Question

Are Samatha and Shamatha Buddhist meditation the same thing?

All I can find is that Samatha is Theravadan and that Shamatha in Mahayanan, but not if they are just spelling variations or entirely different things

Answer 1

idk

Step-by-step explanation:

Answer 2

To start with, I've seen Samantha and Samandhi. And Samadhi Sutta, which interestingly discusses tranquillity and insight ( samatha and vipassana ).
There's another sutta which says that samatha and vipassana are paired qualities - samatha gets rid of passion, vipassana gets rid of delusion ( I'll see if I can find it ). Note that samatha is a quality, not a method.