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Yoga is the gift of ancient India. Its usefulness has been recognized worldwide. India’s various religions and sects Yoga has been specifically mentioned. Yoga is spiritually valid in Buddhism and Jainism. Religiously it has been considered a means of salvation. Yoga is actually a lifestyle of centering the mind. This increases concentration and in Buddhism it has been called the best action for enlightenment.
While considering the relation of Yoga and Buddhism, it needs to be remembered that Lord Buddha belonged to India. He was well versed in Vedantic philosophy. He was perfect in yoga. Although the existence of God has not been accepted in Buddhist philosophy, but salvation has been accepted, which he has called Nirvana. And one of the important medium to achieve this Nirvana is Yoga.
Yoga is a method of meditation in Buddhist philosophy
Yoga has been considered as a spiritual practice in Buddhism. It is divided into Sheela, Samadhi and Pragya. It has been named Triratna and meditation has been given more prominence in it. Meditation makes the mind and brain stable. Lord Buddha had said – Meditation in solitude gives spiritual peace. To follow meditation is sadhana. And this practice paves the way for salvation.
five types of meditation
There are five ways of meditation in Buddhism. All these methods have been told to remove the obstacles of mind and body. According to Buddhist philosophy, spiritual satisfaction is attained by following them.
Lord Buddha used to forbid his disciples to perform miracles during the practice of Yoga Vidya. He believed that performing miracles hinders the path of spiritual practice and yoga becomes an object of performance. While yoga is the science of practice.
Samyak has special importance in Buddhism
The entire Buddhist philosophy is based on the concept of the Middle Way. Buddha used to say – do not pull the string of the veena so much that it breaks or do not keep it so loose that it does not make a sound. This middle path is called right path in Buddhist philosophy. Samyak can also be called a balanced life.
Lord Buddha used to say – living a righteous life is also a kind of yoga, and through this one can conquer every sorrow. Buddha had made some rules for a right life. Like Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga, the eightfold path of Buddhism has been described,
These are the eight right paths – right view, right resolution, right speech, right action, right living, right exercise, right memory and finally right samadhi.
Right Exercise and Right Samadhi
In Buddhism, it has been said to remove the evils of the mind through right exercise and right meditation for yoga. Lord Buddha had considered the world as sorrowful and had said that Nirvana is attained through Yoga and Sadhana and then one gets freedom from sorrow.
Read also: Why was the date of International Yoga Day fixed on June 21?