Toh 44-33Chapter 33: The Ten Samādhis

COMMENTARY ON CHAPTER 33: THE TEN MEDITATIVE ABSORPTIONS (The Ten Samādhis)

Background

This Chapter 33 belongs to the Kangyur — the Sutra Collection of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, one of the most important collections of Mahayana scriptures in the Northern tradition. The Kangyur contains the complete collections of sutras taught by Buddha Shakyamuni, as well as sutras spoken by other buddhas. This chapter is set within the context of a great sutra, where bodhisattvas are instructed in the most profound levels of samadhi in the Mahayana.

In the Mahayana, especially in the Northern Tibetan tradition, samadhi is not simply mental concentration. It is a lofty spiritual state in which the awakened mind of the bodhisattva merges with the nature of reality (śūnyatā — emptiness). The ten samadhis presented here represent progressive advances in the cultivation of bodhisattvas on the path toward buddhahood.

Main Content

The ten samadhis (dasa samādhi) presented in this chapter are special spiritual states that bodhisattvas develop through the power of samadhi and sharp wisdom. Although the descriptive information does not provide the details of each samadhi, according to the Northern Tibetan tradition these samadhis often include: illuminating samadhi, the samadhi of refracted light, the samadhi of the Buddha’s gateway of space, the samadhi of inexhaustible sharp wisdom, the samadhi that transcends all samadhis, and other samadhis related to deep perception of the Dharma.

Each samadhi is not an independent step, but a layer in the expansion of penetrating understanding. They are instruments by which the bodhisattva carries out boundless compassionate actions in order to teach sentient beings. Samadhi is not a dry state of stillness, but a dynamic concentration in which sharp wisdom and compassion are activated most powerfully.

According to the doctrinal framework of the Northern Tibetan tradition, these samadhis are also linked with the system of the five buddhas of the dharmakaya and with different aspects of buddha nature. Through samadhi, bodhisattvas are able to see truths beyond time and space and perform acts of teaching suited to the minds of each sentient being.