Explore/Cultivating Concentration: Difference between revisions

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 	|sub-theme=Cultivating Concentration
-	|sub-themes=Tonglen
+	|main-text=
-	|jumbo-image=Shantideva-bust.jpg
-	|jumbo-text=In the eighth chapter of the ''Bodhicaryāvatāra'' Śāntideva presents a series of contemplative practices intended to counteract the 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. While this section of the text is often referred to as the Meditation Chapter, much of Śāntideva's discussion revolves around the need to distance oneself from the sources of distraction and to reimagine our relationship with the world around us. Furthermore, in the Tibetan tradition, sections of this chapter became strongly associated with the mind training, or ''lojong'', instructions of the Kadam school, especially the practice of ''tonglen''.
-	|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 serene state, 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.
+{{Jumbo
+        |full-width=yes
+        |image=Shantideva-bust.jpg
+	|text=In the eighth chapter of the ''Bodhicaryāvatāra'' Śāntideva presents a series of contemplative practices intended to counteract the 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. While this section of the text is often referred to as the Meditation Chapter, much of Śāntideva's discussion revolves around the need to distance oneself from the sources of distraction and to reimagine our relationship with the world around us. Furthermore, in the Tibetan tradition, sections of this chapter became strongly associated with the mind training, or ''lojong'', instructions of the Kadam school, especially the practice of ''tonglen''.
+}}
+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 serene state, 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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Explore/Cultivating Concentration: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 21:15, 18 October 2023