Bhavana

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This article is about the Pali term. For the film actress, see Bhavana (actress).


Bhavana (Pali and Sanskrit) means "development". In the teaching of the Buddha it is often used in a compound form in such phrases as citta-bhavana, metta-bhavana, samatha-bhavana and vipassana-bhavana. These phrases mean, respectively: the development of the mind or the cultivation of the heart (citta means both heart and mind); the development/cultivation of loving-kindness; the cultivation of tranquility and the development of insight.

The word bhavana is sometimes rather vaguely translated into English as 'meditation' so that, for example, metta-bhavana may be translated as 'the meditation on loving-kindness' or vipassana-bhavana as 'vippasana meditation'. Meditation as a state of absorbed concentration on the reality of the present moment is properly called dhyana or samadhi.