Dhyana

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Yoga Quotes

Yoga Quotes We have collected and put the best Yoga Quotes. Enjoy reading these insights and feel free to share this page on your social media to inspire others. May these Yoga Quotes inspire you to never give up and keep working towards your goals. Who knows—success could be just...

Some pages from a historic Yogasutra manuscript (Sanskrit, Devanagari). The verses are highlighted and are embedded inside the bhasya (commentary).

Yoga Sutras Of Patanjali

Yoga Sutras Of Patanjali The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is a collection of 195 Sanskrit sutras (aphorisms) on the theory and practice of yoga. The Yoga Sutra was compiled sometime between 500 BCE and 400 CE by the sage Patanjali in India who synthesized and organized knowledge about yoga from much older traditions. The Yoga Sūtra...

Patanjali's eight limbs of yoga

Ashtanga

Ashtanga (eight limbs of yoga) Ashtanga yoga (aṣṭāṅgayoga, “the eight limbs of yoga”) is Patanjali’s classification of classical yoga, as set out in his Yoga Sutras. He defined the eight limbs as yama (abstinences), niyama (observances), asana (postures), pranayama (breathing), pratyahara (withdrawal), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation) and samadhi (absorption). The eight limbs form...

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Dhyana In Buddhism

Dhyana In Buddhism In the oldest texts of Buddhism, dhyāna, dhyana or jhāna is the training of the mind, commonly translated as meditation, to withdraw the mind from the automatic responses to sense-impressions, and leading to a “state of perfect equanimity and awareness (upekkhā-sati-parisuddhi).” Dhyāna may have been the core practice of pre-sectarian Buddhism, in combination with several related...

Chinese: "Buddha"

Chan Buddhism

Chan Buddhism Chan (禅, 禪; Chán; 禪那; chánnà), from Sanskrit dhyāna (meaning “meditation” or “meditative state”), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming dominant during the Tang and Song dynasties. After the Yuan dynasty, Chan more or less fused with Pure Land Buddhism. Chan is the originating tradition of Zen Buddhism (the...

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Japanese Zen

Japanese Zen Japanese Zen refers to the Japanese forms of Zen Buddhism, an originally Chinese Mahāyāna school of Buddhism that strongly emphasizes dhyāna, the meditative training of awareness and equanimity. This practice, according to Zen proponents, gives insight into one’s true nature, or the emptiness of inherent existence, which opens the way to a liberated way of living. History...

Dhyan Buddha

Samadhi

Samadhi Samadhi or Samādhi (समाधी, also called samāpatti), in Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In the yogic traditions, and the Buddhist commentarial tradition on which the Burmese Vipassana movement and the Thai Forest tradition rely, it is a meditative absorption or trance, attained by the practice...

What is Yoga?

What Is Yoga?

What Is Yoga? This article covers the answer to the question: “What Is Yoga?“ Yoga (“to yoke”) refers to a series of interrelated ancient Hindu spiritual practices that originated in India, where it remains a vibrant living tradition. Yoga is one of the six orthodox systems (darshans) of Indian philosophy....

A "hatha yoga" class practising Vrikshasana, tree pose, in Vancouver, Canada

Modern Yoga

What Is Modern Yoga? Modern yoga consists of a range of techniques including asanas (postures) and meditation derived from some of the philosophies, teachings and practices of Hinduism, and organised into a wide variety of schools and denominations. It has been described by Elizabeth de Michelis as having four types,...

A yoga class of women in Los Angeles

Yoga For Women

Yoga For Women Modern yoga has often been taught by women to classes consisting mainly of women. This continued a tradition of gendered physical activity dating back to the early 20th century, with the Harmonic Gymnastics of Genevieve Stebbins in America and Mary Bagot Stack in Britain. One of the pioneers of modern yoga, Indra...

meditation yoga

Subitism

Subitism The term subitism points to sudden awakening, the idea that insight into Buddha-nature, or the nature of mind, is “sudden,” c.q. “in one glance,” “uncovered all together,” or “together, completely, simultaneously,” in contrast to “successively or being uncovered one after the other.” It may be posited as opposite to gradualism, the original Buddhist...

Statue of Mahavira in meditation, Ahinsa Sthal, Mehrauli, New Delhi

Jain Meditation

What Is Jain Meditation? Jain meditation (dhyāna) has been the central practice of spirituality in Jainism along with the Three Jewels. Jainism holds that emancipation can only be achieved through meditation or Shukla Dhyana. According to Sagarmal Jain, it aims to reach and remain in a state of “pure-self awareness or knowership.” Meditation is...

Dhyana along river Ganges in Varanasi

Dhyana In Hinduism

Dhyana In Hinduism Dhyana in Hinduism means contemplation and meditation. Dhyana is taken up in Yoga exercises, and is a means to samadhi and self-knowledge. The various concepts of dhyana and its practice originated in the Vedic era of Hinduism, and the practice has been influential within the diverse traditions of Hinduism. It is, in Hinduism, a part of a self-directed...

The early Buddhist tradition also taught other meditation postures, such as the standing posture and the lion posture performed lying down on one side.

Buddhist Meditation

What Is Buddhist Meditation? Buddhist meditation is the practice of meditation in Buddhism. The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are bhāvanā (“mental development”) and jhāna/dhyāna (mental training resulting in a calm and luminous mind). Buddhists pursue meditation as part of the path toward liberation, awakening and Nirvana, and includes...

yoga

Yoga

What Is Yoga? This article covers yoga in the Western world and Indian traditions in detail. Yoga (योग) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India. Yoga is one of the six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophical traditions. There is a broad variety of yoga schools, practices, and...

meditation

History of Meditation

What Is The History of Meditation? The practice of meditation is of prehistoric origin, and is found throughout history, especially in religious contexts. Antiquity The exact origins of Buddhist meditation are subject to debate among scholars. Early written records of the multiple levels and states of meditation in Buddhism in India are found in the sutras...