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the potent same"yama, binding together, that is the basis for the establish-
ment of the vibhu\ti, or preternatural accomplishments, that are largely the
logical subject of the third part of the YS.37 Whicher has aptly suggested the
dynamics of the use of the term sama\dhi as being characterized by what
could be called ecstatic and enstatic characteristics, in contrast to the often
used term enstasis to refer to sama\dhi as a whole. This is a crucially impor-
tant distinction that will be explored at greater length later in this work, in
that it parallels our own distinction of the functions of sama\dhi and being
respectively numinous and cessative.38 This viewpoint allows for the incor-
poration of the pairs of corollaries that the YS postulates as the field in which
sama\dhi operates, that is, sama\patti, nirodha, same"prajña\ta, asame"prajña\ta,
sabêja, and nirbêja. Whicher rightly stresses the rarified character of sama\dhi
in comparison to the other internal yogic limbs, dha\rane"a\ and dhya\na,
which culminate in sama\dhi.39 As such, sama\dhi represents the height of
meditative attainment, though within itself bearing various degrees of
fruition and mastery.
In the context of Kamalaóêla s work, sama\ plays a pivotal role with
dhi
soteriological concerns as well. The establishment of dhya\
na, the stages of the
four dhya\ states, is characterized by the term sama\ On one level,
na dhi.
sama\ refers to the subject of óamatha, or tranquility meditation, and on
dhi
another level it refers broadly to meditative states that incorporate both
óamatha and vipaóyana\ and the assumption of particular Buddhist virtues or
objects of concentration. The sama\ of Maha\ na Buddhism is distinguished
dhi ya\
as a uniquely Buddhist soteriological practice, although it is noted that within
the families of óra\ bodhisattvas, and buddhas, all forms of sama\
vakas, dhi
hinge upon the development of óamatha and vipaóyana\ Kamalaóêla states
.40
óamathavipaóyana\ me" sarve sama\ pta\ , that all sama\ [imply-
bha\ dhayo vya\ he" dhis
ing the variety of terms referring to this condition in the Maha\ na context] are
ya\
characterized by óamatha and vipaóyana\ As the culmination of the medita-
. 41
tive process, the development of sama\ is seen to represent the fundamental
dhi
meditative accomplishment that is to be attained by Buddhists on the path to
liberation, through the union of the dimensions of óamatha and vipaóyana, in
what is referred to as the yoking of tranquility and insight, óamath-
avipaóyana\
yuganaddha. As will be discussed at length later, this distinction
22 Sama\dhi
can be understood by the notion of the yoking together of numinous and ces-
sative dimensions of meditation, and it is a critical concept in understanding
how meditative traditions within Hinduism and Buddhism conceive of dhya\
na
and sama\
dhi.
DEVELOPMENT OF MEDITATIVE CONCEPTS
The development of clearer notions of the concepts of dhya\na and sama\dhi
benefits from the analysis of the historical development of their usage, mak-
ing work such as Gonda s valuable in articulating the subtler details and the
contextuality of these terms. Complementing Gonda s study of dhya\na from
the Vedic to the Maha\ya\na context are studies that deal more broadly with
philosophical and cultural developments characteristic of religious life in the
early Indian context. Mircea Eliade, for example, has extensively documented
the development of yoga in relation to the ritual forms and practices of the
Brahmanical sacrificial traditions. He traces the methodology of the re"gveda
ascetic types such as the re"sis and munis through the process of ritual interi-
orization toward more recognizable forms of yoga in Hindu and Buddhist
sects and traditions such as Therava\da, Maha\ya\na, and Classical Yoga.42 He
characterizes several historical phases of yoga, including Brahmanical Yoga,
Classical Yoga, Buddhist Yoga, and Tantric Yoga, which provide a foundation
for understanding the many roles of yoga and meditation in the Indian con-
text. Eliade and others were particularly interested in the issues regarding the
possible origins of yoga in the ancient Indus civilization, which for many rep-
resents the possibility of a pre-Vedic substratum of Indian culture. The import
of the so-called Indus yoga seal, and the implication that some type of yoga
practice may have been present in the Indus context, is compelling to Eliade,
to the degree that he largely accepts the pre-A|ryan genesis of yoga.43 Jean Fil-
liozat, however, has argued in opposition to this that the lack of substantial
evidence and insight into yoga in the Indus records, due to the lack of textual
or scriptural support, provides little encouragement for pursuing such a grand
theory of yoga s origins.44 Thus according to Filliozat, its controversial nature
and the lack of material and textual evidence make it difficult to do anything
more than scratch the surface with regard to this ancient culture. Other schol-
ars, such as Karel Werner, have argued that the munis and rse"is of the Vedas
demonstrate the substratum of ascetic practices that would later emerge as
yoga, making the Indus records, by implication, of little significance. Simi-
larly, David Knipe, in examining the concept of tapas as related to symbolism
of fire, light, and combustion, has demonstrated the formative nature of
numerous Vedic concepts with respect to notions of yoga and asceticism of
relevance in both the Upanise"adic and Pa\tañjala Yoga contexts.45 Edward Cran-
Sources and Definitions 23
gle s recent work on contemplative theory in the Indian context is in many
respects representative of a compromise or mainstream position that
argues that parallel yoga and Buddhist systems of meditation developed in a
complementary fashion out of a linguistic and cultural substratum that was
significantly, but not exclusively, rooted in the Vedic tradition, which likely
drew inspiration from non-Vedic sources.46
Other approaches, aptly demonstrated by Winston King, have shown at
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