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Recollection in Early Buddhist Meditation

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Encyclopedia of Mindfulness, Buddhism, and Other Contemplative Practices

Synonyms

Anusmṛti (Sanskrit); Anussati (Pāli)

Definition

Recollection is a mindfulness practice of intentionally bringing to mind either a particular topic or something related to the past or the future.

Recollection

The early discourses at times refer to six recollections (Bodhi, 2012, p. 862), distinguished according to the objects they take. The first three are the Buddha, his teaching, and the community of realized disciples; the second set of three concern one’s own accomplishment in ethical conduct, in generosity, and in qualities of celestial beings and their similarity to one’s own qualities.

The purpose of such recollection is to inspire and also, in a more specific sense, to counter fear and agitation of the mind (Bodhi, 2000, p. 319). This holds in particular for recollection of the Buddha, which is usually done by mentally recalling his outstanding qualities. Bringing to mind the Buddha is the one out of the six recollections that has had the most widespread appeal among...

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References

  • Anālayo, Bh. (2017). A meditator’s life of the Buddha, based on the early discourses. Windhorse Publications.

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  • Bodhi, Bh. (2000). The connected discourses of the Buddha, a new translation of the Saṃyutta Nikāya. Wisdom Publications.

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  • Bodhi, Bh. (2012). The numerical discourses of the Buddha, a translation of the Aṅguttara Nikāya. Wisdom Publications.

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  • Harrison, P. (1978). Buddhānusmṛti in the Pratyutpanna-buddha-saṃmukhāvasthita-samādhi-sūtra. Journal of Indian Philosophy, 6, 35–57.

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  • Ñāṇamoli, Bh. (1995). The middle length discourses of the Buddha, a translation of the Majjhima Nikāya. Wisdom Publications.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Numata Center for Buddhist Studies, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Bhikkhu Anālayo

Authors
  1. Bhikkhu Anālayo
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Raleigh, NC, USA

    Nirbhay N. Singh

Section Editor information

  1. Centre for Positive Behaviour Support, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

    Yoon-Suk Hwang

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Lance Hawley

  3. West Chester University of Pennsylvania, Center for Contemplative Studies, West Chester, PA, USA

    Donald McCown

  4. NOUS-School of Specialization (PsyD) in Psychotherapy, Milano, Italy

    Fabio Giommi

  5. Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Antonino Raffone

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Anālayo, B. (2022). Recollection in Early Buddhist Meditation. In: Singh, N.N. (eds) Encyclopedia of Mindfulness, Buddhism, and Other Contemplative Practices. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90465-4_53-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90465-4_53-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-90465-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-90465-4

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