Samten, bsam gtan: 3 definitions
Introduction:
Samten means something in Buddhism, Pali, the history of ancient India. 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.
In Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
bsam gtan (བསམ་གཏན) (Tibetan; in Sanskrit: dhyāna) — (lit. “Mental absorption”) — One of a series of increasingly concentrated states attained in placement meditation . On the basis of the attainment of tranquil abiding, one may pass through four form-world absorptions and four formless absorptions, with the meditative equipoise of cessation sometimes added as a ninth. Mental absorptions may result in various yogic achievements, but they do not assure liberation unless combined with superior insight into the nature of reality
Samten refers to the third of the Six Bardos which refers to the six states of consciousness (associated with the phases of life and death), according to Tibetan Buddhism.—Teachings on the bardos are not only considered useful for navigating the death planes. All of the Six Bardos can be understood as transitional states. [...] [Regarding the third Bardo (samten)]: True meditation, also occurring within a lifetime in the first bardo. This particularly refers to states reached by experienced meditators who are practicing correctly, although some may have a spontaneous experience of it outside meditation.
Tibetan Buddhism includes schools such as Nyingma, Kadampa, Kagyu and Gelug. Their primary canon of literature is divided in two broad categories: The Kangyur, which consists of Buddha’s words, and the Tengyur, which includes commentaries from various sources. Esotericism and tantra techniques (vajrayāna) are collected indepently.
General definition (in Buddhism)
Samten (bsam gtan) refers to the third bardo of meditation, representing one of the Six Bardos. Samten bardo is generally only experienced by meditators, though individuals may have spontaneous experience of it. Samten Bardo is a subset of the Shinay Bardo.
India history and geography
Samten (བསམ་གཏན་) refers to the “perfection of meditation”.—The champion promoter of Bodhicitta (i.e., jangchupsem or semkye) in Buddhist world is however Śāntideva, who is widely studied in Bhutanese monasteries and who treats the cultivation of Bodhicitta in detail through the practice of six perfections of giving (སྦྱིན་པ་), discipline (ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས་), patience (བཟོད་པ་), zeal (བརྩོན་འགྲུས་), meditation (བསམ་གཏན་, samten) and wisdom (ཤེས་རབ་). Śāntideva extols Bodhicitta as the quintessential cream from the milk of Buddha’s dharma, the panacea for all maladies, elixer to destroy mortality, the sun to dispel all darkness, the treasure to solve all poverty and a supreme jewel of thought.
The history of India traces the identification of countries, villages, towns and other regions of India, as well as mythology, zoology, royal dynasties, rulers, tribes, local festivities and traditions and regional languages. Ancient India enjoyed religious freedom and encourages the path of Dharma, a concept common to Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Full-text (+21): bsam gtan bzhi, Dhyana, byang chub sems rtse mo byung rgyal zhes bya ba bsam gtan, Apratishthadhyanavartanin, Four absorptions, Eighteen major scriptures, khyung chen, mi 'gyur thig le tig, thig le drug pa, sphyi bcangs, don grub, sphyi bcod, byang chub sems tig, rdo la gser zhun, byang chub sems bsgom pa, rdzogs pa spyi spyod, khu byug, sems bsgom, nam mkha' che, bsgom don grub pa.
Relevant text
Search found 14 books and stories containing Samten, Bsam gtan; (plurals include: Samtens, Bsam gtans). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Bodhisattvacharyavatara (by Andreas Kretschmar)
Text Sections 130-131 < [Khenpo Chöga’s Oral Explanations]
Text Section 75 < [Khenpo Chöga’s Oral Explanations]
Text Sections 114-115 < [Khenpo Chöga’s Oral Explanations]
Tibet (Myth, Religion and History) (by Tsewang Gyalpo Arya)
2. Genesis; the Tibetan Calendar < [Chapter 4 - King Srongtsan Gampo and His Period]
4. Justification of the Monkey Myth < [Chapter 1 - Early Tibetan Origin Myth]
6. Religious Revival < [Chapter 6 - Tonpa Shenrab Mibo and Bon Religion]
Kailash: Journal of Himalayan Studies
Part 4 - Domination of Se-rib by Shes-rab-bla-ma and his descendants at Lo < [Notes on the History of Serib, and Nearby Places in the Upper Kali Gandaki Valley]
Miscellanea to a Recent Contribution on/to the Bsam-Yas Debate < [Volume 11, Number 3-4 (1984)]
The Founding of a Tibetan Village: The Popular Transformation of History < [Volume 10, Number 3-4 (1983)]
Preparatory Guidelines for Meditation in Pre-Modern Sino-Tibetan Buddhist... < [Volume 16, Issue 5 (2025)]
Nomads and Vagabond Monks < [Volume 13, Issue 1 (2022)]
A Case of Geluk Growth < [Volume 11, Issue 1 (2020)]
The Great Chariot (by Longchenpa)
Part 10b.5) The six perfections: Meditation < [B. the extensive explanation of arousing bodhicitta]
Guhyagarbha Tantra (with Commentary) (by Gyurme Dorje)
7. The Indian historical tradition of the Guhyagarbhatattvaviniścayamahātantra < [Introduction]
Text 5.14 (Commentary) < [Chapter 5 (text and commentary)]
6. Origin of the Guhyagarbhatattvaviniścayamahātantra < [Introduction]