Saṃvega

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Saṃvega is a Buddhist term which indicates a sense of shock, anxiety and

spiritual urgency to reach liberation and escape the suffering of samsara.
According to Thanissaro Bhikku, saṃvega is the "first emotion you're
supposed to bring to the training"[1] and can be defined as:
The oppressive sense of shock, dismay, and alienation that come
with realizing the futility and meaninglessness of life as it's
normally lived; a chastening sense of our own complacency and
foolishness in having let ourselves live so blindly; and an anxious
sense of urgency in trying to find a way out of the meaningless
cycle.[2]
Saṃvega is also associated with the development of energy (viriya) and right
effort, according to Buddhagosa's Atthasālinī:
Energy has exerting as its characteristic, strengthening the co-
existent states as function, and opposition to giving way as
manifestation. It has been said: "He in whom saṃvega is present
exerts himself properly," hence energy has saṃvega, or the basic
condition of making energy as proximate cause. Right exertion
should be regarded as the root of all attainments. - DhsA. 121
There are eight bases of saṃvega (saṃvega vatthu). They are "birth, old age,
sickness, death, suffering in the woeful worlds, the round of suffering as
rooted in the past, the round of suffering as rooted in the future, and the
round of suffering in the search for food in the present."[3] Saṃvega can
therefore be developed by practicing meditation on death (maranasati) and
the charnel ground meditations as outlined in the Satipatthana sutta. In
the Upajjhatthana Sutta the Buddha taught that everyone (monks and
householders) should practice the five daily recollections as a way to arouse
energy and saṃvega.
For saṃvega to be an effective drive to practice, it must be accompanied by
another emotion called pasada, a "clarity and serene confidence." Pasada is
what keeps saṃvega from turning into nihilistic despair by providing a sense
of confidence that there is a way out, namely nibbana.[4]
References[edit]
1. "Meditations 3: Dhamma Talks", by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight, 1 December
2012,http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/meditations3.html . Retrieved on 30 July 2013.
2. "Affirming the Truths of the Heart: The Buddhist Teachings on Samvega & Pasada", by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to
Insight, 8 March 2011, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/affirming.html . Retrieved on 30 July 2013.
3. Ven Sujiva, Essentials of Insight Meditation Practice
4. "Affirming the Truths of the Heart: The Buddhist Teachings on Samvega & Pasada", by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to
Insight, 8 March 2011, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/affirming.html . Retrieved on 30 July 2013.