The Yoga Suttas of Patanjali: a manual of Buddhist meditation.
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Place the Awakened One with Awarenes
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Thinking to be in meditation in different postures.
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The Yoga Suttas of Patanjali: a manual of Buddhist meditation.
Translation
and free adaptation of the article published on the blog “Theravadin -
Theravada Practice Blog” (http://theravadin.wordpress.com/ ).We consider here the Yoga Suttas of Patanjali, a classical text and revered in Hinduism, dated at approx. 200 BC and compared its semantics and vocabulary to Buddhist canonical texts. In
summary, this comparison is quite obvious that the author of Yoga Sutta
was highly influenced by Buddhist philosophy and meditation practice,
possibly contemporaneously to the author.Moreover,
it appears that a student of Buddhist canonical texts may in fact be
more easily understood than the Yoga Sutta a Hindu practitioner with no
other previous reference parameter practical and philosophical. We
do not consider comments here later Hindu / Brahman existing this text,
some of which seem to avoid (or ignore) the original references to
Buddhism in this text.The
proximity of the Yoga Sutta-style, vocabulary, and subject to canonical
texts in Pali could also mean simply that Patanjali - or whoever it is
that inspired his writings - had practiced meditation from a Buddhist
contemplative community, a community of monks for a time before
returning to Brahmanism and then the movement would have rephrased his
experience in order to add a divine touch to your experience, making
substantial use of technical terms of Buddhist meditation, as originally
framed or developed by the Buddha for the purpose of contemplative
practice. But this would be pure speculation, because there is so far no studies or historical finding that supports this understanding.It
is also possible, even likely, that the Buddhist meditation had so
broadly permeated the practice Hindu / Brahman at the time (after years
of a strong cultural influence began with Buddhist proselytism promoted
by Ashoka the Buddhist Sangha in his reign and Consolidation of India),
that these technical terms as well as descriptions of practice of jhana /
dhyana (meditative absorptions) have it built into common knowledge at
the point of no longer sounding particularly Buddhists. Something
similar to what happens today with the adoption of the ideas of
“nibbana” and “kamma” in Western culture, in Christian countries.In
particular, if the Yoga Sutra is read in one continuous line is amazing
how close the text is the thoughts and topics about samadhi, jhana
meditation and Samatha (concentration) as defined in the ancient texts
in Pali Buddhist.For a first analysis, an overview. Look
at the “Ashtanga Yoga” or the “Eightfold Path of Yoga” (sic) we are
certainly inclined to think the definition of the central Buddha of the
Noble Eightfold Path.But
instead of following the Buddhist literary definition of the Noble
Eightfold Path, the interpretation of the eightfold path of yoga follows
(to our surprise?) Another description of the Buddhist path: the one
given by the Buddha as he described how he taught his disciples to
practice in your system meditative, which consists of a number of steps
outlined in various suttas of the volume of speeches with Mean Length
(as in Ariyapariyesana Sutta, MN 26, etc.) and remind us much of the way
“yogic” (pragmatic?), as devised by Patanjali at Yoga Sutta.Then compare these two “paths to reach the samadhi.”
First what is in the Yoga Sutta of Patanjali:
1. Yama, on the field conduct, morality or virtue
2. Niyama, self-purification and study
3. Asana, proper posture
4. Pranayama, breath control
5. Pratyahara, the removal of the five senses
6. Dharana, concentration or apprehension of the object meditative
7. Samadhi, meditative absorption
And down the list of steps recommended by the Buddha when asked about the gradual development through his teachings. This list is found in many suttas of the volumes of speeches and Mean Length Long, as in other parts of the Canon:
1. Sila, moral conduct or virtue, and Santosa, contentment
2. Samvara, containment or removal of the senses
3. Kayagata-sati and Iriyapatha, or “Asana” means the cultivation of mindfulness and four correct postures.
4. Anapanasati, mindfulness of breathing
5. Overcoming Obstacles or five nivarana (sensual desire, ill will, anxiety and remorse, sleep and torpor, doubt, skeptical)
6. Sati, mindfulness, keep the object in mind, often quoted along with the comments dharana canonical.
7. Jhana, levels of meditative absorption
8. Samadhi, a result of absorption, the “realization” of various kinds or Samāpatti
Of course we’re not the first to notice similarities such as the list above. A handful of other authors have noted some more and others less obvious parallels. In fact, even Wikipedia has an entry for Yoga Sutra in which we read:
“Karel Werner writes that” the system of Patanjali is unthinkable without Buddhism. As
far as terminology goes aa long in the Yoga Sutta that reminds us of
formulations of the Buddhist Pali Canon and even more Abhidharma
Sarvastivada Sautrantika and school. “Robert Thurman writes that
Patanjali was influenced by the success of the Buddhist monastic system
to formulate its own matrix for the version of thought he considered
orthodox (…) The division between Eight States (Sanskrit Ashtanga) Yoga
is reminiscent of the Noble Eightfold Path of Buddha, and the inclusion
of brahmavihara (Yoga Sutra 1:33) also shows the influence of Buddhism
in parts of the Suttas. “Now
this is where the subject becomes interesting for us here on this blog
and its relevance to the practice of Buddhist meditation.
Doesall
the above tells us that the Yoga Sutra is a comment Hindu / Brahmin or
at least a photograph of meditation practices common (influenced by
Buddhism) in the second century BC? -
If this is the case, definitely warrants a closer look at. Certainly,
this is because the text is not a Buddhist but shares a “core” of
fundamental ideas on meditation to be able to take it as a sign pointing
to a deeper understanding of some of the terminology in the context of the first centuries of Buddhist practice.
Thus,
if the Yoga Sutta is read in a Buddhist context, one can have some idea
of how people understood at that time and (ou!) practiced Buddhist
meditation? Could this be of some help in triangular or point of which was the direction of former Buddhist meditation?The
more we know how people practiced a few centuries after the Buddha’s
Parinibbana, the more we can understand how some of his teachings have
evolved and how they were implemented and explained / taught.What
makes this fascinating idea is that this text would definitely be
filterable through the eyes of a Hindu / Brahman, but he is still
influenced by the “knowledge” of Buddhist meditation apparently so well
received, and the time of his writing had become the mainstream
“contemplative practices. This would show us how and
in what particular point, was considered to be the “essence” of
meditation (in addition to being philosophical discussion of its
purpose) in order to be considered universally true, then that can be
“merged” into other forms of practice religious.Under this view, the Yoga Sutra is actually quite revealing. Consider a few passages that copies may shed light on this idea. Passages like the following really seems a direct copy and paste the Buddha-Dhamma. Some of them even make much sense in a context of religious doctrine theological-in-
search-of-the-soul-creationist
they were considered “truth” and “accepted” so that the author Hindu /
Brahman had no other choice but to incorporate them into their theistic
philosophy, reminding us Western Christians today that due to the common
acceptance of the idea karma / kamma, sometimes find ways to
incorporate this idea in their religious views.
Let’s start seeing the following list of impurities that Yoga Sutra tells us must be overcome:
“Avidya
(ignorance), Asmita (egoism), raga-Dvesha (desires and aversions),
Abhinivesha (clinging to mundane life) are the five klesha or distress. Destroy these afflictions [e] You will realize Samadhi. “[Free translation of the original quote from Wikipedia]
What
impresses the reader as Buddhist before this paragraph is the simple
fact that all these impurities listed are those that no longer are you
supposed to Arahant one, or Awakened (!!!). That is, according to the text of Patanjali, the “Samadhi of Conduct” would be conceptually the same as the Buddhist Liberation.Consider the terms used:
Avijja,
ignorance or mental turvidão is even mentioned in the first place,
while clearly a Buddhist point of view is considered the root of all
problems.Then
“asmita”, which is superficially translated as “selfishness” by
understanding that had developed in shallow Sanskrit tradition that was
ignorant of the deeper meaning of that term as used in the suttas of the
Pali Canon (or tried to distort to suit your context religious).This
term Buddhist in particular, pointing to the deeply embedded “notion
that it is” (ASMI-tā) has a clear explanation in the suttas, but here in
this passage and elsewhere, is reduced to a mere “selfishness” as a
moral impurity devoid of its original psychological application. In
the suttas “ASMI-Mana” is a deeply rooted psychological tendency that
only a Arahant (Iluminsfo) won [see post “The scent of am” blog
Theravadin].And
there is also “abhinivesa”, a term the Buddha uses to explain how our
mind comes in and assumes the five groups of attachment. The
term “Nives” denotes a dwelling, a house - a simile brought by the
Buddha to show how our consciousness moves “inside” of the contact
experience of the senses and settles as if living in a house (see Sutta
Nipata, Atthakavagga , and Haliddakani Magandiya Sutta Sutta). This
usage is decreased very particular psychological context in Hindu /
Brahmin to denote only an “attachment to worldly life.”But here is worth
questioning whether this was also shared by superficial understanding
or just by Patanjali Yoga Sutra later commentators, who have lost sight
of these implications for not having knowledge of or access to the
preceding context of Buddhism in the Yoga Sutra was written?And sometimes something awakening about the “sati” Buddhist can also be found. We
have another pearl of a Buddhist point of view, which can be considered
truly revealing: the use of the word “Dharana” in the text of
Patanjali.This is one area in which our contemporary knowledge of Buddhism can benefit from insights. The
term “Dharana”, which literally means short and “I can hold, carry,
keep (in mind)” is a good description of the task faced in Buddhist
contemplative practice, regardless of what tradition / schoolconsidered.In meditation we also need to maintain our meditation object firmly in focus in mind, without losing it. This
central feature of the task undertaken when trying to cultivate
meditative concentration, relates as an equivalent to the literal
meaning of the Buddhist term “sati” (which means reminder / recall) and
what is general and now translated simply as “mindfulness” - a
translation that often aboard with questions.And the reason is as follows, in summary: To maintain the object of meditation in mind you need to remember it. Remember here that means you have to hold, keep in mind, your object of concentration. This
is exactly what makes the faculty of memory, usually being pushed away
by the impressions with new information by the six senses, which, if
penetrated, would result in more or less a wild spin.If
you are able to sustain their concentration on one point however - or
even as much as you can keep it, one of the laws of functioning of the
mind that the Buddha rediscovered and explained in detail that this
rebate is “artificial” senses the support and focus on a particular
mental object equivalent to a minor sensory stimulus.As
a result of mental calmness and happiness (piti) and happiness index
(sukha) will arise and show signs of the primeirs a stronger
concentration - these being two of the five factors of meditative
absorption (jhana), along with (i) directed thought (vitakka) (ii)
sustained (Vicara) and (iii) equanimity (Upekkha).This
is also the reason why is quite logical that samma sati, mindfulness,
has to come before samma samadhi, full concentration in the Noble
Eightfold Path of Buddhism - or, as shown in this case in the Yoga
Sutta, “Dharana” would be the stage immediately prior to “Delivering the
Samadhi.”In
this case the Yoga Sutra throws much light on the original meaning as
understood in the early centuries of Buddhist practice and can help us
reach a more precise understanding of what “samma sati, right
mindfulness, originally meant or pointed. (In Theravadin blog post is a rather plain and that shows how sati yoniso manasikara are coming in practical terms, check this link ).On
the opposite side, or better, understanding it as a byproduct of the
practice of sati is no other term that would best be described as
“mindfulness.” The Pali term is sampajaññā -
which literally means “next-consideration”, eg, be well aware of when
performing an action, then a “clear understanding” of what it does - but
this activity is a result of sati, as having the mind fixed on an
object leads to a refined consciousness that arises when during the next
and keep the mind of an object, creating a clear understanding of the
few sensory impressions that may enter. According to this concept, mindfulness would be a result of sati and not the practice of sati in itself!But
again, both activities are happening almost simultaneously, even if not
in the same order and then the current use of the term translated can
be done - at the same time a fine distinction, however, has its
benefits. You can not keep an object from the
standpoint of mind without which would create or develop mindfulness in
mind - but (unfortunately!) you may be aware of all your actions that
you work without the right concentration - as when eat an ice cream, in
seeking the sensual pleasure, an example of improper care. This being the fact that unfortunately idealize the interpretations of some Westerners who want to say “Buddhist”.There
is a difference between deliberately let himself be led by sense
impressions by focusing on their physical pleasures and enhancing /
supporting raga (desire) and nandi (joy) - and, from the perspective of
Gotama Buddha, put his feet on the ground using the mindful memory and
thus experiencing a more refined awareness of trying to get it off the
shaft so that it results in a greater mindfulness, in the culmination of
his experience flows into total equanimity in the face of both
pleasurable and painful sensations.Thus,
then, we must understand as vipassanā is no way a synonym for
mindfulness (sati) but something that springs from the combination of
all these factors especially the last two, samma sati (mindfulness) and
samma samadhi (right concentration) applied to the relentless
observation of what appears to be in front of (yathabhuta).You
could say, vipassanā is a name for the Buddhist practice of sati
associated samadhi directed to the view anicca / anatta / dukkha (ie,
generating the wisdom of the vision of these three features) in the
processes of the six senses, including any mental activity. Thus, one will find the term vipassanā but the idea of sati in
the Yoga Sutra, Buddhist texts mention as the first term clearly having
samādhi as just the beginning of the journey to insight and access -
for example aniccanupassana .Finish here the parenthesis. Suffice
to say that any particular reference to the Buddhist philosophy citing
anicca antta or point to the goal of Nibbana, a philosophical
proposition to which the system of Yoga certainly does not refer.In essence the school of Yoga can be placed below the postures eternalists. So,
while it definitely does need to produce sati-samadhi, definitely does
not need to understand is samadhi anicca, dukkha and anatta - that does
not sound very compatible with the worldview of a eternalistic. Before
this, all spiritual approach arise due to the attempt to interpret
Samadhi Yoga Sutra as marriage or at least as close as you can get from a
“God”, a “Lord.” Something that sounds quite natural in
the end to a theist - such as an Evangelical Christian would never
interpret the reduction of its focus on mental object unique sensual
ecstasy and consequently a mere effect of a psychological technique, but
he would label it “the divine sign of God touching him. “ It
is for this reason that, according to the Buddha Dhamma, in fact in
most situations we are inclined to be led by the plots of our senses,
including the mental impressions / thoughts / feelings / perceptions -
and therefore tend to limit ourselves to go beyond such experiences also
distorted the merger would allow access to insight and liberation.Returning
to the context of comparison with the Christian interpretation of this
ecstasy, in short what Patanjali is facing such a theistic
interpretation sounds like someone moving a large portion of vocabulary
and terminology for the New Testament, which gives this ring a Buddhist.The
funny thing is that this is exactly how many of the contemporary New
Age books are written - an amalgam of the terms of Western Spirituality /
Christian trying to express a view east. So one can
imagine that the situation in India was similar to that when the Yoga
Sutta was written addressing the Buddhist philosophy of that era.The
remaining Buddhist philosophy with his particular terminology
established by the Buddha himself would have become so pervasive in
religious thought, so to make seemingly trusted what was written on
meditation was a need to borrow or rely on several of these Buddhist
concepts predominant. This had largely been done or
even conscious, as most New Age authors present not even reflect the
content of their texts but about the message you want to spend.Thus,
below is done in a way a translation - or rather a translation of a
transliteration given the proximity between languages - as was done with
the text of the Yoga Sutra in Sanskrit brought back to Pāli. Similar to what has been done this Sutra ( Theravadin available on the blog, in English on this link ),
the exercise helps us see how the same text would sound the Pāli
language, opening then find parallels in ancient Buddhist texts, the
suttas.However,
having said all that, pragmatism invoked by the text (which is what
makes it so valuable) also indicates much more than a simple textual
exploration. As you read this you can not discern
the notion, especially since the position of a meditator concentration
of whoever has written or inspired by this text, at some point
personally experienced jhana and samadhi and wanted to convey his
experience making use a rich language Buddhist meditation on the same
interpretation being directed to an audience Brahman / proto-Hindu India
200 BC.Anyway,
check by itself - the pauses between sets of paragraphs labeled in bold
are the author / translator and some important technical terms
Buddhists were deployed, with additional comments made in italics: