buddhist meditation

Buddhist meditation encompasses a variety of meditation techniques that develop mindfulness, concentration, tranquility and insight. Core meditation techniques are preserved in ancient Buddhist texts and have proliferated and diversified through the millennia of teacher-student transmissions.

Non-Buddhists use these techniques for the pursuit of physical and mental health as well as for non-Buddhist spiritual aims.^[1] Buddhists pursue meditation as part of the path toward Enlightenment and Nirvana.^[2]

The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are bhāvanā^[3] and jhāna (Pāli; Skt.: dhyāna).^[4]

The accounts of meditative states in the Buddhist texts are largely free of dogma, so much so that the Buddhist scheme has been adopted by Western psychologists attempting to describe the phenomenon of meditation in general.^[5]

Given the large number and diversity of traditional Buddhist meditation practices, this article primarily identifies authoritative contextual frameworks – both contemporary and canonical – for the variety of practices. For those seeking school-specific meditation instruction, it may be more appropriate to simply view the articles listed in the "See also" section below.

Most Buddhist traditions recognize that the path to Enlightenment entails three types of training: virtue (sīla); meditation (samadhi); and, wisdom (paññā).^[8] Thus, meditative prowess alone is not sufficient; it is but one part of the path. In other words, in Buddhism, in tandem with mental cultivation, ethical development and wise understanding are also necessary for the attainment of the highest goal.^[9]