Abstract This chapter describes the Buddhist practice of meditation as it appears in the early Mahayana context of the Vimalakīrti Sūtra. It stresses mindfulness as a state of mind cultivated in the midst of ordinary life activity. Rather than demanding the abandonment of the passions and emotional sensitivity, it encourages bodhisattvas to cultivate emotion as one essential element of life....
Chapter 5 is divided into two sections. The first section presents an overview of the Mahayana Buddhist teachings on the perfection of meditation, dhyānapāramitā. The second section inquires into various ways to conceive of contemplative practice in the contemporary, global world. It analyzes meditation at three levels of human consciousness—immediate experience, reflective experience, and...