Adhitthana is a Pali word that usually is translated into English as “determination” or sometimes “persistence.” It is composed of Pali root words that mean “foundation,” “will,” or “resolve.” As the eighth of the Ten Perfections of Theravada Buddhism, it describes the determined resolve to walk the Buddha’s path.

Both Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism have lists of “perfections” (paramitas or paramis) that are important guides for spiritual development and practice. The lists have many items in common, including the Perfection of Wisdom. However, in this case, what is meant is slightly different.

Even if you know nothing else about Buddhism you probably associate Buddhism with meditation. Dhyana Paramita, the fifth of the Mahayana Six Perfections, is the perfection of meditation.

The Sanskrit word dhyana, or jhana in Pali, means “concentration” and is nearly synonymous with samadhi. Another Sanskrit word for “meditation,” bhavana, is more literally translated “mental culture.” This underscores the understanding of meditation as a means of training the mind to realize enlightenment. Dhyana also is associated with the Right Concentration aspect of the Eightfold Path.

The Role of Meditation in Buddhism

In the West, Buddhist meditation is more popular than Buddhism itself. It has been adopted as a means to relieve stress and treat behavioral disorders. Scientific study of the effects of Buddhism on the brain are underway, and this may lead to other therapeutic uses of meditation in the future.

But meditation in the Buddhist sense is a discipline, not a treatment. The historical Buddha sat in meditation to realize enlightenment and liberate himself from suffering, or dukkha.

In the Six Paramitas, dhyana paramita comes before prajna paramita — the perfection of wisdom. And wisdom, the late Robert Aitken Roshi wrote, is “the raison d’être of the Buddha way.” The order of the paramitas is not random; in many schools of Buddhism, wisdom is thought to emerge from meditation.

Through dhyana, the practitioner quiets and clears the mind to enable the realization of enlightenment. For many this is a gradual process. Although one may experience bliss, one may experience many other things as well — frustration, sleepiness, boredom, pain, contentment. That doesn’t mean you are doing it wrong; that’s just the way it is.

With all the focus on meditation one sees in the West, however, it might surprise you to learn that lay Buddhist practice in many parts of Asia is mostly about keeping the Precepts and supporting the monastic sangha, but not meditation. And in some schools of Buddhism, notably Pure Land and Nichiren, silent meditation has largely been replaced by a focused chanting practice.

Forms of Meditation in Buddhism

The schools of Buddhism that teach meditation do not all teach it in precisely the same way. But broadly speaking, Buddhist meditation takes two forms — samatha and vipassana.

Samatha means “peaceful abiding” or “tranquility.” Samatha practices develop concentration to the point of samadhi — single pointedness of mind. In many schools of Buddhism, wisdom is said to be grounded in samadhi.

Samatha practice usually begins with a focus on the breath called anapana-smrti or anapanasati. As thoughts arise, they are observed and released. In time, the mind becomes quieter, no longer yanked around by desires and passions. (See also “Buddhism and Equanimity.”)

Vipassana means “insight.” There is more than one approach to insight meditation, but very generally the practitioner is directed to contemplate a particular teaching, thought or perspective to alter his basic mental orientation.

For example,the meditator might be directed to contemplate a saying such as “All equally experience suffering and happiness. I should look after them as I do myself.” In time, thinking of the welfare of others becomes second nature.

You can find many books, web sites, and videos that teach some kind of basic samatha meditation. But for advanced meditation it is best to work with a teacher who will direct your practice to best suit your particular spiritual barriers.

Meditation and Mindfulness

“Mindfulness mediation” is in vogue at the moment, so let’s look for a minute at the difference between mindfulness and dhyana. Mindfulness in Sanskrit is smrti (in Pali, sati), which can also mean “retention,” “recollection,” or “alertness.” Mindfulness is a whole-body-and-mind awareness of the present moment.

Dhyana, like samadhi, is more about concentration on one thing — a teaching, an image, a koan, breath. Beginner samatha meditation is mindfulness of the breath, but as samadhi develops the practitioner is able to enter a state of deep absorption in which awareness of self disappears.

Read more: “Right Mindfulness: A Foundation of Buddhist Practice.”

Meditation and Life

A daily meditation practice can impact your life in countless ways. The experienced meditator responds more skillfully to life’s difficulties as well as its joys. It helps us break free of destructive habits and overcome obstacles. In time, many of our fears and confusion fall away.

Zen teachers sometimes say that meditation is a way to find our long-lost home. “It doesn’t take much time to find that home,” Robert Aitken Roshi wrote in The Practice of Perfection. “In fact, if you lower your eyes and breath quietly in and out, your distractions disappear and your long-lost home is right here.”

[This is an article I wrote for the Buddhism section of About.com. However, since About.com has removed it from their servers, all rights revert to me.]

Some very old Zen texts refer to the “northern and southern schools,” or sometimes to the “northern or southern patriarchs.”  This refers to a doctrinal split that came to a head in 7th and 8th century China. The resolution of this disagreement determined Zen’s development from that time on, making this a genuinely critical moment in the history of Zen Buddhism.

Zen had emerged as a distinctive school of Mahayana Buddhism early in the 6th century. It was born in China, where it is called Chan. The name “Chan” is derived from the Sanskrit dhyana, which refers to stages of meditative absorption.

The earliest phase of Chan history was marked by the leadership of the Six Patriarchs. Before he died, Chan’s founder and First Patriarch, the legendary Bodhidharma, is said to have passed his robe and alms bowl, and leadership of Chan, to his student Huike (487–593), the Second Patriarch, establishing a tradition that would continue until the beginning of the 8th century.

Read More: Introduction to Zen

Sudden or Gradual?

Early in the 7th century a disagreement  arose about Buddha Nature. Buddha Nature is the fundamental, enlightened nature of all beings. But does Buddha Nature abide in us as a potential to be cultivated, or is Buddha Nature complete and pure enlightenment, already present?

These two positions came to be called “gradual enlightenment” versus “sudden enlightenment.” “Gradual” and “sudden” do not necessarily refer to passages of time, nor did one school insist that enlightenment must be realized in stages while the other said realization must happen all at once.

The “sudden” school insisted that enlightenment is not something separate from us that must be obtained. Instead, we are all already enlightened; enlightenment is our fundamental nature. However, because of our greed, anger, ignorance and other defilements we do not experience ourselves as enlightened, so practice is required. And note that although we are all already enlightened, if we practice realization of enlightenment may not happen all at once.

The “gradual” school, on the other hand, saw enlightenment as something separate from most of us that must be acquired or ripened through practice.

The Poetry Challenge

Our story begins during the time of the Fifth Patriarch, Hongren (or Hung-jen; 601–674). Hongren was the abbot of a monastery in the mountains of what is now Hubei Province in eastern central China. According to a classic story, one day Hongren challenged his monks to compose a verse that expressed their understanding of the dharma. If any verse reflects the truth, Hongren said, the monk who composed it will receive the robe and bowl and become the Sixth Patriarch.

Still according to the traditional account — among Hongren’s monks were his senior disciple Shenxiu and a novice monk named Huineng. Shenxui wrote on a wall —

The body is the bodhi tree.
The heart-mind is like a mirror.
Moment by moment wipe and polish it,
Not allowing dust to collect.

This was an expression of gradual enlightenment. Huineng thought he could do better, but he was only a novice, and an illiterate one at that. During the night he asked another monk to write his verse for him —

Bodhi originally has no tree,
The mirror has no stand.
Buddha-nature is always clean and pure;
Where might dust collect?

Huingeng’s poem was an expression of sudden enlightenment. The lines were drawn.

Somehow Hongren recognized that Huineng had written the second verse, and in secret he transmitted the deepest teachings to Huineng and gave the novice the robe and bowl. And to make a very complex story a great deal shorter, Huineng became the patriarch of the so-called Southern School, and his gradualist challenger Shenxiu was the patriarch of the Northern School.

But the Southern School prevailed, and today all teachers of Chan or Zen trace their lineage back to Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch. All surviving Chan, or Zen, today is “sudden enlightenment” Zen.

The Historical Record

The story presented above is from the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, a classic Zen text that appears to be Huineng’s autobiography but which was probably written by a disciple, or disciples, after the patriarch’s death. Modern historians say this version of history is probably not accurate, however. For example, there is doubt Shenxiu and Huineng lived at Hongren’s monastery at the same time.

Further, Shenxiu didn’t exactly drop off the map. He was a widely admired scholar who had received dharma transmission from Hongren and later dedicated himself to teaching. Toward the end of his life he became a teacher to the Emperor. The Northern School received the patronage of high-ranked members of the Court and was respected and popular. Shenxiu and his successors were considered the Chan mainstream for a time.

The Southern School was more obscure and stuck out in the boonies, so to speak. A dharma heir of Huineng’s named Shenhui (670-762) became quite the polemicist, relentlessly attacking Shenxiu’s Northern School and it’s “backward” views on gradual enlightenment. Shenhui argued that Huineng was the legitimate Sixth Patriarch and Shenxiu a usurper. It’s thought one of Shenhui’s monks wrote the Platform Sutra as part of the campaign to establish Huineng as Bodhidharma’s true heir.

Shenhui’s campaign initially appeared to fail. Shenxiu’s heirs had influence in the Chinese Court, and in time Shenhui was forced into hiding. But then came the An Lushan Rebellion (755-763), which threatened to topple the Tang Dynasty. Monks were called to the capital to help raise money by sellling ordination certificates. Shenhui did such a brilliant job selling ordination certificates that for a time he was given a privileged position at Court. From this position Shenhui was able to more effectively challenge the Northern School and revise the lineage charts to leave out Shenxiu.

Both Shenxiu’s and Shenhui’s direct lineages appear to have been wiped out in 845, when the Emperor ordered the persecution of all foreign religions in China. After that time, there was no more Northern School or Southern School. But Chan survived, and since that time it has been entirely “sudden,” even when realization comes gradually. And in Zen history, Huineng is remembered as the Sixth (and last) Patriarch.

[This is an article I wrote for the Buddhism section of About.com. However, since About.com has removed it from their servers, all rights revert to me.]