Abstract Perhaps the most significant contribution of Buddhism to the international stage in recent years has been the promotion and cultural acceptance of meditation. Historically central to many Buddhist traditions and once considered an activity for a dedicated few, meditation has become mainstream. Within Buddhism itself, it has now become more widely acknowledged as a lay as well as a...
Abstract This chapter describes texts and practices associated with meditation in Southern, or Pali, Buddhism, sometimes known as Theravada Buddhism. It explores some different approaches to meditation that characterize this form of Buddhism, as well as the textual basis for their practice and theory. The word “meditation,” with its application in Southern Buddhism, is examined. In Southern...
ABSTRACT This paper examines two issues. The first is the apparent lack of auto/biographical composition within Southern Buddhism. Various reasons are suggested for this absence, such as monastic rulings, recent customs on public declaration of mental state and attainment, and the lack of the formal lineage transmissions that characterise some other forms of Buddhist practice. The paper then...
What makes a meditation object? This essay explores early Pāli accounts of objects still used in modern practice, especially in Southern Buddhism. Their very variety reflects this tradition’s stress on a graduated path, where different stages and individuals require different teaching approaches, at different times. Usually, in practice, objects inducing “calm” and various states known as...