Concentration

Concentration (Skt. samādhi; Tib. ཏིང་འཛིན་, tingdzin, Wyl. ting ‘dzin) — one of the fifty-one mental states defined in Abhidharma literature. According to the Compendium of Abhidharma, it belongs to the subgroup of the five object-determining mental states.

Definitions

In the Khenjuk, Mipham Rinpoche says:

• Tib. ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན་ནི་བརྟག་པའི་དངོས་པོ་ལ་སེམས་རྩེ་གཅིག་པ་ཤེས་པའི་རྟེན་བྱེད་པའི་ལས་ཅན་ནོ།
• Concentration is to have a one-pointed mind with regard to the examined entity. Its function is to support [correct] cognition. (Rigpa Translations)
• Concentration means to have one-pointed mind with regard to the examined object. Its function is to support [right] cognition.(Erik Pema Kunsang)

Alternative Translations

• Meditative stabil­ity (Gyurme Dorje))
• samādhi or concentration (Tony Duff)

Further reading

• Patrul Rinpoche, The Words of My Perfect Teacher (Yale University Press, Revised edition, 2010). ISBN 978-0300165326, pages 248-251
• Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang, A Guide to the Words of My Perfect Teacher, translated by Padmakara Translation Group (Boston & London: Shambhala, 2004), ISBN 978-1590300732, pages 196-204