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Shamatha

World Religion
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Calm abiding meditation in Buddhist practice, cultivating stable attention and inner peace without distraction.

Detailed Definition
Shamatha in poetry is the breath that does not wander—the mind that rests like water, undisturbed by wind. Poets use it to depict stillness as practice, not escape. It becomes the poem’s quiet center: not the image, but the holding of it—the silence that makes the verse possible.
Example
Example in poetry:
Shamatha is calm abiding—A Buddhist poet writes: “Shamatha: the breath that doesn’t chase thoughts, but holds them like a mother holds a child”; A modern lyric: “In chaos, I return to Shamatha—mind like still pond, no wind, no ripple”; A haiku: “One breath. One focus. / Shamatha: peace in presence”; Another: “Shamatha isn’t emptying the mind—it’s letting thoughts pass like clouds”; A devotional verse: “I chant ‘Om’—not to force peace, but to let Shamatha rise”; A minimalist line: “Still mind. Steady breath. / Shamatha: calm abiding.”
Additional Notes
Shamatha is the foundation of all Buddhist meditative poetry; it is not concentration but stable, effortless awareness, allowing insight (vipashyana) to arise; in Zen and Tibetan verse, shamatha manifests as stillness amid movement—a single leaf falling, a bell’s echo—making poetic form a mirror of undisturbed mind, essential for interpreting minimalist verse where silence is the truest expression of truth.
Also Known As
Calm Abiding Shamatha Meditation Mindfulness Meditation Stable Attention
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