Glossary of Meditation Terms

Over many centuries, a highly specialized vocabulary has evolved around the practice of meditation. Not surprisingly, there are stark differences of opinion and usage between different meditation schools and traditions. This glossary, which includes some terms that I have coined myself, reflects the way I use these words in the teachings presented here and in my client work.

Aimlessness	Translation of Sanskrit word Apraṇihita (अप्रणिहित) -- aimlessness or desirelessness; non-seeking; abiding in suchness.
Ascent	The fourth of five phases of meditation, characterized by the uses of visualizations and affirmations.
Aware / Take Care	A meditation protocol for alleviating and transforming toxic mental states.
Body Scan	A replacement task (see below) where parts of the body are objectified, relaxed and released in a specific order.
Buddha Nature	The transcendental aspect of human personality, capable of caring for and healing the lower, afflicted self.
Concentration	The power of mindfulness sustained on a single object of attention; the eighth element of the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path.
Craving	Intense physical or mental desire, longing, or greed. When craving arises during meditation it is an ideal opportunity to release it through particularization (see below).
Descent	The second of five phases of meditation, characterized by progressive detachment from the meditator’s narrative or “story”.
Emergence	The fifth of five phases of meditation, characterized by the union of the inner and outer life.
Emptiness	Translation of the Sanskrit word Śūnyatā (शून्यता) -- emptiness or vacuity, referring to both a meditative state and the idea that all phenomena are devoid of an intrinsic separate existence.
Engaged Buddhism	Efforts to renew and update Buddhism so that it is responsive to the actual state of suffering in the world.
Entry	The first of five phases of meditation, characterized by the reorientation of attention from the ego-agenda (or ego-distraction) to the present moment.
Five Phases of Meditation	A taxonomy of states encountered in meditation : Entry, Descent, Stillness, Ascent, and Emergence.
Five Precepts (or Mindfulness Trainings)	A lifestyle protocol devised by the Buddha in which practitioners refrain from harming, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and intoxication.
Four Noble Truths	The basis of the Buddha’s teaching, that 1) we live in a condition of suffering; 2) that suffering has a beginning; 3) that suffering has an ending; and 4) that there is a way to minimize suffering and maximize wellbeing, namely, The Noble Eightfold Path.
Four Nutriments	Sources of nourishment – edible food, sense impressions, volition, and consciousness – useful in understanding and reversing the ways that we maintain habits and addictions.
Hesychasm	From the Greek ἡσυχία, hesychia, meaning stillness, rest, quiet or silence. An ancient Greek form of meditation which has been adapted and Christianized by Orthodox monastics.
Insight	Spontaneous realization that comes as a function of the mirror-like stillness of the mind rather than from reasoning. See also Vipassana.
Interoception	The awareness and interpretation of internal bodily sensations, especially critical in particularization (see below) and techniques involving the directing of chi (qi) to various points in the body.
Know / Let Go	A meditation protocol for releasing toxic psychophysical energies.
Meher Baba	Born Merwan S. Irani (1894-1969), believed by followers to be the Avatar of the age, who spent 44 years in silence and produced detailed accounts of the evolutionary purpose and structure of existence and consciousness, writings renowned for their brilliance, cogency, and explanatory power.
Meditation	A process of intentional relaxation and introspection, exposing layers of psychic debris from the meditator’s past, and providing a means of gradual emancipation from afflictive patterns of thought, speech and action.
Mindfulness	A high quality of attention directed to a present-moment object intentionally and without judgment.
Neti Neti	A Sanskrit expression (नेति नेति) meaning ""not this, not that"" -- a form of meditation that seeks to know the nature of God through the negation of all that is not God.
Noble Eightfold Path	The fourth of the Buddha’s Four Noble Truths (see above). This path consists of Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Diligence, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.
Particularization	Experiencing mental states as physical sensations, in terms of location, size, shape, density, etc., enabling the meditator to work with thoughts and emotions as physical objects rather than as mental abstractions.
Presence	Nonconceptual Awareness, in which the only object is awareness itself. The state which precedes, transcends, and enables conceptual thought. When the meditator leaves thoughts behind and yet remains alert, he is in a state of Presence.
Proprioception	The sense of the body’s location and movement through space. Proprioception can be greatly refined through practices like yoga and tai chi.
Replacement Task	A repetitive mental task that “replaces” the mind’s habitual wandering, e.g. a body scan or counting breaths.
Samadhi	A temporary state of profound meditative absorption (see also Stillness below).
Sanskaras (also Samskaras or Sankharas)	Mental impressions or formations. All experiences generate sanskaras, which in turn provide the impetus for fresh actions.
Self Assertion (also Self Concern)	The ego’s reflexive position vis-à-vis experience – to assert the interests and position of the separate self.
Six Healing Sounds	A Taoist technique that correlates specific subvocal sounds to different organs. Use of these sounds in conjunction with certain external movements detoxifies the organs in question.
Stillness	The third of five phases of meditation, characterized by the stilling of thoughts and stable abiding in suchness (see also Samadhi above).
Story	The personal drama or narrative that most humans inhabit in every waking moment.
Suchness	Direct experience of the present moment unmediated by the meditator’s concepts or story (English translation of Tathata; see below).
Taoism	A Chinese philosophy and body of practices based on the principle of dualistic monism (yin and yang).
Tathata	Direct experience of the present moment unmediated by the meditator’s concepts or story (Sanskrit for Suchness; see above).
Tethering	Tying mindful observation of an arising distraction to the in- and out-breath, e.g. breathing in, itching; breathing out, itching.
Thich Nhat Hanh	Born Nguyễn Xuân Bảo (1926-2022), Vietnamese Zen master and founder of the Tiep Hien Buddhist order.
Three Attitudes	The fundamental enablers of successful meditation: Acceptance, Detachment, and Patience. To these I often add two more: a Light Touch and Kindness.
Vasana	Habit energy that makes it difficult to change one’s behavior or overcome addictions.
Vipassana	Spontaneous realization that comes as a function of the mirror-like stillness of the mind rather than from reasoning. See also Insight above.
Zen (or Chan) Buddhism	From the Sanskrit word dhyāna (ध्यान), meaning meditation -- A Buddhist school emphasizing meditation as a means of realizing intrinsic nature and liberation.