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93-523: The Via Dolorosa is not one street, but a route consisting of segments of several streets. One of the main segments is the modern remnant of one of the two main east-west routes ( Decumanus Maximus ) through the Roman city of Aelia Capitolina , as built by Hadrian . Standard Roman city design places the main east-west road through the middle of the city, but the presence of the Temple Mount along much of

186-408: A decumanus was an east–west-oriented road in a Roman city or castrum (military camp). The main decumanus of a particular city was the decumanus maximus , or most often simply "the decumanus ". In the rectangular street grid of the typical Roman city plan , the decumanus was crossed by the perpendicular cardo , a north–south street. In a military camp, the decumanus connected

279-435: A mantra , a combination of core letters or words on deity or themes. Jain followers practice mantra regularly by chanting loudly or silently in mind. The meditation technique of contemplation includes agnya vichāya , in which one contemplates on seven facts – life and non-life, the inflow, bondage, stoppage and removal of karmas , and the final accomplishment of liberation. In apaya vichāya , one contemplates on

372-419: A mantra ) for the purpose of reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness." In modern psychological research, meditation has been defined and characterized in various ways. Many of these emphasize the role of attention and characterize the practice of meditation as attempts to detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking," not judging the meditation-process itself ("logical relaxation"), to achieve

465-722: A continuous line with a split between the Via Strozzi and Via Speziali by the Palazzo Strozzi. In Roman times, these three streets formed the decumanus of Florentina, the name of the Roman colonia . The Via Roma and the Via Calimala are formed from the ancient cardo , and what was once the forum in ancient Florence is now the Piazza della Repubblica. In Naples , there still exist three main decumani which are, from north to south: Cardo Maximus Meditation Meditation

558-474: A deeper, more devout, or more relaxed state. Bond et al. (2009) identified criteria for defining a practice as meditation "for use in a comprehensive systematic review of the therapeutic use of meditation", using "a 5-round Delphi study with a panel of 7 experts in meditation research" who were also trained in diverse but empirically highly studied (Eastern-derived or clinical) forms of meditation : three main criteria ... as essential to any meditation practice:

651-454: A devotee to desire to begin to meditate. Nām japnā involves focusing one's attention on the names or great attributes of God. Taoist meditation has developed techniques including concentration, visualization, qi cultivation, contemplation , and mindfulness meditations in its long history. Traditional Daoist meditative practices influenced Buddhism creating the unique meditative practices of Chinese Buddhism that then spread through

744-888: A form of focused attention, calms down the mind; this calmed mind can then investigate the nature of reality, by monitoring the fleeting and ever-changing constituents of experience, by reflective investigation, or by "turning back the radiance," focusing awareness on awareness itself and discerning the true nature of mind as awareness itself. Matko and Sedlmeier (2019) "call into question the common division into 'focused attention' and 'open-monitoring' practices." They argue for "two orthogonal dimensions along which meditation techniques could be classified," namely "activation" and "amount of body orientation," proposing seven clusters of techniques: "mindful observation, body-centered meditation, visual concentration, contemplation, affect-centered meditation, mantra meditation, and meditation with movement." Jonathan Shear argues that transcendental meditation

837-613: A means to access and understand the Passion. The hours and guides they produced, such as Meditaciones vite Christi ( MVC ), were widely circulated in Europe. Necessarily, such devotional literature expanded on the terse accounts of the Via Dolorosa in the Bible; the period of time between just after Jesus's condemnation by Pilate and just before his crucifixion receives no more than a few verses in

930-662: A natural development from the sense-restraint and moral constrictions prescribed by the Buddhist tradition. The Buddha identified two paramount mental qualities that arise from wholesome meditative practice or bhavana , namely samatha ("calm," "serenity" "tranquility") and vipassana (insight). As the developing tradition started to emphasize the value of liberating insight, and dhyana came to be understood as concentration, samatha and vipassana were understood as two distinct meditative techniques. In this understanding, samatha steadies, composes, unifies and concentrates

1023-474: A number contemporary scholars and scholar-practitioners, it is actually a description of the development of perfected equanimity and mindfulness, apparently induced by satipatthana, an open monitoring of the breath, without trying to regulate it. The same description, in a different formula, can be found in the bojjhanga , the "seven factors of awakening," and may therefore refer to the core program of early Buddhist bhavana . According to Vetter, dhyana seems to be

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1116-459: A practice of only 8 minutes per day. Research shows improvement in meditation time with simple oral and video training. Some meditators practice for much longer, particularly when on a course or retreat . Some meditators find practice best in the hours before dawn . Some religions have traditions of using prayer beads as tools in devotional meditation. Most prayer beads and Christian rosaries consist of pearls or beads linked together by

1209-492: A thread. The Roman Catholic rosary is a string of beads containing five sets with ten small beads. Eastern and Oriental Orthodox have traditions of using prayer ropes called Comboschini or Meqetaria as an aid to prayerful meditation. The Hindu japa mala has 108 beads. The figure 108 in itself having spiritual significance as the energy of the sounds equivalates to Om , as well as those used in Gaudiya Vaishnavism ,

1302-477: A wide range of dissimilar practices in different traditions and cultures. In popular usage, the word "meditation" and the phrase "meditative practice" are often used imprecisely to designate practices found across many cultures. These can include almost anything that is claimed to train the attention of mind or to teach calmness or compassion. There remains no definition of necessary and sufficient criteria for meditation that has achieved widespread acceptance within

1395-524: Is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking," achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditation process itself. Techniques are broadly classified into focused (or concentrative) and open monitoring methods. Focused methods involve attention to specific objects like breath or mantras , while open monitoring includes mindfulness and awareness of mental events. Meditation

1488-553: Is adjacent to the Greek Orthodox Monastery of Saint Charalampus ; it is marked by the letters IC XC / Nika carved into the wall, and an embossed cross. Each Friday, a Catholic procession walks the Via Dolorosa route, starting out at the monastic complex by the first station; the procession is organized by the Franciscans of this monastery, who also lead the procession. Acted re-enactments also regularly take place on

1581-409: Is also sometimes done while walking, known as kinhin , while doing a simple task mindfully, known as samu , or while lying down, known as shavasana . The Transcendental Meditation technique recommends practice of 20 minutes twice per day. Some techniques suggest less time, especially when starting meditation, and Richard Davidson has quoted research saying benefits can be achieved with

1674-426: Is an "automatic self-transcending" technique, different from focused attention and open monitoring. In this kind of practice, "there is no attempt to sustain any particular condition at all. Practices of this kind, once started, are reported to automatically 'transcend' their own activity and disappear, to be started up again later if appropriate." Yet, Shear also states that "automatic self-transcending" also applies to

1767-554: Is believed to be pure consciousness, beyond any attachment or aversion. The practitioner strives to be just a knower-seer ( gyata-drashta ). Jain meditation can be broadly categorized into Dharma dhyana and Shukla dhyana . Dharma dhyana is discriminating knowledge (bheda-vijñāna) of the tattvas (truths or fundamental principles), while shukla dhyana is meditation proper. Jainism uses meditation techniques such as pindāstha-dhyāna, padāstha-dhyāna, rūpāstha-dhyāna, rūpātita-dhyāna, and savīrya-dhyāna . In padāstha dhyāna, one focuses on

1860-732: Is best thought of as a natural category of techniques best captured by ' family resemblances ' ... or by the related 'prototype' model of concepts ." Several other definitions of meditation have been used by influential modern reviews of research on meditation across multiple traditions: In the West, meditation techniques have often been classified in two broad categories, which in actual practice are often combined: focused (or concentrative) meditation and open monitoring (or mindfulness) meditation: Direction of mental attention... A practitioner can focus intensively on one particular object (so-called concentrative meditation ), on all mental events that enter

1953-461: Is distinct from the post-Crucifixion Holy Face image, often related to the Shroud of Turin . The current sixth station of the Via Dolorosa commemorates this moment when a woman is said to have wiped the sweat from Jesus' face with a cloth. The location was identified as the site of the encounter in the 19th century; in 1883, Greek Catholics purchased the 12th-century ruins at the location, and built

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2046-570: Is included in the three Synoptic Gospels . The current traditional site for the station is located at the east end of the western fraction of the Via Dolorosa , adjacent to the Chapel of Simon of Cyrene , a Franciscan construction built in 1895. An inscription, in the architrave of one of the Chapel doors, references the Synoptic events. Prior to the 15th century, this location was instead considered to be

2139-528: Is practiced in numerous religious traditions, though it is also practised independently from any religious or spiritual influences for its health benefits. The earliest records of meditation ( dhyana ) are found in the Upanishads , and meditation plays a salient role in the contemplative repertoire of Jainism , Buddhism and Hinduism . Meditation-like techniques are also known in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, in

2232-647: Is said to come from the fact that the via decumana or decimana (the "tenth") separated the Tenth Cohort from the Ninth in the legionary encampment, in the same way as the via quintana separated the Fifth Cohort from the Sixth. In the ancient Roman city of Barcino (present day Barcelona , Spain), the decumanus maximus started at the late-Roman gate (which still stands) in front of the current Plaça Nova square. Within

2325-547: Is the Straight Street or Via Recta in Damascus , which is 1,500 metres long, connecting the eastern and western gates. In Beirut 's central business district , Rue Weygand , which runs east–west, still follows the ancient Roman decumanus . In Florence, the decumanus is preserved as the streets Via Strozzi, Via Speziali, and Via del Corso in the city's old centre. Although these streets have different names, they form

2418-434: Is through the release of the hindrances and ending of craving through the meditative development of insight that one gains liberation. In Sikhism , simran (meditation) and good deeds are both necessary to achieve the devotee's spiritual goals; without good deeds meditation is futile. When Sikhs meditate, they aim to feel God's presence and emerge in the divine light. It is only God's divine will or order that allows

2511-666: The Praetorium , long thought to be the Roman barracks, indicated that it was no more than a watchtower. These findings together "correspond perfectly" with the route as described in the gospels and match details found in other ancient writings. The route traced by Gibson begins in a parking lot in the Armenian Quarter, then passes the Ottoman walls of the Old City next to the Tower of David near

2604-523: The Via Dolorosa had continued west in a straight line across the two routes, it would have formed a triangular block too narrow to construct standard buildings; the decumanus (now the Via Dolorosa ) west of the Cardo was constructed south of its eastern portion, creating the discontinuity in the road still present today. The first reports of a pilgrimage route corresponding to the Biblical events dates from

2697-794: The Via Dolorosa . In 1980 Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria (3 August 1923–17 March 2012) had forbidden Coptic faithful from traveling to Jerusalem on pilgrimage until the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was resolved. However, despite the ban, dozens of Coptic pilgrims travel to Jerusalem every year, especially during the Easter holidays. Gates 1. Jaffa 2. Zion 3. Dung 4. Golden 5. Lions 6. Herod 7. Damascus 8. New ( Double, Single, Tanners ' ) Al-Mawazin 31°46′45.84″N 35°13′55.46″E  /  31.7794000°N 35.2320722°E  / 31.7794000; 35.2320722 Decumanus Maximus In Roman urban planning ,

2790-614: The Satipatthana Sutta and the Dhyana sutras , and through oral teacher-student transmissions. These ancient practices are supplemented with various distinct interpretations of, and developments in, these practices. The Theravāda tradition stresses the development of samatha and vipassana , postulating over fifty methods for developing mindfulness based on the Satipatthana Sutta , and forty for developing concentration based on

2883-704: The Byzantine era; during that time, a Holy Thursday procession started from the top of the Mount of Olives , stopped in Gethsemane , entered the Old City at the Lions' Gate , and followed approximately the current route to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre; however, there were no actual stops during the route along the Via Dolorosa itself. By the 8th century, however, the route went via

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2976-465: The Crusaders had previously constructed a set of buildings here, but they were later abandoned. Christian tradition holds that Jesus stumbled three times during his walk along the route; this belief is currently manifested in the identification of the three stations at which these falls occurred. Tradition holds that Mary, the mother of Jesus , set up stone markers at her home outside Jerusalem to retrace

3069-736: The Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land , and charging the friars with "the guidance, instruction, and care of Latin pilgrims as well as with the guardianship, maintenance, defense and rituals of the Catholic shrines of the Holy Land". Beginning around 1350, Franciscan friars conducted official tours of the Via Dolorosa, from the Holy Sepulchre to the House of Pilate —opposite the direction travelled by Jesus in

3162-593: The Hare Krishna tradition , and Jainism . Buddhist prayer beads also have 108 beads, but hold a different meaning. In Buddhism, there are 108 human passions that impede enlightenment. Each bead is counted once as a person recites a mantra until the person has gone all the way around the mala. The Muslim misbaha has 99 beads. There is also quite a variance when it comes to materials used for beads. Beads made from seeds of rudraksha trees are considered sacred by devotees of Shiva , while followers of Vishnu revere

3255-626: The Hatha Yoga Pradipika , the development of Bhakti yoga as a major form of meditation, and Tantra . Another important Hindu yoga text is the Yoga Yajnavalkya , which makes use of Hatha Yoga and Vedanta Philosophy. The Bhagavata Purana emphasizes that mantra meditation is a key practice for achieving liberation; practitioners can achieve a direct vision of the divine. The text integrates both Vedic and tantric elements, where mantras are not only seen as sacred sounds but as embodiment of

3348-639: The Little Sisters of Jesus , and is not generally open to the public. The eighth station commemorates an episode described by the Gospel of Luke , alone among the canonical gospels, in which Jesus encounters pious women on his journey, and is able to stop and speak to them. However, prior to the 15th century the final station in Jesus' walk was believed to occur at a point earlier on the Via Dolorosa , before this location would have been reached. The present eighth station

3441-592: The Vipassana movement , with many non-Buddhists taking-up meditative practices. The modernized concept of mindfulness (based on the Buddhist term sati ) and related meditative practices have in turn led to mindfulness based therapies . Dhyana , while often presented as a form of focused attention or concentration, as in Buddhagosa's Theravada classic the Visuddhimagga ("Path of purification", 5th c. CE), according to

3534-652: The Visuddhimagga . The Tibetan tradition incorporated Sarvastivada and Tantric practices, wedded with Madhyamaka philosophy, and developed thousands of visualization meditations. Via the Dhyana sutras, which are based on the Sarvastivada-tradition, the Zen-tradition incorporated mindfulness and breath-meditation. Downplaying the "petty complexities" of satipatthana and the body-recollections (but maintaining

3627-556: The canonical gospels . Throughout the 14th century, a number of events, marked by stations on the Via Dolorosa , emerged in devotional literature and on the physical site in Jerusalem. The first stations to appear in pilgrimage accounts were the Encounter with Simon of Cyrene and the Daughters of Jerusalem. These were followed by a host of other, more or less ephemeral, stations, such as

3720-478: The effects of meditation on health ( psychological , neurological , and cardiovascular ) and other areas. The English meditation is derived from Old French meditacioun , in turn from Latin meditatio from a verb meditari , meaning "to think, contemplate, devise, ponder". In the Catholic tradition, the use of the term meditatio as part of a formal, stepwise process of meditation goes back to at least

3813-483: The "outer limbs," include ethical discipline ( yamas ), rules ( niyamas ), physical postures ( āsanas ), and breath control ( prāṇāyama ). The fifth, withdrawal from the senses ( pratyāhāra ), transitions into the "inner limbs" that are one-pointedness of mind ( dhāraṇā ), meditation ( dhyāna ), and finally samādhi . Later developments in Hindu meditation include the compilation of Hatha Yoga (forceful yoga) compendiums like

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3906-797: The 12th-century monk Guigo II , before which the Greek word theoria was used for the same purpose. Apart from its historical usage, the term meditation was introduced as a translation for Eastern spiritual practices , referred to as dhyāna in Hinduism , Buddhism , and Jainism , which comes from the Sanskrit root dhyai , meaning to contemplate or meditate. The term "meditation" in English may also refer to practices from Islamic Sufism , or other traditions such as Jewish Kabbalah and Christian Hesychasm . Meditation has proven difficult to define as it covers

3999-472: The 15th century, the final station was located before this point would have been reached. Four stations commemorate encounters between Jesus and other people, in the city streets. Christian tradition holds that Mary approached her son during his way of the cross. The fourth station, the location of the Armenian Catholic Church of Our Lady of Sorrows , commemorates these events; a lunette , over

4092-560: The 20th century now indicate that the early route of the Via Dolorosa on the Western hill was actually a more realistic path. The equation of the present Via Dolorosa with the biblical route is based on the assumption that the Praetorium was adjacent to the Antonia Fortress . However, like Philo , the late 1st-century writer Josephus testifies that the Roman governors of Roman Judaea , who governed from Caesarea Maritima on

4185-446: The Bible. The route was not reversed until c.  1517 , when the Franciscans began to follow the events of Jesus's Passion chronologically—setting out from the House of Pilate and ending with the crucifixion at Golgotha. From the onset of Franciscan administration, the development of the Via Dolorosa was intimately linked to devotional practices in Europe. The Friars Minor were ardent proponents of devotional meditation as

4278-521: The Church of the Holy Face and Saint Veronica on them, claiming that Veronica had encountered Jesus outside her own house, and that the house had formerly been positioned at this spot. The church includes some of the remains of the 12th-century buildings which had formerly been on the site, including arches from the Crusader-built Monastery of Saint Cosmas . The present building is administered by

4371-475: The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also passing through both Gethsemane and Mount Zion during its course. Whereas the names of many roads in Jerusalem are translated into English , Hebrew , and Arabic for their signs, the name used in Hebrew is Via Dolorosa , transliterated. The Arabic name is the translation of 'way of pain' ( طريق الآلام Ṭarīq al-ʾĀlām ). The series of 14 stations currently commemorate

4464-740: The Condemnation and Imposition of the Cross and the Church of the Flagellation , and the Convent of the Sisters of Zion, including the Church of Ecce Homo ; a large area of Roman paving, beneath these structures, was traditionally regarded as Gabbatha , or 'the pavement' described in the Bible as the location of Pilate's judgment of Jesus. Archaeological studies have confirmed that an arch at these two traditional stations

4557-582: The Crown of Thorns Pierced by Stars, and the church also contains modern stained-glass windows depicting Christ Scourged at the Pillar , Pilate Washing his Hands, and the Freeing of Barabbas . The Convent, which includes the Church of Ecce Homo , was the first part of the complex to be built, and contains the most extensive archaeological remains. Prior to Ratisbonne's purchase, the site had lain in ruins for many centuries;

4650-609: The House of Veronica, the House of Simon the Pharisee, the House of the Evil Rich Man Who Would Not Give Alms to the Poor, and the House of Herod. In his book, The Stations of the Cross , Herbert Thurston notes: "Whether we look to the sites which, according to the testimony of travelers, were held in honor in Jerusalem itself, or whether we look to the imitation pilgrimages which were carved in stone or set down in books for

4743-622: The House of the Poor Man, and honoured as the fifth station for that reason; the name refers to the Lukan tale of Lazarus and Dives , this Lazarus being a beggar, and dives being the Latin word for '[one who is] Rich'. Adjacent to the alleged House of the Poor Man is an arch over the road; the house on the arch was thought to be the corresponding House of the Rich Man. The houses in question, however, only date to

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4836-635: The Jaffa Gate before turning towards the Church of the Holy Sepulcher . The new research also indicates that the crucifixion site is around 20 metres (66 ft) from the traditionally accepted site. The traditional route starts about 200 metres (660 ft) inside (west of) the Lions' Gate (St. Stephen's Gate) in the Muslim Quarter , at the Umariya Elementary School , near the location of

4929-402: The Middle Ages, and the narrative of Lazarus and Dives is now widely held to be a parable . A medieval Catholic legend viewed a specific piece of cloth, known as the Veil of Veronica , as having been supernaturally imprinted with Jesus' image, by physical contact with Jesus' face. By metathesis of the Latin words vera icon (meaning 'true image') into Veronica , it came to be said that

5022-436: The Porta Praetoria (closest to the enemy) to the Porta Decumana (away from the enemy). In the center – called groma – of a city or castrum , the decumanus maximus crossed the perpendicular cardo maximus , the primary north–south road. The forum was normally located close to this intersection of the decumanus maximus and the cardo maximus . Decumanus or decimanus was the Latin word for 'tenth'. This name

5115-405: The Veil of Veronica had gained its image when a Saint Veronica encountered Jesus, and wiped the sweat from his face with the cloth; no element of this legend is present in the Bible, although the similar Image of Edessa is mentioned in The Epistles of Jesus Christ and Abgarus King of Edessa , a late piece of New Testament apocrypha . The Veil of Veronica relates to a pre-Crucifixion image, and

5208-419: The aid of a large financial grant from the Polish army . The site was previously one of the city's Turkish baths . The second fall is represented by the current seventh station, located at a major crossroad junction, adjacent to a Franciscan chapel, built in 1875. In Hadrian's era, this was the junction of the main cardo (north-south road), with the decumanus (east-west road) which became the Via Dolorosa ;

5301-404: The area adjacent to the Antonia Fortress was a large open-air pool of water. In 2009, Israeli archaeologist Shimon Gibson found the remains of a large paved courtyard south of the Jaffa Gate between two fortification walls, with an outer gate and an inner one leading to a barracks. The courtyard contained a raised platform of around 2 square metres (22 sq ft). A survey of the ruins of

5394-423: The awareness of immanent death), the early Chan-tradition developed the notions or practices of wu nian ("no thought, no fixation on thought, such as one's own views, experiences, and knowledge") and fēi sīliàng (非思量, Japanese: hishiryō , "nonthinking"); and kanxin ("observing the mind") and shou-i pu i (守一不移, "maintaining the one without wavering," turning the attention from the objects of experience, to

5487-451: The benefit of others". Studies suggest the potential of psychedelics , such as psilocybin and DMT , to enhance meditative training. The history of meditation is intimately bound up with the religious context within which it was practiced. Rossano suggested that the emergence of the capacity for focused attention, an element of many methods of meditation, may have contributed to the latest phases of human biological evolution. Some of

5580-472: The city of Split , in present-day Croatia , is the UNESCO Roman monument, Diocletian's Palace . This city, built by the Emperor Diocletian , exhibits the characteristic Roman orthogonal street system with the decumanus maximus connecting the west Iron Gate to the east Silver Gate. In Roman Gadara , present-day Umm Qais , in Jordan , the decumanus runs east–west for approximately one kilometre with its ancient flagstones extant. Another fine example

5673-442: The coast, stayed in Herod's Palace while they were in Jerusalem, carried out their judgements on the pavement immediately outside it, and had those found guilty flogged there; Josephus indicates that Herod's Palace is on the western hill, in 2001, it was rediscovered under a corner of the Jaffa Gate citadel . Furthermore, archeological reconstruction has shown that prior to Hadrian 's 2nd-century alterations (see Aelia Capitolina ),

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5766-523: The codified rules and live together in monasteries in specific cultural settings that go along with their meditative practices. Dictionaries give both the original Latin meaning of "think[ing] deeply about (something)", as well as the popular usages of "focusing one's mind for a period of time", "the act of giving your attention to only one thing, either as a religious activity or as a way of becoming calm and relaxed", and "to engage in mental exercise (such as concentrating on one's breathing or repetition of

5859-405: The context of remembrance of and prayer and devotion to God. Asian meditative techniques have spread to other cultures where they have found application in non-spiritual contexts, such as business and health. Meditation may significantly reduce stress, fear, anxiety, depression, and pain, and enhance peace, perception , self-concept , and well-being . Research is ongoing to better understand

5952-477: The core practices of body contemplations ( repulsiveness and cemetery contemplations ) and anapanasati ( mindfulness of in-and-out breathing) culminating in jhāna / dhyāna or samādhi . While most classical and contemporary Buddhist meditation guides are school-specific, the root meditative practices of various body recollections and breath meditation have been preserved and transmitted in almost all Buddhist traditions , through Buddhist texts like

6045-418: The deity. This approach reflects a shift from the impersonal meditation on the sound-form of Brahman ( Om ) in the Upanishads to a personal, devotional focus on Krishna in the Bhagavata Purana. Jainism has three elements called the Ratnatraya ("Three Jewels"): right perception and faith, right knowledge and right conduct. Meditation in Jainism aims to reach and to remain in the pure state of soul which

6138-448: The development of insight and wisdom ( Prajñā ) which is the quality of mind that can "clearly see" ( vi-passana ) the nature of phenomena. What exactly is to be seen varies within the Buddhist traditions. In Theravada, all phenomena are to be seen as impermanent , suffering , not-self and empty . When this happens, one develops dispassion ( viraga ) for all phenomena, including all negative qualities and hindrances and lets them go. It

6231-437: The devotion of the faithful at home, we must recognize that there was a complete want of any sort of uniformity in the enumeration of the Stations." This negotiation of stations, between the European imagination and the physical site would continue for the next six centuries. Only in the 19th century was there general accord on the position of the first, fourth, fifth, and eighth stations. Ironically, archaeological discoveries in

6324-428: The earliest references to meditation, as well as proto- Samkhya , are found in the Upanishads of India. According to Wynne, the earliest clear references to meditation are in the middle Upanishads and the Mahabharata (including the Bhagavad Gita ). According to Gavin Flood , the earlier Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is describing meditation when it states that "Having become calm and concentrated, one perceives

6417-403: The eastern side of the city required Hadrian's planners to add an extra east-west road at its north. In addition to the usual central north-south road ( Cardo Maximus ), which in Jerusalem headed straight up the western hill, a second major north-south road was added down the line of the Tyropoeon Valley ; these two cardines converge near the Damascus Gate , close to the Via Dolorosa . If

6510-443: The entrance to the chapel, references these events by means of a bas-relief carved by the Polish artist Zieliensky . The oratory, named Our Lady of the Spasm, was built in 1881, but its crypt preserves some archaeological remains from former Byzantine buildings on the site, including a mosaic floor. The fifth station refers to the biblical episode in which Simon of Cyrene takes Jesus' cross, and carries it for him. This narrative

6603-711: The field of awareness (so-called mindfulness meditation ), or both specific focal points and the field of awareness. Focused methods include paying attention to the breath , to an idea or feeling (such as mettā – loving-kindness), to a kōan , or to a mantra (such as in transcendental meditation ), and single point meditation. Open monitoring methods include mindfulness , shikantaza and other awareness states. Another typology divides meditation approaches into concentrative, generative, receptive and reflective practices: The Buddhist tradition often divides meditative practice into samatha , or calm abiding, and vipassana , insight. Mindfulness of breathing ,

6696-559: The former Antonia Fortress . Continuing from Lions' Gate Street , the route makes its way westward through the Old City to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Christian Quarter . The current enumeration is partly based on a circular devotional walk, organised by the Franciscans in the 14th century; their devotional route, heading east along the Via Dolorosa (the opposite direction to the usual westward pilgrimage), began and ended at

6789-452: The fourteen following episodes: The first and second stations commemorate the events of Jesus' encounter with Pontius Pilate , the former in memorial of the biblical account of the trial and Jesus' subsequent scourging, and the latter in memorial of the Ecce homo speech, attributed by the Gospel of John to Pilate. Some biblical scholars propose that Pilate likely carried out his judgements at

6882-433: The hall monitor or given little taps if they requested to be hit. Nobody asked about the 'meaning' of the stick, nobody explained, and nobody ever complained about its use. Neuroscientist and long-time meditator Richard Davidson has expressed the view that having a narrative can help the maintenance of daily practice. For instance, he himself prostrates to the teachings, and meditates "not primarily for my benefit, but for

6975-459: The incorrect insights one indulges, which eventually develops right insight. In vipaka vichāya , one reflects on the eight causes or basic types of karma . In sansathan vichāya , one thinks about the vastness of the universe and the loneliness of the soul. Buddhists pursue meditation as part of the path toward awakening and nirvana . The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are bhāvanā ("development"), and

7068-523: The mind, while vipassana enables one to see, explore and discern "formations" (conditioned phenomena based on the five aggregates ). According to this understanding, which is central to Theravada orthodoxy but also plays a role in Tibetan Buddhism , through the meditative development of serenity, one is able to weaken the obscuring hindrances and bring the mind to a collected, pliant, and still state ( samadhi ). This quality of mind then supports

7161-631: The modern scientific community . Some of the difficulty in precisely defining meditation has been in recognizing the particularities of the many various traditions ; and theories and practice can differ within a tradition. Taylor noted that even within a faith such as "Hindu" or "Buddhist", schools and individual teachers may teach distinct types of meditation. Ornstein noted that "Most techniques of meditation do not exist as solitary practices but are only artificially separable from an entire system of practice and belief." For instance, while monks meditate as part of their everyday lives, they also engage in

7254-502: The nature of mind, the perceiving subject itself, which is equated with Buddha-nature . The Silk Road transmission of Buddhism introduced Buddhist meditation to other Asian countries, reaching China in the 2nd century CE, and Japan in the 6th century CE. In the modern era, Buddhist meditation techniques have become popular in the wider world, due to the influence of Buddhist modernism on Asian Buddhism, and western lay interest in Zen and

7347-505: The northern arch. The three northern churches were gradually built after the site was partially acquired in 1857 by Marie-Alphonse Ratisbonne , a Jesuit who intended to use it as a base for proselytizing the Jews. The most recent church of the three—the Church of the Flagellation—was built during the 1920s; above the high altar, under the central dome, is a mosaic on a golden ground showing

7440-399: The now destroyed Antonia Palace , at the southwest side of the city, in what is now the Umariya Elementary School . Although others suggest that it had taken place at Herod's Palace, located near the present Tower of David to the west of the Holy Sepulchre. Adjacent to it, there are two Catholic compounds taking their names from these events: a Franciscan monastery including the Church of

7533-605: The omnipresent and non-dual Ātman - Brahman . In the dualistic Yoga school and Samkhya , the Self is called Purusha , a pure consciousness undisturbed by Prakriti , 'nature'. Depending on the tradition, the liberative event is named moksha , vimukti or kaivalya . One of the most influential texts of classical Hindu Yoga is Patañjali 's Yoga sutras (c. 400 CE), a text associated with Yoga and Samkhya and influenced by Buddhism, which outlines eight limbs leading to kaivalya ("aloneness") or inner awareness. The first four, known as

7626-652: The remains of a tetrapylon , which marked this Roman junction, can be seen in the lower level of the Franciscan chapel. Prior to the 16th century, this location was the 8th and last station. The third fall is represented by the current ninth station, which is not actually located on the Via Dolorosa , instead being located at the entrance to the Ethiopian Orthodox Monastery and the Coptic Orthodox Monastery of Saint Anthony , which together form

7719-485: The roof structure of the subterranean Chapel of Saint Helena in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre; the Coptic and Ethiopian Orthodox churches split in 1959, and prior to that time the monastic buildings were considered a single monastery. However, in the early 16th century, the third fall was located at the entrance courtyard to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and an engraved stone cross signifying this remains in situ . Prior to

7812-519: The route which took pilgrims past the churches the faction in question controlled, one arguing that the Roman governor's mansion ( Praetorium ) was on Mount Zion (where they had churches), the other that it was near the Antonia Fortress (where they had churches). What the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem called Jehoshaphat Street ( Via Josaphat ) was where present-day Via Dolorosa partly is. (Today's Via Dolorosa extends westward from

7905-541: The route, ranging from amateur productions with, for example, soldiers wearing plastic helmets and vivid red polyester wraps, to more professional drama with historically accurate clothing and props. The seat of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem is located on the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. At the entrance of the Patriarchate is a column with a cross on it, marking the 9th Station of

7998-473: The self ( Ātman ) within oneself" (BU 4.4.23). There are many schools and styles of meditation within Hinduism . In pre-modern and traditional Hinduism , Yoga and Dhyana are practised to recognize 'pure awareness', or 'pure consciousness', undisturbed by the workings of the mind, as one's eternal self. In Advaita Vedanta jivatman , individual self, is recognized as illusory, and in Reality identical with

8091-479: The steps of her son's Passion , but the origin of the devotion in its present form is not clear. The first fall is represented by the current third station, located at the west end of the eastern fraction of the Via Dolorosa , adjacent to the 19th-century Polish Catholic Chapel; this chapel was constructed by the Armenian Catholics . The 1947–48 renovations, to the 19th-century chapel, were carried out with

8184-405: The use of a defined technique, logic relaxation, and a self-induced state/mode. Other criteria deemed important [but not essential] involve a state of psychophysical relaxation, the use of a self-focus skill or anchor, the presence of a state of suspension of logical thought processes, a religious/spiritual/philosophical context, or a state of mental silence. ... It is plausible that meditation

8277-523: The way other techniques such as from Zen and Qigong are practiced by experienced meditators "once they had become effortless and automatic through years of practice." Asanas or body postures such as padmasana (full-lotus , half-lotus ), cross-legged sitting, seiza , and kneeling positions are popular meditative postures in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism , although other postures such as sitting, supine (lying), and standing are also used. Meditation

8370-580: The western hill instead; starting at Gethsemane, it continued to the alleged House of Caiaphas on Mount Zion , then to Hagia Sophia (viewed as the site of the Praetorium ), and finally to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. During the Middle Ages , the Catholics of Jerusalem split into two factions, one controlling the churches on the western hill, the other the churches on the eastern hill; they each supported

8463-652: The western portion of that street.) Near the ruined Antonia Fortress and north of the Templum Domini precinct, Jehoshaphat Street led eastward to the Jehoshaphat Gate (near or at Lions' Gate on Lions' Gate Street ), with the Valley of Jehoshaphat (near or in the Kidron Valley ) beyond the gate. In the 14th century, Pope Clement VI achieved some consistency in route with the bull Nuper Carissimae , establishing

8556-644: The wood that comes from the Tulsi plant, also known as Holy Basil. The Buddhist literature has many stories of Enlightenment being attained through disciples being struck by their masters. T. Griffith Foulk recounts how the encouragement stick was an integral part of the Zen practice when he trained: In the Rinzai monastery where I trained in the mid-1970s, according to an unspoken etiquette, monks who were sitting earnestly and well were shown respect by being hit vigorously and often; those known as laggards were ignored by

8649-469: Was built by Hadrian as the triple-arched gateway of the eastern of two forums . Prior to Hadrian's construction, the area had been a large open-air pool of water, the Struthion Pool mentioned by Josephus . When later building works narrowed the Via Dolorosa , the two arches on either side of the central arch became incorporated into a succession of buildings; the Church of Ecce Homo now preserves

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