Samadhi of the place of immeasurable meanings
samadhi of the place of immeasurable meanings
[無量義処三昧] (Skt ananta-nirdesha-pratishthana-samadhi; Jpn muryogisho-sammai )
Also, meditation of the origin of immeasurable meanings. The samadhi, or meditation, into which the Lotus Sutra describes Shakyamuni Buddha as entering before preaching the sutra. The "Introduction" (first) chapter of the Lotus Sutra says: "At that time the World-Honored One, surrounded by the four kinds of believers, received offerings and tokens of respect and was honored and praised. And for the sake of the bodhisattvas he preached the great vehicle sutra titled Immeasurable Meanings, a Law to instruct the bodhisattvas, one that is guarded and kept in mind by the Buddhas. When the Buddha had finished preaching this sutra, he sat with his legs crossed in lotus position and entered into the samadhi of the origin of immeasurable meanings, his body and mind never moving." The Immeasurable Meanings Sutra, which is regarded as a prologue to the Lotus Sutra, says, "These immeasurable meanings are born from a single Law." Ananta of the Sanskrit for this term, ananta-nirdesha-pratishthana, means immeasurable, nirdesha means description, elucidation, or explanation, and pratishthana means basis, foundation, dwelling, or support.
