A General, All Purpose Jhana Thread - Ian And

7/28/2019 A General, All Purpose Jhana Thread - Ian And

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A General, All Purpose Jhana T hread

By Ian And

This thread is being offered for reader's consideration regarding the practice of meditative

absorption. With so much confusing and contradictory information buzzing around the web onthe subject of jhana, and in an effort to set the record straight according to someone's actualexperience of the practice, I am hopeful that this thread will assist others who are intrepidenough to "give it a go," and who, despite all the negative press out and about on "official" and"unofficial" Buddhist web forums, are willing to endeavor to understand and practice this oftenmisunderstood aspect of Buddhist meditation training and accomplishment.

Let me start by dispelling the predominate myth about absorption that is being spread by websites like The Buddhist Community E-Sangha (now defunct). Often you will hear or read

that mastery of absorption is rare and almost unknown in the present contemporary world;that "it is no longer possible for people of this age to achieve the mastery of meditativeabsorption." Nothing could be further from the truth! Despite what you may have read (orheard repeated elsewhere) on such websites, meditative absorption (otherwise known as

jhana) is not all that difficult to achieve, given the right conditions and t raining opportunities. It just takes some practice and the correct instruct ion and encouragement.

And once a person begins to get an accurate idea of what jhana is, how it feels, and what tolook for, it is almost impossible to stop them from achieving it. Correct knowledge is self

empowering. Of course, it is often best learnt and pract iced with someone face to face; that is, with a teacher or guide from whom one can receive personal guidance and inst ruction as wellas to be able to discuss their progress. There is no substitute for hands on, in-personinstruction when it comes to the slippery subject of endeavoring to communicate informationabout subtle mental states. Yet, even if one does not have a personal guide or teacher, it isstill possible to learn about and practice absorption, as long as one has access to properinstruction and feedback. So, barring a lack of either of these two stipulations, there is noexcuse for a person not to take up the study of meditative absorption and to eventuallysucceed at its practice, all the negat ive press about it notwithstanding.

There is a reason why jhana is talked about so much by the Buddha in the Pali sutt as, and thatis because it is a meditative state which assists the mind in deepening one's abilities ofconcentration and heightened present-moment awareness, otherwise known as sati ormindfulness. In many suttas, the Buddha can be found extolling the virtues of the jhanas andhow he has used them to develop clarity to mind and insight, as in the practice of satipatthana.This is because just as a pond whose bottom has been stirred by a stick will cloud up withmuddy debris, when that pond is allowed to become still, the debris will once again settle onthe bottom of the pond. And the pond's bottom will become clear, transparent, and easilydiscernable. So too with the mind when it is allowed to become still, sett led, and calmed.

This is perhaps why you always see the term calm (samatha) placed before the term insight(vipassana) in articles and essays. It is usually necessary first to calm the mind down beforeinsight can reasonably be expected to arise. Insight into whatever subject is being examined is



made possible with the achievement of a calm mind. And oftentimes, insight will just pop out atthe observer unbidden, seemingly from nowhere. It is for this and many other reasons why inthe discourses one finds time and time again the Buddha discussing entry into meditativeabsorption in order to accomplish this or that achievement in realization of the Dhamma.

For the sake of expediency and the avoidance of "attention deficit disorder" in readers, I will

endeavor to make these posts relatively short (although not too short) so that people have anopportunity to drink in and absorb (contemplate) what is being explained. Interspersedbetween the tips and instruction, on occasion, will be mention of some of the controversialaspects that have been discussed in other web fora. This is in order to bring thesecontroversial points out in the open and to address them straighforwardly. The individualreader and practitioner, however, is still responsible for discerning the truth and sanctioning

whichever version of these explanations they ult imately accept and follow.

How I Came to Practice Jhana

I didn't begin to look into absorption practice as it is explained in Buddhist literature until I wastwenty years into my meditat ive practice. At the t ime, being ignorant of it , I couldn't have toldyou what the difference was between samadhi and jhana. All I knew was that from thedescriptions I had read about them, they both sounded very similar. What I eventually learnedthrough the experience of a mature practice is that there is a subtle difference whichcharacterizes each of these two seemingly mysterious and foreign words.

Though I came to the practice of meditat ive absorption not t otally certain about what it was or whether I could ever achieve it , I did have a kind of explorer's curiosity and a "throw caut ion tothe wind" attitude which helped to overcome any negative thoughts or doubts I might havesomehow secretly harbored in the back of my mind. With nothing to lose but time, divingheadlong into the practice seemed the only reasonable and practical thing to do if I wanted tolearn anything about the practice of absorption. This is simply to say that if I can do it, thenanyone can do it . I'm not all that much smarter than anyone else. The only skill anyone needs isto be able to recognize, differentiate, and identify subtle mental movement. To know it whenyou see it , and not to deny it or downplay it. It is that mental movement, sometimes subtle and

sometimes gross, that needs to be seen and brought to our awareness.

When it came time to actually attempting the practice of the jhanas, rather than rely on thesomewhat academically dry yet wonderfully detailed description provided by the celebratedBuddhist monk Henepola Gunaratana in his essay "The Jhanas" (which was an abridgedversion from his book The Path of Serenity and Insight: An Explanation of the Buddhist Jhanas),I went with a much briefer Internet version I had found which entailed a description written byLeigh Brasington ("The Jhanas in Theravada Buddhist Meditation"), a noted lay practitionerand jhana teacher, whose description was more accessible to me and seemed to make more

intuitive sense.

At this point it may be helpful to gain a better idea about the difference between what

http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/awakening101/janas.html

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/gunaratana/wheel351.html



ordinary samadhi is as opposed to what jhana samadhi is as it is discussed within the contextof Buddhist meditation. As I've come to experience and understand it,samadhi refers to — andhas traditionally been defined as — "concentration." What this refers to in layman's terms isthe mind's ability to concentrate on, for example, an object like the breath without becomingdistracted (as by interposing thought). Being able to focus on that object in order to examine itfor several minutes in succession without distraction or unnoticed distraction. Whenunderstood correctly within this context , then, samadhi takes on a more prosaic and mundanedefinition and connotation, thus separating it from other contexts in which it may have been

viewed as a more glorified state of mind. Gotama the Buddha was nothing if not down-to-earthand practical when it came to describing the purpose of meditation and how he employed it inthe process of realization of the Dhamma he taught.

Even during the t ime of t he Buddha there were other ascetics and renouncer/wanderer types,so-called "holy men," who taught a meditative technique known as dhyana or jhana. Thismeditative discipline was taught to the Buddha-to-be, we are told, by two meditation teachers

who had a significant affect on the training of Gotama. Alara Kalama taught Gotama how topractice the first seven levels of jhana (the four material jhanas and the first three immaterial

jhanas) while Uddaka Ramaputt a taught him about the eighth immaterial jhana. Both thesemeditation teachers, one at a time, attempted to recruit Gotama to help them teach othersabout the practice of the systems of meditation that they both taught. However, Gotamadeclined them both, saying that he had not yet found what he was seeking, and that he wouldcarry on alone in search of his goal of the ultimate ending suffering.

In ordinary terms jhana can be described very simply as "absorbed concentration" or"absorption samadhi " (what many modern day meditation masters call appana samadhi or"fixed concentration"). Just how this kind of absorption samadhi differs from the normaleveryday brand of samadhi becomes evident when one compares the level or depth ofconcentration that is ultimately achieved while one enters and remains in this state of "fixedconcentration."

In normal samadhi , the mind becomes able to remain focused on an object without becomingabsorbed in that object. In other words, there is a modicum of effort being made in order toremain in this state. Absorption occurs when the mind finds a particularly pleasant sensationon which to become focused and absorbed, thus allowing the mind to become automatically

(and effortlessly) fixed on the object of observation. The difference lies, on the one hand, in theamount of effort needed (or not needed) to maintain the samadhi , and, on the other hand, inthe perception of t he mind's becoming pleasantly (at least during the first three jhanas) lockedon the object of observation while having entered the state of absorption. Once the mindreaches the fourth jhana, what remains left of the mental constituents are the two factors of"inner tranquility" and "clear awareness" which was developed during the previous three levels,along with a st rong enduring sense of "mindfulness and equanimity."

Because jhana is characterized by its effortlessness, attaining this state makes it the perfect

foundation for taking up contemplation of any object or subject that the observer wishes toexamine. The mind is still and at ease. It is also able to remain fixed and focused on its object

without any trouble, and through a practice of bare attent ion (meaning not conditioned bypersonal prejudice or biased views), it is able to discern the true nature of the phenomenonunder observation. This is why the Buddha was so insistent in exhorting the development of



absorption among the members of his sangha. It provided a major tool for those to use who

wished to put an end to ignorance and thus attain awakening in this very lifet ime.

A Pract ical Look at Jhana Practice — Part One

As Leigh Brasington points out in his piece on "The Jhanas" in the post above, there is verylit t le actual instruction on how to "do" jhana practice in the sut ta discourses. Be that as it may,people have nevertheless been learning how to practice them for thousands of years. So, theymust not be that difficult to learn how to do. Yet, because these are subtle mind states noteasily described nor easily understood by those unfamiliar with observation of these subtlemental phenomena, they can be a bit slippery for a beginner to tackle.

In a practical sense, when just starting out, it is probably best not to think too much about the

instruction itself or how to identify which level you are in, but rather to concentrate on inducingthe pleasant sensations necessary to carry one into absorption. You can read through theinstructions that Brasington gives in order to get an idea of how the mind processes theseinstructions, but your focus should be on the object of meditation (such as the breath) andendeavoring to experience the simple pleasantness (pleasant sensation) of the breath.

As far as verifying where you have been in relationship to the instructions, this can bedone after meditation as you sit and review (contemplate) what just occurred. As yourmindfulness becomes stronger over the weeks and months to follow, you will be able to do this

review in real t ime as you are meditat ing. But in the beginning, it is probably best t o keep thingssimple and to just focus on accomplishing those few tasks which will allow the mind to relaxenough to drop down into absorption.

Many meditators have experienced feeling a sort of pressure in the center of the foreheadbetween the eye brows. This sensation is evidence of the establishment of concentration. Ifyou should be one of those who experiences this phenomenon, once it occurs, you shouldbegin focusing on the pleasantness of the breath in order to relax and calm the mind even

more. As Brasington points out, "by shifting your attention from the meditation subject to apleasant sensation, particularly a pleasant physical sensation, and doing nothing morethan not becoming distracted from the pleasant sensation, you will 'automatically' enter thefirst jhana."

At this point in the process, it is probably best not to overwhelm the mind with details aboutabsorption. The simpler and less complicated the instruction, the easier it will be for thebeginner to enter absorption. In this early stage of the practice, it is probably best just to obtainas much experience as one can with being able to enter jhana so as to grow confidence in

one's ability to achieve this state. Once you know how to get there and are confident of yourability to identify absorption, you'll be able to accomplish it over and over again in subsequentsessions without much effort .



The brief three step formula at the end of Brasington's description of the first jhana whichoutlines how to achieve this level of jhana is probably the best descript ion to pay at tention to. Iknow it helped me to get a better idea of what jhana is and to gain confidence in being able toenter absorption. What we're going for here in this opening instruction is just to gainexperience in entering absorption so that you can begin to see and feel what it is, so that youcan identify it when it occurs. And whatever helps to get you there in the beginning, be it a litt lerough and ragged on the edges, can be refined later as you begin to tighten and sharpen up

your practice.

The hint in the second step about the "positive reinforcement feedback loop" captured myimagination, and my mind picked it up and ran with it. This suggestion alone can throw youheadlong into a prolonged absorption. But you have to make certain that it is stable andrelatively effortless. You don't want to end up in an "unmistakeable altered state ofconsciousness" as is mentioned in the third step (meaning that I do not agree with everythingthat Brasington states in his piece). Clarity of awareness, imperturbability persisting beyondthe sit t ing practice, and comprehension of the meditation subject is what you want to achieve.

Altered states of consciousness equate to dullness and sluggishness of mind, not mentalclarity or brightness. You do not want to end up in a trance state. Jhana the way the Buddhapracticed and taught it has nothing to do with trance states.

One thing you will need to become wary of is becoming too concentrated on the pleasureelement of inducing absorption. An over saturation of the pleasure factor can also cause asluggishness of mental faculties, creating a dullness of mind. This is the opposite of what you

want to ultimately achieve. It is also at this point where the applicat ion and establishmentof sati (mindfulness) is cultivated to counteract any mental dullness. Actually, sati needs to becult ivated and sustained beforeattempting to practice absorption, at the very inception of the

sitting.

A Pract ical Look at Jhana Practice — Part Two

My practice didn't really begin to take off until I was able to finally bring the mind to stillness

and quietude. The importance of at taining to mental st illness was only tangentially mentioned when I first began a meditat ion practice. Most of the emphasis was on performing themeditation technique itself, which involved a mantra and therefore was not focused onobtaining mental quietude. Since the aspect of mental stillness was never really emphasizedthroughout the greater portion of the first twenty years of my practice, I never developed it,and therefore arrived late to the game. Once I realized how important this was (I was around48) I immediately set out to correct this aspect of my practice.

What does this have to do with being able to attain to meditat ive absorpt ion? Everything. The

ability to reach one-pointedness of mind (cittassa-ekaggata) and to focus on a single object isdependent on mental stillness. Concentration is strengthened and increased only when themind's movement is subdued and tranquility is present enabling sustained focus. The fourthlevel of jhana itself is dependent upon there being an all pervading deep peacefulness andquietude of t he mind. It blocks out distracting thought, thus deepening concentrat ion upon the



object of meditat ion. So, mental serenity is crucial to the at tainment of absorption.

There's a difference between a calm mind and a still mind. A calm mind may have a fewthoughts still floating around yet be relatively calm, while a still mind is completely withoutthought! Although the word "calm" is often used to indicate tranquility or serenity whenassociated with samatha meditation, I am here using it specifically to demonstrate a nuanced

difference between a relatively calm mind and a still mind. When you learn that you can stillyour mind at will , that can be quite a revelation indeed! It means that you can banish all verbaland non-verbal thought from the mind at a moment's notice, which if you've never done itbefore is quite a feat.

Being able to st ill the mind at will is very important as contemplation of the dhammas (meaning"phenomena" as well as those aspects of t he Dhamma in the Satipatthana Suttas such as theFive Hindrances, the Five Aggregates, the Six Sense Spheres, the Four Noble Truths etc.) ismore difficult to achieve without this ability. If the mind remains distracted by the "monkey

mind" replaying its catalog of thought over and over, you'll spend all your contemplation timeattempting to see though the fog being presented by the monkey mind in order to get t hroughto the subjects of the Dhamma.

There are some methods one can use in order to bring the monkey mind into check. One ofthese is a method that I used before I was exposed to Buddhist meditation techniques. Theonly reason I mention it here is because it WORKED. It involves simply telling the mind to STOP

whenever mental proliferat ion begins. However, just telling the mind to STOP will not beeffective. You must do it with INTENTION! A serious and strong dose of INTENTION must bepresent. It 's important to note that it is not necessary to repeat a verbal command in the mind,but to saturate each instance when a thought arises with a strong desire or intention to stop.Through the sheer repetition of this command, with intention, the mind will eventually becomeharnessed and obey. This method is a direct assault upon the monkey mind in order to subdueit.

When any other thought enters the mind one crushes it with the intentional command toSTOP. The more determined the perseverance, the better the result. The restless mind begins

to give up the struggle. As you substitute every approaching thought with the command tostop, the periods of absolute quiescence become longer. At first it is only for a few seconds,but with constant practice there come minutes of unruffled peace. This method of the directapproach to quieting the mind can be practiced at any time of the day: walking down thestreet, sitting in a bus, in fact all day long whenever the mind is not immediately engaged insome necessary mental activity.

You can even use it as you begin meditating, if need be. In this instance, once you havecommanded the mind to stop, you simply return to your object of meditation and carry on from

there. If another intruding thought comes along, you tell it to stop, and then immediately returnto your meditat ion object, resuming your meditat ion. I know it sounds hokey, but it works.



If you'd rather not use this direct method to subdue the mind, you can follow the traditionalBuddhist method of just bringing the mind back to the meditat ion object each time you noticethat it has strayed. This works on the same principle as the method described above,namely with intent . It's just a slightly different way of approaching it. What these methodsaccomplish are two things at once: it exercises and strengthens the ability of mindfulness eachtime you notice the mind has strayed away from the meditation object, and it reinforcesyour will to maintain control over the direction of the mind. In time, you will discover that asimple application of willful intent will stop the wandering mind in its tracks so that you may

resume your meditation.

As your mindfulness (sati ) increases, you will notice that your ability to concentrate hassimultaneously increased also. Mindfulness and concentration are close cousins of oneanother. The difference lies in the fact that concentration is generally focused upon a singleobject for observation, while mindfulness suggests an open and full-minded awareness of theentire atmosphere in general. Mindfulness is aware of changes in the physical and mentalatmosphere, whereas concentration is generally focused on one or the other of these two

atmospheres to the exclusion of the other.

A Pract ical Look at Jhana Practice — Part Three

Throughout the course of t his exposit ion, I wish to share with t he reader certain informationalresources which I have personally found to be of benefit to my education and understanding ofthis practice. Hopefully, they will be of benefit to others here, too.

One of the monastics from whom I have been able to confirm much of what I know is theWestern Theravadin monk Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Geoffrey DeGraff is his given name before hebecame a monk in the Thai Forest tradition in the mid-1970s. He is widely known and quitepopular in some circles, notwithstanding some controversy that has grown around him inorthodox circles regarding the perceived stance he has taken in certain areas of the Dhamma.

All that aside, my reason for introducing him here is that he is a universally recognized masterof meditat ion and has, over the years, writ ten extensively and quite effect ively on the subjectof Buddhist meditation. Thanissaro was taught meditation by a little known but highly notedThai teacher, Ajaan Jotiko Fuang, who in turn was a student of the nationally recognized Thaimeditation master Ajaan Dhammadharo Lee. Thanissaro is therefore a highly qualifiedcontemporary source for information about the practice of meditation. His essays and booksare well worth reading and contemplating.

A few years ago, he wrote a short piece about jhana meditation entitled Jhana Not by the

Numbers. In this piece, he shared some interesting facts about the process of learningmeditation, and in particular some things of which to take heed regarding meditativeabsorption. Of particular note was the method his teacher used to teach him. Ajaan Fuang,although hands on in many respects, mainly taught meditation using a hands off approach. Ifyou read the second, third, and fourth paragraphs of this essay you will see what I mean,

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/jhananumbers.html



summed up in the sentence: "So as a teacher, he tried to instill in his students these qualitiesof self-reliance, ingenuity, and a willingness to take risks and test things for themselves."

You will learn more — and will learn it more quickly — if someone takes this approach with youthan you would if someone were to take you by the hand and lead you through the practicestep by step. The former of these two approaches forces the student to actively take

responsibility in his own meditative development. He has to learn quickly how to developmindful awareness in order to keep up with all the observations of his pract ice that he's beingasked to keep up with. This not only keeps him engaged with the practice, but keeps thepractice from becoming boring or stagnant.

Another point brought up in this piece is the precariousness of practicing jhana. Because of thelimited concentration ability of most people's minds in the beginning stages of establishing apractice, people can have a tendency to misapprehend where their practice is taking them.They can get caught up in a side road, leading them away from the ultimate goal. An example

of this can be seen in the sect ion which talks about moha-samadhi or delusion-concentration."When you emerge, you find it hard to identify where exactly you were focused." This cancome about "when the breath gets so comfortable that your focus drifts from the breath tothe sense of comfort itself, mindfulness begins to blur and your sense of the body and yoursurroundings gets lost in a pleasant haze."

In this pleasant haze, the mind is exposed to a highly suggestive mind state wherein almostanything imagined can be taken literally for the truth. A person can delude himself intobelieving almost anything while in this mind state, which is akin to an hypnot ic trance. It is a dulland not a bright and clear stat e of mind, and is therefore to be recognized when it occurs anddropped immediately. One way to drop this state is to increase your mindful alertness of theinternal and external surroundings and to refocus your attention on your meditation object(such as the breath) in order to bring the mind out of this state.

What I call establishing mindfulness, Ajaan Fuang calls establishing "all-around awareness."The alert reader will recognize, regarding the two states of "wrong concentration" discussedtoward the end of the essay, that it is this "all-around awareness of the breath energy

throughout the body, playing with it to gain a sense of ease, and then calming it so that it[won't] interfere with a clear vision of the subtle movements of the mind" that plays a part in

subduing these two states of wrong concentration.

A Pract ical Look at Jhana Practice — Part Four

What does absorption feel like? What does one experience? How do you know when you've

achieved it? Is there anything that is universal about the experience that can be explained sothat I can understand what it is?



For someone who has never experienced absorption before, these are all very good andimportant questions. Yet, it should be understood that attempting to write about and describedelicate mind states to the uninitiated reader with whom one has not personally met andspoken can be difficult if not somewhat problematic. It is difficult enough to explain thesestates in person to someone whose meditation experience is limited. So, in attempting todescribe these states to someone who is coming to t he practice for the first t ime, it should beunderstood by the reader that he should endeavor to get as clear a reference as is possibleregarding the definitions of the words being used so that he will not misapprehend the

concepts being described.

Someone who has had some experience with meditation — with observing the phenomenathat occur during meditation — should in general have a slightly easier time understandingthese concepts. Yet, even so, it is still quite easy to miscomprehend a term being used andthus to practice under a misapprehension. Becoming clear about the terminology and theexperiences they refer to is something that becomes easier with time and regular practice.First hand observation of your actual meditation practice is your best teacher. If you keepthese points in mind, they will serve you well as you endeavor to understand what you read

here.

With this in mind, let's take a look at a few descriptions of the first four levels of jhanaaccording to the way they are presented in the discourses, using some descriptions given byprominent meditation teachers as well as from our own experience of these factors. The firstfour levels of jhana practice are the most important with regard to the awakening process

which takes place in Buddhist mental t raining. They, therefore, are fundamentally necessary ifone is pursuing what is known as the "wet" approach to awakening, as opposed to the so-called "dry" approach. More on the differences between these two approaches later.

For now, just for a quick and immediate understanding of these terms, the "wet" approachrefers to the use of absorption within the practice in order to strengthen the mind's ability toconcentrate on the necessary subject matt er needed for the awakening process to t ake place,

whereas the "dry" approach refers to the lack of the use of absorption for this purpose. "Drymeditators" therefore do not take the time to develop the jhanas before taking up vipassanameditation subjects, whereas "wet meditators" do develop jhana before undertaking insightcontemplations.

If one's level of concentration is already strong, he may not need to develop the jhanas in orderto have success in contemplation of the insight subjects. The decision to develop meditativeabsorption is one taken on a case by case basis. In general, though, most of us are lacking in areally strong skill base to call upon our untrained proficiency at concentration, and thereforeneed some assistance with developing and strengthening this ability. This is where trainingand development in the practice of absorption can assist us in gaining the necessary skill levelneeded to be able to maintain our mental focus on an object or subject uninterrupted for anextended period of t ime.

In the next sections, we will take a slightly more in-depth look at the first four levels of jhanapractice with an emphasis on endeavoring to understand the fluidity of how quickly the mind



can move as well as the breadth that these descriptions cover so as not t o be suscept ible to a

false understanding of them.

A Practical Look at Jhana Practice — Part Five

If you have read the two referenced essays on The Jhanas (linked to in an above post) you willnotice certain factors being present in jhana on the first four levels of the attainment. If youhave not read through those essays, please take some time here and now to do so, as it willbe necessary to understand what is to follow.

In Buddhist meditation, the development of concentrative absorption in the case of the first

jhana is described in terms of the following five factors:

* directed attention (vitakka)

* sustained attention or examinat ion and evaluation (vicāra)

* joy/rapture/elation ( pīti )

* happiness/pleasure/bliss (sukha)

* equanimity (upekkhā)

For simplicity's sake, we will be referring to the jhana factors as they have been outlined withinthe suttanta (the discourses of the Buddha) as opposed to other sources (principally thecommentarial work the Visuddhimagga and the extra-canonical Abhidhamma material) withinthe orthodox Theravada school. To include definitions of these other sources would only beconfusing to the beginning practitioner, as well as adding unnecessary complication to thepractice. Those who are interested in exploring these other sources can take them up atanother time.

You will have noticed that the first two factors present in the first level of jhanaare vitakka and vicara. These two Pali terms have been variously translated as "appliedthinking," "applied thought," "directed attention," and "directed thought" in reference to thefirst of these two terms (vitakka); and "sustained thought," "sustained attention," "discursivethought," "investigation," and "examination and evaluation," with reference to the second ofthese two terms (vicara). Yet , what are these two factors referring to?

The two terms, as Ven. Gunaratana has pointed out in his essay, signify two interconnectedyet distinct aspects of the mental process involved in the pursuit of absorption. Vitakka refersto the mind directing its attention and awareness to the principal object of meditation.In anapanasati meditation (mindfulness of breathing), this object is the breath. Directing the



mind toward the breath, then, in this case, is the first action necessary in order to begin thedescent into meditat ive absorption. The mind must f ind a pleasant object upon which to focusin order for it t o begin to become calm and tranquil.

Once the mind has found and become focused upon its object, it then proceeds to"investigate" and "examine" that object, to "sustain" its attention on the object. This

"examination" and "evaluation" of the object is necessary in order to establish the pleasantsensation that will arise once the absorption process begins to become stronger and grows instrength. Vicara refers to the mind's examination and inspection of the meditation object forthe purpose of extending the awareness of its pleasant components. Remember, absorption(jhana) is a pleasant experience, and not an unpleasant experience. By attending to thepleasantness of the breathing process, one can take the mind deeper and deeper into thatpleasant experience.

Although this is a process of "letting go" in order to experience the pleasantness of the

breathing process, one should not totally let everything go, as retaining mindfulness (sati ) ofthis process then becomes equally important. The factor of sati prevents the mind frombecoming dull and sluggish, from descending into an "altered state of consciousness" whereinone is only vaguely aware of his surroundings, both mental and physical. Sati keeps the mindbright and energetic in its awareness of the breath, which allows vitakka and vicara to do their

work of latching onto the object of the breath and introducing the mind to its pleasantsensat ion in which the mind can become absorbed.

Vitakka and vicara are the subtle mental factors which assist the mind in contacting the firstlevel of jhana. They are the first two aspects of absorption necessary for the mind to begin theprocess of becoming absorbed in an object. Once the mind becomes absorbed in its object (inthis case, the breath), then vitakka and vicara can be let go of as they have already completedtheir work. This lett ing go of these two jhana factors allows the mind to enter the second jhanaautomatically.

Once the mind becomes absorbed in the meditation object, appana-samadhi or "fixedconcentration" (a "unification of mind" on its object), takes over the responsibility of keeping

the mind absorbed, without the mind having to make any effort to apply and sustain itself onthe object. For simplicity of exposition's sake, in its infancy appana-samadhi is the "positivereinforcement feedback loop" that Leigh Brasington refers to in his piece. In its maturity,this samadhi will be experienced as a mental unification or concentration upon the object ofmeditation.

The first jhana can sometimes pass very quickly once the mind becomes absorbed in its objectand descends even further by letting go of vitakka and vicara. The relinquishing of these twofactors automatically takes the mind into the second second level of absorption. Once the

mind becomes absorbed in an object, the three levels of jhana which come afterward cansometimes pass relatively quickly, and oftentimes unnoticed by the meditator.



A Pract ical Look at Jhana Practice — Part Six

Piti is the third factor present in the first level of jhana. It has been variously defined as"rapture," "joy," "gladness," or "elation." Although it can be a very subtle yet specific joy, piti isassociated with a state of deep tranquility. When it combines with sukha (pleasure, bliss orhappiness), the fourth jhana factor, these two factors help propel the mind into appana-

samadhi , since sukha follows piti in arising.

The standard example of piti would be like the gladness or elation experienced by a man wandering in a desert, t ired and thirsty, seeking shelter from the sun, when he suddenly comesupon an oasis with shade trees and a pond of clear water. Now, stop for a moment andimagine how you would feel being in such a circumstance! Imagine this circumstance as vividlyas you are able to. At the first sight of t he oasis, it is piti (joy or elation) that arises in the manas he feels contentment at the sight of this object of relief. Sukha, then, would equate to theactual experiencing of the pleasure of relief of the shade and thirst quenching water once he

partakes of these.

In terms of temporal length, when it is acting as a transition between gladness and happinessduring the absorption process, piti only lasts a relatively short time, long enough for sukha toarise where piti leaves off. In this vein, piti has been compared to varying degrees of interest inan object as desirable or as expecting to bring happiness, whereas sukha is the happinessitself once the benefit of the object has been enjoyed. As the meditator makes contact withthe desired object, sukha then takes over and piti subsides. Ideally, this is how a healthyabsorption occurs. It occurs as something quite natural in the mind; the mind does it of itselfautomatically.

On occasion, an unhealthy absorption occurs when piti explodes and is experienced as astrong burst. These bursts can last as long as ten seconds or more and are an example ofgross piti , which should be avoided if possible. Leigh Brasington talksabout his experience withthis phenomenon when it happened to him while on retreat. The retreat master immediatelytold him that this was not helpful, and that he should not encourage its emergence.

While this is something to be aware of, it should not frighten away any potential practitionersof jhana as this type of occurrence is generally rare and usually based upon an exaggeratedexpectation of the practitioner. In nearly 30 years of practice I have never experiencedanything close to this description of the arising of piti . If the vehicle one uses (suchasanapanasati ) to access jhana is practiced correctly and with mindfulness, absorption shouldarise quite easily and naturally without any wild after-effects.

Once piti has done its job of inducing absorption and has subsided, sukha takes over as thepredominant factor enabling absorption to persist and to deepen. The practitioner does notneed to think about sukha in order for it to do its work. The only thing the practitioner needs tofocus on is the smoothing out of the meditation itself. The rest should take care of itselfautomatically. By "smoothing out" I refer to the process of experiencing inner

http://www.leighb.com/jhana_fr.htm



tranquility combined with the unification of the mind on the pleasantness of the object ofmeditation. As these two factors are experienced, the mind will transition to the third level of

jhana where sukha, clear awareness (sampajanna), equanimity (upekkha), and mindfulness(sati ) are the factors after piti subsides.

Although pleasant, both piti and sukha are nevertheless agitating factors when it comes to the

process of calming and tranquilizing the mind. The happiness, pleasure or joyof sukha becomes a palpable agitation in the mind when it is experienced in the mind's journeytoward deeper tranquility. Once absorption is well established, however, this pleasant mentalagitation must also fade away if the mind is to reach the natural tranquil state needed for it toincrease its ability of concentration in the fourth level of jhana.

As sukha subsides, the mind transitions naturally into the fourth level of jhana whereequanimity (upekkha) and mindfulness (sati ) remain. This level of absorption is profoundlypeaceful. The breath may be barely a whisper of which the mind is only fleetingly aware, and

the mind is without agitation or ruffle of any kind, yet it is able to remain firmly fixed on theobject of the breath. It is from the level of the fourth jhana that the immaterial jhanas can beaccessed and explored, although for awakening's sake, this is unnecessary. The only skill themeditator needs for awakening to occur is the ability to reach the first four jhanas, or even only

the first jhana. Anything else is icing on the cake.

How Others Have Experienced Absorpt ion — Part One

What follows in this section are a few of the alternative descriptions of the process ofabsorption that I have personally found helpful. They are by no means the only descriptionsavailable, just a few that I have come across in my own struggle to better understand theseprocesses. They reflect common experiences and ways of understanding the process ofabsorption with which I am able to confirm from my own experience.

This first excerpt I found posted in a Buddhist forum. I've left in the poster's comments at the

top and the middle of the post as they seem relevant and instructive to the tone of the postand the everyday language used by Ajahns Chah and Dhammadaro Lee. Both Ajahn Chah andAjahn Lee were beloved Thai meditation masters and Dhamma teachers. Among other things,it seems to say: "If simple village women can attain jhana, then so can you." The person whoposted this, a friend of mine, is a bhikkhu in the Thai Forest Tradition.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I also like the way some teachers explain meditation on an experiential level that even simple

people can relate to. Some of the best meditators in Ajahn Chah's monastery who had jhana were simple village women (they could sit t here for hours while the monks were in agony...). SoAjahn Chah used simple language to explain the basics of practice to them. This is a relevantpassage:



"The trick is to have sati (mindfulness) taking control and supervising the mind. Once the mindis unified with sati a new kind of awareness will emerge. The mind that has developed calm isheld in check by that calm, just like a chicken held in a coop ... the chicken is unable to wanderoutside, but it can still move around within the coop. Its walking to and fro doesn’t get it intotrouble because it is restrained by the coop. Likewise the awareness that takes place whenthe mind has sati and is calm does not cause trouble. None of the thinking or sensations that

take place within the calm mind cause harm or disturbance.

Some people don’t want to experience any thoughts or feelings at all, but this is going too far.Feelings arise within the state of calm. The mind is both experiencing feelings and calm at thesame time, without being disturbed. When there is calm like this there are no harmfulconsequences. Problems occur when the ‘chicken’ gets out of t he ‘coop’. For instance, you maybe watching the breath entering and leaving and then forget yourself, allowing the mind to

wander away from the breath back home, off t o the shops or to any number of different places.Maybe even half an hour may pass before you suddenly realize you’re supposed to be

practicing meditation and reprimand yourself for your lack of sati . This is where you have to bereally careful, because this is where the chicken gets out of the coop - the mind leaves its baseof calm.

You must take care to maintain the awareness with sati and try to pull the mind back.Although I use the words ‘pull the mind back’, in fact the mind doesn’t really go anywhere, onlythe object of awareness has changed. You must make the mind stay right here and now. Aslong as there is sati there will be presence of mind. It seems like you are pulling the mind backbut really it hasn’t gone anywhere; it has simply changed a little. It seems that the mind goeshere and there, but in fact t he change occurs right at the one spot. When sati is regained, in aflash you are back with the mind without it having to be brought from anywhere."

This is how he explained vitakka (directed thought) and vicara (evaluation), which are the basic'tools' in meditation practice. Notice that he doesn't say we have to completely stop using themind in this way, because actually these are also ways of developing pannya (wisdom) bycontemplating the ways in which the mind reacts. He didn't make a sharp distinction betweensamatha and vipassana. For him it was just two aspects of the same practice. Here are some

more details from Ajahn Chah:

"There may be different phenomena contacting the senses, or thoughts arising. This is calledinitial thought (vitakka). It brings up some idea, be it about the nature of compoundedphenomena (sankhara), about the world, or whatever. Once the mind has brought it up, themind will want to get involved and merge with it. If it ’s an object that is wholesome, then let themind take it up. If it is something unwholesome, stop it immediately. If it is something

wholesome, then let the mind contemplate on it, and gladness, satisfaction, and happiness willcome about. The mind will be bright and clear as the breath goes in and out, these initial

thoughts appear, and the mind takes them up. Then it becomes discursive thought (vicara).The mind develops familiarity with the object, exerting itself and merging with it . At this point,there is no sleepiness.



After an appropriate period of this, take your attention back to the breath. Then as youcontinue on, there will be the initial thought and discursive thought, initial thought anddiscursive thought. If you are contemplating skillfully on an object such as the natureof sankhara, then the mind will experience deeper tranquility, and rapture is born. There isthe vitakka and vicara, and that leads to happiness of mind. At this time, there won’t be anydullness or drowsiness. The mind won’t be dark if we pract ice like this. It will be gladdened andenraptured.

This rapture will start to diminish and disappear after a while, so you can take up the initialthought again. The mind will become firm and certain with it, undistracted. Then you go on todiscursive thought again, the mind becoming one with it. When you are practicing a meditationthat suits your temperament and doing it well, then whenever you take up the object, rapture

will come about, the hairs of the body standing on end, the mind enraptured and sat iated.

When it’s like this, there can’t be any dullness or drowsiness. You won’t have any doubt s. Backand forth between initial and discursive thought, initial and discursive thought, over and overagain, and rapture comes. Then there is bliss (sukha). ...

Q: Are vitakka and vicara the same?

A.Chah: You’re sitting and suddenly the thought of someone pops into your head-that’s vitakka, the initial thought. Then you take that idea of the person and start thinkingabout them (in detail).Vitakka is picking it up, vicara is investigat ing it. For example, we pick upthe idea of death, and then we start considering it: “I will die, others will die, every living being

will die, when they die where will they go…? “ Then, stop! Stop and bring it up again. When itgets running like that, stop it again, then go back to mindfulness of the breath. Sometimes thediscursive thought will wander off and not come back, so you have to stop it. Keep at it untilthe mind is bright and clear.

If you practice vicara with an object that you are suited to, you may experience the hairs ofyour body standing on end, tears pouring from your eyes, a state of extreme delight, manydifferent things as rapture comes.

Q: Can this happen with any kind of t hinking, or is it in a state of t ranquility that it happens?

A.Chah: It’s when the mind is tranquil. It’s not ordinary mental proliferation. You sit with a calm

mind and then the initial thought comes. For example, I think of my brother who just passedaway. Or I might think of some other relatives. This is when the mind is tranquil - the tranquilityisn’t something certain, but for the moment the mind is tranquil. After this initial thought comes,then I go into discursive thought . If it ’s a line of thinking that ’s skillful and wholesome, it leads toease of mind and happiness, and then there is rapture, with its attendant experiences. This



rapture came from the initial and discursive thinking that took place in a state of calmness. Wedon’t have to give it names such as first jhana, second jhana, and so forth. We just call ittranquility.

The next factor is bliss (sukha). Eventually, we drop the initial and discursive thinking astranquility deepens. Why is that? The state of mind is becoming more refined and

subtle. Vitakka and vicara are relatively coarse, and they will vanish. There will remain just therapture, accompanied by bliss and one-pointedness of mind. And when it reaches full measure,there won’t be anything - (there is equanimity, and) the mind is empty. That’s absorptionconcentration (appana samadhi ).

We don’t need to fixate or dwell on any of these experiences. They will naturally progress fromone to the next. At first there are initial and discursive thought, rapture, bliss, and one-pointedness. Then initial and discursive thinking are thrown off, leaving rapture, bliss, and one-pointedness. Rapture is thrown off (note: scriptures usually say, “with the fading of rapture…”),

then bliss, and finally only one-pointedness and equanimity remain. It means the mind isbecoming more and more tranquil, and its objects are steadily decreasing, unt il there is nothingbut one-pointedness and equanimity. (From 'Everything is Teaching Us')"

It's true that in some Suttas the Buddha mentions an intermediate state called "avitakkavicaramatta" (without directed thought and a lit t le bit of evaluation). I would see that as staying

with the theme of meditat ion, not wandering elsewhere, but there still being the need to movethe attention around the theme, back and forth ("becoming familiar with it"). It's a kind ofrippling of the mind, it's not perfectly still. That comes only later, when the preliminary work hasbeen done, and it's a natural result of that.

Ajahn [Dhammadaro] Lee has a nice description of this process:

"Directed thought (vitakka) - focusing on the breath without gett ing distracted - is like plantinga tree. Evaluation (vicara) is like loosening the soil around the roots, giving it fertilizer, and

watering it from the roots to the topmost branches. The body, which can be compared to thesoil, will soften, allowing the fert ilizer and water to penetrate down to the roots. Rapture is likethe tree's being fresh and green and bursting into bloom. (There are five kinds of rapture: (1) anunusual sense of heaviness or lightness in the body; (2) a sense of the body floating; (3) asense of coolness or heat; (4) a sense of thrill passing over the surface of the body; (5) thebody beginning to sway.) Pleasure means stillness of body and mind, free from Hindrances.Singleness of preoccupation means being neutral toward other things, perfectly still in a singlepreoccupation. This is what the Buddha was referring to when he said that concentrationmatured with virtue is of great benefit, great rewards.

The factors of jhana -- directed thought, evaluation, rapture, and pleasure -- all have to begathered at the breath if you want to reach singleness of preoccupation. Directed thought islike laying claim to a piece of land. Evaluat ion is like planting it with seed. When the seed bearsfruit , that 's rapture and pleasure.



Keeping awareness with the breath is directed thought. Knowing the characteristics of thebreath is evaluation. Spreading the breath so that it permeates and fills the entire body israpture. The sense of serenity and well-being in body and mind is pleasure. When the mind isfreed from the Hindrances so that it's one with the breath, that 's singleness of preoccupation.All of t hese factors of jhana turn mindfulness into a factor of Awakening.

Spreading the breath, lett ing all the breath sensations spread throughout all the elements andparts of the body -- the blood vessels, the tendons, etc. -- is like cutting a system ofconnect ing roads through the wilderness. Any country with a good system of roads is bound todevelop, because communication is easy."

Gavesako

How Others Have Experienced Absorpt ion — Part Two

If you go to some of the more reputable Buddhist forums (E-Sangha being one of them), youmay come across exchanges between practitioners regarding a difference of opinion over thedepth of concentration necessary for meditation to reachsamadhi (and thus the first jhana),and whether or not certain phenomena are still present during that depth. This can be

confusing if you are new to this practice, and can cause some doubt regarding what one canreasonably expect to find at the various levels of jhana while practicing absorption.

The reason for the difference of opinion arises from the fact that within the "modern"Theravada tradition there are basically two main positions regarding the practice of absorption.One, following the commentarial tradition (the Visuddhimagga, thePatisambhidamagga* etc.),asserts that jhana, once reached from the second level on, excludes physical sensations sucha sounds from cognition. The second position, following from the suttanta (the traditional

Buddhist canon of Pali discourses), does not make such statements of exclusion regarding thefirst three material (rupa) jhanas during samatha practice, except that such exclusion can beunderstood at the deeper levels of absorption — from the fourth rupa jhana in samathapract ice on t hrough the four immaterial (arupa) jhanas.

In my own practice of samatha jhana, I noticed that sound was cognizable through the firstthree levels of absorption, but thatat times when the mind became absorbed in the fourth levelthat there was a subtle difference. That difference had to do with the inability of the mind tobecome distracted from concentration even though sound might be heard. The sound was

external, but in no way disturbed the internal concentration. In these tranquil states of mind,sense contact may be quickly noted by the mind, but that notation is the extent of thedisturbance as the mind immediately returns to the object of meditation. It's barely even aripple on the mind's smooth and calm surface. Ajahn Chah has stated quite clearly that:



"In appana samadhi ** the mind calms down and is stilled to a level where it is at its most subtleand skilful. Even if you experience sense impingement from the outside, such as sounds andphysical sensations, it remains external and is unable to disturb the mind. You might hear asound, but it won't distract your concentration."

Such an experience in no way excludes sound from the early stages of t he classical absorptionexperience. In another account , Ajahn Chah recounts an experience he once had while stayingin a forest monastery:

"I once stayed in a forest monastery that was half a mile from a village. One night the villagers were celebrat ing with a loud party as I was walking meditat ion. It must have been after 11:00pm and I was feeling a bit peculiar. I'd been feeling strange like this since midday. My mind wasquiet. There were hardly any thoughts. I felt very relaxed and at ease. I did walking meditation

until I was t ired and then went to sit in my grass-roofed hut . As I sat down I barely had t ime tocross my legs before, amazingly, my mind just wanted to delve into a profound state of peace.It happened all by itself. As soon as I sat down, the mind became truly peaceful. It was rocksolid. It wasn't as if I couldn't hear the noise of the villagers singing and dancing ‑ I still could ‑but I could also shut the sound out entirely."

The statement he makes at the end — that he could "also shut the sound out entirely" —says much about the capability of a t ranquil mind. Later on he makes the following statement:"Then I understood: when the mind unifies in samādhi , if you direct your attention outward youcan hear, but if you let it dwell in its emptiness then it's perfectly silent." These descriptionsagree with my own experience of this phenomenon.

*Note: The Visuddhimagga and the Patisambhidamagga are ancient commentarialexpositions writ ten and published during the early first millennium.

**Note: Appana means the directing or fixing of the one-pointed consciousness on anobject. Appana is a highly developed form of vitakka - initial application of the mind, one of the jhana factors. Thus "appana samadhi " means "fixed samadhi ," or "full or complete

concentration" which is the concentration level existing during absorption jhana.

How Others Have Experienced Absorption — Part Three

There are several reputable meditation teachers within the Theravada tradition to learn from who have written or spoken about the steps or stages necessary for the attainment ofabsorption. Among these are three prominent contemporary figures within the tradition: theThai meditation master Ajahn Chah (b. 1918 - d. 1992), the American master ThanissaroBhikkhu (Geoffrey DeGraff, b. 1949- ), and the English master Ajahn Brahmavamso (Peter



Bett s, b. 1951- ).

For those who are unfamiliar, Ajahn Brahmavamso, an Englishman who goes by the shortenedname Ajahn Brahm, was a student of the Thai master Ajahn Chah for nine years before beingasked to assist in establishing a forest monastery near Perth, Western Australia in 1983,

where he is now the the spiritual director of the Buddhist Society of Western Australia.

Thanissaro Bhikkhu, an American who travelled to Thailand in 1976 to study with Ajahn FuangJotiko until the latter's death in 1986, helped established the Metta Forest Monastery nearValley Center, California in 1990 where he is currently its abbot .

As one might imagine, each of these meditation masters, having come from different trainingbackgrounds and perspectives, might have occasion to be varied in their explanations aboutthe process of meditation. And since one, Ajahn Brahm, was a student of the other, AjahnChah, you might tend to think that both might describe absorption in a similar way. But this isnot necessarily the case. Thanissaro Bhikkhu's descriptions comes closer to Ajahn Chah's

descriptions of the practice of jhana than does his own student Ajahn Brahm. This does notmean that two of these masters are right and the third is wrong when looking at theirdescriptions. It just points out that different people perceive things in different ways. It is up tous, as individual practitioners, to decide which description best fits our own perception of theexperience.

In the 2004 Fall issue of Buddhadharma magazine, Ajahn Brahmavamso published an excellentarticle which included descriptions of the practice of jhana absorption. Toward the end of thatarticle there is the following paragraph:

"Another feature of jhana is that it occurs only after the nimitta is discerned as describedabove. Furthermore, you should know that while in any jhana it is impossible to experience thebody (e.g., physical pain), hear a sound from outside or produce any thoughts, not even “good”thoughts. There is just a clear singleness of percept ion, an experience of nondualist ic bliss thatcontinues unchanging for a very long time. This is not a t rance but a state of heightenedawareness. This is said so that you may know for yourself whether what you take to be a

jhana is real or imaginary."

What is of particular note in the above paragraph are the passages which are underscored. Onreading this paragraph, one might come away with the impression that according to AjahnBrahm, true absorption is a state which excludes certain perceptions of phenomenaaltogether, and that unless one's absorption is of t his depth, that one is truly not experiencingabsorption according to Ajahn Brahm's mind map. However, to accept this view withoutquestion or further examination may lead one into a possible confusion regarding whatabsorption is. To his credit he does qualify that this state is not a trance. Yet curiously, hecontradicts himself by calling it a "state of heightened awareness" without identifying the

nature of the subject of which one is aware. If one is not aware of the body, sounds orthoughts, of what , exact ly, is one's awareness heightened? Curiously, he doesn't say.

http://www.thebuddhadharma.com/issues/2004/fall/ajahn-brahm.html



On the one hand, Ajahn Brahm seems to be asserting that unless one's absorption reachesthe level he describes (the total exclusion of all sense impingement from the outside or theinside), then it is not true absorption. And yet even his own teacher, Ajahn Chah states quiteclearly that: "In appana samadhi the mind calms down and is stilled to a level where it is at itsmost subtle and skilful. Even if you experience sense impingement from the outside, such assounds and physical sensations, it remains external and is unable to disturb the mind. Youmight hear a sound, but it won't distract your concentration." The appana samadhi , or fixedunification of mind, that he is speaking about is, generally speaking, equivalent to the first four

levels of jhana.

In an interview which Thanissaro Bhikkhu did with Richard Shankman for his book TheExperience of Samadhi: An In-Depth Exploration of Buddhist Meditation, Thanissaromentions: "There are also states of jhana where sensory input is not totally cut off, but itdoesn't intrude on the mind. With these states there's more of an ability to observe what'sgoing on in the jhana while you're still in it. It's a little like the first jhana piggybacking on theother jhanas, because you can evaluate what's going on and you can see where there's stress,

what you're doing that 's causing the stress, and you can see how you can drop that part icular

activity." Here, Ajahn Thanissaro states what Ajahn Brahm neglects to state: that what isheightened is one'sawareness of what is going on in the jhana while you're still in it, meaningthat insight is possible while one is in the kind of jhana experience described by AjahnThanissaro.

So, who is telling it like it is? In my experience, I have experience both scenarios, although not within the exact same context or circumstance. And it is a good thing that I have, since if I hadblindly accepted Ajahn Brahm's definition of jhana, my mind might not have been open to the

possibil ity of Ajahn Chah's (and Thanissaro's) definition as also being true. Can both thesedescriptions be true? Well, yes they can. And let me explain how. The difference comes aboutbecause of the different circumstances of being in absorption.

Under one scenario, in cultivating tranquility, when the goal of the meditation is calmness(samatha) in an effort to cultivate deeper and deeper levels of calmness, the mind is able todive so deeply within itself that all exterior phenomena (sound, touch, and smell in particular)can be drown out from the mind's perception of them. Within the so-called ninth jhana, "thecessation of perception and feeling" (sannavedayita-nirodha, also known by the

designation nirodha-samapatti ), mind's ability to be conscious of anything has temporarilyceased and a profound peacefulness or lack of any movement (mental or physical) whatsoeveris what is recalled once the meditator returns to normal consciousness from this state. In thiscircumstance, this is taking samatha practice to its ultimate limits, that is, there is nothing elseto experience beyond "the cessation of perception and feeling."

Under the second scenario, in cultivating insight (vipassana), when the goal of the meditationis insight into one of the themes of the Dhamma, the mind in samadhi , in focusing upon thechosen Dhamma theme, is able to maintain its focus upon the subject despite any disturbance

from an exterior phenomenon such as sound. When the mind in samadhi is focusing on aninsight theme it can be aware of disturbances from the outside while remaining unified upon itssubject. The awareness of the outside disturbance in no way interferes with the unification ofthe mind on its meditation subject. It is as though this awareness of the disturbance remainson the periphery of one's attention, just as when one is visually focused upon an object and

http://books.google.com/books?id=lQ_ZzFgJ1AwC&pg=PA117&lpg=PA117&dq=Thanissaro+on+jhana+meditation&source=bl&ots=NeiXUfr8dP&sig=7HABPcEnPS4qM6KjOsTYoawe7tM&hl=en&ei=TIOISsjoEJOesgOssvTpAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3#v=onepage&q=&f=false



yet sees on the periphery another object.

Now, to be perfectly fair, Ajahn Brahm would likely deny that the circumstance that he wasspeaking about involved "the cessation of perception and feeling" or the ninth jhana. As heclearly states in the above quotation he is referring to "any jhana" and not just one specificlevel of jhana. One possible answer to this seeming dilemma might be found in Thanissaro

Bhikkhu's writings wherein he echos the sentiment found in the suttas that "some developstrong powers of concentration before developing strong discernment, whereas others gain asound theoretical understanding of the Dhamma before developing strong concentration. Ineither case, both strong concentration and sound discernment are needed to bring aboutAwakening."

This explanation would seem to infer that perhaps Ajahn Brahm's interpretation of hisdiscernment may not be as well developed as he thinks. Whether or not one accepts thisexplanation, it certainly serves as a valid way to explain the difference between the perception

of the master (Ajahn Chah) on the one hand and the perception of his student (Ajahn Brahm)on the other.

As for myself, I have always been taught to observe my own experience of any phenomenonand to accept that and nothing else. My experience tells me that the possibility of senseimpingement is present in any of the first four jhanas, unlike Ajahn Brahm's unyielding assertionabove, and that the essence of Ajahns Chah and Thanissaro's statements are correct: thatany sense disturbance from the outside remains external and is unable to distract the mind'sconcentration.

As Thanissaro Bhikkhu stated further on in the interview: "When you're fully into even this sortof jhana, particularly from the second one up, you're not going to be doing any thinking orevaluating at all, but you can pull back a lit t le bit without destroying that state, because it 's nottotally dependent on blocking off all outside input."This also accords with my experience of

jhana.

How Others Have Experienced Absorpt ion — Part Four

Three or four years ago, when my practice was more intense and I was meditating a minimumof three times a day, I spent a great deal of time on the Internet discussing in forums variousfine points of the practice with other accomplished practitioners. What I'd like to present in thissegment is a collage of some of their personal perspectives which I think may be helpful tothose who are looking at the practice of absorption for the first time and seeking somefootholds to hang onto.

There's really nothing that competes with personal experience when it comes to being able todiscern and discuss these subtle states of mind. In other words, reading the descriptions



without having done the practice and being able to discern the phenomena being discussed will be next to useless for most readers. In order to understand these descript ions, you have tohave had some experience with these states with which to compare to the experience ofothers.

This first perspective is one given by Thanissaro Bhikkhu in his book Wings to Awakening . It 's

being offered here first because it describes the first stages of the absorption experience.Absorption or samadhi or jhana are not such esoteric terms that they should frighten or scarepeople away on account of being too difficult to attain or to understand. Once you have anidea what it is about, then it becomes a more accessible state. If you've ever caught yourself ina reverie absorbed in a book or watching TV or playing a video game or just contemplatingoutdoor nature and suddenly been brought back to reality by a loud noise or some otherdisturbance, then you have an idea what absorption is all about. It's when the mind becomesabsorbed in an object or an activity wherein the mind is pleasantly blinded to everything butthe subject of its observation. In many instances, there is a pleasant sensation whichaccompanies absorption, which may be coarse or subt le depending on the individual.

One important point to take hold of here is that the jhana state can be induced to occur by themeditator. Consider the following passage from the Atthakanagara Sutta (MN 52):

"Venerable Ananda, has any one thing been proclaimed by the Blessed One who knows andsees, accomplished and fully enlightened, wherein if a bhikkhu abides diligent, ardent, andresolute, his unliberated mind comes to be liberated, his undestroyed taints come to bedestroyed, and he attains the supreme security from bondage that he had not attainedbefore?"

"Yes, householder, one such thing has been proclaimed by the Blessed One."

"What is that one thing, venerable Ananda?"

"Here, householder, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesomestates, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the first jhana, which is accompanied by appliedand sustained thought, with rapture and pleasure born of seclusion. He considers this andunderstands it thus: 'This first jhana is conditioned and volit ionally produced. . . .' "

What Ananda is saying here, in echo of the Buddha, is that through an intentional action (cetana or volition), absorption can be brought on at will! How this can be accomplished

is described in the link below to the section from Thanissaro's book Mind Like Fire Unbound .This isn't the only way that absorption can be brought on; rather, the simile is used in order tosuggest one way in particular. One can use just about any pleasant experience to help inbringing on this state.



Thanissaro: "The singleness of jhana means not only that awareness is focused on a singleobject, but also that the object is reduced to a single quality that fills the entirety of one'sawareness, at the same time that one's awareness broadens to suffuse the entire object.This mutual pervasion of awareness and object in a state of expansion is what is meant byabsorption. The similes used to illustrate the various levels of jhana repeatedly make mentionof "expansion," "suffusing," "stretching," and "filling" [§150; also MN 121; MFU, pp. 82-85],

culminating in the fourth jhana where one's body is filled with a bright sense of awareness. Thissense of expansion and making-single is also indicated in passages that teach specificmeditation techniques. The directions for keeping the breath in mind, for instance, state thatone should be sensitive to the entire body while breathing in and out. This accounts for theterm "mahaggata" — enlarged or expanded — used to describe the mind in the state of jhana.. . ."

"For the purpose of getting into jhana, though, the most interesting passages in the Canonabout jhana are the analogies: the bath man, the lotuses in the lake, the man covered with

white cloth."

Thanissaro's translation of this section of the Canon (regarding the bath man, the lotuses inthe lake etc.) is in his book Mind Like Fire Unbound. It begins at the section titled "Habits &practices." If you are having trouble finding the first jhana, the instruction found here can helpto jumpstart the experience, provided that there is enough ability t o manipulate your sense ofconscious awareness so as to follow the instructions as they lead you into the correct amountof mental unification on the sensations involved with slipping into absorption. If you are findingit difficult to keep the instruction in mind as you go through this procedure, this usuallyindicates a lack of mindfulness, the necessary first ingredient for establishing any absorption. Insuch a case, it is probably best to just practice anapanasati for a while in order to build up

enough mindfulness before attempting to practice absorpt ion.

How Others Have Experienced Absorpt ion — Part Five

One of the more experienced practitioners I have conversed with on the forums is a Canadiannamed Geoff Schatz. He is a very dedicated and highly accomplished meditator. What followsare some of his comments about jhana which should dovetail nicely with what AjahnThanissaro has writ ten.

Geoff Schatz: "The mind reaches a level of stillness in the second jhana which it realizes ismore satisfying than applied thought and discursive examination. This is a very refined state ofmental unification already, and the mind is calm and serene like the still surface of a pond.Once in a while there may be a little ripple but the surface mind is calm and silent for the most

part and any momentary ripples are easily released because the mind is unified with thesupport object (the entire internal felt sense of the body in my case: see "The Four Jhanas"section of MN 119: Kayagata-sati Sutta which gives vivid similes for full body awareness jhana,

which can be incorporated with anapanasati ).

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"One could still think if one needed to, this is a state of full expansive awareness where themind and the internal felt sense of the body are unified. The mind is settled and is notintentionally suppressed. The settled, silent mind just knows that this is a satisfying state.When I'm in retreat my mind remains at this stage of inner silence most of the time, andcont inues to remain largely silent for days or even weeks afterward. I've been t old thateventually this inner silence becomes a permanent state — the frequency of attaining deep

stages of jhana and also formless and cessat ion attainments are what aid the development ofthis inner silence (as well as essent ial ethical conduct and discernment — sila, samadhi ,and panna all have to be integrated). . . .

"The jhanas are entered in the set sequence of first, second, third, and fourth jhana. You won'tbe able to skip over any stage in order to get to the next higher stage. Of course over time andespecially when sitting a lot, one can enter into the deeper jhanas quickly. And I've also found(and this has been confirmed by others) that over the years the level of init ial piti-sukhabecomes more refined and subtle, and the body and mind are either already at a level of

pliancy when one sits down, or else pliancy is easily at tained upon sitt ing, which is essential forpiti-sukha. Also, it's possible for experiences of bliss to occur even after the first jhana, but ifone just disregards them they will eventually subside.

"The mind is a complex system—the most complex system in the universe—and it is variable,so there is no one precise way that it is going to settle down for every individual or even anyparticular individual each and every t ime.

"The four jhanas are basically four stages of an increasingly unified state of samadhi. (I like theimage of a pebble descending through the depths of a pond.) The four levels of jhana are justsignposts of mental factors present at each deepening stage.But the thing is that these are

just general stages, and because each individual is unique there can be variations on this basicarchetypal model of mental unification that we call "the four jhanas." I think it's more importantto just continue to practice and not be too worried about exactly which stage we are at at anygiven point while practicing."

What is interesting about these quotations are the valuable hints that they provide to the alertreader. In the second paragraph, for example, the underscored section lets us know thatfrequent practice of absorption helps increase mental silence, which is something that I toohave not iced. It also helps to increase levels of concentration and mindfulness. While this won'tnecessarily happen overnight, it is something to look forward to and something which shouldstir interest and diligence in us as practitioners of meditation.

The only stat ement (not made by Geoff, but one he reported on) that I have to disagree with is

the statement regarding the "inner silence" becoming "a permanent state." I do agree that itcan become more prevalent than not in one's experience. But "permanent," no. However, to befair, this may only be a difference of individual perception and differing connotations of the

word "permanent" as it's being used in this statement. What is it that people do notunderstand about the statement by the Buddha that "Sabbe sankharas anicca" or



"All sankharas (conditioned formations) are impermanent." It should be clear from this that whatever t hing there is that has been formed or compounded, all formations or compoundedthings are impermanent. This sentiment is clearly echoed again and again throughout thesuttas as in the Atthakanagara Sutta (MN 52) where Ananda, quoting the Buddha, explicitlystates that: "But whatever is condit ioned and volit ionally produced is impermanent, subject tocessation." Since mental silence is a condit ional formation, it too is impermanent. Although it isnot beyond one's ability to set up the right conditions for its arising or of being able topersonally induce its arising once the mind becomes disturbed by discursive thought. In that

sense, I might be able to agree that it can certainly seem to be permanent.

Not only is there support for this stance within the discourses, but there is support within one'sown experience. Oft en are the t imes when I have lamented to myself about the impermanenceof conditioned formations. I had once thought, based upon a few observations made of highlytrained people, that there must be some metaphysical trick that one can learn which allows aperson to maintain their mindfulness mostly uninterrupted, the cont inuity never seeming to bebroken. But then I recalled having observed these same people at other times when theirmindfulness was broken; as well I have observed instances within myself where when

mindfulness is at a low ebb the mind can be led into heedlessness, unless I intentionally rampup my sati . This is especially true the older I become.

If you wish to maintain your mindfulness, you have to work at it with diligence. The same is trueof mental silence to a certain degree. Yet, that work is made infinitely easier once one figuresout how to contact and practice absorption. Since the breath is always with us, and if we learnhow to volitionally produce the first jhana, then our contact with the breath leaves us but astep away from inducing an intense level of concentration and mindfulness. By shifting ourattention to the breath, one can induce the first jhana (as fixed concentration) in wakingconsciousness. And by maintaining a modicum of attention on the breath thereafter, thisheightened sense of concentration and mindfulness stays with us for the duration of the t ime

we are able to perform this funct ion and maintain our awareness of it.

The third paragraph provides the hint that over time, the way one perceives the speed at which he is able to ent er absorption changes as we become more familiar with the state. In myown practice I noticed at one point that I was able to enter jhana within five minutes of sittingdown to meditate; and later on I learned that I could enter them within one to two minutes of

sitting. The speed at which one can enter absorption has to do with the increased levels ofmindfulness (sati) and concentration (cittassa ekaggata, or one-pointedness of mind) whichdevelops over time as one regularly practices absorption. And if one is attentive to the pliancyof being able to enter the jhana state, one can at any time simply concentrate on the breath(or whatever meditation object one uses) in order to calm and tranquilize the mind at any t imeduring one's daily routine. This, of course, also increases one's level of concentration andmindfulness in those moments when it is focused upon. It is an example of being able to bringon increased mindfulness at will.

Also in the third paragraph, we learn that the initial intensity of piti/sukha can become morerefined and subtle as one's practice progresses. This, too, is something I have noticed in mypractice. Piti and sukha have often given me pause for contemplation as they can sometimesbe difficult to identify. Coming across this litt le hint about them helped to assure me that I wasnot losing my discernment of these factors. Instead, I'm learning how to discern their subtle



arising. The use of the word "pliancy" in his comment refers to the easy access to theconditions necessary for these factors to arise. When you know how to bring on awareness ofthe pleasant sensat ion of t he breath, for example, then you know how to set up the condit ionsfor piti/sukha's arising.

The fifth paragraph lets us know that there are no hard and fast rules regarding the stages of

jhana as it arises. That this experience can vary according to the perception of the pract itioner.What is important for the meditator to realize is that whatever model he uses, the impressionof tranquility, pleasantness of sensation, and mental unification upon an object or subject ofmeditation is a universal experience in absorption. And that however one internally is able tocome to these realizations is what is important, not that they fit any particular mental model

that we might have pre-condit ioned ourselves to expect.

The Practical Use of Jhana Within One's Practice — Part One

The model used by the Buddha for the development of wisdom entailed the enactment of twosimple rules: calm the mind and then develop clear seeing. The whole basis for the path thathe promulgated entailed the development of these two simple qualities. In one sutta hereferred metaphorically to these two qualities as a "swift pair of messengers" who woulddeliver their message of reality (nibbana) to the lord of t he city (consciousness) and then leaveby the route by which they had arrived (the Noble Eightfold Path). The "swift pair ofmessengers" was his designat ion for serenity (samatha) and insight (vipassana).

Many modern students of the Dhamma have been taught that there are two separatemeditation systems which were taught by the Buddha as vehicles for awakening. One issamatha (calm or tranquility) meditation, we are told, and the other is vipassana (insight orclear seeing) meditation. The view that these are two separate systems of meditation,however, is only true of a certain modern approach to the training, which itself was developedby Buddhist meditation masters in southeast Asia, ostensibly on the premise of making thepractice easier for their students to comprehend. This view has been spread to the Westpiggybacked on the shoulders of a group of influential Western meditation teachers whoreceived their introduction and training in Buddhist practice in Asian countries like Burma, Sri

Lanka, and Thailand. Incredibly, the division of these two qualities of meditation into twoentirely separate meditation systems does not receive any support from the Pali discoursesthemselves, which remain the most authoritative source for information on practice. Thediscourses implore the student to develop calm and clear seeing together as one process andnot necessarily as separate practices.

As one classically trained Western monk has written in his essay One Tool Among Many: ThePlace of Vipassana in Buddhist Practice, Thanissaro Bhikkhu points out that there are manypassages in the discourses where these two qualities are yoked together and how they are

seen to complement one another:

"Another passage (A.X.71) recommends that anyone who wishes to put an end to mental

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defilement should — in addition to perfecting the principles of moral behavior and cultivatingseclusion — be committed to samatha and endowed with vipassana. This last statement isunremarkable in itself, but the same discourse also gives the same advice to anyone who

wants to master the jhanas: be committed to samatha and endowed with vipassana. Thissuggests that, in the eyes of those who assembled the Pali discourses, samatha, jhana, andvipassana were all part of a single path. Samatha and vipassana were used together to master

jhana and then — based on jhana — were developed even further t o give rise t o the end ofmental defilement and to bring release from suffering. This is a reading that finds support in

other discourses as well."

In Ven. Thanissaro's essay he mentions that samatha is said to be a method which fostersstrong states of mental calm, called absorption or jhana. And that vipassana is said to use thedevelopment of calm as a basis for the practice of moment-to-moment mindfulness on theimpermanence of events as they are experienced in the present moment. Through thispractice of mindfulness — epitomized by the practice of satipatthana, which literally means"the establishment of mindfulness" — a sense of dispassion toward all events is experiencedin the mind, leading to a release from suffering. Indeed, this was all the Buddha ever claimed

the intent of his system of training to accomplish, as he often stated that: "Formerly and alsonow, I make known only suffering and the cessat ion of suffering."

In the next section, we will examine briefly how samatha and vipassana — or calm and clearseeing — can be used to work together toward the ending of the mental effluents whichcause suffering. While these two qualities of mind can be taught as separate systems ofdevelopment, it really makes no sense to teach them that way as they are so closely related

that the mind will naturally incline toward their combined use during the process of unbinding.

The Practical Use of Jhana Within One's Practice — Part Two

It may be fair to say that the majority of modern Buddhist practitioners, in the beginning atleast, find the process of calming the mind to be the most difficult feat to accomplish. Andtherefore it seems logical to suppose that the Buddha taught this skill first before having hisstudents undertake the more daunting task of gathering insight once the mind has thus

sett led into serenity. Yet, a close reading of the discourses reveal that this was not always thecase. What the discourses reveal is a concerted effort on the Buddha's part to teach serenityand clear seeing together whenever possible, and to let the student's natural inclinationstoward one or the other of these two qualit ies of mind guide the direction of their practice.

The flexibility of this method is revealed in a passage from the Yuganaddha Sutta describingthree ways in which serenity and clear seeing are utilized in working together, leading toending of the passion and ignorance that make up suffering. Either serenity practice precedesclear seeing, clear seeing precedes serenity, or they both develop back to back at the same

time. This isn't as complicated as it at first might seem. The mind is an incredibly flexible andcomplex process which is able to adapt to a variety of situations with ease. It is this incrediblefluidity of range that the mind possesses which allows it t o be able to do t his.

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In order for the mind to know when serenity is present, it must be able to discern or recognize when such is the case. On the other hand, in order for it to be able to see clearly, it must berelatively calm and at ease. All it takes is a few crucial mind-moments in either of these statesfor it to be able to come to either of these two determinations. In other words, even in afluctuating situation (between calm and chaotic circumstances) when the mind is not totallycalm in all moments, in those moments when it is calm, it is able to see clearly. And in thosefleeting moments when it is able to see clearly, it is able to identify those factors which assist it

in becoming calm. This is how it learns how to identify such abstract experience/conceptionssuch as jhana (or absorption) or how t he five aggregates work together to produce the illusionof a personality.

Integral with the effort to teach serenity is the encouragement of the practice of sila (virtue ormorality). The importance of silacannot be stressed enough. Its practice is the foundat ion for apractice in serenity (samatha). Without a clear conscience, mental calm in contemplation andmeditation will be difficult to come by. A guilty conscience can be a hotbed of mental agitation.If a person is lying, cheating, stealing or whatever, these actions can weigh on the mind,

distract ing it from being able to calm down while in sit t ing meditat ion. If an individual is having adifficult time being able to calm the mind during meditation, this is one of the first places theyshould look in self examination in order to determine the source of the disturbance.

So, while a practitioner may start with a practice in samatha in order to help calm the mind sothat it will be able to develop clear seeing (vipassana) and not become distracted by thoughtsunrelated to the meditation subject, the quality of seeing clearly is also at work, assisting themind to recognize how it is able to achieve tranquility. This process can also be reversed, withthe practitioner beginning with a practice of clear seeing in order to figure out how to calm themind through correcting ignorance. In either case, once the mind knows how to achieve thegoal it is aiming at — for example, serenity — it can more quickly reach that goal in order toproceed with the development of the second quality of clear seeing, whose task is removingmental defilements and correcting ignorance. In this way, serenity and clear seeing are always

working toget her in anyone's pract ice.

The Practical Use of Jhana in One's Pract ice — Part Three

The ingenuity of the Buddha's method is that it works simultaneously with the cultivation ofeach of the two main ingredients of the path of development that he recommended.Concentration (unification of the mind, or samadhi ) is achieved in serenity (samatha) training.This is the quality of mind that allows it to focus one-pointedly on an object. RightConcentration (samma samadhi ; the eighth step of the Noble Eightfold Path) is achieved withproper discernment or clear seeing into the true nature of phenomena and events inaccordance with t he other seven path factors of the Noble Eightfold Path; in other words, withproper mindfulness and wise or appropriate attention ( yoniso manasikara) contextualized

within the noble eightfold path scheme. Mindfulness (sati ) is achieved with the ability to

maintain awareness of the present moment, which is enhanced by strong concentration andthe practice of satipatthana. Right Mindfulness (samma sati ; the seventh step of the NobleEightfold Path) is achieved through the practice and maintenance of "the four establishmentsof mindfulness" (cattaro satipatthana) on form, feeling, mind states, and mind objects(phenomena). A mind that is mindful of these four areas of observation is able to correct any



misapprehension that might occur due to conditioning as long as Right View is present.

Integral to the establishment of both concentrat ion and mindfulness is samadhi (and/or jhana).The deep levels of calm and concentration experienced in samadhi (and absorption samadhi )are transferred as though by osmosis from meditative contemplation to ordinary states ofconscious awareness once formal meditation ends. This allows the mind to remain in a

profound inner peaceful state of serenity called passaddhi, or inner tranquility. This stateof passaddhi , when combined with Right View and Right Thought, is what allows the mind to"see things as t hey really are." Although this state is only temporary due t o the impermanancyof its nature, its duration can be extended or can be re-established once it has subsided aslong as sati remains act ive.Sati , that is, in the sense of mindful awarenesss or recollection ofthe object of awareness — such object which for purposes of this example is the breath.

The breath is a perfect object for maintaining tranquility induced by sati because one can bepassively mindful of the breath even while other events are actively capturing the mind's

attention. Although the mind may not be fully focused on the breath in the foreground (as itgenerally is during a formal meditation session), the fact that it remains mindful of the breath inthe background allows the continuity of calm or inner tranquility ( passaddhi ) to continueunimpeded during ordinary consciousness. The ability to perform this feat is aided andstrengthened by the practice of deep levels of absorption (jhana) during formal meditation,

which in turn helps to develop stronger levels of concentrative ability outside of formalmeditation. In other words, the mind is not straining to maintain mindfulness of the breathduring these moments; rather, it is able with ease to remain undistracted by the actions ofouter events or inner thoughts in the foreground while maintaining its background focus uponthe breath.

The practice which makes all this possible is the practice of absorption. Jhana is thus used asa booster for the mind in the cultivation of the qualities of concentration and mindfulness.Without a practice in absorption, the mind, in many instances, would be hard pressed to beable to maintain mindfulness or concentration in the wake of the many distractions andstimulations that impede upon it on a continuous momentary basis. A mind that is"concentrated, purified and cleansed, unblemished, free from impurities, malleable, workable,established, and having gained imperturbability" is able, at will, to overcome any of the fivehindrances (in particular, sloth and torpor and restlessness and worry in addition to sensuous

lust, ill will , and skeptical doubt ). It is therefore less likely to become distracted from its subjectof appropriate att ention.

As Thanissaro Bhikkhu has written: "Mindfulness is what keeps the perspective of appropriateattention in mind. Modern psychological research has shown that attention comes in discretemoments. You can be attentive to something for only a very short period of t ime and then youhave to remind yourself, moment after moment, to return to it if you want to keep on beingattentive. In other words, continuous attention—the type that can observe things over time—has to be stitched together from short intervals. This is what mindfulness is for. It keeps the

object of your att ention and the purpose of your at tention in mind."

Mundane concentration and mindfulness are qualities of mind that are absolutely necessary in



assisting the mind to be able to respond appropriately when having to make determinations. Ina practical sense, by establishing and nurturing concentration and mindfulness you stay withunpleasant things not only to accept them, but to watch and to understand them. Onceyou've clearly seen that a part icular quality (like aversion or lust) is harmful for t he mind, you areable to see that it must be abandoned if you wish to promote skillful qualities. You arepresented with an opportunity to make whatever effort is needed to get rid of this or thatquality and to nourish skillful qualities in its place by bringing in other factors of the path: likeRight Intention and Right Act ion.

In being able to recognize that t ranquility and clear seeing are used together to master jhana, which itself is used to strengthen tranquility and clear seeing, we are able to confirm forourselves from personal experience how samatha and vipassana are utilized together ratherthan as separate practices. It becomes obvious to us, then, that the practice of the oneenhances the practice of the other. It 's all about gett ing the mind to sett le down so that it maybe used to get to the bottom of things — to see them as they truly are and not as we may

have been conditioned to see them.

The Practical Use of Jhana in One's Pract ice — Part Four

Inevitably, the question arises: "How does one switch from samatha to vipassana in the midstof meditation?" It's really quite easy; it can literally happen in the blink of an eye! That's howquickly the alert mind can move. As long as sati is established, it just takes changing one'sfocus from the breath to a subject of insight. One directs the mind to, for instance, the themeof one's feeling or to observing the state of mind (whether it is with or without anger, lust or

whatever) or to whatever other subject mat ter one wishes to observe to gain more insight. It 's just a matter of making the determinat ion and doing it . All this happens (or can happen) withina state of absorption.

Many are taught that absorption, real absorption, is supposed to be an all-consuming activity.That in order to practice vipassana one must first surmount (or come out of) the practice ofabsorption in order to make the switch from calm to insight practice. If you've been followingalong with this series of brief essays, then you know that nothing could be further from the

truth. Insight can take place within absorption. The breath can remain in the background whilethe subject of insight is focused upon and examined in the foreground. All it takes is but aslight adjustment of the mind, and wah-lah, the switch is made.

The only thing that changes is that the mind switches from a focus on deepening levels oftranquility over to directing thought and investigation toward a different theme (insight into theFour Noble Truths, for example, or into the nature of the five aggregates). For people to saythat this is not possible within the jhanic state is just not supported by personal experience orby the discourses. True, one may have to emerge slightly from the fourth jhana and reestablish

directed thought and examination from the first jhana. But this movement occurs naturally andautomatically within the mind without any fuss or strenuous effort, and more importantly, is notinconsistent with what is described in the discourses.



In order to make this switch in focus happen, a significant level of mindfulness must have beenreached and be present in the mind. Without sati and without perhaps having beforehandestablished an insight subject for observat ion, the mind can find it difficult to change from thepleasant object sensation of a peaceful contemplation of the breath to another subject.Observing the peacefulness of the breath can be such a calm and relaxing experience thatone can become inescapably caught up in it. It may serve as a refreshing respite from

whatever chaos we've had to endure during our normal everyday life, and we find ourselves

reluctant to leave it. This is why it is often wise to determine an insight (vipassana)subject before we undertake the meditation session. This helps, in the midst of thepleasantness of having established calm, to remind ourself (recollection being a key feature ofthe "presence of mind" aspect of sati ) about the insight subject we wish to contemplate inmore depth.

It is also important to point out that insight is not limited to taking place during formalizedmeditation. Contemplat ion on mat ters of insight can take place either during meditat ion (as itoften does) or during moments of waking consciousness when we have decided to

contemplate on a certain subject, such as when one is reading and contemplating the subjectmatter of a book. The important factors that are always present, no matter which method isutilized, are the tranquil and concentrated nature of the mind. A calm and concentrated mind isnecessary in order for clear seeing to arise.

The Pali discourses of the Buddha and the exegetical material (the commentaries on the Palitexts) give two different pictures of the role that the establishments of mindfulness(satipatthana) play in the practice. Some state that developing the establishments ofmindfulness is a prerequisite for jhana, which then forms a basis for transcendent discernment(liberation or awakening). Others make no mention of absorption, stating that one goes directlyfrom the establishments of mindfulness to the transcendent. On the surface this would seemto indicate that there are two alternative paths: one with jhana and one without. This reading,however, contradicts many passages which maintain that jhana is necessary for thedevelopment of transcendent discernment. Some of these passages simply say"concentration" instead of jhana. Within the community of "dry" insight practitioners (thatmethod of vipassana which is supposedly without jhana) they see no need for defining"concentration" — as it is referenced within the discourses — according to the way it hascome to be defined within those very same discourses, which is as "right concentration," whichin turn refers to nothing other than jhana.

As the Buddha once stated (AN 6.64): "Knowledge of the ending of the effluents, as it hascome to be, occurs to one who is concentrated, I tell you, and not to one who is notconcentrated. So concentration is the path, monks. Non-concent ration is no path at all."

We also find suggestions in other passages indicating that the development of theestablishments of mindfulness (satipatthana) implicitly entails the full development of the

seven factors of enlightenment (bojjhangas), which include mindfulness, investigation, energy,rapture, tranquility, concentration, and equanimity. Because these factors are not only closelyassociated but also in some cases coincide with jhana, this would indicate that the properdevelopment ofsatipatthana incorporates the practice of absorption, in and of itself.



This reading is confirmed by the Satipatthana-vibhanga Sutta (SN 47.40) which states that the way to develop satipatthana is through the noble eightfold path, which includes jhana. It is alsoconfirmed by the Anapanasati Sutta (MN 118), which describes how the establishments ofmindfulness relate to the sixteen steps of breath meditation. These sixteen steps are also adescription of how jhana is developed and then used as a vehicle for fostering discernmentand the ending of defilements of the mind. From this it becomes obvious that the outline for

the establishments of mindfulness practice is a description of the stages in the mindfulmastery of jhana and its application for ending mental effluents.

O r i g i n a l :http://www.dharmaoverground.org/web/guest/discussion/-

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Documents

A General, All Purpose Jhana Thread - Ian And