Editing Samadhi

{{short description|State of meditative consciousness}}
{{about|meditation|other uses|Samādhi (disambiguation)}}
{{italic title}}
[[File:Gal Viharaya 02.jpg|thumb|An image of the Buddha in samadhi from [[Gal Vihara]], [[Sri Lanka]]]]
[[file:Shiva meditating Rishikesh.jpg|thumb|Statue of a meditating [[Shiva]], [[Rishikesh]]]]

'''''Samādhi''''' ([[Pali]] and {{langx|sa|समाधि}}), in [[Hinduism]], [[Buddhism]], [[Jainism]], [[Sikhism]], is a state of [[meditation|meditative]] consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivation of Samādhi through various meditation methods is essential for the attainment of spiritual liberation (known variously as [[nirvana]], [[moksha]]).<ref>Pragya, Samani Pratibha (2017), ''Prekṣā meditation : history and methods'', p. 82. PhD Thesis, SOAS, University of London</ref>

In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the [[Noble Eightfold Path]].<ref group=web name="access" /> In the [[Ashtanga (eight limbs of yoga)|Ashtanga Yoga]] tradition, it is the eighth and final limb identified in the ''[[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali|Yoga Sutras]]'' of [[Patanjali]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=The eight limbs, The core of Yoga|url=http://www.expressionsofspirit.com/yoga/eight-limbs.htm|journal=Expressions of Spirit}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=8 Limbs of Yoga: Samādhi|url=http://www.families.com/blog/8-limbs-of-yoga-samādhi|journal=Families}}</ref> In [[Jain meditation]], samadhi is considered one of the last stages of the practice just prior to liberation.<ref>Pragya, Samani Pratibha (2017), ''Prekṣā meditation : history and methods'', p. 82. PhD Thesis, SOAS, University of London</ref>

In the oldest Buddhist [[sutra|sutras]], on which several contemporary western [[Theravada]] teachers rely, it refers to the development of an investigative and [[luminous mind]] that is [[Upekkha|equanimous]] and mindful. In the yogic traditions and the [[Buddhist]] commentarial tradition, on which the Burmese [[Vipassana movement]] and the [[Thai Forest Tradition|Thai Forest tradition]] rely, it is interpreted as a meditative absorption or trance attained by the practice of ''[[Dhyāna in Buddhism|dhyāna]]''.{{sfn|Sarbacker|2012|p=13}}

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== Definitions ==
''Samadhi'' may refer to a broad range of states.{{sfn|Arbel|2016|p=94}}{{sfn|Vetter|1988|pp=XXV-XXVI, note 9}}{{sfn|Taimni|1961|p="42. Savitarka Samadhi is that in which knowledge"}} A common understanding regards ''samadhi'' as meditative absorption:{{sfn|Arbel|2016|p=94}}
* Sarbacker: ''samādhi'' is [[meditation|meditative]] absorption or contemplation.{{sfn|Sarbacker|2012|p=13}}
* Diener, Erhard & Fischer-Schreiber: ''samādhi'' is a non-dualistic state of [[consciousness]] in which the consciousness of the experiencing subject becomes one with the observing object.{{sfn|Diener|Erhard|Fischer-Schreiber|1991}}
* Shivananda: "When the mind is completely absorbed in one object of meditation, it is termed Samadhi."{{refn|group=note|Shivananda: "In Samadhi, There is neither physical nor mental consciousness. There is only spiritual consciousness. There is only Existence (Sat). That is your real Svarupa. When the water dries up in a pool, the reflection of the sun in the water also vanishes. When the mind melts in Brahman, when the mind-lake dries up, the reflected Chaitanya (Chidabhasa) also vanishes. The Jivatman (personality) goes away. There remains Existence alone."{{source?|date=December 2023}}}}

In a Buddhist context, a more nuanced understanding sees ''samadhi'' as a state of intensified awareness and investigation of bodily and mental objects or experiences:
* [[Dogen]]: "The Buddha says: 'When you monks unify your minds, the mind is in samadhi. Since the mind is in samadhi, you know the characteristics of the creation and destruction of the various phenomena in the world [...] When you gain samadhi, the mind is not scattered, just as those who protect themselves from floods guard the levee.{{'"}}{{sfnp|Maezumi|Cook|2007|p=43}}
* Richard Shankman: "The term ''samadhi'' basically means 'undistractedness.{{'"}}{{sfn|Shankman|2008|p=3}} It may be viewed as "an exclusive focus on a single object,"{{sfn|Shankman|2008|p=4}} but also as "a broader state of awareness in which the mind remains steady and unmoving, yet aware of a wide range of phenomena around the meditation object."{{sfn|Shankman|2008|p=4}} According to Shankman, the related term ''[[citta]]s'[[ekaggata]]'' may be rendered as "one-pointedness," fixated on a single object, but also as "unification of mind," in which mind becomes very still but does not merge with the object of attention, and is thus able to observe and gain insight into the changing flow of experience.{{sfn|Shankman|2008|p=4}}
* [[Dan Lusthaus]]: "''Samadhi'' provides the methodology and context within which experience is to be examined [...] ''Samadhi'', by training, focusing/collecting, cleansing and calming the mind [...] facilitates things being finally known (''janatti'') and seen (''passati'') just as they are (''[[tathata]]'').{{sfn|Lusthaus|2002|p=114}}
* Keren Arbel: "''Samadhi'' is depicted [in the Buddhist sutras] as a broad field of awareness, knowing but non-discursive [...] a stable, discerning and focused mind."{{sfn|Arbel|2016|p=94}}
* Tilmann Vetter argues that the second, third and fourth ''dhyana'' in Buddhism, ''samma-samadhi'', "right samadhi," build on a "spontaneous awareness" (sati) and equanimity which is perfected in the fourth ''dhyana''.{{sfn|Vetter|1988|p=XXVI, note 9}}

In Hinduism, ''samadhi'' is also interpreted as the identification with the Absolute:
* [[Paramahansa Yogananda]]: A soundless state of breathlessness. A blissful [[super consciousness]] state in which a [[yogi]] perceives the identity of the individualized [[Soul]] and Cosmic Spirit.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Yogananda |first1=Paramahansa |author-link=Paramahansa Yogananda |title=[[Autobiography of a Yogi]] |date=2014 |publisher=Self-Realization Fellowship |isbn=978-0-87612-079-8 |page=123 |edition=13th}}</ref> 

== Etymology ==

=== Sanskrit ===
Various interpretations for the term's [[etymology]] are possible, either with the root ''sam'' ("to bring together") or ''sama'' (   "the same, equalized, the convergence of two distinct things"). According to [[Dan Lusthaus]], ''samadhi'' refers to either bringing to consciousness the ''samskaras'' ("buried latencies"), or meditative concentration on a meditation object:{{sfn|Lusthaus|2014|p=113}}
* ''sam'', "to bring together"; ''adhi'', "to place on, put, to impregnate, to give, to receive": the bringing together of cognitive conditions," "bringing the buried latencies or ''[[Samskara (Indian philosophy)|samskaras]]'' into full view," so "the obscure and hidden become clear objects of cognition," "the womb through which insight is born."{{sfn|Lusthaus|2014|p=113}}
* ''sama'', "the same, equalized, the convergence of two distinct things based on some commonality"; ''adhi'', "higher, better, most skilfully achieved": "the skillful unification of mind and object," "the mental equanimity conducive to and derived from attention perfectly focused on its object." "[S]ometimes treated as synonymous with ''[[Ekaggata|ekacitta]]'', 'one-focused mind,' i.e. mind (''citta'') completely focused on and at one (''eka'') with its object."{{sfn|Lusthaus|2014|p=113}}<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Karambelkar |first=P V |title=Patanjala Yoga Sutra - English |date=January 1, 2012 |publisher=Kaivalyadhama |year=2012 |isbn=978-8189485177 |language=English |trans-title=Yoga sutras}}</ref>

Etymologies for ''sam''-''ā''-''dhā'' include:
* ''sam-ā-dhā''’: "'to collect' or 'to bring together', thus suggesting the concentration or unification of the mind"; generally translated [in Buddhism] as "concentration."<ref name=Gunaratana/>
* ''sam''-''ā''-''dhā'': "to hold together, to concentrate upon."{{Sfn|Sturgess|2014a}}
* ''sam'', "completely"; ''ā'', "the return towards the subject"; ''dha'', "maintaining together: "to assemble completely"; "the tension borne between two poles of existence (object and thought) is reduced to zero."{{sfn|Siddheswarananda|1998|p=144}}
* ''sam'', "together" or "integrated"; ''ā'', "towards"; ''dhā'', "to get, to hold": to acquire integration or wholeness, or truth (''[[samapatti|samāpatti]]'');
* ''sam'', "together"; ''ā'', "toward"; stem of ''dadhati'', "puts, places": a putting or joining;

Particular Hindu/yoga interpretations include:
* ''sam'', "perfect" or "complete"; ''[[Dhi (Hindu thought)|dhi]]'', "consciousness": "all distinctions between the person who is the subjective meditator, the act of meditation and the object of meditation merge into oneness" (Stephen Sturgess);{{Sfn|Sturgess|2014|p=27}}
* ''sam'', "with"; ''ādhi'', "Lord": Union with the Lord (Stephen Sturgess);{{sfn|Sturgess|2014a}}
* ''sama'', "[[Equanimity|equanimous]]"; ''[[Dhi (Hindu thought)|dhi]]'', "[[buddhi]] or the intellect": equanimous intellect, non-discriminating intellect ([[Sadhguru]]);<ref>[[Sadhguru]] (2012), ''Of Mystics & Mistakes'', Jaico Publishing House</ref>
* ''sama'', "balance"; ''ādi'', "original": " a state that is equal to the original state, which is the state that prevailed before we came into existence"; "original balance" ([[Kamlesh D. Patel]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Patel |first1=Kamlesh D. |title=The heartfulness way : heart-based meditations for spiritual transformation |date=2018 |location=Chennai |isbn=978-9386850560 |page=33 |ref=samadhi - HFN Way}}</ref>

=== Chinese ===
Common [[Chinese language|Chinese]] terms for ''samādhi'' include the transliterations ''sanmei'' (三昧) and ''sanmodi'' (三摩地 or 三摩提), as well as the translation of the term literally as ''ding'' (定 "stability"). [[Kumarajiva]]'s translations typically use ''sanmei'' (三昧), while the translations of [[Xuanzang]] tend to use ''ding'' (定 "stability"). The [[Chinese Buddhist canon]] includes these, as well as other translations and transliterations of the term.

== Buddhism ==
{{Buddhist term
| fontsize=100%
| title=samādhi
| sa= समाधि
| sa-Latn= samādhi
| pi= samādhi
| en= concentration; meditative consciousness; 'bringing together'
| zh=三昧 or 三摩地 or 定
| zh-Latn= sānmèi or sānmóde or dìng
| ja= 三昧
| ja-Latn= sanmai
| vi= định
| vi-Hani= 定
| ko = 삼매
| ko-Latn= sammae
| th=สมาธิ
| th-Latn= samathi
| bo= ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན་
| bo-Latn=[[Wylie transliteration|Wylie]]: ting nge 'dzin
| my= သမာဓိ
| my-Latn= samardhi
| km= សមាធិ
| km-Latn = sâméathĭ
}}
{{Buddhism|terse=1}}

=== ''Samma-samādhi'' and ''dhyāna'' (jhāna) ===
{{SamadhiBhavana}}
{{main|Dhyāna in Buddhism}}

''Samma-samadhi'', "right ''samadhi''," is the last of the eight elements of the [[Noble Eightfold Path]].<ref group=web name="access">[http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sacca/sacca4/samma-samadhi/ accesstoinsight, '' Right Concentration, samma samadhi'']</ref> When ''samadhi'' is developed, things are understood as they really are.{{sfn|Shankman|2008|p=14, 15}}

''Samma-samadhi'' is explicated as ''dhyana'' (''jhāna'', {{Langx|pi|𑀛𑀸𑀦}}), which is traditionally interpreted as one-pointed concentration. Yet, in the stock formula of ''dhyāna'' ''samādhi'' is only mentioned in the second ''dhyana'', to give way to a state of [[Upekṣā|equanimity]] and [[Sati (Buddhism)|mindfulness]], in which one keeps access to the senses in a mindful way, avoiding primary responses to the sense-impressions.{{sfn|Bronkhorst|1993|p=63}}{{sfn|Wynne|2007|p=140, note 58}}

The origins of the practice of ''dhyāna'' are a matter of dispute.{{sfn|Bronkhorst|1993}}{{sfn|Wynne|2007}} According to Crangle, the development of meditative practices in ancient India was a complex interplay between Vedic and non-Vedic traditions.{{sfn|Crangle|1994|p=267-274}} According to Bronkhorst, the four ''rūpa jhāna'' may be an original contribution of the Buddha to the religious landscape of India, which formed an alternative to the painful ascetic practices of the Jains, while the ''arūpa jhāna'' were incorporated from non-Buddhist ascetic traditions.{{sfn|Bronkhorst|1993}} Alexander Wynne argues that dhyāna was incorporated from Brahmanical practices, in the Nikayas ascribed to Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta. These practices were paired to [[Sati (Buddhism)|mindfulness]] and [[Vipassanā|insight]], and given a new interpretation.{{sfn|Wynne|2007}} Kalupahana also argues that the Buddha "reverted to the meditational practices" he had learned from Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta.{{sfn|Kalupahana|1994|p=24}}

===The ''rupa jhānas''===
{{JhanaFactors}}
{{Dhyana}}<!-- See "Template:Dhyana" for full text -->

===The ''arupas''===
{{See also|Formless Realm}}

Appended to the ''jhana''-scheme are four meditative states, referred to in the early texts as ''arupas'' or as ''[[āyatana]]''. They are sometimes mentioned in sequence after the first four ''jhānas'' and thus came to be treated by later exegetes as jhānas. The immaterial are related to, or derived from, yogic meditation, and aim more specific at concentration, while the ''jhanas'' proper are related to the cultivation of the mind. The state of complete dwelling in emptiness is reached when the eighth ''jhāna'' is transcended. The four ''arupas'' are:
* ''fifth jhāna:'' infinite space (Pali ''ākāsānañcāyatana'', Skt. ''ākāśānantyāyatana''),
* ''sixth jhāna:'' infinite consciousness (Pali ''viññāṇañcāyatana'', Skt. ''vijñānānantyāyatana''),
* ''seventh jhāna:'' infinite nothingness (Pali ''ākiñcaññāyatana'', Skt. ''ākiṃcanyāyatana''),
* ''eighth jhāna:'' neither perception nor non-perception (Pali ''nevasaññānāsaññāyatana'', Skt. ''naivasaṃjñānāsaṃjñāyatana'').

Although the "Dimension of Nothingness" and the "Dimension of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception" are included in the list of nine jhanas attributed to the Buddha, they are not included in the [[Noble Eightfold Path]]. Noble Path number eight is "Samma Samadhi" (Right Concentration), and only the first four Jhanas are considered "Right Concentration". When all the jhanas are mentioned, the emphasis is on the "Cessation of Feelings and Perceptions" rather than stopping short at the "Dimension of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception".

=== Theravāda ===

====Samadhi as concentration====
According to [[Henepola Gunaratana|Gunaratana]], the term '<nowiki/>''samādhi''<nowiki/>' derives from the roots '''sam-ā-dhā''<nowiki/>', which means 'to collect' or 'bring together', and thus it is generally translated as "concentration." In the early Buddhist texts, ''samādhi'' is also associated with the term ''[[samatha]]'' (calm abiding). In the commentarial tradition, ''samādhi'' is defined as ''[[ekaggata]]'', one-pointedness of mind (''Cittass'ekaggatā'').<ref name=Gunaratana>Henepola Gunaratana, ''[https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/gunaratana/wheel351.html The Jhanas in Theravada Buddhist Meditation]''</ref>

[[Buddhagosa]] defines ''samādhi'' as "the centering of consciousness and consciousness concomitants evenly and rightly on a single object [...] the state in virtue of which consciousness and its concomitants remain evenly and rightly on a single object, undistracted and unscattered".<ref>Vism.84–85; PP.85</ref> According to Buddhaghosa, the Theravada Pali texts mention four [[Samāpatti|attainments]] of ''samādhi'':
# Momentary concentration (''khanikasamādhi''): a mental stabilization which arises during ''samatha'' meditation.
# Preliminary concentration (''parikammasamādhi''): arises out of the meditator's initial attempts to focus on a meditation object.
# Access concentration (''upacārasamādhi''): arises when the [[five hindrances]] are dispelled, when ''[[Dhyāna in Buddhism|jhāna]]'' is present, and with the appearance the 'counterpart sign' (''patibhaganimitta'').
# Absorption concentration (''appanasamādhi''): the total immersion of the mind on its meditation of object and stabilization of all four ''jhāna''s.

According to Buddhaghosa, in his influential standard-work [[Visuddhimagga]], ''samādhi'' is the "proximate cause" to the obtainment of [[Wisdom in Buddhism|wisdom]].{{sfn|Buddhaghosa|1999|p=437}} The Visuddhimagga describes [[kammatthana|40 different objects]] for meditation, which are mentioned throughout the Pali canon, but explicitly enumerated in the Visuddhimagga, such as mindfulness of breathing (''[[ānāpānasati]]'') and loving kindness (''[[mettā]]'').<ref>Buddhaghosa & Nanamoli (1999), pp.&nbsp;90–91 (II, 27–28, "Development in Brief"), 110ff. (starting with III, 104, "enumeration").  It can also be found sprinkled earlier in this text, as on p. 18 (I, 39, v. 2) and p. 39 (I, 107).</ref>

====Criticism====
While the Theravada-tradition interprets ''dhyana'' as one-pointed concentration, this interpretation has become a matter of debate. According to Richard Gombrich, the sequence of the four ''rupa-jhanas'' describes two different cognitive states: "I know this is controversial, but it seems to me that the third and fourth jhanas are thus quite unlike the second."{{sfn|Wynne|2007|p=140, note 58}}{{refn|group=note|Original publication: {{Citation | last =Gombrich | first =Richard | year =2007 | title =Religious Experience in Early Buddhism | publisher =OCHS Library | url =http://www.ochs.org.uk/lectures/religious-experience-early-buddhism | access-date =2014-11-27 | archive-date =2016-07-01 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20160701190900/http://www.ochs.org.uk/lectures/religious-experience-early-buddhism | url-status =dead }}}}

Alexander Wynne states that the ''dhyana''-scheme is poorly understood.{{sfn|Wynne|2007|p=106}} According to Wynne, words expressing the inculcation of awareness, such as ''sati'', ''sampajāno'', and ''upekkhā'', are mistranslated or understood as particular factors of meditative states,{{sfn|Wynne|2007|p=106}} whereas they refer to a particular way of perceiving the sense objects.{{sfn|Wynne|2007|p=106}}{{refn|group=note|Wynne: "Thus the expression ''sato sampajāno'' in the third ''jhāna'' must denote a state of awareness different from the meditative absorption of the second ''jhāna'' (''cetaso ekodibhāva''). It suggests that the subject is doing something different from remaining in a meditative state, i.e. that he has come out of his absorption and is now once again aware of objects. The same is true of the word ''upek(k)hā'': it does not denote an abstract 'equanimity', [but] it means to be aware of something and indifferent to it [...] The third and fourth ''jhāna-s'', as it seems to me, describe the process of directing states of meditative absorption towards the mindful awareness of objects.{{sfn|Wynne|2007|p=106-107}}}}{{refn|group=note|name="theravadin"|theravadin.wordpress.com: "In this order, therefore, what we should understand as vipassanā is not at all a synonym for sati but rather something which grows out of the combination of all these factors especially of course the last two, samma sati and samma samādhi applied to the ruthless observation of what comes into being (yathābhūta). One could say, vipassanā is a name for the practice of sati+samādhi as applied to anicca/dukkha/anatta (i.e. generating wisdom) directed at the six-sense-process, including any mental activity." According to Gombrich, "the later tradition has falsified the jhana by classifying them as the quintessence of the concentrated, calming kind of meditation, ignoring the other - and indeed higher - element.{{sfn|Wynne|2007|p=140, note 58}}}}

Several western teachers (Thanissaro Bhikkhu, Leigh Brazington, Richard Shankman) make a distinction between 'sutta-oriented' ''jhana''  and {{'}}''Visuddhimagga''-oriented' ''jhāna''.{{sfn|Quli|2008<!--doesn't point to anything-->}}{{full citation needed|date=April 2019}} Thanissaro Bhikkhu has repeatedly argued that the Pali Canon and the ''Visuddhimagga'' give different descriptions of the jhanas, regarding the ''Visuddhimagga''-description to be incorrect.{{sfn|Quli|2008<!--doesn't point to anything-->}}{{citation needed|date=April 2019}} Keren Arbel has conducted extensive research on the ''jhānas'' and the contemporary criticisms of the commentarial interpretation. Based on this research, and her own experience as a senior meditation-teacher, she gives a reconstructed account of the original meaning of the ''dhyanas''. She argues that the four jhānas are the outcome of both calming the mind and developing insight into the nature of experience and cannot not be seen in the suttas as two distinct and separated meditation techniques, but as integral dimensions of a single process that
leads to awakening. She concludes that "the fourth jhāna is the optimal experiential event for the utter de-conditioning of unwholesome tendencies of mind and for the transformation of deep epistemological structures. This is because one embodies and actualizes an awakened awareness of experience."{{sfn|Arbel|2016}}

=== Mahāyāna ===
[[File:Gandhara, bodhisattva assiso, II sec..JPG|thumb|150px|[[Bodhisattva]] seated in [[jhana|meditation]]. [[Afghanistan]], 2nd century CE.]]

==== Indian Mahāyāna ====
The earliest extant Indian Mahāyāna texts emphasize ascetic practices, forest-dwelling, and states of meditative oneness, i.e. ''samādhi''. These practices seem to have occupied a central place in early Mahāyāna, also because they "may have given access to fresh revelations and inspiration".{{sfn|Williams|2009|p=30}}

Indian Mahāyāna traditions refer to numerous forms of ''samādhi'', for example, Section 21 of the ''Mahavyutpatti'' records 118 distinct forms of ''samādhi''{{sfn|Skilton|2002|p=56}} and the [[Samadhiraja Sutra]] has as its main theme a ''samādhi'' called 'the ''samādhi'' that is manifested as the sameness of the essential nature of all ''dharma''s' (''sarva-dharma-svabhavā-samatā-vipañcita-samādhi'').{{sfn|Gomez|Silk|1989|p=15-16}}{{refn|group=note|Gomez & Silk: "This samādhi is at the same time the cognitive experience of emptiness, the attainment of the attributes of buddhahood, and the performance of a variety of practices or daily activities of a bodhisattva—including service and adoration at the feet of all buddhas. The word samādhi is also used to mean the sūtra itself. Consequently, we can speak of an equation, sūtra <nowiki>=</nowiki> samādhi <nowiki>=</nowiki> śūnyatā, underlying the text. In this sense, the title ''Samadhiraja'' expresses accurately the content of the sūtra".{{sfn|Gomez|Silk|1989|p=15-16}}}}

==== ''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}}

==== Zen ====
[[File:Grandmaster.png|thumb|right|150px|A traditional Chinese Chán Buddhist master in [[Taiwan]], sitting in meditation]]
{{Main|Zen Buddhism|Chán Buddhism}}

Indian ''dhyāna'' was translated as ''chán'' in Chinese, and ''zen'' in Japanese. Ideologically the [[Zen|Zen-tradition]] emphasizes [[Prajñā (Buddhism)|prajñā]] and [[Subitism|sudden insight]], but in the actual practice prajñā and samādhi, or sudden insight and gradual cultivation, are paired to each other.{{sfn|McRae|2003}}{{sfn|Hui-Neng|1998}} Especially some lineages in the [[Rinzai school|Rinzai school of Zen]] stress sudden insight, while the [[Sōtō]] school of Zen lays more emphasis on [[shikantaza]], training awareness of the stream of thoughts, allowing them to arise and pass away without interference. Historically, many traditional Japanese arts were developed or refined to attain ''samādhi'', including [[Kōdō|incense appreciation]] (香道, ''kodō''), [[Ikebana|flower arranging]] (華道, ''kadō''), the [[Japanese tea ceremony|tea ceremony]] (茶道, ''sadō''), [[Japanese calligraphy|calligraphy]] (書道, ''shodō''), and martial arts such as [[Kyudo|archery]] (弓道, ''kyūdō''). The Japanese character 道 means ''the way'' or ''the path'' and indicates that disciplined practice in the art is a path to ''samādhi''.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

== 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}}

== Sikhism ==
{{religious text primary|section|date=April 2024}}
[[File:Samadhi of Ranjit Singh 123.jpg|thumb|The [[Samadhi of Ranjit Singh]] is located next to the iconic ''[[Badshahi Masjid]]'' in [[Lahore]], [[Pakistan]].]]
In [[Sikhism]] the word is used to refer to an action that one uses to remember and fix one's mind and soul on [[Waheguru]].{{citation needed|date=November 2014}} The [[Sri Guru Granth Sahib]] informs:
* "Remember in meditation the Almighty Lord, every moment and every instant; meditate on God in the celestial peace of Samādhi." (p.&nbsp;508)
* "I am attached to God in celestial Samādhi." (p.&nbsp;865)
* "The most worthy Samādhi is to keep the consciousness stable and focused on Him." (p.&nbsp;932)

The term ''Samadhi'' refers to a state of mind rather than a physical position of the body. The Scriptures explain:
* "I am absorbed in celestial Samādhi, lovingly attached to the Lord forever. I live by singing the Glorious Praises of the Lord" (p.&nbsp;1232)
* "Night and day, they ravish and enjoy the Lord within their hearts; they are intuitively absorbed in Samadhi. ||2||" (p.&nbsp;1259)

The [[Sikh Gurus]] inform their followers:
* "Some remain absorbed in Samādhi, their minds fixed lovingly on the One Lord; they reflect only on the Word of the [[Shabda|Shabad]]." (p.&nbsp;503)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Singh Khalsa |first1=Sant |title=Siri Guru Granth Sahib Ji |date=2015 |publisher=SikhNet |location=Espanola}}</ref>

== Sufism ==
The idea of [[Fana (Sufism)|Fanaa]] in [[Sufism|Sufi Islam]] has been compared to Samadhi.<ref name="ReferenceA">Clinton Bennett, Charles M. Ramsey ''South Asian Sufis: Devotion, Deviation, and Destiny'' A&C Black {{ISBN|978-1-441-15127-8}} page 23</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|India}}
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
'''Buddhism'''
* [[Bhāvanā]]
* [[Samatha]]
* [[Sati (Buddhism)]]
* [[Satori]]
* [[Vipassanā]]
'''General'''
* [[Ego death]]
* [[Nonduality (spirituality)|Nondualism]]
* [[Religious ecstasy]]
* [[Samadhi (shrine)]]
'''Hinduism'''
* [[Dhyana in Hinduism]]
* [[Rāja yoga]]
* [[Bhakti Yoga]]
* [[Turiya]]
'''Islam'''
* [[Baqaa]]
* [[Fanaa (Sufism)|Fanaa]]
'''Jainism'''
* [[Yogadṛṣṭisamuccaya]]
* [[Jain meditation]]
'''Western traditions'''
* [[Stoicism]]
{{div col end}}

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=note|40em}}
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{incomplete citations|date=April 2024}}
{{reflist}}

== Sources ==
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{{reflist|group=web}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin|30em}}
*{{Citation | last=Arya | first=Usharbudh | year=1986 | title=Yoga-Sūtras of Patañjali | place=Honesdale, Pennsylvania | publisher=The Himalayan International Institute | edition=Volume 1 | isbn=0-89389-092-8 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/yogasutrastransl00pata }}
* {{Citation | last=Bucknell | first=Rod | year=1984 | title=The Buddhist to Liberation: An Analysis of the Listing of Stages | journal=The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies | volume=7 | issue=2 | url=https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jiabs/article/viewFile/8631/2538 }}
* {{Citation | last =Chapple | first =Christopher | year =1984 | title =Introduction to "The Concise Yoga Vasistha" | publisher =State University of New York}}
* {{Citation | last=Cousins | first=L. S. | year=1996 | chapter=The origins of insight meditation | editor-last=Skorupski | editor-first=T. | title=The Buddhist Forum IV, seminar papers 1994–1996 (pp. 35–58) | place=London, UK | publisher=School of Oriental and African Studies | chapter-url=http://www.shin-ibs.edu/documents/bForum/v4/03Cousins.pdf }}
* {{Citation | last=Gombrich | first=Richard F. | year =1997 | title=How Buddhism Began | publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal}}
* {{Citation | last=Schmithausen | first=Lambert | year=1981 | title=On some Aspects of Descriptions or Theories of 'Liberating Insight' and 'Enlightenment' in Early Buddhism". In: Studien zum Jainismus und Buddhismus (Gedenkschrift für Ludwig Alsdorf), hrsg. von Klaus Bruhn und Albrecht Wezler, Wiesbaden 1981, 199–250}}
* {{Citation | last=Williams | first=Paul | year=2000 | title=Buddhist Thought. A complete introduction to the Indian tradition | publisher=Routledge}}
{{refend}}
== External links ==
{{external links|date=April 2024}}
{{wiktionary}}
; Theravada Buddhism
* [https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/a-history-of-indian-philosophy-volume-1/d/doc209748.html {{IAST|Sīla}} and {{IAST|Samādhi}}], Surendranath Dasgupta, 1940
* [http://www.dhammatalks.net/Books/Ajahn_Chah_Samma_Samadhi.htm Samma Samadhi], by [[Ajahn Chah]]
* [https://www.abhayagiri.org/books/562-samadhi-is-pure-enjoyment Samadhi is Pure Enjoyment], by [[Ajahn Sucitto]]
* [https://www.payutto.net/book-content/samadhi-in-buddhism-prelude/ Samādhi in Buddhism], by [[P. A. Payutto]]
* [http://www.dhammatalks.net/Books3/Ajahn_Anan_Akincano_Samadhi_for_Liberation.pdf Samadhi for Liberation], by Ajahn Anan Akincano
* [http://www.dhammatalks.net/Books2/Maha_Boowa_Wisdom_Develops_Samadhi.pdf Wisdom Develops Samadhi], by [[Ajahn Maha Boowa]]
* [http://www.dhammatalks.net/Books/Ajahn_Lee_Keeping_the_Breath_in_Mind.htm Lessons in Samadhi], by [[Ajahn Lee|Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo]]

; Tibetan Buddhism
* [http://www.dhammatalks.net/Books3/Lama_Gelek_Rinpoche_Developing_Samadhi.htm Developing Samadhi], by Lama Gelek Rinpoche
; Hinduism
* [https://realization.org/p/misc/comans.samadhi-advaita.html The question of the importance of Samadhi in modern and classical Advaita Vedanta], Michael Comans (1993)
* [http://www.dlshq.org/discourse/feb2005.htm Raja Yoga Samadhi], Sri Swami Sivananda (2005)

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{{Buddhism topics}}
{{Sikhism}}
{{Indian philosophy}}
{{Meditation}}
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