Ekaggata

Ekaggatā (Pali; Sanskrit: ekāgratā, एकाग्रता, "one-pointedness") is a Pali Buddhist term, meaning tranquility of mind or one-pointedness, but also "unification of mind." According to the Theravada-tradition, in their reinterpretation of jhana as one-pointed concentration, this mental factor is the primary component in all jhānas and the essence of concentration or samādhi. One-pointedness temporarily inhibits sensual desire, a necessary condition for any meditative attainment. Ekaggatā exercises the function of closely contemplating the object, the salient characteristic of jhāna, but it cannot perform this function alone. It requires the joint action of the other four jhāna factors each performing its own special function: vitakka, vicāra, pīti, and sukha. Ekaggatā is identified within the Buddhist teachings as: One of the seven universal mental factors within the Theravada abhidharma teachings. One of the qualities associated with the second jhāna, according to the Pali Canon. Antidote to sensory desire (kāmacchanda) within the five hindrances. Ekaggatā (Pali) (Sanskrit Ekāgratā, एकाग्रता) means: "one-pointedness", or the state (-tā) of having one (eka) point (agga or agra); "unification of mind," in which mind becomes very still but does not merge with the object of attention. Theravada monk Bhikkhu Bodhi states: This is the unification of the mind on its object. Although this factor comes to prominence in the jhānas, where it functions as a jhāna factor, the Abhidhamma teaches that the germ of that capacity for mental unification is present in all types of consciousness, even the most rudimentary. It there functions as the factor which fixes the mind on its object. One-pointedness has non-wandering or non-distraction as its characteristic. Its function is to conglomerate or unite the associated states. Bhikkhu Bodhi also notes that deeper, more profound concentration (versus the subtle) concentration causes peace. This is thought to arise from and is founded in happiness.