Digital Dictionary of Buddhism

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止

Pronunciations

Basic Meaning: to stop

Senses:

  • To halt, cease, to finish, to end. To cause to stop; to bring to a halt. To cease, cessation. A limit. To rest in. To stop harmful activities. [Charles Muller; source(s): Nakamura,Soothill, JEBD]
  • Stabilizing meditation, or concentration meditation (Skt. śamatha; Tib. zhi gnas). Meditative practice aimed at stopping the flow of thought. One of the seven definitions of dhyāna 禪定; it is defined as 靜息動心 silencing, or putting to rest the active mind, or auto-hypnosis; also 心定止於一處 the mind centered—the mind steadily fixed on one place, or in one position. It differs from forms of Buddhist meditation wherein one 觀 which observes, examines, sifts evidence regarding philosophical or existential principles. Śamatha has to do with 拂妄 getting rid of distraction for moral ends. There are three common methods of cultivating tranquil meditation: (a) by fixing the mind on the nose, navel, etc.; (b) by stopping every thought as it arises; (c) by dwelling on the thought that nothing exists of itself, but from a preceding cause. Śamatha is transliterated as 奢摩他. See also 止觀 [Charles Muller]
  • Usually paired with 'contemplation.' In the Mohe zhiguan (21b6–c5), Zhiyi explains the relative sense of cessation (in contrast to the 'absolute' meaning [21c21–22b20]) in terms of three meanings: stilling 息, stopping 停, and cessation in contrast to non-cessation 對不止止. Zhiyi also points out that "Many other sūtras and treatises also use the [technical] terms 'complete [lit. far] separation'  遠離, or 'non-abiding'  不住, 'non-attachment'  不著, 'unconditioned'  無爲, quiescent extinction 寂滅, 'non-discrimination'  不分別, dhyānic concentration 禪定, and the rejection 棄, removal 除, or abandonment 捨[of passions and delusions]" [T 46.22b22–25]. Ref. 〔摩訶止觀 T 1911.46.21b12–23c12〕 ; see also 三觀. [Paul Swanson]
  • Only. [Charles Muller]
  • (Skt. nivṛttī, alam; apasārayitum, āvāsa, nirgama, nirvāpayati, nivaraṇa, nivārayati, nivārita, pratyupasthâna, prasrabhya, vāsa, vyudāsa, śamatha-pakṣa, saṃnivārayati, samatha, sthâna, sthāpanā, sthāpayitvā, ; Pāli samatha; Tib. zhi gnas) [Charles Muller; source(s): YBh-Ind,Hirakawa]
  • quiescence; l'arrêt; fixant (sa pensée) [Paul Swanson]
  • Sommairement, le śamatha est la fixation de pensée (cittaikâgrya); la vipaśyanā est la compréhension correcte (bhūta-prativedha) [Lamotte]. [Paul Swanson]
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  • Cf. Karashima (Lokakṣema Glossary): view / hide
      
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    [Dictionary References]

    Bukkyō jiten (Ui) 391

    Bulgyo sajeon 815a

    Zengaku daijiten (Komazawa U.) 412d

    Japanese-English Buddhist Dictionary (Daitō shuppansha) 272a/299

    Bukkyōgo daijiten (Nakamura) 506a, 936a

    Fo Guang Dictionary 1473

    Ding Fubao

    Buddhist Chinese-Sanskrit Dictionary (Hirakawa) 0682

    Bukkyō daijiten (Mochizuki) (v.1-6)1707c,1759b,3673c

    Bukkyō daijiten (Oda) 681-1

    Sanskrit-Tibetan Index for the Yogâcārabhūmi-śāstra (Yokoyama and Hirosawa)

    (Soothill's) Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms 158

    Lokakṣemaʼs Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā (Karashima) 637

    Copyright provisions

    The rights to textual segments (nodes) of the DDB are owned by the author indicated in the brackets next to each segment. For rights regarding the compilation as a whole, please contact Charles Muller. Please do not reproduce without permission. And please do not copy into Wikipedia without proper citation!

    Entry created: 1993-09-01

    Updated: 2012-10-28