Re: Samadhi (best English translation?)
Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2013 1:16 pm
That's cittassa ekaggatā; here is a short discussion of its relationship to samadhi.porpoise wrote:I came across "singleness of mind" recently - does that get near it?
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That's cittassa ekaggatā; here is a short discussion of its relationship to samadhi.porpoise wrote:I came across "singleness of mind" recently - does that get near it?
Thank you, Bhante, for exceptionally lucid explanationKumara wrote:Samādhi is the noun for the verb samādhiyati.
Samādhiyati is the passive form for the active verb samādahati.
Samādahati: sam “together” + ādahati “put, place”. So, it means “put together” or “place together”.
occurrence of the word "Samadhi" in some popular religious scriptures written in sanskrit (Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavata Purana also known as Śrīmad Bhāgavatam).Samadhi (best English translation?)
They are referred to as some form of samāpatti (attainment). Check it out.tiltbillings wrote:No, but I would have to look at those accountings again, and I, for the life of me, cannot recall where they are. But if they were not jhana, what would they be? You have had some very interesting things to say here, so what do you think?Kumara wrote:Yes, there are such descriptions, but have you seen them in reference to the word jhana?tiltbillings wrote:... there are instances in the suttas that look like absorption practice where the meditator is unaware of his surroundings, as in not hearing a storm or feeling a whack to the head.
It's Ajahn Thanissaro's choice, which I find unsatisfactory, as it translate literally backwards as "ekatā". It nonetheless avoids an even more problematic translation: "one-pointedness".daverupa wrote:That's cittassa ekaggatā; here is a short discussion of its relationship to samadhi.porpoise wrote:I came across "singleness of mind" recently - does that get near it?
This sounds good.Kumara wrote:So then ekaggatā is stillness. Cittassa ekaggatā means stillness of mind. When Dhammadinna Bhikkhuni answered Visakha's question with "cittassa ekaggatā ayaṁ samādhi", I understand it to mean "stillness of mind—this is samādhi (composure)".
Margaret Cone's dictionary defines "agāra" as 'a house; the household life'. With all due respect, I must say that for me expression "citta with one house (household life)" makes no sense.Kumara wrote:The agga in ekaggatā is probably a contracted form of agāra, which can be most generally translated as "place". Thus, ekaggaṁ is one-placed (rather than one-pointed), as in not "all over the place", not scattered, but gathered, collected, composed. In idiomatic English, it's still.
You do have the plain old AN 9.37 for that. Even the jhanas are called attainments, as in attainments with perceptions.Kumara wrote:They are referred to as some form of samāpatti (attainment). Check it out.tiltbillings wrote:... there are instances in the suttas that look like absorption practice where the meditator is unaware of his surroundings, as in not hearing a storm or feeling a whack to the head.
Perhaps 'peak,?Kumara wrote:
To make it really short, here's the conclusion of my research into this: The agga in ekaggatā is probably a contracted form of agāra, which can be most generally translated as "place". Thus, ekaggaṁ is one-placed (rather than one-pointed), as in not "all over the place", not scattered, but gathered, collected, composed. In idiomatic English, it's still.
So then ekaggatā is stillness. Cittassa ekaggatā means stillness of mind. When Dhammadinna Bhikkhuni answered Visakha's question with "cittassa ekaggatā ayaṁ samādhi", I understand it to mean "stillness of mind—this is samādhi (composure
.
It's alright, Dmytro. Please feel free to contradict what I say.Dmytro wrote:Margaret Cone's dictionary defines "agāra" as 'a house; the household life'. With all due respect, I must say that for me expression "citta with one house (household life)" makes no sense.Kumara wrote:The agga in ekaggatā is probably a contracted form of agāra, which can be most generally translated as "place". Thus, ekaggaṁ is one-placed (rather than one-pointed), as in not "all over the place", not scattered, but gathered, collected, composed. In idiomatic English, it's still.
The Atthakatha explanation as "with one thing predominant (agga)" is much more coherent.
Actually, there is another meaning for agga, which is a contracted form of agāra. E.g., uposathāgāra is the same as uposathagga, meaning a hall for the fortnightly monastic observance. It occurs only in compounds, e.g., dānagga—a place where alms are given, vassagga—shelter from the rain, a shed. Although this agga or agāra often refers to some sort of building, its meaning is wider: from a mansion to a cave. Then there is suññāgāra (suñña + agāra) , which literally means “an empty place”, though “solitude” may sometimes be a more appropriate translation. Also, samagga (saṁ + agga), an adjective which literally means “placed together” and commonly used in the Suttas to mean “being in unity, harmonious”.
That's interesting, but you'd then have to translate it as "one-peak-ness of mind".Sylvester wrote:Perhaps 'peak,?Kumara wrote:
To make it really short, here's the conclusion of my research into this: The agga in ekaggatā is probably a contracted form of agāra, which can be most generally translated as "place". Thus, ekaggaṁ is one-placed (rather than one-pointed), as in not "all over the place", not scattered, but gathered, collected, composed. In idiomatic English, it's still.
So then ekaggatā is stillness. Cittassa ekaggatā means stillness of mind. When Dhammadinna Bhikkhuni answered Visakha's question with "cittassa ekaggatā ayaṁ samādhi", I understand it to mean "stillness of mind—this is samādhi (composure
.
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Oops. Sorry about that. Try look up āneñjasamādhi.Sylvester wrote:You do have the plain old AN 9.37 for that. Even the jhanas are called attainments, as in attainments with perceptions.Kumara wrote:They are referred to as some form of samāpatti (attainment). Check it out.tiltbillings wrote:... there are instances in the suttas that look like absorption practice where the meditator is unaware of his surroundings, as in not hearing a storm or feeling a whack to the head.