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|jumbo-text=In the eighth chapter of the ''Bodhicaryāvatāra'' Śāntideva presents a series of contemplative practices intended to counteract our rigid fixation with self-centered pursuits associated with the notions of ''I'' and ''mine''. However, in order to engage with those practices one must first free themselves from the deeply ingrained tendencies toward distraction by cultivating concentration. | |jumbo-text=In the eighth chapter of the ''Bodhicaryāvatāra'' Śāntideva presents a series of contemplative practices intended to counteract our rigid fixation with self-centered pursuits associated with the notions of ''I'' and ''mine''. However, in order to engage with those practices one must first free themselves from the deeply ingrained tendencies toward distraction by cultivating its antithesis, concentration. | ||
|main-text=The chapter on meditative concentration begins with a declaration of the defects of distraction and the reasons we need to develop stable concentration | |main-text=The chapter on meditative concentration begins with a declaration of the defects of distraction and the reasons we need to develop stable concentration. The introductory verses include an often cited verse describing śamatha (''zhi gnas'') and vipaśyanā (''lhag mthong'') that reference the ability to rest peacefully and the clarity of vision, or insight, that ensues from that state of tranquility, which are the two basic modalities into which the wide variety of Buddhist meditation practices can be broadly subsumed. However, there is very little in the chapter in terms of instructions on the practice of sitting meditation, with which these two are typically associated. For the most part Śāntideva's presentation of meditative concentration is divided into its causes and the actual contemplations that are prescribed. Among the causes are the abandonment of worldly ties and discursive thoughts, craving in particular. However, both sections are concluded with odes to the conducive nature of solitude. | ||
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|featured-books=The Nectar of Manjushri's Speech;The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006);Following in the Buddha's Footsteps;Uncommon Happiness; | |featured-books=The Nectar of Manjushri's Speech;The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006);Following in the Buddha's Footsteps;Uncommon Happiness; | ||
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|featured-dissertations= | |featured-dissertations= | ||
|featured-texts=Bodhicaryāvatāra;Śikṣāsamuccaya | |featured-texts=Bodhicaryāvatāra;Śikṣāsamuccaya | ||
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