SuttaCentral
pdf file of a study of the Yogavacāra Meditation Manual with color plates
Blockquote The twentieth-century bhikkhu, Doratiyāveye of Sri Lanka (ca. 1900), after being deemed worthy of receiving certain secret teachings.
The Yogavācara given by
his master to
Bhikkhu Doratiyāveye, Thera
Hangurangkita Vihara
in the Western Province of Ceylon
Died 1990
Yogavācara
Can you give a brief description as to what it is all about?
Illustrated Yogāvacara meditation manuals from Thailand and Laos Jana Igunma, Henry Ginsburg Curator for Thai, Lao and Cambodian, The British Library, London
Quote 1.
Yogāvacara meditation practices were an integral part of Theravāda Buddhism in Southeast Asia until monastic reforms of the 19th and early 20th centuries discouraged some of these practices. Yogāvacara manuals incorporate teachings from canonical as well as post-canonical literature: for example, the Navasivathikapabbaṃ (Nine charnelground observations) of the Mahāsatipaṭṭhānasutta and Buddhaghoṣa’s explanation in the Visuddhimagga on meditation on the foul, as well as contemplation of core Buddhist teachings like Dependent Origination, Four Attachments, Three Marks of Existence, contemplation of the decaying corpse, the fruits of entering the stream, saṃsāra and nibbāna, kasiṇa meditation, Ten Forms of Knowledge etc. Although this article focuses on a fragmented example from 18th-century Ayutthaya (central Thailand), it also introduces two 19th-century manuscripts from the southern Thai and Lao Buddhist traditions which give insight into Yogāvacara meditation practices, and how Yogāvacara manuals evolved in mainland Southeast Asia.
Quote 2
“Ten Forms of Knowledge, according to Rhys David’s transliteration of the PaliSinhalese version and the subsequent translation by F. L. Woodward, and in brackets according to the translation of the Abhidhammattha-saṅgaha, are the following: 1 Knowledge of calm and insight (comprehension – sammathadassanañāṇa (sammanañāṇaṃ 2 Knowledge of rise and fall (rise and fall of formations – udayavyayādassana-ñāṇa (udayabbayañāṇaṃ 3 Knowledge of disruption (dissolution of formations - bhangānudassanañāṇa (bhangañāṇaṃ 4 Knowledge of what is to be feared (dissolving things as fearful - bhayatupaṭṭhāna-dassanañāṇa (bhayañāṇaṃ 5 Knowledge of evil (fearful things as dangerous - ādīnavanudassanañāṇa (ādīnavañāṇaṃ 6 Knowledge of disgust (disenchantment with all formations – nibbidānudassana-ñāṇa (nibbidāñāṇaṃ 7 Knowledge of desire for freedom (desire for deliverance - muccitukamyatādassana-ñāṇa (muñcitukamyatāñāṇaṃ 8 Knowledge of reflection (reflecting contemplation - paṭisaṅkhānupassanāñāṇa (paṭisaṅkhāñāṇaṃ 9 Knowledge of indifference towards all conditioned formations (equanimity towards formations - saṅkhārupekkhānupassanā-ñāṇa (saṅkhārupekkhāñāṇaṃ 10 Knowledge of contemplation of adaptation (conformity – anulomanupassanā-ñāṇa (anulomañāṇañcāti-dasa-vipassanāñāṇāni).”
Quote 3.
“The illustrations on the first folio, of which only one half survives, appear to relate to the first two Forms of Knowledge: Knowledge of calm and insight (sammathadassana-ñāṇa) and Knowledge of rise and fall (udayavyayādassana-ñāṇa). Knowledge of calm and insight is represented in the lower half, with incomplete text. Depicted is a monk with red halo, holding a staff in his left hand and pointing with his right hand towards a man, also with red halo, who is sitting on the floor leisurely. While the Thai-Pali text on this folio seems incomplete, the translation of the Pali-Sinhalese text gives this information: “Thus meditating, keen and alert in mind, with Nibbāna for his goal.”