Abhibhavayatana
Encyclopedia
Abhibhāvayatana or abhibhāyatana , is a concept in Buddhism
through which meditation
is achieved in eight stages by mastering the senses. During this process, the practitioner separates himself from the physical world, frees himself from attachments to physical forms, and begins freeing himself from pain
and pleasure
of the material world tied to suffering in Buddhism
.
The eight stages of abhibhāvayatana are:
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
through which meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
is achieved in eight stages by mastering the senses. During this process, the practitioner separates himself from the physical world, frees himself from attachments to physical forms, and begins freeing himself from pain
Suffering
Suffering, or pain in a broad sense, is an individual's basic affective experience of unpleasantness and aversion associated with harm or threat of harm. Suffering may be qualified as physical or mental. It may come in all degrees of intensity, from mild to intolerable. Factors of duration and...
and pleasure
Pleasure
Pleasure describes the broad class of mental states that humans and other animals experience as positive, enjoyable, or worth seeking. It includes more specific mental states such as happiness, entertainment, enjoyment, ecstasy, and euphoria...
of the material world tied to suffering in Buddhism
Dukkha
Dukkha is a Pali term roughly corresponding to a number of terms in English including suffering, pain, discontent, unsatisfactoriness, unhappiness, sorrow, affliction, social alienation, anxiety,...
.
The eight stages of abhibhāvayatana are:
- Mastery of perception of the form of one's own body and limited forms beyond it
- Mastery of perception of the form of one's own body, and of forms beyond it
- Mastery of perception of formlessness in relation to one's own body and limited forms beyond it
- Mastery of perception of formlessness in relation to one's own body and the whole world beyond it
- Mastery of perception over different forms of beautyBeautyBeauty is a characteristic of a person, animal, place, object, or idea that provides a perceptual experience of pleasure, meaning, or satisfaction. Beauty is studied as part of aesthetics, sociology, social psychology, and culture...
(stages 5–8)