Difference between revisions of "Brahmavihara"
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[[File:Japan-buddhist.jpg|thumb|250px|]] | [[File:Japan-buddhist.jpg|thumb|250px|]] | ||
| − | The | + | The [[Brahmavihāras]] (sublime attitudes, lit. "abodes of [[Brahma]]") are a series of four Buddhist virtues and the [[Meditation]] practices made to cultivate them. They are also known as the [[Four Immeasurables]] ([[Sanskrit]]: [[Apramāṇa]], [[Pāli]]: appamaññā). |
| − | According to the Metta Sutta, Shākyamuni Buddha held that cultivation of the | + | According to the [[Metta]] [[Sutta]], Shākyamuni [[Buddha]] held that cultivation of the [[Four Immeasurables]] has the [[Power]] to cause the practitioner to be reborn into a [[Brahma]] realm ([[Pāli]]: Brahmaloka). The meditator is instructed to radiate out to all beings in all directions the [[Mental]] states of: |
| − | * 1) | + | * 1) [[Loving-kindness]] or benevolence |
| − | * 2) | + | * 2) [[Compassion]] |
| − | * 3) empathetic | + | * 3) empathetic [[Joy]] |
| − | * 4) | + | * 4) [[Equanimity]] |
| − | The | + | The [[Four Immeasurables]] are also found in Patañjali's Yoga [[Sutras]] (1.33), a text composed long after the [[Beginning]] of [[Buddhism]] and substantially influenced by [[Buddhism]]. These virtues are also highly regarded by Buddhists as powerful antidotes to negative [[Mental]] states (non-virtues) such as avarice, [[Anger]] and pride. |
==Etymology & translations== | ==Etymology & translations== | ||
| − | * Pāli: cattāri brahmavihārā | + | * [[Pāli]]: cattāri brahmavihārā |
| − | * Sanskrit: 'चत्वारि ब्रह्मविहारा (IAST: catvāri brahmavihārāḥ) | + | * [[Sanskrit]]: 'चत्वारि ब्रह्मविहारा (IAST: catvāri brahmavihārāḥ) |
| − | Brahmavihāra means | + | [[Brahmavihāra]] means “[[Brahma]] abidings”, or "sublime attitudes." It may be parsed as "[[Brahma]]" and "[[Vihāra]]"; which is often rendered into English as "sublime" or "divine abodes". |
| − | Apramāṇa, usually translated as "the immeasurables," means boundlessness, infinitude, a state that is illimitable. When developed to a high degree in | + | [[Apramāṇa]], usually translated as "the immeasurables," means boundlessness, infinitude, a state that is illimitable. When developed to a high degree in [[Meditation]], these attitudes are said to make the [[Mind]] "immeasurable" and like the [[Mind]] of the loving brahmā (gods). |
Other translations: | Other translations: | ||
* English: four divine abodes, four divine emotions, four sublime attitudes. | * English: four divine abodes, four divine emotions, four sublime attitudes. | ||
| − | * East Asia: 四無量心 (pinyin: Sì wúliàng xīn; Japanese: Shi muryō shin; Korean: 사무량심 Sa mulyang sim; Vietnamese: Tứ Vô | + | * East Asia: 四無量心 (pinyin: Sì wúliàng xīn; Japanese: Shi muryō shin; Korean: 사무량심 Sa mulyang sim; Vietnamese: Tứ Vô [[L]]ượng Tâm; literally: "immeasurable states of [[Mind]], from [[Apramāṇa]]-[[Citta]]"), 四等(心) (pinyin: sì děng; literally: "four equalities/universals"), 四梵行 (pinyin: sì Fàn xíng; literally: "[[Noble]] [[Brahma]]-acts/characteristics"). |
* Tibetan: ཚད་མེད་བཞི, Wylie: tshad med bzhi or Tibetan: ཚངས་གནས་བཞི་, Wylie: tshangs gnas bzhi. | * Tibetan: ཚད་མེད་བཞི, Wylie: tshad med bzhi or Tibetan: ཚངས་གནས་བཞི་, Wylie: tshangs gnas bzhi. | ||
[[File:Img-nara-04.jpg|thumb|250px|]] | [[File:Img-nara-04.jpg|thumb|250px|]] | ||
Exegesis | Exegesis | ||
| − | The | + | The [[Four Immeasurables]] are: |
| − | # [[Mettā|Loving-kindness]] (Pāli: mettā, Sanskrit: maitri) towards all: the hope that a person will be well; "the wish that all | + | # [[Mettā|Loving-kindness]] ([[Pāli]]: mettā, [[Sanskrit]]: maitri) towards all: the hope that a person will be well; "the wish that all [[Sentient beings]], without any exception, be happy." |
| − | # [[Karuṇā|Compassion]] (Pāli and Sanskrit: karuṇā): the hope that a person's sufferings will diminish; "the wish for all | + | # [[Karuṇā|Compassion]] ([[Pāli]] and [[Sanskrit]]: karuṇā): the hope that a person's sufferings will diminish; "the wish for all [[Sentient beings]] to be free from [[Suffering]]." |
| − | # [[Mudita|Empathetic joy]] (Pāli and Sanskrit: | + | # [[Mudita|Empathetic joy]] ([[Pāli]] and [[Sanskrit]]: [[Mudita]]): [[Joy]] in the accomplishments of a person—oneself or another; sympathetic [[Joy]]; "the wholesome attitude of rejoicing in the [[Happiness]] and virtues of all [[Sentient beings]]." |
| − | # [[Upekkha|Equanimity]] (Pāli: upekkhā, Sanskrit: upekṣā): learning to accept loss and gain, praise and blame, and success and failure, all with detachment, equally, for oneself and for others. Equanimity is "not to distinguish between friend, enemy or stranger, but regard every sentient being as equal. It is a clear-minded tranquil state of | + | # [[Upekkha|Equanimity]] ([[Pāli]]: upekkhā, [[Sanskrit]]: upekṣā): learning to accept loss and gain, praise and blame, and success and failure, all with detachment, equally, for oneself and for others. [[Equanimity]] is "not to distinguish between friend, enemy or stranger, but regard every sentient being as equal. It is a clear-minded tranquil state of [[Mind]]—not being overpowered by delusions, [[Mental]] dullness or agitation." |
| − | Loving-kindness and | + | [[Loving-kindness]] and [[Compassion]] are both hopes for the future (leading, where possible, to action aimed at realizing those hopes). [[Joy]] and [[Equanimity]] are attitudes to what has already happened, but also with regard to consequences for future action. While these four might be delineated as attitudes to the future or past, they contain the seed of the "present" within their core (as a living embodied practice). This is the essence of the [[Spiritual]] laws of [[Karma]], self-responsibility, and right thoughts (samma sankkalpa, literally 'right commitments'). A dedicated intention that all beings are in the "here and now", tranquil, happy, in touch with their gifts and accomplishments, and [[Feeling]] interconnected by that synergy to eschew [[Suffering]] by abdication. |
| − | ===Brahmavihāra practice in the Visuddhimagga=== | + | ===[[Brahmavihāra]] practice in the [[Visuddhimagga]]=== |
| − | The | + | The [[Four Immeasurables]] are explained in The [[Path]] of [[Purification]] ([[Visuddhimagga]]), written in the fifth century CE by the scholar and commentator Buddhaghoṣa. They are often practiced by taking each of the immeasurables in turn and applying it to oneself, wishing oneself well (omitted while training oneself in [[Mudita]]), and then to others nearby, and so on to everybody in the [[World]], and to everybody in all universes. |
==Legacy== | ==Legacy== | ||
| − | Although this | + | Although this [[Form]] of these ideas has a Buddhist origin, the ideas themselves are in no way sectarian. The Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement uses them in public [[Meditation]] events in Sri Lanka bringing together Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, and Christians. Rudyard Kipling's inspirational poem If refers to the idea of upekkhā in calling Triumph and Disaster impostors. |
| − | ==The | + | ==The [[Four Immeasurables]] in early [[Buddhism]]== |
| − | In the Tevijja Sutta: The Threefold Knowledge of the Majjhima Nikaya set of scriptures, Buddha Shākyamuni is asked the way to fellowship/companionship/communion with Brahma. He replies that he personally knows the | + | In the Tevijja [[Sutta]]: The Threefold [[Knowledge]] of the [[Majjhima Nikaya]] set of scriptures, [[Buddha]] Shākyamuni is asked the way to fellowship/companionship/communion with [[Brahma]]. He replies that he personally knows the [[World]] of [[Brahma]] and the way to it, and explains the [[Meditative]] method for reaching it by using an analogy of the resonance of the [[Conch]] shell of the [[Aṣṭamaṅgala]]: |
[[File:Im-789.jpg|thumb|250px|]] | [[File:Im-789.jpg|thumb|250px|]] | ||
| − | : A [[Monk|monk]] suffuses the | + | : A [[Monk|monk]] suffuses the [[World]] in the four directions with a [[Mind]] of benevolence, then above, and below, and all around – the whole [[World]] from all sides, completely, with a benevolent, all-embracing, great, boundless, peaceful and friendly [[Mind]] … Just as a powerful [[Conch]]-blower makes himself heard with no great effort in all four [cardinal] directions, so too is there no limit to the unfolding of [this] [[Heart]]-liberating benevolence. This is a way to communion with [[Brahma]]. |
| − | The Buddha then says that the [[Monk|monk]] must follow this up with an equal suffusion of the entire | + | [[The Buddha]] then says that the [[Monk|monk]] must follow this up with an equal suffusion of the entire [[World]] with [[Mental]] projections of [[Compassion]], sympathetic [[Joy]], and [[Equanimity]] (regarding all beings with an [[Eye]] of equality). |
| − | In the two Metta Suttas of the Aṅguttara Nikāya, | + | In the two [[Metta]] Suttas of the [[Aṅguttara Nikāya]], [[The Buddha]] states that those who practice radiating the [[Four Immeasurables]] in this [[Life]] and die "without losing it" are destined for [[Rebirth]] in a heavenly realm in their next [[Life]]. In addition, if such a person is a Buddhist [[Disciple]] ([[Pāli]]: [[Sāvaka]]) and thus realizes the three characteristics of [[The five aggregates]], then after his heavenly [[Life]], this [[Disciple]] will reach [[Nibbāna]]. Even if one is not a [[Disciple]], one will still attain the heavenly [[Life]], after which, however depending on what his past deeds may have been, one may be reborn in a [[Hell]] realm, or as an animal or hungry [[Ghost]]. |
==A Cavern of Treasures (mDzod-phug)== | ==A Cavern of Treasures (mDzod-phug)== | ||
| − | A Cavern of Treasures (Tibetan: མཛོད་ཕུག, Wylie: mdzod phug) is a Bonpo [[Terma|terma]] uncovered by Shenchen Luga (Tibetan: གཤེན་ཆེན་ཀླུ་དགའ, Wylie: gshen-chen klu-dga') in the early eleventh century. A segment of it enshrines a Bonpo evocation of the | + | A Cavern of Treasures (Tibetan: མཛོད་ཕུག, Wylie: mdzod phug) is a Bonpo [[Terma|terma]] uncovered by Shenchen Luga (Tibetan: གཤེན་ཆེན་ཀླུ་དགའ, Wylie: gshen-chen klu-dga') in the early eleventh century. A segment of it enshrines a Bonpo evocation of the [[Four Immeasurables]]. Martin (n.d.: p. 21) identifies the importance of this scripture for studies of the [[Zhang-Zhung]] [[Language]]. |
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[[Category:Buddhist Terms]] | [[Category:Buddhist Terms]] | ||
| − | [[Category: | + | [[Category:Brahma]] |
Revision as of 05:16, 5 May 2013
The Brahmavihāras (sublime attitudes, lit. "abodes of Brahma") are a series of four Buddhist virtues and the Meditation practices made to cultivate them. They are also known as the Four Immeasurables (Sanskrit: Apramāṇa, Pāli: appamaññā).
According to the Metta Sutta, Shākyamuni Buddha held that cultivation of the Four Immeasurables has the Power to cause the practitioner to be reborn into a Brahma realm (Pāli: Brahmaloka). The meditator is instructed to radiate out to all beings in all directions the Mental states of:
- 1) Loving-kindness or benevolence
- 2) Compassion
- 3) empathetic Joy
- 4) Equanimity
The Four Immeasurables are also found in Patañjali's Yoga Sutras (1.33), a text composed long after the Beginning of Buddhism and substantially influenced by Buddhism. These virtues are also highly regarded by Buddhists as powerful antidotes to negative Mental states (non-virtues) such as avarice, Anger and pride.
Etymology & translations
Brahmavihāra means “Brahma abidings”, or "sublime attitudes." It may be parsed as "Brahma" and "Vihāra"; which is often rendered into English as "sublime" or "divine abodes".
Apramāṇa, usually translated as "the immeasurables," means boundlessness, infinitude, a state that is illimitable. When developed to a high degree in Meditation, these attitudes are said to make the Mind "immeasurable" and like the Mind of the loving brahmā (gods).
Other translations:
- English: four divine abodes, four divine emotions, four sublime attitudes.
- East Asia: 四無量心 (pinyin: Sì wúliàng xīn; Japanese: Shi muryō shin; Korean: 사무량심 Sa mulyang sim; Vietnamese: Tứ Vô Lượng Tâm; literally: "immeasurable states of Mind, from Apramāṇa-Citta"), 四等(心) (pinyin: sì děng; literally: "four equalities/universals"), 四梵行 (pinyin: sì Fàn xíng; literally: "Noble Brahma-acts/characteristics").
- Tibetan: ཚད་མེད་བཞི, Wylie: tshad med bzhi or Tibetan: ཚངས་གནས་བཞི་, Wylie: tshangs gnas bzhi.
Exegesis
The Four Immeasurables are:
- Loving-kindness (Pāli: mettā, Sanskrit: maitri) towards all: the hope that a person will be well; "the wish that all Sentient beings, without any exception, be happy."
- Compassion (Pāli and Sanskrit: karuṇā): the hope that a person's sufferings will diminish; "the wish for all Sentient beings to be free from Suffering."
- Empathetic joy (Pāli and Sanskrit: Mudita): Joy in the accomplishments of a person—oneself or another; sympathetic Joy; "the wholesome attitude of rejoicing in the Happiness and virtues of all Sentient beings."
- Equanimity (Pāli: upekkhā, Sanskrit: upekṣā): learning to accept loss and gain, praise and blame, and success and failure, all with detachment, equally, for oneself and for others. Equanimity is "not to distinguish between friend, enemy or stranger, but regard every sentient being as equal. It is a clear-minded tranquil state of Mind—not being overpowered by delusions, Mental dullness or agitation."
Loving-kindness and Compassion are both hopes for the future (leading, where possible, to action aimed at realizing those hopes). Joy and Equanimity are attitudes to what has already happened, but also with regard to consequences for future action. While these four might be delineated as attitudes to the future or past, they contain the seed of the "present" within their core (as a living embodied practice). This is the essence of the Spiritual laws of Karma, self-responsibility, and right thoughts (samma sankkalpa, literally 'right commitments'). A dedicated intention that all beings are in the "here and now", tranquil, happy, in touch with their gifts and accomplishments, and Feeling interconnected by that synergy to eschew Suffering by abdication.
Brahmavihāra practice in the Visuddhimagga
The Four Immeasurables are explained in The Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga), written in the fifth century CE by the scholar and commentator Buddhaghoṣa. They are often practiced by taking each of the immeasurables in turn and applying it to oneself, wishing oneself well (omitted while training oneself in Mudita), and then to others nearby, and so on to everybody in the World, and to everybody in all universes.
Legacy
Although this Form of these ideas has a Buddhist origin, the ideas themselves are in no way sectarian. The Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement uses them in public Meditation events in Sri Lanka bringing together Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, and Christians. Rudyard Kipling's inspirational poem If refers to the idea of upekkhā in calling Triumph and Disaster impostors.
The Four Immeasurables in early Buddhism
In the Tevijja Sutta: The Threefold Knowledge of the Majjhima Nikaya set of scriptures, Buddha Shākyamuni is asked the way to fellowship/companionship/communion with Brahma. He replies that he personally knows the World of Brahma and the way to it, and explains the Meditative method for reaching it by using an analogy of the resonance of the Conch shell of the Aṣṭamaṅgala:
- A monk suffuses the World in the four directions with a Mind of benevolence, then above, and below, and all around – the whole World from all sides, completely, with a benevolent, all-embracing, great, boundless, peaceful and friendly Mind … Just as a powerful Conch-blower makes himself heard with no great effort in all four [cardinal] directions, so too is there no limit to the unfolding of [this] Heart-liberating benevolence. This is a way to communion with Brahma.
The Buddha then says that the monk must follow this up with an equal suffusion of the entire World with Mental projections of Compassion, sympathetic Joy, and Equanimity (regarding all beings with an Eye of equality).
In the two Metta Suttas of the Aṅguttara Nikāya, The Buddha states that those who practice radiating the Four Immeasurables in this Life and die "without losing it" are destined for Rebirth in a heavenly realm in their next Life. In addition, if such a person is a Buddhist Disciple (Pāli: Sāvaka) and thus realizes the three characteristics of The five aggregates, then after his heavenly Life, this Disciple will reach Nibbāna. Even if one is not a Disciple, one will still attain the heavenly Life, after which, however depending on what his past deeds may have been, one may be reborn in a Hell realm, or as an animal or hungry Ghost.
A Cavern of Treasures (mDzod-phug)
A Cavern of Treasures (Tibetan: མཛོད་ཕུག, Wylie: mdzod phug) is a Bonpo terma uncovered by Shenchen Luga (Tibetan: གཤེན་ཆེན་ཀླུ་དགའ, Wylie: gshen-chen klu-dga') in the early eleventh century. A segment of it enshrines a Bonpo evocation of the Four Immeasurables. Martin (n.d.: p. 21) identifies the importance of this scripture for studies of the Zhang-Zhung Language.
