Concept · Library
Concept · Buddhist (Theravāda) · Early texts from the early centuries BCE; the Visuddhimagga from the 5th century CE
Bhāvanā: meditation as cultivationभावना (bhāvanā)
Also known as Bhavana · Meditation (the term) · Cultivation · What meditation means in the texts
A claim about what was written, taught or done, as far as the record's sources establish.
'Meditation' translates bhāvanā, which means cultivation: something deliberately developed over time, in the way a field is worked rather than a switch that is thrown. The tradition describes two broad cultivations, calm and insight, and treats both as practised across months rather than performed once.
Entries in this library keep the tradition label and the editorial state the source gave them. A record marked as awaiting scholarly review is offered as a lead to study, not as settled teaching.