Asian Traditions of Meditation
October 31, 2016
Madhu Khanna
1 citation
In Hindu Tantric meditation, yantras are visual meditative tools composed of concentric linear shapes centered on the Bindu, a dimensionless point. This essay discusses the Śrīyantra, the symbol of goddess Tripurasundarī, which represents the meta-worldview of Śākta Tantra. The Śriyantra is composed of nine circuits, which are identified with nine psychic energy centers of consciousness along...
Asian Traditions of Meditation
October 31, 2016
Sarah Shaw
1 citation
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...
Asian Traditions of Meditation
October 31, 2016
Geoffrey Samuel
1 citation
The central aim of Tantric practice in Tibetan Buddhism is enlightenment, but the same techniques are also used to attain good health and a long life. The image of the Tantric deity and the surrounding mandala enables the imaginative recreation of a universe in which body-mind and wider environment are connected. Along with mantra recitation, secret breathing techniques, sometimes sexualized...
Asian Traditions of Meditation
October 31, 2016
Johannes Bronkhorst
This essay argues that the many discontinuities and innovations in the history of Jaina meditation stem from the confusing descriptions of meditation in canonical texts, including the Āyāraṅga and the Uttarajjhayaṇa. The term used to denote meditation, dhyāna (or jhāna), is also used for non-meditative mental activity, but canonical lists of four types of dhyāna were typically, and confusingly,...
Asian Traditions of Meditation
October 31, 2016
Are Holen
The first big wave of scientific research on meditation came in the 1970s and mainly focused on the physiology of relaxation. The second wave, which is still ongoing, has a stronger focus on modes of attention and their neural correlates. In both waves of meditation research, Anglo-American scientists have dominated the arena, but the kinds of meditation investigated have almost exclusively...
Asian Traditions of Meditation
October 31, 2016
Morten Schlütter
This paper discusses the kànhuà technique developed by the Chinese Línjì (Jpn.: Rinzai) master Dàhuì Zōnggǎo (1089-1163) that became a widespread form of meditation in East Asian Zen. Kànhuà meditation focuses on the keyword or “punch line” (Ch.: huàtóu, Jpn.: watō, Kor.: hwadu) of puzzling Chán “encounter dialogues” (or kōan stories) associated with past Chán (Zen) masters. Dàhuì insisted on a...
Asian Traditions of Meditation
October 31, 2016
Harold D. Roth
The classical Daoist textual corpus, while often treated as abstract philosophy, emerged from a tradition of teachers and students that was primarily based on a common set of meditative techniques, and goals. These techniques emphasized proper posture (aligning the body and keeping it still), breath cultivation (concentrating, patterning, guiding, relaxing and expanding the breath), the use of...
Asian Traditions of Meditation
October 31, 2016
Halvor Eifring
This essay defines meditation as an “attention-based technique for inner transformation”. This generic definition establishes a common point of reference for the cross-cultural study of meditation, and it serves as a basis for discussing cross-cultural issues relating to the foci and modes of meditative attention, the attitudes toward the technical nature of meditation, and the relation between...
Asian Traditions of Meditation
October 31, 2016
Halvor Eifring
This essay distinguishes between directive meditation, which seeks to bring about inner transformation by means of outside-in processes, and non-directive meditation, which builds on inside-out processes. The two types differ in terms of their meditation object (thematic vs. technical), mental attitude (concentrative vs. non-concentrative), and the context surrounding the practice (suggestive...