The monograph is devoted to the study of the Buddhist teaching on meditative states, presented in the scholastic literature of the religious and philosophical faculties (datsans) of the monasteries of Central Asia. It introduces the key terms, basic structure and content of the integral concept of meditative states within the Buddhist doctrine of salvation. The appendix provides a translation from Tibetan of the chapter on meditation (shamatha) from the popular guide to the practice of yoga Mahamudra. The book may be useful for Tibetologists, religious scholars, philosophers, psychologists and anyone interested in Buddhism and problems of transordinary states of consciousness.