Vipassana Meditation Dictionary

Vipassana

"To see things as they really are", many forms of passive or insightful meditation aimed at heightening one's awareness, releasing previously suppressed thoughts and feelings and developing a natural system of biofeedback

(See also: Vipassana , Body Mind and Soul)

Meditation: A mental technique for deep relaxation, meditation helps to focus and calm the mind. It may be used to heal the body, quiet the mind, and provide a sense of inner balance.

(See also: Meditation , Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

vipassana (vipassanaa): Clear intuitive insight into physical and mental phenomena as they arise and disappear, seeing them for what they actually are - in and of themselves - in terms of the three characteristics (see ti-lakkhana) and in terms of stress, its origin, its disbanding, and the way leading to its disbanding (see ariya-sacca).

 (See also: Vipassana , Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

kayagata-sati (kaayagataa-sati): Mindfulness immersed in the body. This is a blanket term covering several meditation themes: keeping the breath in mind; being mindful of the body's posture; being mindful of one's activities; analyzing the body into its parts; analyzing the body into its physical properties (see dhatu); contemplating the fact that the body is inevitably subject to death and disintegration.

 (See also: Kayagata-sati , Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Buddhism: Basic Buddhist Dictionary

A basic dictionary of Buddhism terms. Please note that all words in grey like " Buddhism " are links to an archive with related articles.

Yoga: A system of exercises, postures, breathing, meditation and relaxation. Students learn self-control and a state of being at one with oneself.

(See also: Yoga , Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

reincarnation: "Re-entering the flesh." Punarjanma; metempsychosis. The process wherein souls take on a physical body through the birth process.

Reincarnation is one of the fundamental principles of Hindu spiritual insight, shared by the mystical schools of nearly all religions, including Jainism, Sikhism, Buddhism (and even by Christianity until it was cast out by the Nicene Council in 787). It is against the backdrop of this principle of the soul's enjoying many lives that other aspects of Hinduism can be understood. It is a repetitive cycle, known as punarjanma, which originates in the subtle plane (Antarloka), the realm in which souls live between births and return to after death. Here they are assisted in readjusting to the "in-between" world and eventually prepared for yet another birth.

The quality and nature of the birth depends on the merit or demerit of their past actions (karma) and on the needs of their unique pattern of development and experience (dharma). The mother, the father and the soul together create a new body for the soul. At the moment of conception, the soul connects with and is irrevocably bound to the embryo. As soon as the egg is fertilized, the process of human life begins. It is during the mid-term of pregnancy that the full humanness of the fetus is achieved and the soul fully inhabits the new body, a stage which is acknowledged when the child begins to move and kick within the mother's womb. (Tirumantiram, 460: "There in the pregnant womb, the soul lay in primordial quiescence [turiya] state. From that state, Maya [or Prakriti] and Her tribe aroused it and conferred consciousness and maya's evolutes eight- desires and the rest. Thus say scriptures holy and true.")

Finally, at birth the soul emerges into earth consciousness, veiled of all memory of past lives and the inner worlds. The cycle of reincarnation ends when karma has been resolved and the Self God (Parasiva) has been realized. This condition of release is called moksha. Then the soul continues to evolve and mature, but without the need to return to physical existence. How many earthly births must one have to attain the unattainable? Many thousands to be sure, hastened by righteous living, tapas, austerities on all levels, penance and good deeds in abundance.

See: reincarnation, evolution of the soul, karma, moksha, nonhuman birth, samsara, soul.

(See also: Reincarnation , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Vipasyana

Discernment; also, insight, correct perception or view.

 (See also: Vipasyana , Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

raja yoga: (Sanskrit) "King of yogas."

Also known as ashtanga yoga, "eight-limbed yoga." The classical yoga system of eight progressive stages to Illumination as described in various yoga Upanishads, the Tirumantiram and, most notably, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

The eight limbs are as follows.

1)    yama: "Restraint." Virtuous and moral living, which brings purity of mind, freedom from anger, jealousy and subconscious confusion which would inhibit the process of meditation.

2)    niyama: (Sanskrit) "Observance." Religious practices which cultivate the qualities of the higher nature, such as devotion, cognition, humility and contentment- giving the refinement of nature and control of mind needed to concentrate and ultimately plunge into samadhi.

3)    asana: "Seat or posture." A sound body is needed for success in meditation. This is attained through hatha yoga, the postures of which balance the energies of mind and body, promoting health and serenity, e.g., padmasana, the "lotus pose," for meditation. The Yoga Sutras indicate that asanas make the yogi impervious to the impact of the pairs of opposites (dvandva), heat-cold, etc.

4)    pranayama: "Mastering life force." Breath control, which quiets the chitta and balances ida and pingala. Science of controlling prana through breathing techniques in which lengths of inhalation, retention and exhalation are modulated. Pranayama prepares the mind for deep meditation.

5)    pratyahara: "Withdrawal." The practice of withdrawing consciousness from the physical senses first, such as not hearing noise while meditating, then progressively receding from emotions, intellect and eventually from individual consciousness itself in order to merge into the Universal.

6)    dharana: "Concentration." Focusing the mind on a single object or line of thought, not allowing it to wander. The guiding of the flow of consciousness. When concentration is sustained long and deeply enough, meditation naturally follows.

7)    dhyana: "Meditation." A quiet, alert, powerfully concentrated state wherein new knowledge and insight pour into the field of consciousness. This state is possible once the subconscious mind has been cleared or quieted.

8)    samadhi: "Enstasy," which means "standing within one's self." "Sameness, contemplation." The state of true yoga, in which the meditator and the object of meditation are one.

See: yoga, asana, samadhi, raja yoga.

(See also: Raja Yoga , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

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Alternative Health Dictionary

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vipassanupakkilesa (vipassanuupakkilesa): Corruption of insight; intense experiences that can happen in the course of meditation and can lead one to believe that one has completed the path. The standard list includes ten: light, psychic knowledge, rapture, serenity, pleasure, extreme conviction, excessive effort, obsession, indifference, and contentment.

 (See also: Vipassanupakkilesa , Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Darshana: Visionary states or insight experienced during or after meditation.  Literally "vision" or "sight".

(See also: Darshana ,Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

anapanasati (aanaapaanasati): Mindfulness of breathing. A meditation practice in which one maintains one's attention and mindfulness on the sensations of breathing.

 (See also: Anapanasati , Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Resurrection

The word resurrection has positive and miracles implications. Jesus resurrected on the third day, and he also resurrected Lazarus. The theme of resurrection is explored in all cultures and religions. It is always something awesome and wondrous. Dreaming about resurrection may point to the awakening of your spiritual nature. If you came into knowledge or "enlightenment" that you never had before, the dream could be referring to the resurrection of the spirit. This dream could also represent insight a new energy. Some think that dreams about resurrection are symbolic of reincarnation.

Source: Dream Lover Incorporated, http://www.dreamloverinc.com

(See also: Dream Archives, Meaning of Dreams, Dream Interpretation, Dream Dictionary, Dream Dictionary - Resurrection , Meaning of Dreams about Resurrection , Dream Interpretation Resurrection )

cankama (cankama): Walking meditation, usually in the form of walking back and forth along a prescribed path.

 (See also: Cankama , Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

sound: Shabda. As the darshana, or "seeing," of the Divine is a central article of faith for Hindus, similarly, hearing the Divine is spiritually indispensable. The ears are a center of many nadis connected to inner organs of perception. Gurus may when imparting initiation whisper in the ear of disciples to stimulate these centers and give a greater effect to their instructions.

During temple puja, bells ring loudly, drums resound, conches and woodwinds blare to awaken worshipers from routine states of consciousness.

Meditation on inner sound, called nada-anusandhana, is an essential yoga practice. Listening to the Vedas or other scripture is a mystical process. Traditional music is revered as the nectar of the Divine.

See: Aum, nada, Siva consciousness.

(See also: Sound , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Mysticism:

(1) The doctrine or belief that direct knowledge of the God(s), o spiritual truth, of ultimate reality, or of comparable matters is attainable through immediate intuition, insight or illumination and in a way differing from ordinary sense perception or conscious thought.

(2) The concepts and theories behind the theurgical approach to occultism.

(See also: Mysticism , Pagan, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

nada: (Sanskrit) "Sound; tone, vibration."

Metaphysically, the mystic sounds of the Eternal, of which the highest is the transcendent or Soundless Sound, Paranada, the first vibration from which creation emanates. Paranada is so pure and subtle that it cannot be identified to the denser regions of the mind. From Paranada comes Pranava, Aum, and further evolutes of nada. These are experienced by the meditator as the nadanadi shakti, "the energy current of sound," heard pulsing through the nerve system as a constant high-pitched hum, much like a tambura, an electrical transformer, a swarm of bees or a shruti box.

Listening to the inner sounds is a contemplative practice, called nada upasana, "worship through sound," nada anusandhana, "cultivation of inner sound," or nada yoga. The subtle variations of the nadanadi shakti represent the psychic wavelengths of established guru lineages of many Indian religions. Nada also refers to other psychic sounds heard during deep meditation, including those resembling various musical instruments. Most commonly, nada refers to ordinary sound.

See: Aum, nadi, pranava, sound, healing sound, vibrational healing

(See also: Nada , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Qi Gong: [Also spelled Chi Gong or Chi Kung] Combines movement, meditation and breathwork to increase the flow of vital Qi (“chee”) energy in the body, to improve blood circulation and to strengthen the immune system. Qi Gong is effective for stress management and as a safe modified fitness exercise for cardiovascular, neuromuscular, arthritic, and other chronic immune disorders.

(See also: Qi Gong , Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

piti (piiti): Rapture; bliss; delight. In meditation, a pleasurable quality in the mind that reaches full maturity upon the development of the second level of jhana.

 (See also: Piti , Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)