Sadhana

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This article is about the spiritual practice. For other uses, see Sadhana
(disambiguation).

Buddhist sadhana (Japan)

Shugendo sadhana (Japan)

Sadhana (Sanskrit; Tibetan ??????????, THL druptap; Chinese ??), literally a means
of accomplishing something,[1] is an ego-transcending spiritual practice.[2] It
includes a variety of disciplines in Hindu,[3] Buddhist,[4] Jain[5] and Sikh
traditions that are followed in order to achieve various spiritual or ritual
objectives.

In particular, sadhana can refer to a tantric liturgy or liturgical manual, that

is, the instructions to carry out a ritual.

The historian N. Bhattacharyya provides a working definition of the benefits of

sadhana as follows

[R]eligious sadhana, which both prevents an excess of worldliness and molds the
mind and disposition (bhava) into a form which develops the knowledge of dispassion
and non-attachment. Sadhana is a means whereby bondage becomes liberation.[6]

B. K. S. Iyengar (1993 p. 22), in his English translation of and commentary to the

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, defines sadhana in relation to abhyasa and kriya

Sadhana is a discipline undertaken in the pursuit of a goal. Abhyasa is repeated

practice performed with observation and reflection. Kriya, or action, also implies
perfect execution with study and investigation. Therefore, sadhana, abhyasa, and
kriya all mean one and the same thing. A sadhaka, or practitioner, is one who
skillfully applies...mind and intelligence in practice towards a spiritual goal.[7]

Contents [hide]
1 Paths
2 Tantric sadhana
3 Buddhism
4 See also
5 Notes
Paths[edit]
The term sadhana means spiritual exertion towards an intended goal. A person
undertaking such a practice is known in Sanskrit as a sadhu (female sadhvi),
sadhaka (female sadhaka) or yogi (Tibetan pawo; feminine yogini or dakini, Tibetan
khandroma). The goal of sadhana is to attain some level of spiritual realization,
which can be either enlightenment, pure love of God (prema), liberation (moksha)
from the cycle of birth and death (sa?sara), or a particular goal such as the
blessings of a deity as in the Bhakti traditions.

Sadhana can involve meditation, chanting of mantra sometimes with the help of
prayer beads, puja to a deity, yajna, and in very rare cases mortification of the
flesh or tantric practices such as performing one's particular sadhana within a
cremation ground.

Traditionally in some Hindu and Buddhist traditions in order to embark on a

specific path of sadhana, a guru may be required to give the necessary
instructions. This approach is typified by some Tantric traditions, in which
initiation by a guru is sometimes identified as a specific stage of sadhana.[8] On
the other hand, individual renunciates may develop their own spiritual practice
without participating in organized groups.[9]

Tantric sadhana[edit]
The tantric rituals are called sadhana. Some of the well known sadhanas are

sava sadhana (sadhana done while visualizing sitting on a corpse).

smasana sadhana (sadhana done while visualizing being in a crematorium or cremation
ground).
paca-mu??a sadhana (sadhana done while visualizing sitting on a seat of five
skulls).
Buddhism[edit]
In Vajrayana Buddhism and the Nalanda tradition, there are fifteen major tantric
sadhanas

Sura?gamaSitatapatra
Nilaka??ha
Tara
Mahakala
Hayagriva
Amitabha
Bhai?ajyaguruAk?obhya
Guhyasamaja
VajrayoginiVajravarahi
HerukaCakrasa?vara
Yamantaka
Kalacakra
Hevajra
Chd
Vajrapa?i
All of these are available in Tibetan form, many are available in Chinese and some
are still extant in ancient Sanskrit manuscripts.[10]

Kvrne (1975 p. 164) in his extended discussion of sahaja, treats the relationship
of sadhana to mandala thus

[E]xternal ritual and internal sadhana form an indistinguishable whole, and this
unity finds its most pregnant expression in the form of the mandala, the sacred
enclosure consisting of concentric squares and circles drawn on the ground and
representing that adamantine plane of being on which the aspirant to Buddhahood
wishes to establish himself. The unfolding of the tantric ritual depends on the
mandala; and where a material mandala is not employed, the adept proceeds to
construct one mentally in the course of his meditation.[11]

See also[edit]
Chilla (retreat)
Gurushishya tradition
Lojong
Mahayana
Transfer of merit
Vedic chant
Monasticism
Notes[edit]
Jump up ^ V. S. Apte. A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary. p. 979.
Jump up ^ Flood, Gavin. An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge University Press
Cambridge, 1996. pp. 92, 156, 160, 167. ISBN 0-521-43878-0.
Jump up ^ NK Brahma, Philosophy of Hindu Sadhana, ISBN 978-8120333062, pages ix-x
Jump up ^ httpwww.rigpawiki.orgindex.phptitle=Sadhana
Jump up ^ C.C. Shah, Cultural and Religious Heritage of India Jainism, Mittal, ISBN
81-7099-9553, page 301
Jump up ^ Bhattacharyya, N. N. History of the Tantric Religion. Second Revised
Edition. (Manohar New Delhi, 1999) p. 174. ISBN 81-7304-025-7
Jump up ^ Iyengar, B.K.S. (1993, 2002). Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patajali.
Hammersmith, London, UK Thorsons. ISBN 978-0-00-714516-4 p.22
Jump up ^ Bhattacharyya, op. cit., p. 317.
Jump up ^ Flood, Gavin. An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge University Press
Cambridge, 1996. p. 92. ISBN 0-521-43878-0.
Jump up ^ Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon - University of the West Archives of
Ancient Sanskrit Manuscripts
Jump up ^ Kvaerne, Per (1975). On the Concept of Sahaja in Indian Buddhist Tantric
Literature. (NB article first published in Temenos XI (1975) pp.88-135). Cited in
Williams, Jane (2005). Buddhism Critical Concepts in Religious Studies, Volume 6.
Routledge. ISBN 0-415-33226-5, ISBN 978-0-415-33226-2. Source [1] (accessed; Friday
April 16, 2010)
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