[Buddha-l] Tibetan word for "meditation"

[Michael J. Wilson]

I don't know why I am "chiming" in here. Maybe because my Tibetan "middle" name is Chime, but here are some side notes on the Tibetan word for meditation - not taken from my Tibetan-English (not English-Tibetan dictionaries) but some aging photostat pages from a teaching I must have attended. 

This teaching was on "The Stages of Samatha (zi-gnas) "Calm Abiding" Meditation. I am attempting to circumambulate the "paying attention" meaning for meditation in Tibetan.  The first thing that comes to mind is the cliche that Tibetans have as many words for mind as the Inuit have for snow.

Tib. dran-pa Skt. smrti = mindfulness or recollection
Tib. ses-zin Skt. samprajana = alertness or watchfulness
Tib. rgod-pa = attention of the mind to the five sense objects

I would prefer thinking meditation having a meaning closer to zi-gnas than sadhana.  Sadhana means more like "prayer session" to me. 

Stage 1: Tib. sems-'jog-pa Skt. cittasthpana = "putting attention (on the Object of Concentration)
Stage 2: Tib. rgyun-du-'jog-pa Skt. cittapravahasamsthapa = "continually putting attention (on the object)
Stage 3: Tib. glan-te-'jog-pa Skt. cittapratisarana = "returning the attention"
Stage 4: Tib. ne-bar-'jog-pa Skt. cittopasthapana = "keeping the attention very close".
Stage 5: Tib. dul-bar byed-pa Skt. cittadamana = "Taming the mind"
Stage 6: Tib. zi-bar-bye-pa Skt. cittavyapasaman = "pacification"
Stage 7: Tib. rnam-par-zi-bar-byed-pa Skt. cittavyapasaman = "complete pacification"
Stage 8: Tib. rtse-gcig-du-byed-pa Skt. cittakotikarana = "profound concentration"
Stage 9: Tib. mnam-par 'jog-pa Skt. samadhana = "effortless" or "equalizing"

"At the completion of the ninth stage, one has attained samatha [="calm abiding'].  This is sympolized by the monk mounting the elephant. So far, one has been concentrating on an object, but now one should turn the focus of attention onto sunyata.  This is represented by the elephant changing direction in the last image.  Now that one has sharpened the sword of concentration, it is time to use it to cut through primitive beliefs about reality.  The large flame behind the monk shows the need for application of the forces of mindfuless and alertness in Vipassana (Tib. lhag-thon) meditation."

Hope that helps
Michael J. Wilson 




 
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