Editing Samadhi (section)

== Hinduism ==
{{see also|Samādhāna}}
{{Hinduism}}

=== Patanjali's Yoga Sūtras ===
{{main|Yoga Sutras of Patanjali}}
''Samādhi'' is the eighth limb of the Yoga Sūtras, following the sixth and seventh limbs of ''dhāraṇā'' and ''dhyāna'' respectively.

==== ''Samyama'' ====
{{main|Samyama}}
According to Taimni, ''[[Dharana|dhāraṇā]]'', ''[[Dhyāna in Hinduism|dhyāna]]'', and ''samādhi'' form a graded series:{{sfn|Taimni|1961}}
# '''Dhāraṇā''' ― In ''dhāraṇā'', the mind learns to focus on a single object of thought. The object of focus is called a ''pratyaya''. In ''dhāraṇā'', the yogi learns to prevent other thoughts from intruding on focusing awareness on the ''pratyaya''.
# '''Dhyāna''' ― Over time and with practice, the yogin learns to sustain awareness of only the ''pratyaya'', transforming ''dhāraṇā'' into ''dhyāna''. In ''dhyāna'', the yogin realizes the triplicity of perceiver (the yogin), perceived (the ''pratyaya''), and the act of perceiving. The key distinction of ''dhyāna'' is the gradual minimization of the perceiver, leading to the fusion of the observer with the observed (the ''pratyaya'').
# '''Samādhi''' ― When the yogin sustains focus on the ''pratyaya'' and minimizes self-consciousness'', dhyāna'' transforms into samādhi, where the yogin fuses with the ''pratyaya''. Patanjali compares this to a transparent jewel on a coloured surface: the jewel takes on the colour of the surface. Similarly, in ''samādhi'', the consciousness of the yogin fuses with the object of thought, the ''pratyaya''. The ''pratyaya'' is like the coloured surface, and the yogin's consciousness is like the transparent jewel.{{efn|Karambelkar: The description here of the "samadhi", which is the transformation and culmination of dhyana, is "arthamatra nirbhasam" and "svarupa-sunyam-iva". "Arthamatra nirbhasa" means clear perception of the mere essence behind the form having qualities of the subject, chosen for meditation. The second phrase "svarupa-sunyam-iva" amplifies further this meaning of the first phrase by saying that the "svarupa" i.e. the original form and appearance of the subject becomes almost extinct. Therefore, the subject is now perceived or experienced in its usual way that is experienced in our empirical life, but is experienced or comprehended or better still "realized" in its subtle essence or reality, which is lying behind it.<ref name=":0" />}}

==== ''Samādhi'' in the Yoga Sūtras ====
Samādhi is oneness with the object of meditation. There is no distinction between act of meditation and the object of meditation. Samādhi is of two kinds, with and without support of an object of meditation:{{sfn|Jones|Ryan|2006|p=377}}<ref group=web name="50+">[http://www.swamij.com/meditationtypes.htm#categories Swami Jnaneshvara Bharati, ''Integrating 50+ Varieties of Yoga Meditation'']</ref><ref group=web name="Sivananda">[http://www.dlshq.org/discourse/feb2005.htm Sri Swami Sivananda, ''Raja Yoga Samadhi'']</ref>

* '''Samprajñata samādhi''' (also called ''savikalpa samādhi'' and ''sabija samādhi'',<ref group=web name="Dive Life">[http://www.sivanandaonline.org/public_html/?cmd=displaysection&section_id=932 Swami Sivananda, ''Samprajnata Samadhi'']</ref>{{refn|group=note|The seeds or samskaras are not destroyed.<ref group=web name="Dive Life" />}}) refers to ''samādhi'' with the support of an object of meditation.<ref group=web name="50+" />{{refn|group=note|According to Jianxin Li ''Samprajnata Samadhi'' may be compared to the ''rupa jhānas'' of Buddhism.{{sfn|Jianxin Li|2018}} This interpretation may conflict with Gombrich and Wynne, according to whom the first and second ''jhāna'' represent concentration, whereas the third and fourth ''jhāna'' combine concentration with mindfulness.{{sfn|Wynne|2007|p=106; 140, note 58}} According to Eddie Crangle, the first ''jhāna'' resembles Patnajali's ''samprajñata samādhi'', which both share the application of ''vitarka'' and ''vicara''.{{sfn|Crangle|1984|p=191}}}} In Sutra 1:17 Patanjali tells us that ''samprajnata samādhi'' comprises four stages: "complete high consciousness (samprajnata samādhi) is that which is accompanied by [[vitarka]] (deliberation), [[vicara]] (reflection), ''[[ānanda]]'' (ecstasy), and ''asmitā'' (a sense of 'I'-ness)".{{sfn|Maehle|2007|p=177}}{{sfn|Whicher|1998|p=254}}{{refn|group=note|Yoga Sutra 1.17: "Objective ''samādhi'' (samprajnata) is associated with deliberation, reflection, bliss, and I-am-ness (''asmita'').{{sfn|Maehle|2007|p=156}}}}

:The first two, deliberation and reflection, form the basis of the various types of ''samāpatti'':{{sfn|Maehle|2007|p=177}}{{sfn|Whicher|1998|p=254}}
:* ''[[Vitarka|Savitarka]]'', "deliberative":{{sfn|Maehle|2007|p=177}}{{refn|group=note|Yoga Sutra 1.42: "Deliberative (''savitarka'') ''samāpatti'' is that ''samādhi'' in which words, objects, and knowledge are commingled through conceptualization".{{sfn|Maehle|2007|p=177}}}} The mind, ''[[citta]]'', is concentrated upon a gross object of meditation, an object with a manifest appearance that is perceptible to our senses, such as a flame of a lamp, the tip of the nose, or the image of a deity.<ref group=web name="50+" />{{sfn|Maehle|2007|p=179}} Conceptualization (''vikalpa'') still takes place, in the form of perception, the word and the knowledge of the object of meditation.{{sfn|Maehle|2007|p=177}} When deliberation ends, this is called ''nirvitarka samāpatti'',  where the mind transcends cognitive perception and consciousness directly encounters true reality.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Constance |title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism |last2=Ryan |first2=James D. |date=2007 |publisher=Facts On File |isbn=978-0-8160-5458-9 |series=Encyclopedia of world religions |location=New York |pages=377}}</ref>{{sfn|Maehle|2007|p=178}}{{refn|group=note|Yoga Sutra 1.43: "When memory is purified, the mind appears to be emptied of its own nature and only the object shines forth. This is superdeliberative (''nirvitarka'') ''samāpatti''".{{sfn|Maehle|2007|p=178}}}}
:* ''[[Vicara|Savichara]]'', "reflective":{{sfn|Maehle|2007|p=179}} the mind, ''citta'', is concentrated upon a subtle object of meditation, which is not perceptible to the senses, but arrived at through inference,<ref group=web name="50+" />{{sfn|Maehle|2007|p=179}} such as the senses, the process of cognition, the mind, the I-am-ness,{{refn|group=note|Following Yoga Sutra 1.17, meditation on the sense of "I-am-ness" is also grouped, in other descriptions, as "sāsmitā samāpatti"}} the ''[[chakra]]''s, the inner-breath (''[[prana]]''), the ''[[nadi]]''s, the intellect (''[[buddhi]]'').{{sfn|Maehle|2007|p=179}} [[Baba Hari Dass]] noted that in ''savichāra samādhi'' mind principally reflects the subtle objects of the senses ([[tanmatras|tanmātra]]) and their characteristics of space (''deśha'') and time (''kāla''), as well as their causation (''nimitta'') via the sense of "I-am-ness".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Das |first=Baba Hari |title=The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali : A Study Guide for Book I Samādhi Pāda |date=1999 |publisher=Sri Ramana Publishing |isbn=0-918100-20-8 |location=Santa Cruz, California |pages=45}}</ref> The stilling of reflection is called ''nirvichara samāpatti''.{{sfn|Maehle|2007|p=179}}{{refn|group=note|Yoga Sutra 1.44: "In this way, reflective (''savichara'') and super-reflective (''nirvichara'') ''samāpatti'', which are based on subtle objects, are also explained".{{sfn|Maehle|2007|p=179}}}}

:The last two associations, ''sānanda samādhi'' and ''sāsmitā'', are respectively a state of meditation, and an object of ''savichara samādhi'':
:* ''[[Ānanda]]'', "with bliss": also known as "supreme bliss", or "with ecstasy", this state emphasizes the still subtler state of bliss in meditation; ''ānanda'' is free from vitarka and vicara.<ref group=web name="50+" />
:* ''Āsmitā'', "with egoity": the citta is concentrated upon the sense or feeling of "I-am-ness".<ref group=web name="50+" />

*'''Asamprajñata samādhi''' (also called ''nirvikalpa samādhi'' and ''nirbija samādhi'')<ref group=web name="Sivananda" /> refers to ''samādhi'' without the support of an object of meditation,<ref group=web name="50+"/> which leads to knowledge of ''[[purusha]]'' or consciousness, the subtlest element.{{sfn|Maehle|2007|p=179}}{{refn|group=note|According to Jianxin Li, ''Asamprajnata Samādhi'' may be compared to the ''arupa jhānas'' of Buddhism, and to ''Nirodha-samāpatti''.{{sfn|Jianxin Li|2018}} Crangle also notes that ''sabija-asamprajnata samādhi'' resembles the four formless ''jhānas''.{{sfn|Crangle|1984|p=191}} According to Crangle, the fourth ''arupa jhāna'' is the stage of transition to Patanjali's "consciousness without seed".{{sfn|Crangle|1984|p=194}}}}

==== ''Samprajñata samādhi'' ====
According to [[Paramahansa Yogananda]], in this state one lets go of the ego and becomes aware of Spirit beyond creation. The soul is then able to absorb the fire of Spirit-Wisdom that "roasts" or destroys the seeds of body-bound inclinations. The soul as the meditator, its state of meditation, and the Spirit as the object of meditation all become one. The separate wave of the soul meditating in the ocean of Spirit becomes merged with the Spirit. The soul does not lose its identity, but only expands into Spirit. In savikalpa samādhi the mind is conscious only of the Spirit within; it is not conscious of the exterior world. The body is in a trancelike state, but the consciousness is fully perceptive of its blissful experience within.<ref>Yogananda, Paramahansa: [[Bhagavad Gita (Yogananda)|God Talks with Arjuna, The Bhagavad Gita]], A new translation and commentary, Self-Realization Fellowship 2001, {{ISBN|0-87612-031-1}} (paperback) {{ISBN|0-87612-030-3}} (hardcover), I,10.</ref>

Apollo 14 astronaut [[Edgar Mitchell]], founder of the [[Institute of Noetic Sciences]], has compared the experience of seeing the earth from space, also known as the [[overview effect]], to ''savikalpa samādhi''.<ref>[http://vimeo.com/55073825# Overview]. Planetary Collective, Vimeo.</ref>

{{anchor|Samāpatti}}

===== ''Ānanda'' and ''asmitā'' =====
According to Ian Whicher, the status of ''ānanda'' and ''āsmitā'' in Patanjali's system is a matter of dispute.{{sfn|Whicher|1998|p=253}} According to Maehle, the first two constituents, deliberation and reflection, form the basis of the various types of ''samāpatti''.{{sfn|Maehle|2007|p=177}} According to Feuerstein:
{{blockquote|"Joy" and "I-am-ness" [...] must be regarded as accompanying phenomena of every cognitive [ecstasy]. The explanations of the classical commentators on this point appear to be foreign to Patanjali's hierarchy of [ecstatic] states, and it seems unlikely that ''ānanda'' and ''asmita'' should constitute independent levels of ''samādhi''.{{sfn|Whicher|1998|p=253}}}}

Ian Whicher disagrees with Feuerstein, seeing ''ānanda'' and ''asmitā'' as later stages of ''nirvicara-samāpatti''.{{sfn|Whicher|1998|p=253}} Whicher refers to [[Vācaspati Miśra]] (900–980 CE), the founder of the [[Bhāmatī]] [[Advaita Vedanta]] who proposes eight types of ''samāpatti'':{{sfn|Whicher|1998|p=253-254}}
* ''Savitarka-samāpatti'' and ''nirvitarka-samāpatti'', both with gross objects as objects of support;
* ''Savicāra-samāpatti'' and ''nirvicāra-samāpatti'', both with subtle objects as objects of support;
* ''Sānanda-samāpatti'' and ''nirānanda-samāpatti'', both with the sense organs as objects of support
* ''Sāsmitā-samāpatti'' and ''nirasmitā-samāpatti'', both with the sense of "I-am-ness" as support.

[[Vijnana Bikshu]] (c. 1550–1600) proposes a six-stage model, explicitly rejecting Vacaspati Misra's model. Vijnana Bikshu regards joy (''ānanda'') as a state that arises when the mind passes beyond the ''vicara'' stage.{{sfn|Whicher|1998|p=254}} Whicher agrees that ''ānanda'' is not a separate stage of ''samādhi''.{{sfn|Whicher|1998|p=254}} According to Whicher, Patanjali's own view seems to be that ''nirvicara-samādhi'' is the highest form of cognitive ecstasy.{{sfn|Whicher|1998|p=254}}

According to Sarasvati Buhrman, "[[Mahavatar Babaji|Babaji]] once explained that when people feel blissful sensations during [[sādhanā]], on a gross level the breath is equal in both nostrils, and on the subtle level [[prana|pranic]] flow in ''ida'' and ''pingala'' [[nadis]] is balanced. This is called the [[sushumna]] breath because the residual prana of the sushuma, the [[Kundalini energy|kundalini]], flows in sushumna nadi, causing [[sattva]] [[Guṇa|guna]] to dominate. "It creates a feeling of peace. That peace is ānanda". In ''sānanda samādhi'' the experience of that ānanda, that sattvic flow, is untainted by any other [[vritti]]s, or thoughts, save the awareness of the pleasure of receiving that bliss".<ref>{{cite book | url= http://www.cit-sakti.com/kundalini/experiences-of-meditation2.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060514232056/http://www.cit-sakti.com/kundalini/experiences-of-meditation2.htm |archive-date=14 May 2006| title= Experiences of Meditation II | author= Sarasvati Buhrman, Ph.D. | website= Cit-Sakti | isbn = 1-57951-038-8 | date= January 2000| publisher= Julian Press }}</ref>

==== ''Asamprajñata samādhi'' ====
According to Maehle, ''asamprajñata samādhi'' (also called ''nirvikalpa samādhi'' and ''nirbija samādhi'')<ref group=web name="Sivananda" /> leads to knowledge of ''[[purusha]]'' or consciousness, the subtlest element.{{sfn|Maehle|2007|p=179}} [[Heinrich Zimmer]] distinguishes ''nirvikalpa samādhi'' from other states as follows:
{{blockquote|''{{IAST|Nirvikalpa samādhi}}'', on the other hand, absorption without self-consciousness, is a mergence of the mental activity (''{{IAST|cittavṛtti}}'') in the Self, to such a degree, or in such a way, that the distinction (''{{IAST|vikalpa}}'') of knower, act of knowing, and object known becomes dissolved — as waves vanish in water, and as foam vanishes into the sea.{{sfn|Zimmer|1951|pp=436–437}}}}

Swami Sivananda describes ''nirbija samādhi'' (lit. "samādhi" without seeds) as follows:
{{blockquote|"Without seeds or [[Saṃskāra|Samskaras]] [...] All the seeds or impressions are burnt by the fire of knowledge [...] all the Samskaras and Vasanas which bring on rebirths are totally freed up. All Vrittis or mental modifications that arise from the mind-lake come under restraint. The five afflictions, viz., Avidya (ignorance), Asmita (egoism), Raga-dvesha (love and hatred) and Abhinivesha (clinging to life) are destroyed and the bonds of Karma are annihilated [...] It gives Moksha (deliverance from the wheel of births and deaths). With the advent of the knowledge of the Self, ignorance vanishes. With the disappearance of the root-cause, viz., ignorance, egoism, etc., also disappear".<ref group=web name="Sivananda"/>}}

=== ''Sahaja samadhi'' ===
[[Ramana Maharshi]] distinguished between ''kevala nirvikalpa samadhi'' and ''[[Sahaja|sahaja nirvikalpa samādhi]]'':{{sfn|Forman|1999|p=6}}<ref group=web name="Godman" /><ref group=web name="sahaja" />
{{blockquote|''Sahaja samadhi'' is a state in which a silent level within the subject is maintained along with (simultaneously with) the full use of the human faculties.{{sfn|Forman|1999|p=6}}}}

''Kevala nirvikalpa samādhi'' is temporary,<ref group=web name="Godman">[http://davidgodman.org/rteach/iandii2.shtml David Godman, '''I' and 'I-I' – A Reader's Query'']</ref><ref group=web name="sahaja">[http://www.albigen.com/uarelove/sahaja.htm ''What is Liberation According to the Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi? '']</ref> whereas ''sahaja nirvikalpa samādhi'' is a continuous state throughout daily activity.{{sfn|Forman|1999|p=6}} This state seems inherently more complex than ''sāmadhi'', since it involves several aspects of life, namely external activity, internal quietude, and the relation between them.{{sfn|Forman|1999|p=6}} It also seems to be a more advanced state, since it comes after the mastering of ''samādhi''.{{sfn|Forman|1999|p=6}}{{refn|group=note|Compare the [[Ten Bulls]] from [[Zen]]}}{{refn|group=note|See also [[Mouni Sadhu]] (2005), ''Meditation: An Outline for Practical Study'', p.92-93}}

''Sahaja'' is one of the four keywords of the [[Nath]] [[sampradaya]] along with [[Svecchachara]], [[Samaveda|Sama]], and [[Samarasa]]. ''Sahaja'' meditation and worship was prevalent in Tantric traditions common to [[Hinduism]] and [[Buddhism]] in Bengal as early as the 8th–9th centuries.

=== ''Nirvikalpaka yoga'' ===
''Nirvikalpaka yoga'' is a term in the philosophical system of [[Shaivism]], in which, through ''samādhi'', there is a complete identification of the "I" and [[Shiva]], in which the very concepts of name and form disappear and Shiva alone is experienced as the [[real Self]]. In that system, this experience occurs when there is complete cessation of all thought-constructs.{{sfn|Singh|1979|p=xxxiii}}

=== ''Bhāva samādhi'' ===
''[[Bhava samadhi|Bhāva samādhi]]'' is a state of ecstatic consciousness that can sometimes be a seemingly spontaneous experience, but is recognized generally to be the culmination of long periods of devotional practices.<ref>Swami Sivananda See [http://www.sivanandaonline.org/public_html/?cmd=displaysection&section_id=1526 here], Lt. Gen. Hanut Singh, ''Shri Shri Shri Shivabalayogi Maharaj: Life & Spiritual Ministration,'' pp. 109 Shri Shiva Rudra Balayogi "The Path Supreme" 2010 page 160 and See [http://www.shivarudrabalayogi.org/his-teachings teachings of Shri Shiva Rudra Balayogi here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100329120424/http://www.shivarudrabalayogi.org/his-teachings|date=2010-03-29}}.</ref> It is believed by some groups to be evoked through the presence of "higher beings".<ref>Thomas L. Palotas, "Divine Play, the Silent Teaching of Shivabalayogi", pp 87–9,</ref> ''Bhāva samādhi'' has been experienced by notable figures in Indian spiritual history, including Sri [[Ramakrishna Paramahamsa]] and some of his disciples, [[Chaitanya Mahaprabhu]] and his chief disciple Nityananda, [[Mirabai]] and numerous saints in the ''[[bhakti]]'' tradition.<ref>Lt. Gen. Hanut Singh, ''Shri Shri Shri Shivabalayogi Maharaj: Life & Spiritual Ministration,'' pp. 110. and Jestice, Phyllis G, ''Holy People of the World: A Cross-cultural Encyclopedia.'' ABC-CLIO. (2004) {{ISBN|978-1-57607-355-1}} pp 723.</ref>

=== ''Mahāsamādhi'' ===
In Hindu or Yogic traditions, ''mahāsamādhi'', the "great" and final ''samādhi'', is the act of consciously and intentionally leaving one's body at the moment of death.<ref>{{cite web |date=2010-07-25 |title=Glossary Of Siddha Yoga Terminology |url=https://www.siddhayoga.org/glossary |access-date=2020-11-22 |publisher=Siddhayoga.org}}</ref> According to this belief, a realized and liberated ([[Jivanmukta]]) [[yogi]] or [[yogini]] who has attained the state of ''nirvikalpa samādhi'' can consciously exit from their body and attain [[moksha|liberation]] at the moment of death while in a deep, conscious meditative state.<ref name="Blackman">{{cite book |last=Blackman |first=Sushila |title=Graceful Exits: How Great Beings Die: Death Stories Of Tibetan, Hindu & Zen Masters |date=1997 |publisher=Weatherhill |isbn=0-8348-0391-7 |location=New York}}</ref>

Some individuals have, according to their followers, declared the day and time of their ''mahāsamādhi'' beforehand. These include [[Lahiri Mahasaya]] whose death on September 26, 1895, was of this nature, according to [[Paramahansa Yogananda]].<ref name="Blackman" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Yogananda |first=Paramahansa |title=Autobiography of a Yogi – Chapter 36 |date=1997 |publisher=Self-Realization Fellowship |isbn=0-87612-086-9 |location=Los Angeles}}</ref> Paramahansa Yogananda's own death on March 7, 1952, was described by his followers as entering ''mahāsamādhi''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mahasamadhi — |url=https://yssofindia.org/paramahansa-yogananda/Final-Years-and-Mahasamadhi |access-date=2020-02-11 |publisher=Yogoda Satsanga Society of India}}</ref> Daya Mata, one of Yogananda's direct disciples, said that Yogananda on the previous evening had asked her "Do you realize that it is just a matter of hours and I will be gone from this earth?"<ref>{{cite book |last=Goldberg |first=Philip |title=The Life of Yogananda |date=2018 |publisher=Hay House, Inc. |isbn=978-1-4019-5218-1 |location=California |page=277}}</ref>

=== Samadhi in the Bhagavad Gita ===
The [[Bhagavad Gita]] describes samadhi as the ultimate state of spiritual realization, marked by profound steadiness of mind and deep absorption in the true self. This state emerges when one transcends attachments to worldly pleasures and power (verse 2.44) and achieves a resolute, unwavering intellect fixed in spiritual truth, free from confusion (verse 2.53).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sutton |first=Nicholas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eNzUnQAACAAJ |title=Bhagavad-Gita |date=2016 |publisher=Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies |isbn=978-1-366-61059-1 |pages=42, 45 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Buddhist influences ===
{{further|Dhyāna in Buddhism}}

Patanjali's description of ''samādhi'' resembles the Buddhist ''jhānas''.{{sfn|Pradhan|2015|p=151-152}}{{refn|group=note|See also [https://web.archive.org/web/20141204174415/http://www.ahandfulofleaves.org/documents/Articles/A%20Comparison%20of%20Hindu%20and%20Buddhist%20Techniques%20of%20Attaining%20Samadhi_Crangle_1984.pdf Eddie Crangle (1984), ''Hindu and Buddhist techniques of Attaining Samadhi'']}} According to Jianxin Li, ''samprajñata samādhi'' may be compared to the ''rūpa jhāna''s of Buddhism.{{sfn|Jianxin Li|2018}} This interpretation may conflict with Gombrich and Wynne, according to whom the first and second ''jhāna'' represent concentration, whereas the third and fourth ''jhāna'' combine concentration with mindfulness.{{sfn|Wynne|2007|p=106; 140, note 58}} According to Eddie Crangle, the first ''jhāna'' resembles Patanjali's ''samprajñata samādhi'', which both share the application of ''vitarka'' and ''vicara''.{{sfn|Crangle|1984|p=191}}

According to [[David Gordon White]], the language of the ''Yoga Sūtras'' is often closer to "Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, the Sanskrit of the early Mahāyana Buddhist scriptures, than to the classical Sanskrit of other Hindu scriptures".{{sfn|White|2014|p=10}} According to Karel Werner:
{{blockquote|Patanjali's system is unthinkable without Buddhism. As far as its terminology goes there is much in the Yoga Sutras that reminds us of Buddhist formulations from the [[Pāli Canon]] and even more so from the [[Sarvastivada]] [[Abhidharma]] and from [[Sautrāntika]]".{{sfn|Werner|1994|p=27}}}}

[[Robert Thurman]] writes that Patañjali was influenced by the success of the [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] monastic system to formulate his own matrix for the version of thought he considered orthodox.{{sfn|Thurman|1984|p=34}} However, the Yoga Sutra, especially the fourth segment of Kaivalya Pada, contains several polemical verses critical of Buddhism, particularly the Vijñānavāda school of Vasubandhu.{{sfn|Farquhar|1920|p=132}}

While Patañjali was influenced by Buddhism, and incorporated Buddhist thought and terminology,{{sfn|Werner|1994|p=26}}{{sfn|White|2014|p=10, 19}}<ref>{{cite book |first=Robert |last=Thurman |title=The Central Philosophy of Tibet |publisher=Princeton University Press |date=1984 |page=34}}</ref> the term "''nirvikalpa samādhi''" is unusual in a Buddhist context, though some authors have equated ''nirvikalpa samādhi'' with the [[Dhyāna in Buddhism#The arūpa āyatanas|formless jhānas]] and/or ''nirodha samāpatti''.<ref>Partial transcript from the workshop entitled “Self-Discovery through Buddhist Meditation”, presented by John Myrdhin Reynolds at Phoenix, Arizona, on October 20, 2001, http://www.vajranatha.com/articles/what-is-meditation.html?showall=1 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305125538/http://www.vajranatha.com/articles/what-is-meditation.html?showall=1 |date=2020-03-05 }}</ref><ref>Donald Jay Rothberg, Sean M. Kelly (1998), ''Ken Wilber in Dialogue: Conversations with Leading Transpersonal Thinkers''</ref><ref>Candradhara Śarmā (1996), The Advaita Tradition in Indian Philosophy: A Study of Advaita in Buddhism, Vedānta and Kāshmīra Shaivism, Motilal Banarsidass, p.139: "In the Buddhist works, both in Pale and in Sanskrit, the words used for nirvikalpa-samadhi are samnja-vedayita-nirodha and nirodha-samāpatti".</ref>{{sfn|Jianxin Li|2018}}

A similar term, ''{{IAST|nirvikalpa-jñāna}}'', is found in the Buddhist [[Yogacara]] tradition, and is translated by [[Edward Conze]] as "undifferentiated cognition".{{sfn|Conze|1962|p=253}} Conze notes that, in Yogacara, only the actual experience of ''{{IAST|nirvikalpa-jñāna}}'' can prove the reports given of it in scriptures. He describes the term as used in the Yogacara context as follows:
{{blockquote|The "undiscriminate cognition" knows first the unreality of all objects, then realizes that without them also the knowledge itself falls to the ground, and finally directly intuits the supreme reality. Great efforts are made to maintain the paradoxical nature of this [[gnosis]]. Though without concepts, judgements and discrimination, it is nevertheless not just mere thoughtlessness. It is neither a cognition nor a non-cognition; its basis is neither thought nor non-thought.... There is here no duality of subject and object. The cognition is not different from that which is cognized, but completely identical with it.{{sfn|Conze|1962|p=253, footnote ‡}}{{refn|group=note|Routledge 2013 edition: note 854}}}} A different sense in Buddhist usage occurs in the Sanskrit expression ''{{IAST|nirvikalpayati}}'' ([[Pali]]: ''{{IAST|nibbikappa}}'') that means "makes free from uncertainty (or false discrimination)" i.e. "distinguishes, considers carefully".{{sfn|Edgerton|1953|p=304, volume 2}}