Ajahn Sucitto: Creating the Basis for Samadhi

Ven. Sucitto (fullpeace.org, 2014); Anderson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

(FullPeace.org) Creating the basis for samadhi ("unification of mind") is like growing grapes  according to Western Theravada Buddhist monk Ajahn Sucitto, who trained in Thailand with Ajahn Chah. More

What is samadhi?

Samadhi is coherence of mind.

The Sanskrit and Pali term samadhi derives from the root sam-a-dha, which means "to collect" or "bring together," and so it is often poorly translated as "concentration" or "unification of mind."

In the early Buddhist texts, samadhi is associated with the term samatha (the cultivation of serenity, tranquility, calm abiding).

In the commentarial tradition, samadhi is defined as ekaggata or "one-pointedness of mind" (cittass'ekaggatā).

Ven. Buddhagosa defines samadhi in the Path of Purification 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."

And according to Ven. Buddhaghosa, the Theravada Pali language texts mention four kinds of samadhi... More

Right concentration or samma samadhi is sometimes defined as the first four meditative absorptions or jhana (Sanskrit dhyana).