Editing Samadhi (section)

==== ''Vimokṣamukha'' ====
{{further|Śūnyatā#Meditative state|l1=Sunyata as meditative state}}

Buddhist Pali texts describe three kinds of ''samādhi'' which the commentarial tradition identify as the 'gates of [[Moksha#Buddhism|liberation]]' (''vimokṣamukha''):{{refn|group=note|Thich Nhat Hanh, Sherab Chodzin Kohn, Melvin McLeod (2012), ''You Are Here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment'', p.104: "Aimlessness is a form of concentration, one of three practices of deep looking recommended by the Buddha. The other two are concentration on the absence of distinguishing signs (''alakshana'') and concentration on emptiness (''sunyata'')."}}
# Signlessness-samadhi (<small>[[Sanskrit|Sa]]:</small> ''[[nimitta|ānimitta]]-samādhi'') (<small>[[Pali|Pi]]:</small> ''animitto samādhi'') or marklessness-concentration (<small>[[Sanskrit|Sa]]:</small> ''alakṣaṇa-samādhi'')
# Aimlessness-samadhi (<small>[[Sanskrit|Sa]]:</small> ''apraṇihita-samādhi'') (<small>[[Pali|Pi]]:</small> ''appaṇihito samādhi'')
# Emptiness-samadhi (<small>[[Sanskrit|Sa]]:</small> ''[[śūnyatā]]-samādhi'') (<small>[[Pali|Pi]]:</small> ''suññato samādhi'')

According to Polak, these are alternative descriptions of the four dhyanas, describing the cognitive aspects instead of the bodily aspects.{{sfn|Polak|2011|p=201}} According to Polak, in the final stages of dhyana no ideation of experience takes place, and no signs are grasped (''animitta samādhi''), which means that the concentrated attention cannot be directed (''appaṇihita samādhi'') towards those signs, and only the perception of the six senses remains, without a notion of "self" (''suññata samādhi'').{{sfn|Polak|2011|p=201}}

In the Chinese Buddhist tradition these are called the 'three doors of liberation' ({{lang|zh-Latn|sān jiětuō mén}}, {{lang|zh|三解脫門}}):{{sfnp|Nagarjuna|2001}} These three are not always cited in the same order. [[Nagarjuna]], a [[Madhyamaka]] Buddhist scholar, in his ''Maha-prajnaparamita-sastra'', listed ''apraṇihita'' before ''ānimitta'' in his first explanation on these "three ''samādhi''", but in later listings and explanations in the same work reverted to the more common order. Others, such as [[Thích Nhất Hạnh]], a [[Thien Buddhism|Thien]] Buddhist teacher, list ''apraṇihita'' as the third after ''śūnyatā'' and ''ānimitta''.{{sfnp|Nagarjuna|2001}}<ref>{{cite book |first1=Thich |last1=Nhat Hanh |first2=Rachel |last2=Neumann |title=Buddha Mind, Buddha Body |isbn=978-1427092922 |year=2008 |page=140 |publisher=ReadHowYouWant.com |quote="AIMLESSNESS The third concentration is aimlessness, apraṇihita. Without worry, without anxiety we are free to enjoy each moment of our lives. Not trying, not making great efforts, just being. What a joy! This seems to contradict our normal ..."}}</ref> Nagarjuna lists these three kinds of ''samādhi'' among the qualities of the ''[[bodhisattva]]''.{{sfnp|Nagarjuna|2001}}

===== Signlessness samadhi=====
According to Nagarjuna, signlessness-samadhi is the ''samādhi'' in which one recognises all dharmas are free of signs (''ānimitta'').{{sfnp|Nagarjuna|2001}} According to Thích Nhất Hạnh, "signs" refer to appearances or form, likening signlessness samadhi to not being fooled by appearances, such as the dichotomy of being and non-being.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Nhat Hanh |first1=Thich |title=Dharma Talk: The Fourth Establishment of Mindfulness and the Three Doors of Liberation |url=https://www.mindfulnessbell.org/archive/2014/11/dharma-talk-the-fourth-establishment-of-mindfulness-and-the-three-doors-of-liberation-2 |website=The Mindfulness Bell |access-date=3 July 2021 |archive-date=9 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709184624/https://www.mindfulnessbell.org/archive/2014/11/dharma-talk-the-fourth-establishment-of-mindfulness-and-the-three-doors-of-liberation-2 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===== Aimlessness-samadhi=====
'Aimlessness', also translated as 'uncommittedness' or 'wishlessness' ([[Chinese language|Chinese]] {{lang|zh-Latn|wúyuàn}} {{lang|zh|無願}}, {{lit|non-wishing}}, or {{lang|zh-Latn|wúzuò}} {{lang|zh|無作}}, {{lit|non-arising}}), literally means 'placing nothing in front'. According to Dan Lusthaus, aimlessness-samadhi is characterised by a lack of aims or plans for the future and no desire for the objects of perception.{{refn|group=note|{{harvnb|Lusthaus|2014|p=266}}: "Sangharakshita translates ''apraṇihita'' as 'Aimlessness,' while Conze uses 'Wishless', and writes in ''Buddhist Thought in India'' (Ann Arbor: [[University of Michigan Press]], 1967) p. 67: "The word a-pra-ni—hita means literally that one 'places nothing in front' and it designates someone who makes no plans for the future, has no hopes for it, who is aimless, not bent on anything, without predilection or desire for the objects of perception rejected by the concentration on the Signless [''animitta'']."}} According to Nagarjuna, aimlessness-samadhi is the ''samādhi'' in which one does not search for any kind of existence (''bhāva''), letting go of aims or wishes (''praṇidhāna'') regarding [[Saṅkhāra|conditioned phenomena]] and not producing the [[three poisons]] (namely, passion, aggression, and ignorance) towards them in the future.{{sfnp|Nagarjuna|2001}}

===== Emptiness-samadhi =====
According to Nagarjuna, emptiness-samadhi is the ''samādhi'' in which one recognises that the true natures of all [[Dharma#Buddhism|dharma]]s are absolutely empty (''atyantaśūnya''), and that the [[Skandha|five aggregates]] are not the self (''[[Anatta|anātman]]''), do not belong to the self (''anātmya''), and are empty (''śūnya'') without [[Svabhava|self-nature]].{{sfnp|Nagarjuna|2001}}