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).

"Master of the Divine Eye" (Anuruddha)

Hellmuth Hecker (Dhammikaweb.com), Wisdom Quarterly

Anuruddha Master of the Divine Eye
The Buddha’s father, King Suddhodana, had a brother who had five children. His name was Prince Amitodana. Among those was Ananda, who later became the Buddha’s faithful attendant who with his super memory preserved the sutras, and Mahanama, heir to the Sakyan throne. A third brother was Anuruddha.

Among those who were pre-eminent in a particular skill was Ven. Anuruddha. He was praised by the Buddha for being "foremost in developing the divine eye." The divine eye (dibba-cakkhu) is the ability to see beyond the range of the physical eye.

In Anuruddha’s case it extended to a thousandfold world system, which might perhaps be [the equivalent of] a galaxy in modern astronomy. This faculty can be obtained by one who has reached the fourth meditative absorption (jhāna) who then takes this [foundation in extreme concentration] as the basis for further development as described in The Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga).

The divine eye is of a mundane or worldly character (the world being the world system not merely this planet). It can be obtained by an unliberated, unenlightened worldling (puthujjana) as well as by those on the four stages of emancipation. Anuruddha attained it before he became fully enlightened. Read (Download)

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Absorption Advice (Jhana Meditation)

(jhanasadvice.com)

Pa Auk Sayadaw is a Theravada Buddhist scholar-practitioner. Two of his accomplished Western students are Stephen Snyder and Tina Rasmussen. They are offering retreats, day long meditations, and interviews (advice on practicing to gain profound serenity).



2011 Retreats

3-day meditation retreat at Cloud Mountain, Dec. 9-12, 2011



Dharma Talks, Daylongs, Interviews

• Tina Rasmussen was recently interviewed by Nonduality Magazine, an online magazine featuring interviews with teachers from a wide variety of traditions. Stephen Snyder will be interviewed for the next issue.

Dharma Talks

• Sacramento, CA on April 21 & 22, 2012
• We have posted a Dharma talk recorded in November, 2009 when Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw invited us to teach at the Theravada Dhamma Society near San Francisco, California.
• We were interviewed in 2010 by Vince Horn at BuddhistGeeks.com. It was a lot of fun talking about the "Jedi Warrior Training" yogis described experiencing at our Dec. 2009- Jan 2010 retreat. Click here for the link, and scroll down to the interviews (in two parts).

Upcoming 2012 and 2013 Retreats

• 25-day Retreat in Washington, 2013: We will also offer our first 25-day retreat, October 13-November 8, 2013, at a private retreat center on Samish Island, near Bellingham, Washington. The estimated cost is $1,350 and all rooms are single cabins. Pre-registration is now open.
• These retreats are in addition to our usual 13-day annual retreat at Cloud Mountain, which next year will be held Sept 8-21, 2012. See Events page for details.
  
  

Spirit Rock Daylong: In Jan. 2011, we held our first daylong at Spirit Rock Meditation Center (near San Francisco). We were delighted that 120 people attended with very positive feedback.

Practicing the Jhanas Book

• Now available for e-readers! The e-reader version of Jhanas Advice is sold at a reduced cost, on Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble, and Google.
• Practicing the Jhanas (Shambhala Publications) is available in major bookstores and most Internet booksellers. Or order from JhanasAdvice.com (Books page).
  
  
• The original Jhanas Advice from Two Spiritual Friends was purchased by more than 550 people in 31 countries on six continents in a two year period. The Shambhala version contains one additional chapter on "First Sit to First Jhana" as well as an expanded section on the Purification of Mind. Several wonderful reviews of our book have been released, including Yoga Journal UK, Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal, and Buddhadharma. The latest can be found here.

Knowing and Seeing by Pa Auk Sayadaw

This seminal text is now available at cost for purchase on Amazon.com thanks to two yogis in our sangha -- Ted Weinstein and Michael Nagy. The book is beautiful and much easier to read and use than the downloadable version. It sells for $15.99 (nonprofit) with any small proceeds being donated to Pa Auk Forest Monastery in Burma. Click here to order. For a description visit Books/Dana page.