Samatha

Samatha is a term from the Pali language used in Buddhist meditation literature, often translated as calm, tranquility, or concentration. It refers to practices aimed at stabilizing and focusing the mind by maintaining steady attention on a single object. Through sustained attention, the mind becomes increasingly calm, which can lead to deeper states of mental absorption known as jhānas in Theravada sources, and shamatha in Tibetan usage.

Practices used to develop samatha typically involve selecting an object of meditation, such as the breath (anapanasati), a fixed external object (kasina), or a mental image or sign. The goal is to cultivate continuous, undistracted attention, gradually reducing discursive thought and producing a sequence of increasingly refined states of concentration.

In many Buddhist traditions, samatha is paired with vipassanā (insight) meditation. Samatha stabilizes the mind, creating a stable foundation for vipassanā, which aims at understanding the nature of reality—impermanence, suffering, and non-self. The combined practice is common across Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana lineages, though emphasis and methods vary.

Traditionally, the practice is described as progressing through four jhānas, each characterized by deepening levels of concentration, rapture, serenity, and equanimity. Different schools may present these states with nuances, and some traditions also discuss higher, formless attainments beyond the conventional jhānas.

In modern contexts, samatha is taught as a foundational attention-training method. While secular mindfulness programs draw on related techniques, traditional samatha-practice remains part of a broader Buddhist path that includes ethical conduct, concentration, and insight.