An Analytical Study of Sublime States of Mind According to Theravada Buddhist Philosophy

Abstract

This study was the qualitative research conducted to analyze Sublime States of Mind According to Theravada Buddhist Philosophy. The result indicated that Sublime States of Mind literally means the dwelling place of brahmas, comprising loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. When analyzing the meaning of Sublime States of Mind, there are several meanings: 1) dwelling place of brahmas; 2) dwelling place of holy people; and 3) dwelling place of the Great Ones. After analyzing the elements, it was found that: 1) loving-kindness is love, good wish for happiness; 2) compassion or sympathy and wish to help to end the suffering; 3) sympathetic joy is gladness when meeting happiness and success; and 4) equanimity is the neutral mind, not to be deviated by bias, e.g., satisfaction, dissatisfaction, fear, and misunderstanding.