Advertisement

Mindfulness

, Volume 10, Issue 12, pp 2620–2628 | Cite as

Immeasurable Meditations and Mindfulness

  • Bhikkhu Anālayo
ORIGINAL PAPER
First Online:
  • 106 Downloads

Abstract

Current research points to occasional problems experienced by practitioners of the immeasurable or boundless states. From a historical perspective, the standard mode of teaching these by way of directing specific thoughts to a particular set of individuals is a later development in the Buddhist traditions, not attested in the early texts. Instead of being the sole way of teaching the cultivation of positive mental attitudes like mettā and compassion, alternative approaches could be developed based on Buddhist canonical precedents that are less demanding in cognitive effort and closer in kind to the cultivation of mindfulness. In fact, mindfulness relates to mettā and compassion in various ways, which reflects its multifunctionality in early Buddhist meditation theory.

Keywords

appamāṇa apramāṇa brahmavihāra Boundless states Compassion Immeasurables karuṇā Loving kindness mettā Mindfulness 

Abbreviations

AN

Aṅguttara-nikāya

It

Itivuttaka

MĀ

Madhyama-āgama

MN

Majjhima-nikāya

SĀ

Saṃyukta-āgama

SN

Saṃyutta-nikāya

Sn

Sutta-nipāta

T

Taishō edition

Up

Abhidharmakośopāyikā-ṭīkā

Vibh

Vibhaṅga

Vism

Visuddhimagga

This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Notes

Compliance with Ethical Standards

Ethical Approval

This article does not contain any studies performed by the author with human participants or animals.

Conflict of Interest

The author declares no conflict of interest.

References

  1. Anālayo, Bh. (2012). The historical value of the Pāli discourses. Indo-Iranian Journal, 55, 223–253.  https://doi.org/10.1163/001972412X620187.
  2. Anālayo, Bh. (2015). Compassion in the Āgamas and Nikāyas. Dharma Drum Journal of Buddhist Studies, 16, 1–30 https://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/pdf/5-personen/analayo/compassion.pdf.
  3. Anālayo, Bh. (2017). Early Buddhist meditation studies. Barre: Barre Center for Buddhist Studies https://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/pdf/5-personen/analayo/ebms.pdf.
  4. Anālayo, Bh. (2019a). Open monitoring and mindfulness. Mindfulness, 10, 1437–1442.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-019-01181-z.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Anālayo, Bh. (2019b). The role of mindfulness in the cultivation of absorption. Mindfulness, 10.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-019-01206-7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  6. Anālayo, Bh. (2019c). A task for mindfulness: facing climate change. Mindfulness, 10, 1926–1935.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-019-01187-7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Barnhofer, T., Chittka, T., Nightingale, H., Visser, C., & Crane, C. (2010). State effects of two forms of meditation on prefrontal EEG asymmetry in previously depressed individuals. Mindfulness, 1, 21–27.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-010-0004-7.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
  8. Boellinghaus, I., Jones, F. W., & Hutton, J. (2013). Cultivating self-care and compassion in psychological therapists in training: the experience of practicing loving-kindness meditation. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 7(4), 267–277.  https://doi.org/10.1037/a0033092.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Dhammadinnā, Bh. (2014). Semantics of wholesomeness: purification of intention and the soteriological function of the immeasurables (appamāṇas) in early Buddhist thought. In K.-p. Chuang (Ed.), Buddhist meditative traditions: Their origin and development (pp. 51–129). Taiwan: Dharma Drum Publishing Corporation.Google Scholar
  10. Dhammajoti, Bh. (2010). The apramāṇa meditation in the Sarvāstivāda, with special reference to maitrī-bhāvanā. Journal of the Centre for Buddhist Studies, Sri Lanka, 8, 165–186.Google Scholar
  11. Galante, J., Bekkers, M. J., Mitchell, C., & Gallacher, J. (2016). Loving-kindness meditation effects on well-being and altruism: a mixed-methods online RCT. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, 8(3), 322–350.  https://doi.org/10.1111/aphw.12074.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  12. Kristeller, J. L., & Johnson, T. (2005). Cultivating loving kindness: a two-stage model of the effects of meditation on empathy, compassion, and altruism. Zygon, 40(2), 391–408.  https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9744.2005.00671.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  13. Lumma, A. L., Kok, B. E., & Singer, T. (2015). Is meditation always relaxing? Investigating heart rate, heart rate variability, experienced effort and likeability during training of three types of meditation. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 97(1), 38–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. Maithrimurthi, M. (1999). Wohlwollen, Mitleid, Freude und Gleichmut, Eine ideengeschichtliche Untersuchung der vier apramāṇas in der buddhistischen Ethik und Spiritualität von den Anfängen bis hin zum frühen Yogācāra. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner.Google Scholar
  15. Peacock, J. (2014). Sati or mindfulness? Bridging the divide. In M. Mazzano (Ed.), After mindfulness: new perspectives on psychology and meditation (pp. 3–22). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  16. Pradhan, P. (1967). Abhidharmakośabhāṣya of Vasubandhu. Patna: K.P. Jayaswal Research Institute.Google Scholar
  17. Salzberg, S. (1995). Loving-kindness: the revolutionary art of happiness. Boston: Shambala.Google Scholar
  18. Shonin, E., Van Gordon, W., Compare, A., Zangeneh, M., & Griffiths, M. D. (2015). Buddhist-derived loving-kindness and compassion meditation for the treatment of psychopathology: a systematic review. Mindfulness, 6, 1161–1180.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-014-0368-1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  19. Zeng, X., Wang, R., Chan, V. Y. L., Oei, T. P. S., & Leung, F. Y. K. (2019). The development of the difficulties during meditation involving immeasurable attitudes scale. Mindfulness, 10, 812–823.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-018-1051-8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Barre Center for Buddhist StudiesBarreUSA

Personalised recommendations

Cite article

Buy options