Samādhi and Vipassanā: Two Interdependent Systems of Buddhist Meditation
International Journal of Scientific Research in Engineering and Management March 6, 2026 DOI: 10.55041/ijsrem57277 (opens in new tab) via Semantic Scholar
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractHuman desires and worldly pursuits cause suffering for individuals and society. The Buddha taught that freedom lies within the boundaries of the mind. Buddhist practice for achieving freedom involves ethical conduct, concentration, and wisdom. The two meditation techniques for developing concentration and wisdom are samatha and vipassanā. In Western culture they are often separated, but in Buddhist training they form interrelated parts of a whole, both crucial for complete liberation. Samatha tames and masters the mind, developing calm and insight. Vipassanā is a path to wisdom, spiritual liberation, and freedom from mental impurities, suffering, and repeated rebirth. After achieving concentration with samatha, one can eradicate the deepest mental impurities with vipassanā.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Philosophy |
| Key finding | Argues that samatha and vipassanā meditation are two interrelated parts of a single Buddhist path to freedom, not separate methods, with samatha providing the concentration needed for vipassanā to eradicate mental impurities. |
Abstract
Abstract Human desires and worldly pursuits are sources of suffering for individuals and society. The Buddha, time and again, taught that our freedom lies in our hands, more specifically in the boundaries of our minds. The heart of Buddhist practice to achieve freedom is a life of ethical conduct (sīla) and the practice of concentration (samādhi) and wisdom (paññā). The two meditation techniques to achieve concentration and wisdom are samatha and vipassanā meditation. Although in Western culture, they are often separated by the popular focus on mindfulness or concentration meditation mainly, these two meditation techniques are not two separate methods. In Buddhist training for freedom, they form two interrelated parts of a whole, both crucial to attaining complete liberation. They are the methodical effort to tame and master the mind and to develop its capacity for calm and insight. Vipassanā is a path to wisdom, spiritual liberation, and the pursuit of freedom from the bondage of mental impurities, suffering, and repeated rebirth. Having achieved the foundational ground of concentration with samatha meditation, one can eradicate the deepest level of mental impurities with vipassanā meditation. Keywords: samādhi, vipassanā, meditation, Buddhist training, spiritual freedom.