed with,' and that should be developed together.
    Similarly, referencing MN 151, vv. 13-19, and AN IV, 125-27, Ajahn Brahm (who, like Bhikkhu Thanissaro, is of the Thai Forest Tradition) writes:
    Some traditions speak of two types of meditation, insight meditation (vipassana) and calm meditation (samatha). In fact, the two are indivisible facets of the same process. Calm is the peaceful happiness born of meditation; insight is the clear understanding born of the same meditation. Calm leads to insight and insight leads to calm. (Brahm, 2006, p. 25.)
  10. ^ Based on a search of the Sri Lanka Tripitaka Project (SLTP) Pali Canon (La Trobe University, n.d.), examples of discourses that reference ajjhattaṃ ceto-samathassa include: MN 6, MN 32, AN 4.92, AN 4.93, AN 4.94, AN 5.73 (Thanissaro, 2003), AN 5.90, AN 6.16, AN 9.4, AN 10.54, AN 10.71 and Iti. 45.
  11. ^ Based on a search of the SLTP Pali Canon (La Trobe University, n.d.), examples of discourses that reference sabba-saṅkhāra-samatho include: DN 14; MN 26, 64, 85; SN 6.1, 48.50; AN 4.114, 5.140, 9.36, 10.6, 10.60, 11.7, 11.8, 11.19 through 11.22.
  12. ^ Based on a search of the SLTP Pali Canon (La Trobe University, n.d.), examples of discourses that reference samatha and vipassana in tandem include: DN 33, 34; MN 73, 149, 151; SN 41.6, 43.2, 43.12, 43.13, 45.159, 46.77; AN 2.30, 2.231 through 2.246, 6.54; as well as dozens of references in the Khuddaka Nikaya's Cullaniddesa, Patisambhidamagga, Nettipakarana and Petakopadesa.
  13. ^ In Bodhi (2005), pp. 269-70, ajjhattaṃ cetosamatha is translated as the "internal serenity of mind."
  14. ^ AN 4.94 (Thanissaro, 1998c). Thanissaro (1998c) simply entitles this discourse, "Samadhi Sutta."
  15. ^ In addition to Thanissaro (1998c), see Bodhi (2005), pp. 269-70, 440 n. 12, and, La Trobe University (n.d.), Tatiyasamādhisuttaṃ, Anguttara Nikaya, book 2, BJT pp. 178-180, starting at http://www.chaf.lib.latrobe.edu.au/dcd/tipitika.php?title=sutta%20pitaka&action=previous&record=5891 (retrieved 2007-11-14).
  16. ^ Saṅkhāra is variously translated as "volitional formations" (Bodhi, 1999/2005) or "conditioned things" (Piyadassi, 1999) or "fabrications" (Thanissaro, 1997a) or even "emotions" (Walshe, 1995, p. 562, n. 293).
  17. ^ Based on a search of the Pali canon for the term saṅkhāra (La Trobe University, n.d.), the following discourses include the compound term sabbasaṅkhārasamatho: DN 14, MN 26, MN 64, MN 85, SN 6.1, SN 48.50, A i 133, AN 4.114, AN 5.140, AN 9.36, AN 10.6, AN 10.60, AN 11.7, AN 11.8, AN 11.19, AN 11.20, AN 11.21 and AN 11.22.
  18. ^ "Concentration Discourse" (Samadhi Sutta, AN 10.6), translated by Thanissaro (2004b). As can be seen by reviewing the Pali words that accompany this translation, "Unbinding" is Thanissaro's translation choice for nibbāna.
  19. ^ La Trobe University (n.d.), Anguttara Nikaya, book 5, BJT p. 16, retrieved 2007-11-13 at http://www.chaf.lib.latrobe.edu.au/dcd/tipitika.php?title=&record=6822.
  20. ^ "Concentration Discourse" (Samadhi Sutta, AN 10.6), translated by Thanissaro (2004b). (Intra-paragraph ellipses are by Thanissaro. Boldface added.) Although similarly entitled, this is a different Samadhi Sutta than the previously referenced AN 4.94.
  21. ^ See, for instance, Thanissaro (1997c).
  22. ^ That passaddhi typically precedes concentration is classically codified, for instance, in the seven factors of enlightenment (bojjhanga). Nonetheless, discourses can be found where passaddhi appears to be used to describe a broad spectrum of calmness. For instance, in describing one's progressive steps through the absorptions (jhanani), the Buddha identifies six sequential "calmings" (passaddhis):
    1. With the first jhana, speech (vācā) is calmed.
    2. With the second jhana, applied and sustained thought (vitakka-vicārā) is calmed.
    3. With the third jhana, rapture (pīti) is calmed.
    4. With the fourth jhana, in-and-out breathing (assāsa-passāsā) is calmed.
    5. With the cessation of perception and feeling, perception and feeling (saññā-vedanā) are calmed.
    6. With the ending of mental fermentations (āsava), lust, hatred and delusion (rāga-dosa-moha) are calmed. (SN 36.11, Nyanaponika, 1983).

    Conversely, one rare exception in the Pali Canon in which samatha appears to be applied to the calming of body and/or thoughts can be found at A.iii.449:

    "To dispel excitement appeasement [samatho] should be developed, to dispel lack of restraint, restraint should be developed and to dispel negligence diligence should be developed." (Upalavanna, n.d.-d, sutta 10)

    Katame tayo: Uddhaccassa pahānāya samatho bhāvetabbo. Asaṃvarassa pahānāya saṃvaro bhāvetabbo. Pamādassa pahānāya appamādo bhāvetabbo.

    Nonetheless, this association of samatha with states of jhāna appears to only increase in the post-canonical commentaries. This is strikingly represented, for instance, in the "Glossary" of the Ñāṇamoli translation of the Visuddhimagga where the term samatha is simply defined as "serenity (term for jhana)" (Buddhaghosa & Ñāṇamoli, 1999, p. 896).

  23. ^ Relatedly, at least in DN 25, two different Pali words are used to distinguish between the "calm" (samatha) taught in the Dhamma and the "calm" (santo) of a person (in particular, the Buddha):

    "The Blessed Lord is enlightened and teaches a doctrine of enlightenment,
    he is self-restrained and teaches a doctrine of self-restraint,
    he is calm and teaches a doctrine of calm.
    He has gone beyond and teaches a doctrine of going beyond,
    he has gained Nibbāna and teaches a doctrine for gaining Nibbāna." (Walshe, 1995, p. 393)

    buddho so bhagavā bodhāya dhammaṃ deseti,
    danto so bhagavā damathāya dhammaṃ deseti,
    santo so bhagavā samathāya dhammaṃ deseti,
    tiṇṇo so bhagavā taraṇāya dhammaṃ deseti,
    parinibbuto so bhagavā parinibbānāya dhammaṃ deseti.     (La Trobe University, n.d.)

  24. ^ Thanissaro (2006).
  25. ^ La Trobe University (n.d.), Majjhima Nikaya, book 3, BJT p. 226, retrieved 2007-11-15 at http://www.chaf.lib.latrobe.edu.au/dcd/tipitika.php?title=&record=3831.
  26. ^ For comparison with the above abhidhammic descriptions of samatha, here are the Dhammasangani's definition regarding the calming (passaddhi) of mental aggregates (nāmakhanda) and of consciousness (citta):
    What on that occasion is repose of sense (kayāpassaddhi)?
    The serenity, the composure which there is on that occasion, the calming, the tranquillizing, the tranquillity of the skandhas of feeling, perception and syntheses — this is the serenity of sense that there then is.
    What on that occasion is serenity of thought (cittapassaddhi)?
    The serenity, the composure which there is on that occasion, the calming, the tranquillizing, the tranquillity of the skandha of intellect — this is the serenity of thought that there then is. (Rhys Davids, 1900, pp. 1-4 (consciousness states xxxix and xl), 23, verses 40 and 41.)
    Based on the second sentence of this excerpt and the third excerpted sentence's use of the word citta, it is evident that Rhys Davids uses the word "intellect" here for what is traditionally referred to in the khandha model as viññana.
  27. ^ The development of these two in tandem is, for instance, illustrated in the Yuganaddha Sutta ("In Tandem," AN 4.170) (Bodhi, 2005, pp. 268-69; Thanissaro, 1998e).
  28. ^ The Pali word āsava has been translated as "taints" (Bodhi, 2005), "intoxicants" (Rhys Davids & Stede, 1921-25), and "fermentations" (e.g., Thanissaro, 1997b). In the Pali Canon, the three taints are cravings for sensual pleasure, existence and ignorance. The destruction of these taints is the final fruit of arahantship, the extinguishing of future personal rebirths (Bodhi, 2005, p. 229, citing for instance MN 36). For this reason, one of the Canon's thirty-three synonyms for Nibbana is "the taintless" (anāsavā) (SN 43.14; Bodhi, 2005, pp. 364-65).
  29. ^ Samatho ca vipassanāca is translated by Walshe (1995) as "calm and insight", by Nanamoli & Bodhi (2001) as "serenity and insight" (e.g., p. 600; cf. p. 1364 nn. 1342, 1344), and by Thanissaro (e.g., in SN 41.6, 2004a) as "tranquillity & insight".
  30. ^ English translation loosely based on Upalavanna (n.d.-a), sutta 6. For instance, to be consistent with this article's translation choices, Sister Upalavanna's translation of samatho as "appeasing the self" and of vipassanā as "wise thinking" were changed to "serenity" and "insight," respectively.
  31. ^ La Trobe University (n.d.), Anguttara Nikaya, book 2, BJT p. 270, sutta 4.3.5.6 (retrieved 2007-11-22 at http://www.chaf.lib.latrobe.edu.au/dcd/tipitika.php?title=&record=5937).
  32. ^ La Trobe University (n.d.), Anguttara Nikaya, book 2, BJT p. 272, sutta 4.3.5.7 (retrieved 2007-11-22 at http://www.chaf.lib.latrobe.edu.au/dcd/tipitika.php?title=&record=5938).
  33. ^ Ñāṇamoli & Bodhi (2001), pp. 115-17. (Boldface added for emphasis.) This fivefold recommendation can also be found in the Mahāgosinga Sutta ("The Greater Discourse in Gosinga," MN 32) (Ñāṇamoli & Bodhi, 2001, p. 308, v. 5), in the Akankha Sutta ("Wishes Discourse," AN 10.71) (Thanissaro, 1998a), and in the Paṭisallāna Sutta ("Seclusion Discourse," Iti. 45) (Thanissaro, 2001, sutta 45).

    According to Ñāṇamoli & Bodhi (2001), pp. 1177-78 n. 77, the Majjhima Nikaya commentary states that these five factors are comparable to the Buddha's Threefold Training: the first factor relates to the higher training in virtue, the factors of serenity development and jhana relate to the higher training in mind/concentration, the factor of insight relates to the higher training in wisdom, and the last factor concerning the frequenting of solitary places reinforces the development of the latter two trainings.

  34. ^ La Trobe University (n.d.), Anguttara Nikaya, book 4, BJT p. 382, retrieved 2007-11-27 at http://www.chaf.lib.latrobe.edu.au/dcd/tipitika.php?title=sutta%20pitaka&action=next&record=6722. See also Upalavanna (n.d.-c), sutta 4, "Nandakasuttaṃ - Venerable Nandaka." In terms of more standard enumerations of Buddhist enlightenment factors, this fourfold list bears a resemblance to the Buddhist framework of five spiritual faculties.
  35. ^ Bodhi (2005), p. 439 n. 4 states that the Pali commentary describes a threefold interaction between samatha and lust: (1) samatha alone can lead to the suppression of lust (and of all five hindrances); (2) samatha developed through jhanic absorption results in the absence of lust (lasting for as long as the jhanic state is maintained, and is thus necessarily transitory); and, (3) samatha and vipassana together eradicate the underlying tendency to sensual lust itself.
  36. ^ Bodhi (2005), pp. 267-68; see also, Thanissaro (1998d). According to Bodhi (2005), p. 439 n. 6, "taintless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom" (anāsava-cetovimutti-paññāvimuttīti) is a synonym for arahantship. Pali is based on La Trobe University (n.d.), Anguttara Nikaya, book 1, BJT p. 120, sutta 2.1.3.11, retrieved 2007-11-15 at http://www.chaf.lib.latrobe.edu.au/dcd/tipitika.php?title=&record=5584.
  37. ^ Bodhi (2000), pp. 1251-53. See also Thanissaro (1998b) (where this sutta is identified as SN 35.204). See also, for instance, a discourse (Pali: sutta) entitled, "Serenity and Insight" (SN 43.2), where the Buddha states: "And what, bhikkhus, is the path leading to the unconditioned? Serenity and insight...." (Bodhi, 2000, pp. 1372-73).
  38. ^ AN 4.94 (Bodhi, 2005, pp. 269-70; see also Thanissaro, 1998c). (Boldface added for emphasis.)

    It is worth noting that both of these discourses' notion of "wholesome states" (kusalesu dhammesu) can be seen below vastly amplified as the primary structural device undergirding the Abhidhamma Pitaka's Dhammasangani.

  39. ^ In regards to the "higher wisdom of insight into phenomena" (adhipaññādhammavipassanā), this discourse identifies that such comes from seeing, exploring and discerning with insight into the mental formations (saṅkhārā). (Bodhi, 2005, pp. 269-70, 440 n. 12; and, La Trobe University, n.d., Tatiyasamādhisuttaṃ, Anguttara Nikaya, book 2, BJT pp. 178-180, starting at http://www.chaf.lib.latrobe.edu.au/dcd/tipitika.php?title=sutta%20pitaka&action=previous&record=5891, retrieved 2007-11-14).
  40. ^ La Trobe University (n.d.), Anguttara Nikaya, book 5, BJT p. 178, retrieved 2007-11-27 at http://www.chaf.lib.latrobe.edu.au/dcd/tipitika.php?title=sutta%20pitaka&action=next&record=6903; see also Upalavanna (n.d.-b), sutta 4, "Samathasuttaṃ - Appeasement."
  41. ^ While the Pali Canon identifies that the pursuit of vipassana can precede the pursuit of samatha, a liberating vipassana-oriented practice must still be based upon the achievement of stabilizing "access concentration" (upacara samadhi).
  42. ^ Bodhi (2005), pp. 268, 439 nn. 7, 9, 10. See also Thanissaro (1998e).
  43. ^ This application of the term "ethical" to the abhidhammic wholesome/unwholesome division can be seen, for instance, in Rhys Davids (1900).
  44. ^ Rhys Davids (1900), pp. 85 (§287, §291), 88 (§334).
  45. ^ La Troble University (n.d.).
  46. ^ Rhys Davids (1900), pp. 354 (§1355), 355 (§1357).
  47. ^ Rhys Davids (1900), p. 95 (§358, item 10); see also Rhys Davids (1900), p. 95, n. 1.
  48. ^ Rhys Davids (1900), pp. 28, 29.
  49. ^ Dhs. §§11, 375, 570 (Rhys Davids, 1900, pp. 13-14, 100, 159).
  50. ^ Dhs. §§15, 377 (Rhys Davids, 1900, pp. 17, 100); Vbh. §327 (La Trobe University, n.d., record 11962); see also Vbh. §510 (La Trobe University, n.d., record 12042).
  51. ^ Dhs. §24 (Rhys Davids, 1900, p. 19); Vbh. §562 (La Trobe University, n.d., record 12063).
  52. ^ Dhs. §28 (Rhys Davids, 1900, p. 20).
  53. ^ Dhs. §§54, 395, 1355 (Rhys Davids, 1900, pp. 25, 103, 354).
  54. ^ Dhs. §§57, 397 (Rhys Davids, 1900, pp. 25, 103).
  55. ^ Dhs. §385 (Rhys Davids, 1900, p. 102).
  56. ^ Buddhaghosa & Ñāṇamoli (1999), pp. 730ff.
  57. ^ Buddhaghosa & Ñāṇamoli (1999), p. 239.

Sources[edit]

  • Bodhi, Bhikkhu (trans.) (2000). The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya. Boston: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-331-1.
  • Bodhi, Bhikkhu (ed.) (2005). In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pāli Canon. Boston: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-491-1.
  • Brahm, Ajahn (2006). Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond: A Meditator's Handbook. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-275-7.
  • Buddhaghosa, Bhadantacariya & Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli (trans.) (1999). The Path of Purification: Visuddhimagga. Seattle, WA: BPS Pariyatti Editions. ISBN 1-928706-00-2.
  • Ñāṇamoli, Bhikkhu (trans.) & Bodhi, Bhikkhu (ed.) (2001). The Middle-Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikāya. Boston: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-072-X.
  • Rhys Davids, C.A.F. (trans.) (1900). A Buddhist manual of psychological ethics or Buddhist Psychology, of the Fourth Century B.C., being a translation, now made for the first time, from the Original Pāli of the First Book in the Abhidhamma-Piţaka, entitled Dhamma-Sangaṇi (Compendium of States or Phenomena). Lancaster: Pali Text Society. Reprint currently available from Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 0-7661-4702-9.
  • Walshe, Maurice (trans.) (1995). The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Dīgha Nikāya. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-103-3.


Category:Buddhist terms

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