One of the four main Buddhist meditation practices, together with anupassanā, samatha and paññā. The Buddha called the samādhi state of mind the “unified mind” or a mind that contains only awareness and nothing else. Master Thích Thông Triệt defines samādhi as the state of wordless awareness, and at a higher level, the state of wordless cognitive awareness. Samādhi Meditation refers to the meditation practice to attain a still, immobile and non-dualistic mind achieved though the various stages of wordless awareness.
The Buddha went through four stages of samādhi to reach enlightenment, and described his mind in the fourth stage as “in a state of bare cognition (V: định tĩnh), pure (V: thuần tịnh), unblemished (V: không cấu nhiễm), rid of sorrow (V: không phiền não), malleable (V: nhu nhuyến), beyond reasoning (V: ngoài lý luận), wieldy (V: dễ sử dụng), steady (V: vững chắc), imperturbable (V: bình tĩnh).”
Samādhi is not “concentration”, “paying attention” (sometimes called “mindfulness”) or “focusing” as these techniques require effort and, therefore, the will to achieve which stokes dualism and the self.
Refer to the texts: “The Four Meditation Practices: anupassanā, samatha, samādhi, paññā” and “The process of cultivation, realization and enlightenment of the Buddha” for more details.
P & S: samādhi, V: định
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