Bhavana


Bhāvanā literally means "development" or "cultivating" or "producing" in the sense of "calling into existence". It is an important concept in Buddhist praxis. The word bhavana normally appears in conjunction with another word forming a compound phrase such as citta-bhavana or metta-bhavana. When used on its own, bhavana signifies contemplation and 'spiritual cultivation' generally.

Etymology

Bhavana derives from the word Bhava meaning becoming or the subjective process of arousing mental states.
To explain the cultural context of the historical Buddha's employment of the term, Glenn Wallis emphasizes bhavanas sense of cultivation. He writes that a farmer performs bhavana when he or she prepares soil and plants a seed. Wallis infers the Buddha's intention with this term by emphasizing the terrain and focus on farming in northern India at the time in the following passage:

Buddhism

In the Pali Canon bhāvanā is often found in a compound phrase indicating personal, intentional effort over time with respect to the development of that particular faculty. For instance, in the Pali Canon and post-canonical literature one can find the following compounds:
In addition, in the Canon, the development of samatha-vipassana is lauded. Subsequently, Theravada teachers have made use of the following compounds:
The word bhavana is sometimes translated into English as 'meditation' so that, for example, metta-bhavana may be translated as 'the meditation on loving-kindness'. Meditation is properly called dhyana, as practiced in samādhi, the 8th limb of the eightfold path.

In Jainism

In Jainism, bhāvana refers to "right conception or notion" or "the moral of a fable".