10 Ways to ZEN (jhana)

Wisdom Quarterly, Ven. Buddhaghosa (Path of Purification)

Serenity is beginner's mind, our natural joy and tranquility, free of neurosis -- "monkey mind," distraction, worry, ADHD, believing mere thoughts, etc. (alibaba.com).

Meditation (jhana, zen) Means Merit

Successful meditation is spectacularly profitable karma (merit). Allowing full absorption (into a single object) purifies the heart/mind.

It is redounding with profit leading to the storing up of tremendously beneficial karma (seeds with the capacity to exponentially ripen with pleasant results).

Jhana has the power to lead to rebirth as a divinity, in accordance with the depth and level of mastery if it is held at the time of passing.

Moreover, it can serve as the basis for fruitful insight (vipassana) practice. In this case it becomes supermundane, leading to enlightenment here and now.

What destroys serenity and insight? These Five Hindrances oppose absorption: sensual craving, ill-will, physical sloth and mental torpor, restlessness and remorse, doubt and uncertainty.

What gives rise to successful meditation? These five Factors of Absorption (zen, jhana, dhyana) lead to "right concentration," a component of the Noble Eightfold Path: application of mind, sustained attention, rapture, joy, and concentration.

The ancient commentarial Path of Purification (Vissudhimagga I 128) gives ten ways to improve the likelihood of gaining one of these serene states of stillness:

1. Purify the basis: clean body, clean surroundings (wearing white), clean conscience.
2. Balance these five factors: Energy equal to concentration and faith to understanding with no limit on mindfulness.
3. Skill in the sign: develop a nimitta (internal light or object so intense that the mind creates a counterpart) by balanced persistence.
   
4. Exert mind on all occasions: steady persistence is more fruitful than spurts of effort.
5. Control mind on all occasions: restraint is a blessing, as are mindfulness and clear comprehension.
6. Encourage mind on occasions when it is advantageous to rouse and cheer it.
7. Observe the mind with equanimity: when things proceed appropriately.
8. Avoid distracted, agitated, frantic, unconcentrated, and stressful people.
9. Cultivates company with well focused, determined, and concentrated people.
10. Resolutely determine level of absorption (of the eight jhanas) to be practiced. (This is done by emerging from one level of absorption and reflecting on its defects and the peacefulness of being free from those defects. For example, the defect of the first jhana is that it is very close to the ordinary scattered mind because of the Five Hindrances; the second jhana is far from those distressing influences).

Real "magic" explained in Buddhism (video)

Wisdom Quarterly

Other than jhana mastery in this or a previous life, what could explain this mystery?

"Meditative absorptions" (jhanas) are one way to marvels and magical powers (that are dangerous due to hidden pitfalls). Buddhaghosa's Path of Purification describes the method. Once the absorptions are developed, the adept amy then choose to develop the five supernormal powers (abhinnas or siddhis) of Indian lore.

• Divine Eye (dibba cakkhu) - clairvoyance or the ability to see earthly and celestial at a distance and unseen by the physical eyes. Cutupapatanana is knowing and seeing the passing away and reappearing of beings. Anagatainsanana is seeing the [probable] future. Yathakammupagatanana is knowledge and vision of beings cycling in accordance with their karma.
• Divine Ear (dibba sotta) - clairaudience or the power to hear ordinary sounds at a distance as well as subtle (unearthly) sounds from beyond.
• Recollection of Past Lives (pubenivasanusattuna) - reviewing one's own and others' rebirths.
• Mind Reading (paracitta vijanana) - directly knowing one's heart/mind.
  
• Psychic Powers (iddhividha, iddhis, or siddhis) - such as flying through the air, walking on water like earth, plunging into earth like water...

These abilities may be used skillfully but are much more likely to seduce one and lead to utter ruin. Even the Buddha, seeing danger in them, was reluctant to use them. Arhats, who do not necessarily have them, do not make public displays of them. It is possible to attain enlightenment without mastering these powers. Some say it is possible to awaken without the aid of the absorptions (jhanas) through the very difficult "dry insight" method, which it is said makes use of vipassana-jhanas (most likely access or neighborhood concentration).

• PHOTOS: Guards at Emerald Buddha Temple
• Seven energy centers (chakras) meditation
• Lustfully crushing on Hollywood stars, starlets
• Sexual Anarchy or molestation? (sodahead.com)
  

The Blissful Way to Meditate

Wisdom Quarterly

(Philiproeland/Flickr)



It was only when Siddhartha stopped being afraid of pleasure dissociated from sensuality that he entered upon the path to enlightenment. For it is not by austerity but by happiness that one finds nirvana: "There is no way to happiness; happiness ["pleasure" (sukha) as a factor of absorption] is the way!"



(More happy panda pictures at Kjdrill/Flickr)

Meditative bliss (piti in jhana or zen, dhyana, ch'an) is given shortshrift in this age of insight (vipassana). But profound concentration serves as the best foundation for the work of penetrative wisdom.



It purifies the mind-heart and stabilizes mindfulness. It intensifies the mind making it manifest what it is capable of, things we ourselves would not believe of it.



For example, when coming out of a meditative absorption it is very useful to review the factors of absorption associated with it. In this way one ensures where in the practice one is. This is done by turning attention toward the "mind door" which is located in the area of the physical heart. Without absorption (or at least access concentration), one sees nothing.



But with it one notices something that has always been there: a greenish mirror reflecting whatever is in the mind. One can then check the factors. (Only do this under a teacher skilled in the absorptions for, as the Gavi Sutra or "Cow Discourse" points out, one foolishly loses even the absorption one has already gained to say nothing of going no higher).

The importance of "Jhanas" in Buddhism

Stephanie Nash (mindfulnessarts.org) interviews Leigh Brasington, respected jhana meditation teacher about the "meditative absorptions." This is the beginning of a longer interview about the what, why, and how of jhanas as part of a meditation practice. Filmed in August 2009 at Cloud Mountain Retreat Center, Washington.



The Jhanas in Ancient Buddhism

Ven. Henepola Gunaratana ("Bhante G")

The various subjects and methods of meditation divide into two inter-related systems. One is called the development of serenity (samatha), the other the development of insight (vipassana).



The former also goes under the name of development of concentration (samadhi), the latter the development of wisdom (pañña). The practice of serenity meditation aims at developing a calm, concentrated, unified mind as a means of experiencing inner peace and as a basis for wisdom.



The practice of insight meditation aims at gaining a direct understanding of the real nature of phenomena.



Of the two, the development of insight is regarded by Buddhism as the essential key to liberation, the direct antidote to the ignorance underlying bondage and suffering.



Whereas serenity meditation is recognized as common to both Buddhist and non-Buddhist contemplative disciplines, insight meditation is held to be the unique discovery of the Buddha and an unparalleled feature of his path.



However, because the growth of insight presupposes a certain degree of concentration, and serenity meditation helps to achieve this, the development of serenity also claims an incontestable place in the Buddhist meditative process.



Jon Kabat Zinn narrates a guided meditation that corresponds to the first two stages of Ajahn Brahm's jhana meditation technique: (1) Letting go of past and future, placing attention on the body, (2) letting go of inner chatter, placing attention on sounds, (3) letting go of diversity, placing attention only on the breath.



Together the two types of meditation work to make the mind a fit instrument for enlightenment. With his mind unified by means of the development of serenity, made sharp and bright by the development of insight, the meditator can proceed unobstructed to reach the end of suffering, nirvana.

Pivotal to both systems of meditation, though belonging inherently to the side of serenity, is a set of meditative attainments called the jhanas. Though translators have offered various renderings of this word, ranging from the feeble "musing" to the misleading "trance" and the ambiguous "meditation," we prefer to leave the word untranslated and to let its meaning emerge from its contextual usages.

From these it is clear that the jhanas are states of deep mental unification that result from the centering of the mind upon a single object with such power of attention that a total immersion in the object takes place.

The early sutras speak of four absorptions, named simply after their numerical position in the series: the first jhana, the second jhana, the third jhana, and the forth jhana. In the sutras the four repeatedly appear each described by a standard formula, which we will examine later in detail.

The importance of the jhanas in the Buddhist path can readily be gauged from the frequency with which they are mentioned throughout the discourses. They figure prominently both in the Buddha's own experience and in his exhortation to disciples.

In his childhood, while attending an annual plowing festival, the future Buddha spontaneously entered the first jhana. It was the memory of this childhood incident, many years later [during his six year quest for enlightenment] after his futile pursuit of austerities, that revealed to him the way to enlightenment during his period of deepest despondency (M.i, 246-247).

After taking his seat beneath the Bodhi tree, [Siddhartha] entered the four jhanas immediately before direction his mind to the threefold knowledge that issued in his enlightenment (M.i.247-249).

Throughout his active career the four jhanas remained "his heavenly dwelling" (D.iii.220) to which he resorted in order to live happily here and now.

His understanding of the corruption, purification, and emergence in the jhanas and other meditative attainments is one of the Ten Powers [of a Buddha or Tathagata] which enable him to turn the matchless wheel of the Dharma (M.i.70).

Just before his passing away the Buddha entered the jhanas in direct and reverse order, and the passing away itself took place directly from the fourth jhana (D.ii.156).

The Buddha is constantly seen in the suttas encouraging his disciples to develop jhana. The four jhanas are invariably included in the complete course of training laid down for disciples ("Fruits of Recluseship" discourse (DN 2; MN 27).

They figure in the training as the discipline of the Noble Eightfold Path... More