Concept in Indian religions, signifying contemplation and spiritual cultivation
This article is about the Sanskrit/Pali term. For the popular actress, see Bhavana (actress). For other people with the same name, see Bhavana (disambiguation).
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Bhāvanā (Pali;[1] Sanskrit: भावना, also bhāvanā[2]) literally means "development"[3] or "cultivating"[4] or "producing"[1][2] in the sense of "calling into existence".[5] It is an important concept in Buddhist practice (Patipatti). The word bhavana normally appears in conjunction with another word forming a compound phrase such as citta-bhavana (the development or cultivation of the heart/mind) or metta-bhavana (the development/cultivation of lovingkindness). When used on its own, bhavana signifies contemplation and 'spiritual cultivation' generally.
- ^ a b Rhys Davids & Stede (1921–25), p. 503, entry for "Bhāvanā," retrieved 9 December 2008 from "U. Chicago" at [1].
- ^ a b Monier-Williams (1899), p. 755, see "Bhāvana" and "Bhāvanā", retrieved 9 December 2008 from "U. Cologne" at http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/MWScanpdf/mw0755-bhAvodaya.pdf Archived 2009-03-04 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ See various translations cited in the notes below.
- ^ Matthieu Ricard has said this in a talk.
- ^ Nyanatiloka (1980), p. 67.