Bhavana (Buddhism)

This system of meditation is based on stillness of mind, samatha, and experiential insight, vipassana, which are eventually harmonized in the achieving of lokuttara consciousness. The term bhavana literally means "bringing into being", in this case the bringing into being of the eightfold path. Different approaches give greater emphasis to vipassana, sometimes omitting later stages of samatha which, similar to dhyana yoga, is seen as a danger in being too pleasant in itself to encourage further development. Others emphasize samatha, considering premature development of higher insight as a disadvantage. Although some measure of samatha is necessary for development of vipassana, there is a creative tension between the two techniques, the one emphasizing cognitive skills and the other emotional attitude. Samatha is seen more as an ecstatic experience, "devouring" the universe while vipassana is enstatic, "excreting" the universe.

The third of the ten meritorious deeds of South Asian Buddhism.