초기불전에 나타난 삼매(samādhi)의 위상

Abstract

The aim of this research is primarily to illuminate the statue of samādhi in the early Buddhist texts. That is to say, the research aims to understand the meaning of ‘samādhi’, which is described differently in the Pali Canon and Chinese Agamas. Therefore, one perspective is not suitable for the understanding of samādhi. This presupposition would be extended to be understood as meditative methods in general. Instead of exploring the various meanings of samādhi, I realize that there are different opinions about the statue of samādhi. One can argue that samādhi is a pre-requirement for archiving wisdom. Or the other hand, one can argue that attaining samādhi itself is meaningful and very important. Because both theories appear in the Pali Nikaya it is very difficult to define the statue of samādhi. Therefore, this article intends to reveal the different perspectives on the interpretation of samādhi. Furthermore, I want to point out the multiple meanings and complex structures of samādhi in the early Buddhist texts. I first examine the mysterious power and wisdom connected with samādhi and the aspect of samādhi explained in the Pali Nikaya and Chinese Agamas. Through the comparing and contrasting of two different textual versions, I analyze the difference between the discourse focused on samādhi and discourse focused on non-samādhi which eventually reveals what samādhi is and where samādhi is.