Dhyāna in Buddhism

Dhyāna (Sanskrit) or Jhāna (Pali) means meditation in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. In Buddhism, it is a series of cultivated states of mind, which lead to "state of perfect equanimity and awareness (upekkhii-sati-piirisuddhl)."

Dhyana may have been the core practice of pre-sectarian Buddhism, but became appended with other forms of meditation throughout its development.

Origins

The time of the Buddha saw the rise of the śramaṇa movement, ascetic practitioners with a body of shared teachings and practices. The strict delineation of this movement into Jainism, Buddhism and brahmanical/Upanishadic traditions is a later development.

Buddhist origins

Invention or incorporation

According to Bronkhorst, the practice of the four dhyanas may have been an original contribution by Gautama Buddha to the religious practices of ancient India in response to the ascetic practices of the Jains. According to Wynne, the attainment of the formless meditative absorption was incorporated from Brahmanical practices, These practices were paired to mindfulness and insight, and given a new interpretation. The stratification of particular samādhi experiences into the four jhānas seems to be a Buddhist innovation. It was then borrowed and presented in an incomplete form in the Mokṣadharma, a part of the Mahābhārata. Kalupahana argues that the Buddha "reverted to the meditational practices" he had learned from Ārāḍa Kālāma and Uddaka Rāmaputta.

Swallow

The swallows and martins are a group of passerine birds in the family Hirundinidae that are characterised by their adaptation to aerial feeding. Swallow is used colloquially in Europe as a synonym for the barn swallow.

This family comprises two subfamilies: Pseudochelidoninae (the river martins of the genus Pseudochelidon) and Hirundininae (all other swallows and martins). Within the Old World, the name "martin" tends to be used for the squarer-tailed species, and the name "swallow" for the more fork-tailed species; however, there is no scientific distinction between these two groups. Within the New World, "martin" is reserved for members of the genus Progne. (These two systems are responsible for the sand martin being called "bank swallow" in the New World.) The entire family contains around 83 species in 19 genera.

The swallows have a cosmopolitan distribution across the world and breed on all the continents except Antarctica. It is believed that this family originated in Africa as hole-nesters; Africa still has the greatest diversity of species. They also occur on a number of oceanic islands. A number of European and North American species are long-distance migrants; by contrast, the West and South African swallows are non-migratory.

Swallow (keelboat)

The Swallow (also known as the National Swallow) is a type of one-design keelboat that was used as a two-man Olympic class for the 1948 Olympics. It is now sailed with three crew. The main fleet is at Itchenor in Chichester Harbour, West Sussex, with a smaller fleet at Aldeburgh, Suffolk.There are around 40 active boats.As a National Class, the rules and affairs of the Class are regulated by the Royal Yachting Association. Many of these boats are named after birds and, in particular, sea birds.

Major changes to the National Swallow Class Rules in the 1970s enabled the move to grp construction, the addition of self-bailers (4) and, in 2010, the modernisation of the fore and aft rig, with a higher aspect ratio mainsail and lower footed jib. The latest rule change for 2014 is to allow electric bilge pumps.

It was designed by Tom Thornycroft as a potential replacement for the Star class still in use. The design was entered in a 1946 competition sponsored by Yachting magazine, but never became significantly popular outside the United Kingdom.

Swallow (disambiguation)

Swallow is a family of birds.

Swallow may also refer to:

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