This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Cminard (talk | contribs) at 12:15, 14 June 2008 (Added pointers.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 12:15, 14 June 2008 by Cminard (talk | contribs) (Added pointers.)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) | This article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject. Please help improve the article by providing more context for the reader. (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Part of a series on |
| Buddhism |
|---|
 |
| History |
| Buddhist texts |
| Practices |
| Nirvāṇa |
| Traditions |
| Buddhism by country |
.svg){kind=small}
Prīti (Sanskrit; Pali: pīti) is a mental factor (Pali:cetasika) associated with the concentrative absorption (Sanskrit: dhyana; Pali: jhana) of Buddhist meditation. Piti is a very specific joy associated with a state of deep tranquillity. It is often translated with the English words "joy" or "rapture" and is distinguished from the longer-lasting meditative "pleasure" or "happiness" (sukha) that arises along with pīti.
Absorption factor
| Table: Rūpa jhāna | ||||
| Cetasika (mental factors) |
First jhāna |
Second jhāna |
Third jhāna |
Fourth jhāna |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kāma / Akusala dhamma(sensuality / unskillful qualities) | secluded from; withdrawn |
does not occur | does not occur | does not occur |
| Pīti(rapture) | seclusion-born; pervades body |
samādhi-born; pervades body |
fades away (along with distress) |
does not occur |
| Sukha(non-sensual pleasure) | pervades physical body |
abandoned (no pleasure nor pain) | ||
| Vitakka("applied thought") | accompanies jhāna |
unification of awareness free from vitakka and vicāra |
does not occur | does not occur |
| Vicāra("sustained thought") | ||||
| Upekkhāsatipārisuddhi(pure, mindful equanimity) | does not occur | internal confidence | equanimous; mindful |
purity of equanimity and mindfulness |
| Sources: This box: | ||||
In Buddhist meditation, the development of concentrative absorption (Sanskrit: dhyāna; Pali: jhāna) is canonically described in terms of the following five factors:
- applied thought (vitakka)
- sustained thought (vicāra)
- joy/rapture/happiness (pīti)
- happiness/pleasure/bliss (sukha)
- equanimity (upekkhā)
Both pīti and sukha are born of bodily seclusion and mental quietude. The 5 c. CE Visuddhimagga distinguishes between pīti and sukha in the following experiential manner:
- And wherever the two are associated, happiness is the contentedness at getting a desirable object, and bliss is the actual experiencing of it when got. Where there is happiness there is bliss (pleasure) ; but where there is bliss there is not necessarily happiness . Happiness is included in the formations aggregate; bliss is included in the feeling aggregate. If a man exhausted in a desert saw or heard about a pond on the edge of a wood, he would have happiness; if he went into the wood's shade and used the water, he would have bliss....
Fivefold classification
As the meditator experiences tranquillity (samatha), one of five kinds of joy (piti) will arise. These are:
- Weak rapture only causes piloerection.
- Short rapture evocates some thunder "from time to time".
- Going down rapture explodes inside the body, like waves.
- Exalting rapture "makes the body jump to the sky".
- Fulfilling rapture seems to be a huge flood of a mountain stream.
Note only the last two are considered specifically piti. The first four are just a preparation for the last one, which is the jhanic factor.
See also
- Dhyāna/Jhāna (absorption)
- Sukha (happiness/bliss, conascent with piti during first two jhanas)
- Rapture (Christian use of the term "rapture")
Notes
- Bodhi, Bhikku (2005). In the Buddha's Words. Somerville: Wisdom Publications. pp. 296–8 (SN 28:1-9). ISBN 978-0-86171-491-9.
- "Suttantapiñake Aïguttaranikàyo § 5.1.3.8". MettaNet-Lanka (in Pali). Archived from the original on 2007-11-05. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
- Bhikku, Thanissaro (1997). "Samadhanga Sutta: The Factors of Concentration (AN 5.28)". Access to Insight. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
- See, for instance, Samādhaṅga Sutta (a/k/a, Pañcaṅgikasamādhi Sutta, AN 5.28) (Thanissaro, 1997).
- Vsm. IV, 100 (Ñāṇamoli, 1999, p. 142). Similarly, see also the Abhidhamma's commentary, Atthasalini (Bodhi, 1980).
- Vsm. IV, 94-99 (Ñāṇamoli, 1999, pp. 141-2).
Sources
- Bodhi, Bhikkhu (1980). Transcendental Dependent Arising: A Translation and Exposition of the Upanisa Sutta (Wheel No. 277/278). Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society. Retrieved 2008-05-08 from "Access to Insight" (1995) at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/wheel277.html.
- Ñāṇamoli, Bhikkhu (trans.) (1999). The Path of Purification: Visuddhimagga. Seattle, WA: BPS Pariyatti Editions. ISBN 1-928706-00-2.
- Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997). Samadhanga Sutta: The Factors of Concentration (AN 5.28). Retrieved 2008-05-09 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an05/an05.028.than.html.
 | This Buddhism-related article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |