Ch9-Concentration in the Pāli Tradition Flashcards
(279 cards)
Question,Answer
Answer
What are the ten kasina objects used for developing serenity?, “The ten kasina objects are earth, water, fire, air, blue, yellow, red, white, light, and limited-space disks, used for one-pointed focus.”
Concentration steadies the mind, allowing insight to arise and the path to liberation to unfold.
What is the purpose of the ten unattractive objects in meditation?, “They serve to reduce attachment by contemplating various states of a decaying corpse, fostering dispassion.”
Concentration steadies the mind, allowing insight to arise and the path to liberation to unfold.
How do the ten recollections function as meditation objects?, “The ten recollections include mindfulness of the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, ethics, generosity, deities, death, the body, breathing, and nirvana, and they stabilize the mind.”
Concentration steadies the mind, allowing insight to arise and the path to liberation to unfold.
What are the four divine abidings (brahmaviharas) in meditation?, “They are love, compassion, empathic joy, and equanimity, cultivating boundless positive attitudes.”
Concentration steadies the mind, allowing insight to arise and the path to liberation to unfold.
What are the four formless states in meditation?, “They are the absorptions on infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness, and neither-perception-nor-non-perception.”
Concentration steadies the mind, allowing insight to arise and the path to liberation to unfold.
What is the purpose of the discrimination of the repulsiveness of food?, “It reduces attachment to sensory pleasures by contemplating the unattractiveness of food.”
Concentration steadies the mind, allowing insight to arise and the path to liberation to unfold.
What is the purpose of defining the four elements in meditation?, “It cultivates insight into the composition and impermanence of the body by analyzing earth, water, fire, and air.”
Concentration steadies the mind, allowing insight to arise and the path to liberation to unfold.
What are the three signs to be cultivated in developing serenity?, “The preliminary sign, the learning sign, and the counterpart sign, which progressively refine the meditation object.”
Concentration steadies the mind, allowing insight to arise and the path to liberation to unfold.
What is the preliminary sign in meditation?, “It is the initial mental image formed by conceptualizing the meditation object, such as earth in kasina practice.”
Concentration steadies the mind, allowing insight to arise and the path to liberation to unfold.
What is the learning sign in meditation?, “A more stable and vivid mental image arising from repeated focus on the preliminary sign, serving as the object of concentration.”
Concentration steadies the mind, allowing insight to arise and the path to liberation to unfold.
What is the counterpart sign in meditation?, “A purified, luminous mental image, free of defects, that arises in access concentration and is used for absorption.”
Concentration steadies the mind, allowing insight to arise and the path to liberation to unfold.
What is access concentration (upacara samadhi)?, “A state of mental stability where the five hindrances are suppressed and the mind is ready to enter absorption.”
Concentration steadies the mind, allowing insight to arise and the path to liberation to unfold.
What are the five absorption factors supporting concentration?, “They are investigation, analysis, joy, bliss, and one-pointedness, each counteracting specific hindrances.”
Concentration steadies the mind, allowing insight to arise and the path to liberation to unfold.
What is the role of investigation in concentration?, “Investigation directs the mind to the object, counteracting dullness and sleepiness.”
Concentration steadies the mind, allowing insight to arise and the path to liberation to unfold.
What is the role of analysis in concentration?, “Analysis sustains the mind on the object, counteracting doubt by clarifying the object.”
Concentration steadies the mind, allowing insight to arise and the path to liberation to unfold.
What is the role of joy in concentration?, “Joy counteracts malice and delight in distraction, uplifting the mind toward the object.”
Concentration steadies the mind, allowing insight to arise and the path to liberation to unfold.
What is the role of bliss in concentration?, “Bliss counteracts restlessness by settling the mind in contentment and peace.”
Concentration steadies the mind, allowing insight to arise and the path to liberation to unfold.
What is the role of one-pointedness in concentration?, “One-pointedness counteracts sensual desire by unifying the mind steadily on the object.”
Concentration steadies the mind, allowing insight to arise and the path to liberation to unfold.
How is the first dhyana described in the Pali suttas?, “It is a state free from sensual desire and unwholesome states, characterized by investigation, analysis, joy, and bliss born of seclusion.”
Concentration steadies the mind, allowing insight to arise and the path to liberation to unfold.
How does the second dhyana differ from the first?, “The second dhyana abandons investigation and analysis, leading to inner confidence, stronger one-pointedness, and joy born of concentration.”
Concentration steadies the mind, allowing insight to arise and the path to liberation to unfold.
How does the third dhyana differ from the second?, “The third dhyana abandons joy, focusing on equanimity and bliss, with mindfulness and clear awareness predominating.”
Concentration steadies the mind, allowing insight to arise and the path to liberation to unfold.
How does the fourth dhyana differ from the third?, “The fourth dhyana abandons both bliss and suffering, resting in pure equanimity and mindfulness.”
Concentration steadies the mind, allowing insight to arise and the path to liberation to unfold.
How is the transition from the first to the second dhyana made?, “By abandoning investigation and analysis, stabilizing joy and bliss through deepened concentration.”
Concentration steadies the mind, allowing insight to arise and the path to liberation to unfold.