Yoga

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shanyin
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Yoga

Post by shanyin »

Did lord Buddha do or, practice yoga?
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Re: Yoga

Post by zengen »

shanyin wrote: Tue Nov 23, 2021 8:00 pm Did lord Buddha do or, practice yoga?
Not that I know of. Prior to attaining enlightenment, the Buddha has studied with various teachers but I have never seen any evidence in the scriptures that Buddha practiced yoga. Buddha doesn't teach yoga either. The yoga that we know came from the Hindu schools whose teachings are very different than the Buddha's teachings.
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PadmaVonSamba
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Re: Yoga

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

“Yoga” is a very, very broad term.
As he had practiced austerities and meditation, particularly with his give companions prior to his realization, he could he considered a yogin, and thus, practiced “yoga”.
And growing up in the palace, he was no doubt introduced to it.
Probably, he was not wearing leggings and a leotard, however.
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Johnny Dangerous
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Re: Yoga

Post by Johnny Dangerous »

Yes. Did he practice certain postures? Who knows. Yoga means something like yoke, or "to yoke". It connotes a huge range of spiritual practices. Most of what is practiced in the West as Yoga is nearly unrelated to any real tradition anyway, it has more in common with and is influenced by mainly by modern New Age though, and a few different pioneering teachers.

There is mention here and there of squatting postures and different austerities in the Pali Canon, and he did various austerities prior to his enlightenment, so the likely answer is yes, but that Yoga might mean different stuff than it's popular usage. Yoga is primarily a spiritual discipline, it's exclusive-ish association in popular cutlure with physical exercise and stretching is modern.
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Ayu
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Re: Yoga

Post by Ayu »

shanyin wrote: Tue Nov 23, 2021 8:00 pm Did lord Buddha do or, practice yoga?
Maybe you should define what you mean by 'Yoga' exactly. Are we talking about Hatha Yoga i.e. yoga positions?

:thinking: At least the Lotusseat is a yoga position. Buddha was supposed to sit like this.
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Re: Yoga

Post by Natan »

shanyin wrote: Tue Nov 23, 2021 8:00 pm Did lord Buddha do or, practice yoga?
Buddha considered himself a yogi, as well as his followers. Buddhadharma is a form of yoga.
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Re: Yoga

Post by shanyin »

Ayu wrote: Wed Nov 24, 2021 12:39 pm
shanyin wrote: Tue Nov 23, 2021 8:00 pm Did lord Buddha do or, practice yoga?
Maybe you should define what you mean by 'Yoga' exactly. Are we talking about Hatha Yoga i.e. yoga positions?

:thinking: At least the Lotusseat is a yoga position. Buddha was supposed to sit like this.
Well I meant postures or exercise. I know that yoga also means the posture of meditation or meditation itself (or maybe certain forms of meditation).
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Re: Yoga

Post by Ayu »

shanyin wrote: Thu Nov 25, 2021 9:41 am
Ayu wrote: Wed Nov 24, 2021 12:39 pm
shanyin wrote: Tue Nov 23, 2021 8:00 pm Did lord Buddha do or, practice yoga?
Maybe you should define what you mean by 'Yoga' exactly. Are we talking about Hatha Yoga i.e. yoga positions?

:thinking: At least the Lotusseat is a yoga position. Buddha was supposed to sit like this.
Well I meant postures or exercise. I know that yoga also means the posture of meditation or meditation itself (or maybe certain forms of meditation).
Speaking of Yoga, there are many different kinds. Besides physical forms like Hatha Yoga (postures) and Karma Yoga (work), there are various mental forms, e. g. Bhakti Yoga (devotion) and what not. But that is off topic here (i.e. subforum Discovering Mahayana). It's hinduist and maybe that is a topic worth googling.

AFAIK, buddhist Yoga is something spiritual, performed in meditation and it is not relevant to buddhist newbies.
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Aemilius
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Re: Yoga

Post by Aemilius »

Dhammapada Verse 282

Yoga ve jayati bhuri
ayoga bhurisankhayo
etam dvedhapatham natva
bhavaya vibhavaya ca
tatha ttanam niveseyya
yatha bhuri pavaddhati.

Verse 282: Indeed, wisdom is born of yoga/meditation/striving; without yoga/meditation/striving wisdom is lost. Knowing this twofold path of gain and loss of wisdom, one should conduct oneself so that wisdom may increase.


Earlier translations of Dhammapada verse 282 usually had the word yoga in them, these days it is translated as striving, effort or meditation.

Nyanatiloka says in his Buddhist Dictionary that the word Yogavacara in the meaning of "yogi, one devoted to mental training", appears in Milindapanha and Vishuddhimagga, the Path of Purification.
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They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
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PadmaVonSamba
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Re: Yoga

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

Prince Siddhartha was also accomplished in archery.
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Aemilius
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Re: Yoga

Post by Aemilius »

One way of understanding "yoga" is all the ways in which the body affects the mind and mental states. Here in this passge of instructions for Maudgalyayana/Mogallana we can see examples of how the body is seen to affect the state of mind in the Sravakayana Dharma.

"Are you nodding, Moggallana, are you nodding?" — "Yes. Lord." —

1. "Well then, Moggallana, at whatever thought drowsiness befalls you, to that thought you should not give attention and not dwell on that thought. Then, by doing so, it is possible that your drowsiness will vanish.

2. "But if, by doing so, drowsiness does not vanish, then you should reflect upon the Teaching as you have heard and learned it, you should ponder over it and examine it closely in your mind. Then, by doing so, it is possible that your drowsiness will vanish.

3. "But if, by doing so, drowsiness does not vanish, then you should repeat in full detail the Teaching as you have heard and learned it. Then, by doing so, it is possible that drowsiness will vanish.

4. "But if, by doing so, drowsiness does not vanish, then you should pull both ear-lobes and rub your limbs with your hand. Then, by doing so, it is possible that drowsiness will vanish.

5. "But if, by doing so, drowsiness does not vanish, you should get up from your seat and, after washing your eyes with water, you should look around in all directions and upwards to the stars and constellations. Then, by doing so, it is possible that your drowsiness will vanish.

6. "But if, by doing so, drowsiness does not vanish, you should give attention to the perception of light, to the perception of day (-light): as by day so by night, as by night so by day. Thus, with your mind clear and unclouded, you should cultivate a mind that is full of brightness. Then, by doing so, it is possible that your drowsiness will vanish.

7. "But if, by doing so, drowsiness does not vanish, then, with your senses turned inward and your mind not straying outward, you should take to walking up and down, being aware of going to and fro. Then, by doing so, it is possible that your drowsiness will vanish.

8. "But if, by doing so, drowsiness does not vanish, you may, mindfully and clearly aware, lie down, lion-like, on your right side, placing foot on foot, keeping in mind the thought of rising; and on awakening, you should quickly get up, thinking 'I must not indulge in the comfort of resting and reclining, in the pleasure of sleeping.'

"Thus, Moggallana, should you train yourself."

— Anguttara Nikaya VII, 58

"Here the Buddha gives Moggallana a graded sequence of advice how to overcome drowsiness. The first and best device is not to pay attention to the thought causing or preceding the state of drowsiness. This is, however, the most difficult method. If one does not succeed with it, one may summon some energizing thoughts or one may reflect upon the excellence of the Teaching, or recite parts of it by heart. If these mental remedies do not help, one should turn to bodily activity as, for instance, pulling one's ears, shaking the body, activating the circulation by rubbing one's limbs, refreshing one's eyes with cold water and, at night, looking at the grandeur of the starry sky, which may make one forget one's petty drowsiness, as it happened to the monk of old who spoke the following verse:

"Nay, not for this that you may slumber long,
Comes the night, in starry garlands wreathed.
For vigils by the wise this night is here."

— Theragatha v. 193, trans. by C.A.F. Rhys Davids

If all that, too, does not help, then he may recall the inner light of which many mystics speak and which arises in the meditations of a purified mind that has turned away from the world. Then, in his practice, he will be unconcerned about day or night, because an inner light is shining within him. Then, with his self-radiant mind, he will be able to leave behind, like a Brahma-deity, the whole realm of days and nights as perceived by the senses. This indicated that Moggallana had experienced such states before, so that the Buddha could refer to them as something known to Moggallana. This "Perception of (inner) Light" (aloka-sañña) is mentioned in the 33rd Discourse of the Digha Nikaya, as one of four ways of developing samadhi and as leading to "Knowledge and Vision" (ñanadassana).

If this method, too does not help, he should walk up and down mindfully and thus, by resorting to bodily movement, try to get rid of fatigue."

Maha-Moggallana
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"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
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Re: Yoga

Post by Hazel »

PadmaVonSamba wrote: Fri Nov 26, 2021 12:52 am Prince Siddhartha was also accomplished in archery.
Also, I hear motorcycle repair.
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Aemilius
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Re: Yoga

Post by Aemilius »

In Abhidharmakosha-bhashyam vol II p. 485 Vasubandhu tells a story from the Purvacarya sutra, the story is also found in several other sutras, that are mentioned in the footnotes of AKB. The story is called Teaching by a Monkey:
"Five hundred ascetics cultivated painful austerities on a mountain. A monkey who had lived in the company of Pratyekabuddhas imitated the attitudes of the Pratyekabuddhas in front of them. These ascetics then imitated the monkey and, they say, obtained the bodhi of the Pratyekabuddhas."

In early 1990's, in a centre in France, I heard the story told so that the word "attitudes" is replaced by "yoga-asanas", and that it is the real meaning of this event. The story means that the ascetics learned the secret asana practiced by the Pratyekabuddhas through a monkey. Thus the teaching of Buddhist asana spread to the circles of the outsiders.
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
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