Samatha

Samatha (Pāli), (Sanskrit: शमथ, śamatha; also romanized to shamatha, Tib. ཞི་གནས་, shyiné; Wylie: zhi gnas; English: "calm" or "tranquility") refers to that dimension of Buddhist spiritual cultivation (bhavana) concerned with the calming of the mind (citta) and its 'formations' (sankhara). When calm the mind is capable of stillness (samadhi) and is put into a suitable frame for the arising of insight (vipassana) and thus wisdom (pañña). In Buddhism, right view (Śīla) is understood to be a stable foundation upon which to attain tranquility and stillness of mind. With right view as the foundation, mental and emotional quiescence (samatha) and the arising of insight (vipassana) tend to arise without resistance.