Śrāvakabhūmi — The Nine Mental Abidings

Sanskrit primary passage · nine mental abidings, six powers, and four modes of engagement

This page presents the complete relevant Śrāvakabhūmi passage underlying the classical model of the nine mental abidings (navākārā cittasthiti) on the path to śamatha. It is not the entire Śrāvakabhūmi; it is the continuous primary section that defines the nine stages and connects them with the six powers and four modes of mental engagement.

Source and rights: the Sanskrit layer has been checked against the open working edition Śrāvakabhūmi — The Nine Stages of Mental Abiding, released under CC0 1.0 and based on the Shukla edition (1973). For philological comparison, see also GRETIL. The English rendering here is a THY-REALITY editorial translation.

Textual note: the local explanation of the third/fourth stage is partially damaged or incomplete in the Sanskrit witness. Its function is clarified later in the same chapter; this page marks that limitation rather than silently smoothing it away.

The core nine mental abidings

sanskrt

English translation

What is the ninefold abiding of mind? A monk first places the mind inwardly; establishes it continuously; places it again and establishes it closely; tames it; pacifies it; fully pacifies it; makes it single-pointed; and gathers it into samādhi.

1. Placement

sanskrt

kathaṃ sthāpayati | sarvabāhyebhya ālambanebhyaḥ pratisaṃkṣipyādhyātmam avikṣepāyopanibaghnāti | yat tat prathamopanibaddho vikṣepāya iyaṃ sthāpanā |

English translation

How does one place it? One withdraws the mind from all external supports and binds it inwardly toward non-distraction. This first binding of the mind against distraction is placement.

2. Continuous placement

sanskrt

kathaṃ saṃsthāpayati | tat prathamopanibaddhaṃ yad eva cittaṃ tad balam audārikam asaṃsthitam aparisaṃsthitaṃ tasminn evālambane pravarddhanayogena prasādayogena sābhinigrahaṃ sūkṣmīkurvan abhisaṃkṣipan saṃsthāpayati |

English translation

How does one establish it continuously? The mind first bound is still coarse, forceful, and unsettled. On the same object, through repeated strengthening and clarification and deliberate restraint, one makes it subtler and more gathered; this is continuous placement.

3–4. Repeated and close placement

sanskrt

katham avasthāpayati | sa cec cittam eva sthāpayataḥ smṛtisaṃpramoṣād bahirdhā vikṣipyate … tatropanibaddhaṃ cittaṃ smṛtibalena pratisarann avasthāpayati | upasthāpayati |

English translation

How does one place it again? If, while being placed, the mind is scattered outward through a lapse of mindfulness, one recalls the bound mind through the power of mindfulness, places it again, and establishes it closely. The local Sanskrit explanation is damaged or incomplete here; the function is clarified later in the same chapter.

5. Taming

sanskrt

sa kathaṃ damayati | yair nimittair asya tac cittaṃ vikṣipyate | tadyathā gatvarasaṃspraṣṭavyanimittai rāgadveṣamohastrīpuruṣanimittaiś ca | tatrānena pūrvam evādīnavasaṃjñodgṛhītā bhavati | tām adhipatiṃ kṛtvā teṣu nimitteṣu tasya cittasya prasaraṃ na dadāti | evaṃ damayati |

English translation

How does one tame it? When signs and objects pull the mind into distraction — through attraction, aversion, confusion, and other stimuli — one relies on a previously cultivated recognition of their danger and does not allow the mind to spread toward them. Thus it is tamed.

6. Pacifying

sanskrt

kathaṃ śamayati | yair vitarkaiḥ kāmavitarkādibhiḥ | yaiś copakleśaiḥ kāmacchandanivaraṇādibhiḥ | tasya cetasaḥ saṃkṣobho bhavati | tatrānena pūrvam evādīnavasaṃjñodgṛhītā bhavati | tām adhipatiṃ kṛtvā tasya cetasaḥ teṣu vitarkopakleśeṣu prasaraṃ na dadāty evaṃ śamayati |

English translation

How does one pacify it? Thoughts and secondary afflictions, such as sensual desire and the other hindrances, disturb the mind. Because their danger has already been recognized, one does not allow the mind to spread into them. Thus it is pacified.

7. Full pacification

sanskrt

kathaṃ vyupaśamayati | smṛtisaṃpramoṣāt tadubhayasamudācāre saty utpannotpannān vitarkopakleśān nādhivāsayati | prajahāti | evaṃ vyupaśamayati |

English translation

How does one fully pacify it? If, through a lapse of mindfulness, such thoughts and afflictions nevertheless arise, one does not indulge them but abandons them. Thus it is fully pacified.

8. Single-pointedness

sanskrt

katham ekotīkaroti | sābhisaṃskāraṃ niścchidraṃ nirantaraṃ samādhipravāham avasthāpayaty evam ekotīkaroti |

English translation

How does one make it single-pointed? With deliberate effort one establishes a continuous and unbroken flow of samādhi. Thus the mind is made single-pointed.

9. Effortless collectedness

sanskrt

kathaṃ samādhatte | āsevanānvayād bhāvanānvayād bahulīkārānvayād anābhogavāhanaṃ svarasavāhanaṃ mārgaṃ labhate | yenānabhisaṃskāreṇānābhogenāsya cittasamādhipravāhaḥ avikṣepe pravartate | evaṃ samādhatte |

English translation

How does one gather it into samādhi? Through familiarity, cultivation, and repeated practice, one reaches a flow that no longer requires deliberate exertion and becomes self-sustaining. In this way the stream of collected mind continues without distraction and without forcing. Thus it is concentrated.

The six powers

sanskrt

English translation

The ninefold abiding is fulfilled through six powers: hearing or learning, reflection, mindfulness, clear comprehension, diligence, and familiarity. The text then maps them onto the stages: learning and reflection support the first placements; mindfulness brings the mind back; clear comprehension tames and pacifies it; diligence supports full pacification and single-pointedness; familiarity culminates in effortless collectedness.

The four modes of mental engagement

sanskrt

tatra navākārāyāṃ cittasthitau catvāro manaskārā veditavyāḥ | balavāhanaḥ sacchidravāhano niścchidravāhanaḥ | anābhogavāhanaś ca |

English translation

Four modes of mental engagement are to be understood within the nine abidings: forceful engagement, interrupted engagement, uninterrupted engagement, and effortless engagement. The first two stages require strong effort; the stages from repeated placement through full pacification remain interrupted; single-pointedness is uninterrupted; and the final stage proceeds without deliberate effort.