Dhyāna

(Sanskrit, trance, absorption; Pāli, jhāna). A state of deep meditative absorption characterized by lucid awareness and achieved by focusing the mind on a single object (see citta-ekāgratā). A prerequisite for its attainment is the elimination of the five hindrances (nīvaraṇa). A scheme of eight stages of dhyāna was gradually evolved, with four lower assigned to the rūpa-dhātu and four higher ones assigned to the ārūpya-dhātu. In dhyāna all sense-activity is suspended, and as the meditator passes from the lower to the higher levels, mental activity becomes progressively more attenuated. Thus, in the first dhyāna, conceptualization (vitarka) and reflection (vicāra) occur, but in the second they do not. In the fifth dhyāna various supernormal powers can be attained (see ṛddhi). The names of the Ch'an and zen schools are both derived from the word dhyāna.

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Dhyāna may refer to:

• Dhyāna in Buddhism (Pāli: jhāna)
• Dhyāna in Hinduism

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