Vitarka

In Buddhism, vitarka (; vitakka; ), "applied thought,"(initial) inquiry," and vicāra ( and ; ), "investigating what has been focused on by vitakka, are qualities or elements of the first dhyāna or jhāna. In the Pali canon, Vitakka-vicāra form one expression, which refers to directing one's thought or attention on an object (vitarka) and investigating it (vicāra), "breaking it down into its functional components" to understand it [and] distinguishing the multitude of conditioning factors implicated in a phenomenal event." The later Theravada commentarial tradition, as represented by Buddhaghosa's Visuddhimagga, interprets vitarka and vicāra as the initial and sustained application of attention to a meditational object, which culminates in the stilling of the mind. According to Fox and Bucknell vitarka-vicāra may also refer to "the normal process of discursive thought," which is quieted through absorption in the second jhāna. Vitarka (Sanskrit: वितर्क ) - "thoughts," "applied thought," "applied attention," "inquiry," "initial inquiry," "initial mental application, or initial intellectual investigative intent." Its roots are: वि vi, a prefix to verbs and nouns it expresses; तर्क tarka, "reasoning, inquiry." Vitarka may refer to mental activities that are manifest both in normal consciousness and in the first stage of dhyana. According to Buswel and Lopez, in general, it means "thought," "applied thought," or "distracted thoughts." According to Bhikkhu Bodhi, "In the Suttas, the word Vittaka is often used in the loose sense of thought, but in the Abhidhamma it is used in a precise technical sense to mean the mental factor that mounts or directs the mind towards an object." Vicāra (Sanskrit: विचार) - "investigation," "subsequent discursive reasoning and thought, i.e., investigating what has been focused on by vitakka." Its roots are: वि vi, a prefix to verbs and nouns it expresses; चर् car, to move, roam, obtain knowledge of. Vitarka investigates things roughly, while vicāra investigates things exactly.