Yoga 5
Yoga 5
Yoga 5
Yoga has been a central prac ce in Jainism. Jain spirituality is based on a strict code of nonviolence, or
ahimsa, almsgiving, faith in the three jewels, austeri es such as fas ng, and yoga. Jain yoga aims at the
libera on and purifica on of the self from the forces of karma, which binds the self to the cycle of
reincarna on. Like yoga and Sankhya, Jainism believes in a number of individual selves bound by their
individual karma. Only through the reduc on of karmic influences and the exhaus on of collected karma
can one become purified and released. Early Jain yoga seems to have been divided into several types,
including medita on, abandonment of the body, contempla on, and reflec on.
Buddhist yoga
Buddhist yoga encompasses a variety of methods which aim to develop the 37 aids to awakening. Its
ul mate goal is bodhi or nirvana, tradi onally seen as the permanent end of suffering and rebirth.
Buddhist texts use a number of terms for spiritual praxis in addi on to yoga, such as bhāvanā and
jhāna/dhyāna.
anapanasa ,
the brahmavihārās.
Anussa
These medita ons were seen as supported by the other elements of the Noble Eigh old Path, such as
ethics, right exer on, sense restraint and right view. Two mental quali es are said to be indispensable for
yoga prac ce in Buddhism: samatha and vipassanā. Samatha is a stable, relaxed mind, associated with
samadhi and dhyana. Vipassanā is insight or penetra ve understanding into the true nature of
phenomena, also defined as "seeing things as they truly are". A unique feature of classical Buddhism is
its understanding of all phenomena as being empty of a self.
Later developments in Buddhist tradi ons led to innova ons in yoga prac ce. The conserva ve
Theravada school developed new ideas on medita on and yoga in its later works, the most influen al of
which is the Visuddhimagga. Mahayana medita on teachings may be seen in the Yogācārabhūmi-Śāstra,
compiled c. 4th century. Mahayana also developed and adopted yoga methods such as the use of
mantras and dharani, pure land prac ces aiming at rebirth in a pure land or buddhafield, and
visualiza on. Chinese Buddhism developed the Chan prac ce of Koan introspec on and Hua Tou. Tantric
Buddhism developed and adopted tantric methods which are the basis of the Tibetan Buddhist yoga
systems, including deity yoga, guru yoga, the six yogas of Naropa, Kalacakra, Mahamudra and Dzogchen.
Classical yoga
What is o en referred to as classical yoga, ashtanga yoga, or rāja yoga is primarily the yoga outlined in
the dualis c Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. The origins of classical yoga are unclear, although early discussions
of the term appear in the Upanishads. Rāja yoga originally denoted the ul mate goal of yoga; samadhi,
but was popularised by Vivekananda as a common name for ashtanga yoga, the eight limbs a ain
samadhi as described in the Yoga Sutras. Yoga philosophy came to be regarded as a dis nct orthodox
school of Hinduism in the second half of the first millennium CE. Moksha results from the isola on of
puruṣa from prakir , and is achieved through medita on, s lling one's thought waves and res ng in pure
awareness of puruṣa. the yoga school of Hinduism accepts a "personal, yet essen ally inac ve, deity" or
"personal god".
In Advaita Vedanta
Vedanta is a varied tradi on, with a number of sub-schools and philosophical views. It focuses on the
study of the Upanishads and the Brahma Sutras, about gaining spiritual knowledge of Brahman: the
unchanging, absolute reality.
One of the earliest and most influen al sub-tradi ons of Vedanta is Advaita Vedanta, which posits non-
dualis c monism. It emphasizes jñāna yoga, which aims at realizing the iden ty of one's atman with
Brahman. The most influen al thinker of this school is Adi Shankara, who wrote commentaries and other
works on jñāna yoga. In Advaita Vedanta, jñāna is a ained from scripture, one's guru, and through a
process of listening to teachings. Quali es such as discrimina on, renuncia on, tranquility, temperance,
dispassion, endurance, faith, a en on, and a longing for knowledge and freedom are also desirable.
Yoga in Advaita is a "medita ve exercise of withdrawal from the par cular and iden fica on with the
universal, leading to contempla on of oneself as the most universal, namely, Consciousness".
Yoga Vasistha is an influen al Advaita text which uses short stories and anecdotes to illustrate its ideas.
Teaching seven stages of yoga prac ce, it was a major reference for medieval Advaita Vedanta yoga
scholars and one of the most popular texts on Hindu yoga before the 12th century. Another text which
teaches yoga from an Advaita point of view is the Yoga Yajnavalkya.
Tantric yoga
According to Samuel, Tantra is a contested concept. Tantra yoga may be described as prac ces in 9th to
10th century Buddhist and Hindu texts which included yogic prac ces with elaborate deity visualiza ons
using geometric arrays and drawings, male and female dei es, life-stage-related rituals, the use of
chakras and mantras, and sexual techniques aimed at aiding one's health, longevity and libera on.
Hatha yoga
Hatha yoga focuses on physical and mental strength-building exercises and postures described primarily
in three Hindu texts:
Some scholars include Gorakshanath's 11th-century Goraksha Samhita on the list, Vajrayana Buddhism,
founded by the Indian Mahasiddhas, has a series of asanas and pranayamas Laya yoga has a number of
techniques which include listening to the "inner sound", mudras such as Khechari and Shambhavi mudra,
and awakening kundalini.