In the Pāli Canon and the Āgama these qualities are not specific practices, but elements of "a single path," and are "fulfilled" with the development (bhāvanā) of mindfulness (sati) and meditation (jhāna/dhyāna) and other path-factors.
In the Theravāda tradition, vipassanā is a practice that seeks "insight into the true nature of reality", which is defined as anicca ("impermanence"), dukkha ("suffering, unsatisfactoriness"), and anattā ("non-self"): the three marks of existence.
Meditation-practice was reinvented in the Theravāda tradition in the 18th–20th centuries, based on contemporary readings of the Satipaṭṭhāna sutta, the Visuddhimagga, and other texts, centering on vipassanā and "dry insight" and downplaying samatha.
[10] Vipassanā is a Pali word derived from the prefix "vi-" and the verbal root "-passanā":[3] The literal meaning is "super-seeing,"[3] but is often translated as "insight" or "clear-seeing.
"[citation needed] Henepola Gunaratana defines vipassanā as "[l]ooking into something with clarity and precision, seeing each component as distinct and separate, and piercing all the way through so as to perceive the most fundamental reality of that thing.
As Thanissaro Bhikkhu writes, When [the Pāli suttas] depict the Buddha telling his disciples to go meditate, they never quote him as saying "go do vipassanā," but always "go do jhāna."
[note 6] According to Richard Gombrich, a development took place in early Buddhism resulting in a change in doctrine that considered prajñā to be an alternative means to awakening, alongside the practice of dhyāna.
Out of these debates developed the idea that bare insight suffices to reach liberation, by discerning the three marks (qualities) of (human) existence (tilakkhaṇa), namely dukkha (suffering), anattā (non-self), and anicca (impermanence).
[6][note 8] It was reinvented in Myanmar (Burma) in the 18th century by Medawi (1728–1816), leading to the rise of the Vipassanā movement in the 20th century, reinventing vipassanā meditation, developing simplified meditation techniques (based on the Satipatthana sutta, the Ānāpānasati Sutta, the Visuddhimagga, and other texts), and emphasizing satipaṭṭhāna and bare insight.
[31][32] In this approach, samatha is regarded as a preparation for vipassanā, pacifying the mind and strengthening concentration, so that insight into impermanence can arise, which leads to liberation.
Ultimately, these techniques aim at stream entry, which safeguards future development towards full awakening, despite the degenerated age we live in.
Samatha is thought to be developed by samādhi, interpreted by the Theravāda commentatorial tradition as concentration-meditation, the ability to rest the attention on a single object of perception.
Theravāda Buddhism describes the development of samatha in terms of three successive mental images or 'signs' (nimitta)[note 10] and five stages of joy (Pīti).
[note 11] According to the Theravāda-tradition, pīti, a feeling of joy, gladness or rapture, arises from the abandonment of the five hindrances in favor of concentration on a single object.
Following the establishment of access concentration (upacāra-samādhi), one can enter the four jhānas, powerful states of joyful absorption in which the entire body is pervaded with pīti.
It started in the 1950s in Burma, but has gained wide renown mainly through American Buddhist teachers such as Joseph Goldstein, Tara Brach, Gil Fronsdal, Sharon Salzberg, and Jack Kornfield.
It has together with the modern American Zen tradition served as one of the main inspirations for the "mindfulness movement" as developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn and others.
[43][44] Jeff Wilson notes that morality is a quintessential element of Buddhist practice, and is also emphasized by the first generation of post-war western teachers.
[44][49] When these three characteristics have been comprehended, reflection subdues[clarification needed], and the process of noticing accelerates, noting phenomena in general, without necessarily naming them.
[21] According to Gombrich, "the later tradition has falsified the jhāna by classifying them as the quintessence of the concentrated, calming kind of meditation, ignoring the other – and indeed higher – element.
[53] According to Wynne, words expressing the inculcation of awareness, such as sati, sampajāno, and upekkhā, are mistranslated or understood as particular factors of meditative states,[53] whereas they refer to a particular way of perceiving the sense objects.
[citation needed] In the Pañjikā commentary of Prajñākaramati (Wylie: shes rab 'byung gnas blo gros) on the Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra, vipaśyanā is defined simply as "wisdom (prajñā) that has the nature of thorough knowledge of reality as it is.
"[61] The Mahayana tradition emphasizes prajñā, insight into śūnyatā, dharmatā, the two truths doctrine, clarity and emptiness, or bliss and emptiness:[62] [T]he very title of a large corpus of early Mahayana literature, the Prajnaparamita, shows that to some extent the historian may extrapolate the trend to extol insight, prajñā, at the expense of dispassion, virāga, the control of the emotions.
The Prajnaparamita sūtra in 8,000 lines states that the practice of insight is the non-appropriation of any dharmas, including the five aggregates: So too, a Bodhisattva coursing in perfect wisdom and developing as such, neither does nor even can stand in form, feeling, perception, impulse, and consciousness...
"[64][note 17] In Chinese Buddhism, the works of Tiantai master Zhiyi (such as the Mohe Zhiguan, "Great śamatha-vipaśyanā") are some of the most influential texts to discuss vipaśyanā meditation from a Mahayana perspective.
This "gradual training" is expressed in teachings as the Five Ranks of enlightenment, the Ten Bulls illustrations that detail the steps on the path, the "three mysterious gates" of Linji, and the "four ways of knowing" of Hakuin Ekaku.
In Tibetan Buddhism, the practice of śamatha and vipaśyanā is strongly influenced by the Mahāyāna text called the Bhavanakrama of Indian master Kamalaśīla.
[72] According to Culadasa[clarification needed], "Samatha has five characteristics: effortlessly stable attention (samādhi), powerful mindfulness (sati), joy (pīti), tranquility (passaddhi), and equanimity (upekkhā).
The complete state of samatha results from working with stable attention (samādhi) and mindfulness (sati) until joy emerges.
Additionally in the Vajrayāna (tantric) path, the true nature of mind is pointed out by the guru, and this serves as a direct form of insight.