If you do not like the word spiritual simply substitute mental, or even psychological. If the word cultivation bothers you; then use training, education, or development instead. The original words are transliterated as citta bhavana. Citta is the past participle of cit; which means to think. The suffix -ta performs roughly the same function as -ed in English. So citta, in general, means thought; as in the stream of human thought. This can include all of our conscious and unconscious mental states; our ideas, emotions, moods, desires, motives, and so on. I would say even physical sensations could be included.
Bhavana is the word bhava plus the suffix -na. If I understand correctly, bhava is derived from the verb bhu; which roughly means to become, plus va; meaning wind, blow, direct, or move. In Buddhism bhava can mean the formation of new patterns of thoughts and other behaviors. The suffix -na is evidently a cognate of -ing. In Sanskrit and related languages, it is often used to form gerunds, or a verb used as a noun, to indicate as state of being.. When used this way, -na often becomes -ion (tion, sion, cion) or -ment in English. Bhavana implies a directed process of change toward a desirable goal.
The entire Eightfold Path of Buddhism consists of means toward Spiritual Cultivation. The first two steps consist of adopting the correct view of life, and then developing a meaningful plan of action to achieve suitable goals based on a correct view. The initial correct view is that bad causes lead to misery, while good causes lead to happy endings in life. The correct plan of action is, then, to try to make sure we are making good causes. It is not easy, and the details can seem complex at times, but is really is that simple. The ultimate correct view is expressed by the Four Noble Truths. The ultimate goal is freedom from suffering; which requires spiritual insight. .
The next three steps of the past consist changing our speech and actions; which are two of the three ways we make the causes that determine the various outcomes in our lives. In Buddhism, bad speech and actions are grouped in various categories from major to minor; somewhat similar to the Roman Catholic concept of venial and deadly sins. Naturally, we should try to practice polite speech and avoid saying things that harm others or incite bad behavior. We should also refrain from bodily misconduct. Part of the latter consists of trying to earn and honest living.
The Catholic Church lists seven especially deadly sins. My own version would be rage, materialistic greed, laziness, arrogance, lust, envy, and rapacity. Wrath, avarice or cupidity, sloth, conceit, libido, jealousy, and gluttony would work just as well. Note that these are not words or actions; rather they are mental states; such as emotions, motives, desires, thoughts, and feelings; the qualities that tend to motivate harmful speech and actions. Buddhism has a rather similar concept called mental / spiritual / psychological afflictions called kleshas. These are usually reduced to three general kinds; those of anger, the greedy, and those of mental confusion. If we can somehow get rid of, transform, or otherwise fix these; then we go a long way toward reforming human behavior.
Thus, we come to the the last three steps of the Eightfold Path. Collectively, these three are sometimes called the Training or Aggregate of Concentration. The word concentration here is a translation of the Indic word samadhi. That consists of the prefix sam-, meaning with, together with, or same; the connector a meaning to or toward, and the verb dhi; meaning to hold. maintain, or stabilize.
Before one even gets to each of the lasst three steps, there is usually something called preliminary concentration or parikarma samadhi. The suffix pari- is a cognate of peri-. meaning about or around,.as in peripheral or perimeter. Karma means work. This is some work we might need to do in order to get ready the figurative heavier lifting of advanced concentration. At this stage, we are sort of 'circling around' concentration, looking for a place to land. In Buddhism, this usually consists of purification rites, devotional practices, and prayers for favors or blessings. Some get stuck here. That can leads to undesirable results, such as conflicts between devotees of rival sects. Moreover, praying for favors can foster greed and lust.
If and when one advances, the same rituals become less about devotion, and more about cultivation of one's mind and heart. At this point, we have already reached the sixth step of Right Exercise or samma vayama. . The exercise here is a mental one. It consists of overcoming mental afflictions and replacing them with wholesome mental states that serve as antidotes. This is also called the fourfold struggle or cattarro padhana 四正勤.. The struggle is to (1). block and (2) let go of a specific affliction; while (3) arousing and (4) maintaining its equal and opposite wholesome state. When devotional practices are used; the object(s) of devotion comes to embody the wholesome state one wishes to cultivate. We might come seeking compassion for oneself, and leave with more tolerance for others. Here are the antidotes for the Seven Deadly Sins
- Rage, fury, wrath: This is one of the hatred/anger afflictions. It can be overcome passively by cultivating tolerance; or affirmatively by cultivating kindness and compassion.
- Materialistic greed, avarice, cupidity: This is overcome passively by cultivating renunciation, or affirmatively, by cultivating generosity.
- Laziness, sloth, boredom. One note here. While the other 6 have a negative moral valence; laziness is neutral. It is overcome by cultivating enthusiasm, devotional faith, or diligent effort; which are also morally neutral.
- Arrogance, conceit, pride: This is countered by cultivating gratitude, humility, and penitence.. .
- Lust: While there is some danger; the best antidote is a sublimation into wholesome affection or kindness. If that is not possible, renunciation should be cultivated.
- Envy, jealousy: The cure for this is shared joy, rooted in empathy. The Buddhist word for the opposite of envy is mudita; which means to feel happy for the good fortune of others.
Yes, there are two more steps beyond this. From what I gather, through Right Exercise we can develop the qualities needed to attain heaven, but not to attain complete Enlightenment. Still, I think that it is a good idea to develop a strong moral compass before moving on. Briefly, the seventh step, Right Mindfulness or samyak smriti, develops our powers of observation (passana) or moment-to-moment concentration (khanika samadhi). This is a useful skill in daily life and also leads to the ultimate goal of spiritual insight (vipassana). The eighth step is called contemplation / absorption (dhyana) which leads to fixed concentration (appana samadhi) and mental tranquility (samatha). This helps develop latent intelligence (prajna), but can also lead to absent mindedness or "spaciness." Unless one has a suitable retreat where one can safely 'enter' prolonged trance like absorption states, dhyana should be balanced with mindfulness. One other thing, in between preliminary and either moment-to-moment or fixed concentration, there is an unsettling intermediate state called neighborhood concentration (upachara samadhi). .
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