Bahirdhacitta, Bahirdhācitta, Bahirdha-citta: 1 definition
Introduction:
Bahirdhacitta means something in Buddhism, Pali. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
Alternative spellings of this word include Bahirdhachitta.
In Buddhism
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Bahirdhācitta (बहिर्धाचित्त) refers to “external thought”, according to the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā: the eighth chapter of the Mahāsaṃnipāta (a collection of Mahāyāna Buddhist Sūtras).—Accordingly, “How, son of good family, does the meditation (dhyāna) of the Bodhisattva become like open space? Son of good family, the meditation of the Bodhisattva becomes like the expanse of the sky when he is endowed with the four dharmas. [...] To wit, (1) even if his thought is still during in the meditative absorption, he does not make it as an object of particular reflection; (2) while turning back the thought from outside, the external thought (bahirdhācitta) is still in activity, but he has no conception of it; (3) by the sameness of his own thoughts he enters into concentration on the universal sameness of the thoughts of all beings; (4) and that the sameness of the thoughts is the entering into concentration on the sameness of all dharmas being like an illusion”.
Mahayana (महायान, mahāyāna) is a major branch of Buddhism focusing on the path of a Bodhisattva (spiritual aspirants/ enlightened beings). Extant literature is vast and primarely composed in the Sanskrit language. There are many sūtras of which some of the earliest are the various Prajñāpāramitā sūtras.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches: Bahirdha, Citta.
Full-text: Bahirdha.
Relevant text
Search found 1 books and stories containing Bahirdhacitta, Bahirdhācitta, Bahirdhā-citta, Bahirdha-citta; (plurals include: Bahirdhacittas, Bahirdhācittas, cittas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra (by Gelongma Karma Migme Chödrön)
Mahāyāna auxiliaries (A): The four foundations of mindfulness < [Part 3 - The auxiliaries according to the Mahāyāna]
Emptiness 1-3: Inner, Outer and both Inner and Outer < [Chapter XLVIII - The Eighteen Emptinesses]