The ‘Spheres of Mastery’ (abhibhvāyatana) and their Relation to the Four Dhyānas (meditative stages) in the Sarvāstivādin Path to Liberation

Bart Dessein
Ghent University
bart.dessein@UGent.be

The ‘spheres of mastery’ (abhibhvāyatana) form one group of a series of elements (dharma) that are developed by the practitioner when, on the path to liberation, applying meditative attainment: four immeasurable sentiments (apramāņa), eight liberations (vimokşa), eight spheres of mastery (abhibhāyatana), and ten generalising spheres (kŗtsnāyatana). The Sarvāstivāda treatises explain that these groups are connected to specific forms of knowledge that annihilate specific forms of defilement, and lead to mastery of meditative attainment. They thus show that in Sarvāstivāda doctrine, knowledge and concentration are cooperative means to, finally, overcome all defilements and attain Nirvāņa. This paper will discuss the way the ‘spheres of mastery,’ types of meditative attainment that prevent desire from arising when the practitioner who abides in a meditative stage (dhyāna) considers the six sense-fields (āyatana), were presented in the early Sutra literature, and how, through their inclusion in the early Ṣaṭpādābhidharma texts Saṃgītiparyāya (T.1536) and Prakaraņapāda (T.1542), became integrated in the Sarvāstivādin path to liberation as a specific practice done in the meditative stages (dhyāna) of the realm of form (rūpadhātu), and connecting meditative attainment with the process of overcoming defilements. This development will be discussed through an analysis of Dharmaśreşṭhin’s *Abhidharmahŗdaya, and of the Sarvāstivāda doctrinal texts that postdate the latter text.

"The Body in Early Buddhist Meditation"

My paper will explore different perspectives on the human body in early Buddhist meditation, proceeding through three main topics:
a) A negative evaluation of the notion of bodily beauty in early Buddhist meditation practice, exemplified in the contemplation of the anatomical parts of the body;
b) A neutral perspective on the body as evident in the development of mindfulness of the body in any of its postures;
c) A positive attitude towards bodily experience during progress through the meditative absorptions, where the whole body is described as filled with intense bliss and happiness.
By way of conclusion I will show that these three aspects stand in a meaningful relationship to each other.

Development of a Tantric Meditation Practice: Three Generations of Tibetan Lamas.

Cathy Cantwell, University of Oxford

This paper traces the development of a tantric meditation practice across three generations of Tibetan lamas considered to be linked by reincarnation. The focus is a visualisation practice on the popular tantric deity, Vajrakīlaya. Meditative traditions relating to Vajrakīlaya are ubiquitous in Tibetan sources, including root tantras, transmitted instructions, and fresh revelations. Key passages, such as the verses for the meditative build-up of the maṇḍala, are shared in many sources, but there are also variants characterising different traditions of practice. Exactly how such a tradition of practice is developed over time is explored in the works of the seventeenth century Dudul Dorje (bdud 'dul rdo rje, 1615-1672), the nineteenth century Dudjom Lingpa (bdud 'joms gling pa, 1835-1904), and the twentieth century Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje (bdud 'joms 'jigs bral ye shes rdo rje, 1904-1987). Dudjom Lingpa, who produced three sets of Vajrakīlaya ritual meditations within his larger revelatory cycles, trained in Dudul Dorje's tradition and became seen as his emanation. Dudjom Lingpa's recognised immediate incarnation, Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje Rinpoche, was one of the main lineage holders who contributed to new textual compositions for a number of different revelatory traditions, including his work on editing and advancing the revelations of his predecessor, as well as revealing new scriptures himself. Comparisons between the Vajrakīlaya productions of the three lamas show continuities giving the lineage of practice its stamp of identity, while we also witness significant re-working, elaboration, systematisation and codification of the liturgical material and meditative instructions.

"Appeals to Meditative States in the Context of Legitimation in Asaṅga’s Summary of the Great Vehicle (Mahāyānasaṃgraha)."

Alberto Todeschini

Yogācāra Buddhism has long been associated with meditation and mentions of meditative states are widespread in its literature. The nature of such association is, however, still far from having been fully elucidated. One important Yogācāra text that contains numerous references to meditation and to particular meditative states is Asaṅga’sMahāyānasaṃgraha. Many of these references appear in the context of arguments in favor of various Yogācāra doctrines, especially of doctrines related to Asaṅga’s understanding of the mind. In the Mahāyānasaṃgraha, then, one of the main functions of meditation and meditative states is to provide backdrop for the text's rhetorical and legitimation goals.

Yogācāra Influence on the Northern School of Chan Buddhism

Nobuyoshi Yamabe

In East Asian contexts, Yogācāra Buddhism is often seen as a theoretical system rather than a collection of practical instructions. In particular, many people seem to have the stereotypic image that the Faxiang tradition (based on the Yogācāra texts brought to China by Xuanzang) was a highly scholastic system, while Chan (Zen) Buddhism emphasized intuitive penetration into the essence of Buddhism. Thus, these two traditions are thought to have stood at the opposite ends of a spectrum. If one actually looks into early Chan texts, however, one realizes that the matter is not so simple. The Yuanming lun and Zhenzong lun, for example, clearly display traces of the strong influence of Xuanzang's Yogācāra texts. By carefully examining Northern Chan texts, I would like to demonstrate that Xuanzang's Yogācāra system exerted influence not only on theoretical aspects but also on practical (meditative) elements of Chinese Buddhism.

Changing Interpretations of What Meditation Signifies in the Bodhicaryāvatāra

Chiko ISHIDA

尚無摘要

Nirvāṇa and Tathatā in the Yogācāra Texts:The Bodhisattva’s Adaptation of the Śrāvaka-Path
瑜伽派經典中的涅槃與真如：菩薩道對聲聞道的模擬

摘要
關鍵詞：菩薩道 真如 無為 斷 世間道

Abstract
Keywords: Bodhisattva-path Suchness Unconditioned Abandonment mundane-path

尚無摘要

新發現安世高譯《十二門經》寫本內容探討及其在漢傳禪佛教中之運用

釋果暉
SHI, Guohuei

尚無摘要

禪定相關術語的考察

關鍵字：1. 禪定相關術語，2. 禪定，3. 定，4. 世間定，5. 出世間定

Perception, Meditation, and Reality: A Phenomenological Reflection
認知、禪修與實相：現象學反思
Modes of Perception and Phenomenology in Theravada Abhidhamma

The soteriological function of the appamāṇas/apramāṇas in the early Buddhist path to liberation

Dhammadinna (PhD)
Dharma Drum Buddhist College, Taiwan
giulianamartini@gmail.com

With this paper I review distinctive aspects of the early Buddhist practice of the appamāṇas/apramāṇas, the immeasurable or boundless states of benevolence, compassion, sympathetic joy and equa¬nimity. My concern is specifically the function and potential of the immeasurables in relation to the unfolding of the spiritual path of the individual. Quite apart from their beneficial relational and social effects, how are they meant to support the path to liberation?

I take as a point of reference for my presentation an early Buddhist discourse that has been preserved in parallel versions stemming from the Theravāda, Sarvāstivāda and Mūlasarvāstivāda reciter traditions, respectively the Sañcetanika-suttas and Karajakāya-sutta in the Aṅguttara-nikāya, the 思經 in the Madhyama-āgama, and a discourse quotation in the Abhidharmakośopāyikā-ṭīkā.

The sequence of instructions delivered in the discourse(s) stipulates an important correlation between training in clear comprehension and purification of intentions through the gradual path and the appamāṇa/apramāṇa practice of a noble disciple. Thus a close reading of this sequence in the context of other relevant early Buddhist texts indi¬cates that the soteriological characteristics of these meditative exercises are:

1. their relationship to the gradual path and to the dimensions of ethical purification, intentionality and karma and thereby their potential to contribute especially to progress from stream-entry to the higher levels of the path,
3. the need to develop them in conjunction with the factors of awakening (bo¬jjhaṅgas/bodhyaṅgas),

4. the use of this practice as a platform for insight (vipassanā/vipaśyanā) and thereby for the realisation of awakening.