Dhyana in Buddhism

See also:Samadhi,Samatha,Vipassanā,andDhyana in Hinduism

Dhyāna
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	Thiền
Simplified Chinese	Thiền
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Chán Wade–Giles Ch’an Yue: Cantonese Jyutping sim4
Tibetan name
Tibetan	བསམ་གཏན
Transcriptions Wylie bsam gtan
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	Thiền
Hán-Nôm	Thiền
Korean name
Hangul	선
Hanja	Thiền
Transcriptions Revised Romanization Seon McCune–Reischauer Sŏn
Japanese name
Kanji	Thiền định or tĩnh lự
Transcriptions Romanization Zenjyō or Jyōryo
Filipino name
Tagalog	Dhyana
Sanskrit name
Sanskrit	ध्यान(inDevanagari) Dhyāna(Romanised)
Pāli name
Pāli	𑀛𑀸𑀦(inBrāhmī) ඣාන(inSinhala) ឈាន/ធ្យាន(inKhmer) ဈာန်(inBurmese) ၛာန်(inMon) Jhāna(Romanised) ฌาน(inThai)

Buddha depicted in dhyāna,Amaravati,India

In the oldest texts ofBuddhism,dhyāna(Sanskrit:ध्यान) orjhāna(Pali:𑀛𑀸𑀦) is a component of the training of the mind (bhavana), commonly translated asmeditation,to withdraw the mind from the automatic responses to sense-impressions, "burn up" thedefilements,and leading to a "state of perfectequanimityand awareness (upekkhā-sati-parisuddhi). "Dhyānamay have been the core practice ofpre-sectarian Buddhism,in combination with several related practices which together lead to perfected mindfulness and detachment.

In the later commentarial tradition, which has survived in present-dayTheravāda,dhyānais equated with "concentration", a state of one-pointed absorption in which there is a diminished awareness of the surroundings. In the contemporary Theravāda-basedVipassana movement,this absorbed state of mind is regarded as unnecessary and even non-beneficial for thefirst stage of awakening,which has to be reached by mindfulness of the body andvipassanā(insight into impermanence). Since the 1980s, scholars and practitioners have started to question these positions, arguing for a more comprehensive and integrated understanding and approach, based on the oldest descriptions ofdhyānain thesuttas.

In Buddhist traditions ofChánandZen(the names of which are, respectively, the Chinese and Japanese pronunciations ofdhyāna), as in Theravada and Tiantai,anapanasati(mindfulness of breathing), which is transmitted in the Buddhist tradition as a means to develop dhyana, is a central practice. In the Chan/Zen-tradition this practice is ultimately based onSarvastivāda meditation techniquestransmitted since the beginning of theCommon Era.

Etymology

Dhyāna,Palijhana,from Proto-Indo-European root*√dheie-,"to see, to look", "to show".Developed into Sanskrit root√dhīand n.dhī,which in the earliest layer of text of theVedasrefers to "imaginative vision" and associated with goddessSaraswatiwith powers of knowledge, wisdom and poetic eloquence.This term developed into the variant√dhyā,"to contemplate, meditate, think",from whichdhyānais derived.

According toBuddhaghosa(5th century CE Theravāda exegete), the termjhāna(Skt.dhyāna) is derived from the verbjhayati,"to think or meditate", while the verbjhapeti,"to burn up", explicates its function, namely burning up opposing states, burning up or destroying "the mental defilements preventing [...] the development of serenity and insight."

Commonly translated asmeditation,and often equated with "concentration", though meditation may refer to a wider scale of exercises forbhāvanā,development.Dhyānacan also mean "attention, thought, reflection".

ZoroastrianisminPersia,which has Indo-Aryan linguistic and cultural roots, developed the related practice ofdaena.

Thejhāna/dhyana-stages

ThePāḷi Canondescribes four progressive states ofjhānacalledrūpa jhāna( "formjhāna"),and four additional meditative attainments calledarūpa( "without form" ).

Integrated set of practices

See also:Buddhist meditationandBuddhist paths to liberation

Meditation and contemplation form an integrated set of practices with several other practices, which are fully realized with the onset ofdhyāna.As described in theNoble Eightfold Path,right view leads to leaving the household life and becoming a wandering monk.Sīla(morality) comprises the rules for right conduct.Right effort,or thefour right efforts,which already contains elements ofdhyāna,aim to prevent the arising of unwholesome states, and to generate wholesome states. This includesindriya samvara(sense restraint), controlling the response to sensual perceptions, not giving in to lust and aversion but simply noticing the objects of perception as they appear.Right effort andmindfulness( "to remember to observe"), notably mindfulness of breathing, calm the mind-body complex, releasingunwholesome statesand habitual patterns, and encouraging the development ofwholesome statesand non-automatic responses.By following these cumulative steps and practices, the mind becomes set, almost naturally, for the equanimity ofdhyāna,reinforcing the development of wholesome states, which in return further reinforces equanimity and mindfulness.

Therūpa jhānas

See also:Seven Factors of Awakening

In the sutras,jhānais entered when one 'sits down cross-legged and establishes mindfulness'. According to Buddhist tradition, it may be supported byānāpānasati,mindfulness of breathing, a core meditative practice which can be found in almost all schools of Buddhism. TheSuttapiṭakaand theAgamas describe four stages ofrūpa jhāna.Rūparefers to the material realm, in a neutral stance, as different from thekāma-realm (lust, desire) and thearūpa-realm (non-material realm).While interpreted in the Theravada-tradition as describing a deepening concentration and one-pointedness, originally thejhānasseem to describe a development frominvestigating body and mindandabandoning unwholesome states,to perfected equanimity and watchfulness,an understanding which is retained in Zen and Dzogchen.The stock description of thejhānas,with traditional and alternative interpretations, is as follows:

1. Firstjhāna:

   Separated(vivicceva) from desire for sensual pleasures, separated (vivicca) from [other]unwholesome states(akusalehi dhammehi,unwholesomedhammas), abhikkhuenters upon and abides in the firstjhana,which is [mental]pīti( "rapture," "joy" ) and [bodily]sukha( "pleasure"; also: 'lasting', in contrast to 'transient' (dukkha)) "born ofviveka"(traditionally," seclusion "; alternatively," discrimination "(of dhamma's)), accompanied byvitarka-vicara(traditionally, initial and sustained attention to a meditative object; alternatively, initial inquiry andsubsequent investigationofdhammas(defilementsand wholesome thoughts); also: "discursive thought").

2. Secondjhāna:

   Again, with the stilling ofvitarka-vicara,a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the secondjhana,which is [mental]pītiand [bodily]sukha"born ofsamadhi"(samadhi-ji;trad. born of "concentration"; altern. "knowing but non-discursive [...] awareness,""bringing the buried latencies orsamskarasinto full view "), and hassampasadana( "stillness,""inner tranquility") andekaggata(unification of mind,awareness) withoutvitarka-vicara;

3. Thirdjhāna:

   With the fading away ofpīti,a bhikkhu abides inupekkhā(equanimity, "" affective detachment "),sato(mindful) and [with]sampajañña( "fully knowing,""discerning awareness"). [Still] experiencingsukhawith the body, he enters upon and abides in the thirdjhana,on account of which the noble ones announce, "abiding in [bodily] pleasure, one is equanimous and mindful".

4. Fourthjhāna:

   With the abandoning of [the desire for]sukha( "pleasure" ) and [aversion to]dukkha( "pain") and with the previous disappearance of [the inner movement between]somanassa( "gladness,") anddomanassa( "discontent"), a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the fourthjhana,which isadukkham asukham( "neither-painful-nor-pleasurable,""freedom from pleasure and pain") and hasupekkhā-sati-parisuddhi(complete purity ofequanimityand mindfulness).

Thearūpa āyatanas

See also:Formless Realm

Grouped into thejhāna-scheme are four meditative states referred to in the early texts asarūpa-āyatanas.These are also referred to in commentarial literature asarūpa-jhānas ( "formless" or "immaterial"jhānas), corresponding to thearūpa-loka(translated as the "formless realm" or the "formless dimensions" ), to be distinguished from the first fourjhānas(rūpa jhānas). In the Buddhist canonical texts, the word "jhāna"is never explicitly used to denote them; they are instead referred to asāyatana.However, they are sometimes mentioned in sequence after the first fourjhānas (other texts, e.g. MN 121, treat them as a distinct set of attainments) and thus came to be treated by later exegetes asjhānas.

The fourarūpa-āyatanas/arūpa-jhānas are:

• Fifthjhāna:infinite space (Pāḷiākāsānañcāyatana,Skt.ākāśānantyāyatana)
• Sixthjhāna:infinite consciousness (Pāḷiviññāṇañcāyatana,Skt.vijñānānantyāyatana)
• Seventhjhāna:infinite nothingness (Pāḷiākiñcaññāyatana,Skt.ākiṃcanyāyatana)
• Eighthjhāna:neither perception nor non-perception (Pāḷinevasaññānāsaññāyatana,Skt.naivasaṃjñānāsaṃjñāyatana

Nirodha-samāpatti

Beyond the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception lies a state callednirodha samāpatti,the "cessation of perception, feelings and consciousness". Only in commentarial and scholarly literature, this is sometimes called the "ninthjhāna".Another name for this state issaññāvedayitanirodha( "cessation of perception and feeling" ). According to Buddhaghosa'sVisuddhimagga(XXIII, 18), it is characterized by the temporary suppression of consciousness and its concomitant mental factors, so the contemplative reaches a state unconscious (acittaka) for a week at most. In thenirodharemain unically some elementary physiological process designated, in theMahāvedalla-sutta,by the termsāyuandusmā.Neuroscientists have recently studied this phenomena empirically and proposed a model for its neural-substrate.

Broader dhyana-practices

Whiledhyanatypically refers to the fourjhanas/dhyanas,the term also refers to a set of practices which seem to go back to a very early stage of the Buddhist tradition. These practices are the contemplation on the body-parts and their repulsiveness (patikulamanasikara); contemplation on the elements of which the body is composed; contemplation on the stages of decay of a dead body; and mindfulness of breathing (anapanasati).These practices are described in theSatipatthana Suttaof the Pali canon and the equivalent texts of the Chineseagamas,in which they are interwoven with the factors of the fourdhyanasor the seven factors of awakening (bojjhanga). This set of practices was also transmitted via theDhyana sutras,which are based on the Sarvastivada-tradition, forming the basis of the Chan/Zen-tradition.

Early Buddhism

Main articles:Enlightenment in BuddhismandNirvana

The Buddhist tradition has incorporated two traditions regarding the use ofjhāna.There is a tradition that stresses attaining insight (vipassanā) as the means to awakening (bodhi,prajñā,kenshō) andliberation(vimutti,nibbāna).But the Buddhist tradition has also incorporated the yogic tradition, as reflected in the use ofjhānaas a concentrative practice, which—in some interpretations—is rejected in other sūtras as not resulting in the final result of liberation. One solution to this contradiction is the conjunctive use ofvipassanāandsamatha.

Origins of thejhāna/dhyāna-stages

Textual accounts

TheMahasaccaka Sutta,Majjhima Nikaya 36, narrates the story of the Buddha's awakening. According to this story, he learned two kinds of meditation from two teachers,Uddaka RāmaputtaandĀḷāra Kālāma.These forms of meditation did not lead to liberation, and he then underwent harsh ascetic practices, with which he eventually also became disillusioned. The Buddha then recalled a meditative state he entered by chance as a child:

I thought: 'I recall once, when my father the Sakyan was working, and I was sitting in the cool shade of a rose-apple tree, then—quite secluded from sensuality, secluded from unskillful mental qualities—I entered & remained in the first jhana: rapture & pleasure born from seclusion, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation. Could that be the path to Awakening?' Then following on that memory came the realization: 'That is the path to Awakening.'

Originally, the practice ofdhyānaitself may have constituted the core liberating practice of early Buddhism, since in this state all "pleasure and pain" had waned.According to Vetter,

Probably the word "immortality"(a-mata)was used by the Buddha for the first interpretation of this experience and not the term cessation of suffering that belongs to the Four Noble Truths [...] the Buddha did not achieve the experience of salvation by discerning the Four Noble Truths and/or other data. But his experience must have been of such a nature that it could bear the interpretation "achieving immortality".

Possible Buddhist transformation of yogic practices

The time of the Buddha saw the rise of theśramaṇamovement, ascetic practitioners with a body of shared teachings and practices.The strict delineation of this movement into Jainism, Buddhism and brahmanical/Upanishadic traditions is a later development.According to Crangle, the development of meditative practices in ancient India was a complex interplay between Vedic and non-Vedic traditions.According to Bronkhorst, the fourrūpa-jhānasmay be an original contribution of the Buddha to the religious practices of ancient India, forming an alternative to the ascetic practices of theJainsand similarśramaṇatraditions, while thearūpa-āyatanaswere incorporated from non-Buddhist ascetic traditions.

"That meditation-expert (muni) becomes eternally free who, seeking the Supreme Goal, is able to withdraw from external phenomena by fixing his gaze within the mid-spot of the eyebrows and by neutralizing the even currents of prana and apana [that flow] within the nostrils and lungs; and to control his sensory mind and intellect; and to banish desire, fear, and anger.”

—The Bhagavad Gita V:27-28

Kalupahana argues that the Buddha "reverted to the meditational practices" he had learned fromĀḷāra KālāmaandUddaka Rāmaputta,"directed at the appeasement of mind rather than the development of insight." Moving beyond these initial practices, reflection gave him the essential insight into conditioning, and learned him how to appease his "dispositional tendencies", without either being dominated by them, nor completely annihilating them.

Wynne argues that the attainment of the formless meditative absorption was incorporated from Brahmanical practices, and have Brahmnanical cosmogenies as their doctrinal background.Wynne therefore concludes that these practices were borrowed from a Brahminic source, namely Uddaka Rāmaputta and Āḷāra Kālāma.Yet the Buddha rejected their doctrines, as they were not liberating, and discovered his own path to awakening,which "consisted of the adaptation of the old yogic techniques to the practice of mindfulness and attainment of insight." Thus "radically transform[ed]" application of yogic practices was conceptualized in the scheme of the fourjhānas.

Yet—according to Bronkhorst—the Buddha's teachings developed primarily in response to Jain teachings, not Brahmanical teachings,and the account of the Buddha practicing under Uddaka Rāmaputta and Āḷāra Kālāma is entirely fictitious, and meant to flesh out the mentioning of those names in the post-enlightenment narrative in Majjhima Nikaya 36.Vishvapani notes that the Brahmanical texts cited by Wynne assumed their final form long after the Buddha's lifetime, with the Mokshadharma postdating him. Vishvapani further notes that Uddaka Rāmaputta and Āḷāra Kālāma may well have been sramanic teachers, as the Buddhist tradition asserts, not Brahmins.

Five possibilities regardingjhānaand liberation

See also:Buddhist paths to awakeningandSubitism

A stock phrase in the canon states that one develops the fourrupa-jhānasand then attains liberating insight. While the texts often refer to comprehending the Four Noble Truths as constituting this "liberating insight", Schmithausen notes that the Four Noble Truths as constituting "liberating insight" (here referring topaññā) is a later addition to texts such as Majjhima Nikaya 36.

Schmithausen discerns three possible roads to liberation as described in the suttas, to which Vetter adds a fourth possibility, while the attainment ofnirodha-samāpattimay constitute a fifth possibility:

1. Mastering the fourjhānas,whereafter "liberating insight" is attained;
2. Mastering the fourjhānasand the fourarūpa-āyatanas,whereafter "liberating insight" is attained;
3. Liberating insight itself suffices;
4. The fourjhānasthemselves constituted the core liberating practice of early Buddhism, c.q. the Buddha;
5. Liberation is attained innirodha-samāpatti.

Rūpa-jhānasfollowed by liberating insight

Main articles:VipassanāandSampajañña

According to the Theravada tradition, the meditator uses thejhānastate to bring the mind to rest, and to strengthen and sharpen the mind, in order to investigate the true nature of phenomena (dhamma) and to gain insight into impermanence, suffering and not-self. According to the Theravada-tradition, the arahant is aware that thejhānasare ultimately unsatisfactory, realizing that the meditative attainments are alsoanicca,impermanent.

In theMahasaccaka Sutta(Majjhima Nikaya 36), which narrates the story of the Buddha's awakening,dhyānais followed by insight into the Four Noble Truths. The mention of the Four Noble Truths as constituting "liberating insight" is probably a later addition.Vetter notes that such insight is not possible in a state ofdhyāna,when interpreted as concentration, since discursive thinking is eliminated in such a state.He also notes that the emphasis on "liberating insight" developed only after the four noble truths were introduced as an expression of what this "liberating insight" constituted.In time, other expressions took over this function, such aspratītyasamutpādaand the emptiness of the self.

Rūpa-jhānasandarūpa-āyatanas,followed by liberating insight

This scheme is rejected by some scholarsas a later development, since theāyatanasare akin to non-Buddhist practices, and rejected elsewhere in the canon.

Insight alone suffices

The emphasis on "liberating insight" alone seems to be a later development, in response to developments in Indian religious thought, which saw "liberating insight" as essential to liberation.This may also have been due to an over-literal interpretation by later scholastics of the terminology used by the Buddha,and to the problems involved with the practice ofdhyāna,and the need to develop an easier method.

Contemporary scholars have discerned a broader application ofjhānain historical Buddhist practice. Alexander Wynne summarizes this view in stating that the ultimate aim ofdhyānawas the attainment of insight,and the application of the meditative state to the practice of mindfulness.According to Frauwallner, mindfulness was a means to prevent the arising of craving, which resulted simply from contact between the senses and their objects, and this may have been the Buddha's original idea.According to Wynne, though, this stress on mindfulness may have led to the intellectualism which favored insight over the practice ofdhyāna.

Jhānaitself is liberating

Both Schmithausen and Bronkhorst note that the attainment of insight, which is a cognitive activity, cannot be possible in a state wherein all cognitive activity has ceased.According to Vetter, therefore, the practice of(rupa-)jhānaitself may have constituted the core practice of early Buddhism, with practices such as sila and mindfulness aiding its development.It is the "middle way" between self-mortification, ascribed by Bronkhorst to Jainism,and indulgence in sensual pleasure.Vetter emphasizes that dhyana is a form of non-sensual happiness.The eightfold path can be seen as a path of preparation which leads to the practice of samadhi.

Liberation in nirodha-samāpatti

According to some texts, after progressing through the eightjhānasandthe stage ofnirodha-samāpatti,a person is liberated.According to some traditions someone attaining the state ofnirodha-samāpattiis ananagamior anarahant.In the Anupadda sutra, the Buddha narrates thatSariputtabecame an arahant upon reaching it.

Theravada

Buddha inDhyana,which in this context means: The meditative training stage on the path to Samadhi.

The five hindrances

In the commentarial tradition, the development ofjhānais described as the development of fivemental factors(Sanskrit:caitasika;Pali:cetasika) that counteract thefive hindrances:

Table:Rūpa jhāna
Cetasika (mental factors)	First jhāna	Second jhāna	Third jhāna	Fourth jhāna
Kāma/ Akusala dhamma (sensuality / unskillful qualities)	secluded from; withdrawn	does not occur	does not occur	does not occur
Pīti (rapture)	seclusion-born; pervades body	samādhi-born; pervades body	fades away (along with distress)	does not occur
Sukha (non-sensual pleasure)			pervades physical body	abandoned (no pleasure nor pain)
Vitakka ( "applied thought" )	accompanies jhāna	unification of awareness free from vitakka and vicāra	does not occur	does not occur
Vicāra ( "sustained thought" )
Upekkhāsatipārisuddhi (pure,mindfulequanimity)	does not occur	internal confidence	equanimous; mindful	purity of equanimity and mindfulness
Sources:

1. vitakka( "applied thought" ) counteracts sloth and torpor (lethargy and drowsiness)
2. vicāra( "sustained thought" ) counteracts doubt (uncertainty)
3. pīti(rapture) counteracts ill-will (malice)
4. sukha(non-sensual pleasure) counteracts restlessness-worry (excitation and anxiety)
5. ekaggata(one-pointedness) counteracts sensory desire

Jhānaas concentration

Buddhagosa'sVisuddhimaggaconsidersjhānato be an exercise in concentration-meditation. His views, together with theSatipatthana Sutta,inspired the development, in the 19th and 20th century, of new meditation techniques which gained a great popularity among lay audiences in the second half of the 20th century.

Samadhi

Further information:Samadhi in Buddhism

According toHenepola Gunaratana,the term "jhāna" is closely connected with "samadhi", which is generally rendered as "concentration". The word "samadhi" is almost interchangeable with the word "samatha", serenity.According to Gunaratana, in the widest sense the word samadhi is used for the practices which lead to the development of serenity. In this sense, samadhi andjhānaare close in meaning.Nevertheless, they are not exactly identical, since "certain differences in their suggested and contextual meanings prevent unqualified identification of the two terms." Samadhi signifies only one mental factor, namely one-pointedness, while the word "jhāna" encompasses the whole state of consciousness, "or at least the whole group of mental factors individuating that meditative state as a jhana."Furthermore, according to Gunaratana, samadhi involves "a wider range of reference than jhana", noting that "the Pali exegetical tradition recognizes three levels of samadhi: preliminary concentration (parikammasamadhi) [...] access concentration (upacarasamadhi) [...] and absorption concentration (appanasamadhi). "

Development and application of concentration

According to thePāli canoncommentarial tradition, access/neighbourhood concentration (upacāra-samādhi) is a stage of meditation that the meditator reaches before entering intojhāna.The overcoming of thefive hindrancesmark the entry into access concentration.Access concentration is not mentioned in the discourses of the Buddha, but there are several suttas where a person gains insight into the Dhamma on hearing a teaching from the Buddha.

According to Tse-fu Kuan, at the state ofaccess concentration,some meditators may experience vivid mental imagery,which is similar to a vivid dream. They are as vivid as if seen by the eye, but in this case the meditator is fully aware and conscious that they are seeing mental images. Tse-fu Kuan grounds this view in the early texts, with further explication to be found in the Theravāda commentaries.

According to Venerable Sujivo, as the concentration becomes stronger, the feelings of breathing and of having a physical body will completely disappear, leaving only pure awareness. At this stage inexperienced meditators may become afraid, thinking that they are going to die if they continue the concentration, because the feeling of breathing and the feeling of having a physical body has completely disappeared. Sujivo explains that this fear is needless and that the practitioner should instead continue concentration, in order to reach "full concentration" (jhāna).

A meditator should first master the lowerjhānas,before they can go into the higherjhānas.According to Nathan Katz, the early suttas state that "the most exquisite of recluses" is able to attain any of thejhānasand abide in them without difficulty.

In the doctrine of the contemporary Vipassana movement, thejhānastate cannot by itself lead to enlightenment as it only suppresses the defilements. Meditators must use thejhānastate as an instrument for developing wisdom by cultivating insight, and use it to penetrate the true nature of phenomena through direct cognition, which will lead to cutting off the defilements andnibbana.

According to the later Theravāda commentorial tradition as outlined by Buddhagoṣa in hisVisuddhimagga,after coming out of the state ofjhānathe meditator will be in the state of post-jhānaaccess concentration. In this state the investigation and analysis of the true nature of phenomena begins, which leads to insight into the characteristics of impermanence, suffering and not-self arises.

Criticism

While thejhānasare often understood as deepening states of concentration, due to its description as such in the Abhidhamma,and theVisuddhimagga,since the 1980s some academics and contemporary Theravādins have begun to question both this understanding of thejhānasas being states of deep absorption, and the idea that they are not necessary for the attainment of liberation. While significant research on this topic has been done by Bareau, Schmithausen, Stuart-Fox, Bucknell, Vetter, Bronkhorst, and Wynne, Theravāda practitioners have also scrutinized and criticised thesamatha-vipassanadistinction.Reassessments of the description ofjhānain the suttas considerjhānaandvipassanato be an integrated practice, leading to a "tranquil and equanimous awareness of whatever arises in the field of experience."

Scholarly criticism

While the commentarial tradition regardsvitarkaandvicaraas initial and sustained concentration on a meditation object, Roderick S. Bucknell notes thatvitarkaandvicaramay refer to "probably nothing other than the normal process of discursive thought, the familiar but usually unnoticed stream of mental imagery and verbalization." Bucknell further notes that "[t]hese conclusions conflict with the widespread conception of the firstjhānaas a state of deep concentration. "

According to Stuart-Fox, the Abhidhamma separatedvitarkafromvicara,andekaggata(one-pointedness) was added to the description of the firstdhyānato give an equal number offive hindrancesand five antidotes.The commentarial tradition regards the qualities of the firstdhyānato be antidotes to the five hindrances, andekaggatamay have been added to the firstdhyānato give exactly five antidotes for the five hindrances.Stuart-Fox further notes thatvitarka,being discursive thought, will do very little as an antidote for sloth and torpor, reflecting the inconsistencies which were introduced by the scholastics.

Upekkhā,equanimity, which is perfected in the fourthdhyāna,is one of the fourBrahmā-vihāra.While the commentarial tradition downplayed the importance of theBrahmā-vihāra,Gombrich holds that the Buddhist usage of the termBrahmā-vihāraoriginally referred to an awakened state of mind, and a concrete attitude toward other beings which was equal to "living with Brahman" here and now. The later tradition, in this interpretation, took those descriptions too literally, linking them to cosmology and understanding them as "living with Brahman" by rebirth in the Brahmā-world.According to Gombrich, "the Buddha taught that kindness—what Christians tend to call love—was a way to salvation.

Vetter, Gombrich and Wynne note that the first and secondjhānarepresent the onset ofdhyānadue to withdrawal andright effortc.q.thefour right efforts,followed by concentration, whereas the third and fourthjhānacombine concentration with mindfulness.Polak, elaborating on Vetter, notes that the onset of the firstdhyānais described as a quite natural process, due to the preceding efforts to restrain the senses and thenurturing of wholesome states.Regardingsamādhias the eighth step of theNoble Eightfold Path,Vetter notes thatsamādhiconsists of the four stages ofdhyānameditation, but

...to put it more accurately, the first dhyana seems to provide, after some time, a state of strong concentration, from which the other stages come forth; the second stage is called samadhija "[...] "born from samadhi."

According to Richard Gombrich, the sequence of the fourrūpa jhānas describes two different cognitive states: "I know this is controversial, but it seems to me that the third and fourthjhānasare thus quite unlike the second. "Gombrich and Wynne note that, while the secondjhānadenotes a state of absorption, in their interpretation of the third and fourthjhāna,one comes out of this absorption, being mindfully aware of objects while being indifferent to them.According to Gombrich, "the later tradition has falsified the jhana by classifying them as the quintessence of the concentrated, calming kind of meditation, ignoring the other—and indeed higher—element.According to Lusthaus, "mindfulness in [the fourthdhyāna] is an alert, relaxed awareness detached from positive and negative conditioning. "

Gethin, followed by Polak and Arbel, further notes that there is a "definite affinity" between the fourjhānas and thebojjhaṅgā,the seven factors of awakening.According to Gethin, the early Buddhist texts have "a broadly consistent vision" regarding meditation practice. Various practices lead to the development of the factors of awakening, which are not only the means to, but also the constituents of, awakening.According to Gethin,satipaṭṭhānaandānāpānasatiare related to a formula that summarizes the Buddhist path to awakening as "abandoning the hindrances, establishing [...] mindfulness, and developing the seven factors of awakening."This results in a "heightened awareness", "overcoming distracting and disturbing emotions",which are not particular elements of the path to awakening, but rather common disturbing and distracting emotions.Gethin further states that "the exegetical literature is essentially true to the vision of meditation presented in the Nikayas,"applying the "perfect mindfulness, stillness and lucidity" of thejhānasto the contemplation of "reality", of the way things really are,as temporary and ever-changing.It is in this sense that "thejhanastate has the transcendent, transforming quality of awakening. "

Alexander Wynne states that thedhyāna-scheme is poorly understood.According to Wynne, words expressing the inculcation of awareness, such assati,sampajāno,andupekkhā,are mistranslated or misunderstood as particular factors of meditative states,whereas they refer to a particular way of perceiving the sense objects:

Thus the expressionsato sampajānoin the thirdjhānamust denote a state of awareness different from the meditative absorption of the secondjhāna(cetaso ekodibhāva). It suggests that the subject is doing something different from remaining in a meditative state, i.e. that he has come out of his absorption and is now once again aware of objects. The same is true of the wordupek(k)hā:it does not denote an abstract 'equanimity', [but] it means to be aware of something and indifferent to it [...] The third and fourthjhāna-s,as it seems to me, describe the process of directing states of meditative absorption towards the mindful awareness of objects.

However, this criticism of the traditional Theravādin interpretation has itself been criticized in return, with other scholars and practitioners holding that the higherjhānaseithercannotinvolve discursive awareness,or—at least—that the "Abhidhamma-style"jhānapractice remains a tenable interpretation of the material found in the Pāli suttas, and will—equivalently to the "lighter" jhāna practice recently championed by e.g. Wynne—yet lead to liberating insight.

Contemporary Theravāda reassessment: the "Jhana wars"

While Theravāda meditation was introduced to the west asvipassana-meditation, which rejected the usefulness ofjhāna,there is a growing interest among westernvipassana-practitioners injhāna.The nature and practice ofjhanais a topic of debate and contention among western convert Theravadins, to the extent that the disputes have even been called "the Jhana wars."

Criticism ofVisudhimagga

TheVisuddhimagga,and the "pioneering popularizing work of Daniel Goleman",has been influential in the (mis)understanding ofdhyanabeing a form of concentration-meditation. TheVisuddhimaggais centered aroundkasina-meditation, a form of concentration-meditation in which the mind is focused on a (mental) object.According toThanissaro Bhikkhu,"[t]he text then tries to fit all other meditation methods into the mold of kasina practice, so that they too give rise to countersigns, but even by its own admission, breath meditation does not fit well into the mold."Thanissaro further states that "the Visuddhimagga uses a very different paradigm for concentration from what you find in the Canon."In its emphasis onkasinameditation, theVisuddhimaggadeparts from the Pali Canon, in whichdhyānais the central meditative practice, indicating that what "jhāna means in the commentaries is something quite different from what it means in the Canon."

Bhante Henepola Gunaratanacontends that "what the suttas say is not the same as what the Visuddhimagga says [...] they are actually different," leading to a divergence between the traditional scholarly understanding and the recent re-examination of descriptions in the suttas.Gunaratana further notes that Buddhaghosa invented several key meditation terms which are not to be found in the suttas, such as "parikamma samadhi(preparatory concentration),upacara samadhi(access concentration),appanasamadhi(absorption concentration). "Gunaratana also notes that Buddhaghosa's emphasis onkasina-meditation is not to be found in the suttas, wheredhyānais always combined with mindfulness.

According to scholar Tilman Vetter,dhyānaas a preparation ofdiscriminating insightmust have been different from thedhyāna-practice introduced by the Buddha, using e.g.kasinaexercises to produce a "more artificially produced dhyana", resulting in the cessation of apperceptions and feelings.Shankman notes that kasina exercises are propagated inBuddhaghosa'sVisuddhimagga,which is considered the authoritative commentary on meditation practice in the Theravāda tradition, but differs from the Pāli canon in its description ofjhāna.While the suttas connectsamadhito mindfulness and awareness of the body, for Buddhaghosajhānais a purely mental exercise, in which one-pointed concentration leads to a narrowing of attention.

Jhanaas integrated practice

Several western teachers (Thanissaro Bhikkhu, Leigh Brasington, Richard Shankman) make a distinction between "sutta-oriented"jhanaand "Visuddhimagga-oriented "jhana,dubbed "minimalists" and "maximalists" by Kenneth Rose.

Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu,a western teacher in theThai Forest Tradition,has repeatedly argued that the Pāli Canon and theVisuddhimaggagive different descriptions of thejhānas,regarding theVisuddhimaggadescription to be incorrect.Accordingly, he advises against the development of strong states of concentration.Arbel describes the fourthjhānaas "non-reactive and lucid awareness", not as a state of deep concentration.

According to Richard Shankman, the sutta descriptions ofjhānapractice explain that the meditator does not emerge fromjhānato practicevipassanabut rather the work of insight is done whilst injhānaitself. In particular the meditator is instructed to "enter and remain in the fourthjhāna"before commencing the work of insight in order to uproot the mental defilements.

Keren Arbel has conducted extensive research on thejhanasand the contemporary criticisms of the commentarial interpretation. Based on this research, and her own experience as a senior meditation-teacher, she gives a reconstructed account of the original meaning of thedhyānas.She argues thatjhānais an integrated practice, describing the fourthjhānaas "non-reactive and lucid awareness", not as a state of deep concentration.According to Arbel, it develops "a mind which is not conditioned by habitual reaction-patterns of likes and dislikes [...] a profoundly wise relation to experience, not tainted by any kind of wrong perception and mental reactivity rooted in craving (tanha). "

According to Kenneth Rose, theVisuddhimagga-oriented "maximalist" approach is a return to ancient Indian "mainstream practices", in which physical and mental immobility was thought to lead to equanimity and liberation fromsamsaraand rebirth. This approach was rejected by the Buddha, turning to a gentler approach which still results inupekkhaandsati,equanimous awareness of experience.

In Mahāyāna traditions

Bodhisattvaseated in meditation.Afghanistan,2nd century CE.

Mahāyāna Buddhism includes numerous schools of practice. Each draw upon various Buddhist sūtras, philosophical treatises, and commentaries, and each has its own emphasis, mode of expression, and philosophical outlook. Accordingly, each school has its own meditation methods for the purpose of developing samādhi andprajñā,with the goal of ultimately attaining enlightenment.

Dhyanaas open awareness

Both Polak and Arbel suggest that the traditions ofDzogchen,MahamudraandChanpreserve or resembledhyanaas an open awareness of body and mind, thus transcending the dichotomy betweenvipassanaandsamatha.

Chan Buddhism

See also:Zen,Chan Buddhism,Zazen,Korean Seon,Vietnamese Thiền,andZen in the United States

Anapanasati and dhyāna are a central aspect of Buddhist practice in Chan, necessary for progress on the path and "true entry into the Dharma".

Origins

In China, the worddhyānawas originally transliterated withChinese:Thiền na;pinyin:chánnàand shortened to justpinyin:chánin common usage. The word and the practice of meditation entered into Chinese through the translations ofAn Shigao(fl. c. 148–180 CE), andKumārajīva(334–413 CE), who translatedDhyāna sutras,which were influential early meditation texts mostly based on theYogacarameditation teachings of theSarvāstivādaschool ofKashmircirca 1st–4th centuries CE.The wordchánbecame the designation forChan Buddhism(Korean Seon,Vietnamese Thiền,Japanese Zen).

In Chinese Buddhism, following theUr-textof the Satipatthana Sutraand thedhyana sutras,dhyānarefers tovarious kinds of meditation techniquesand their preparatory practices, which are necessary to practicedhyana.The five main types of meditation in theDhyana sutrasareanapanasati(mindfulness of breathing);paṭikūlamanasikārameditation, mindfulness of the impurities of the body; loving-kindnessmaitrīmeditation; the contemplation on the twelve links ofpratītyasamutpāda;and the contemplation on theBuddha's thirty-two Characteristics.

Downplaying the body-recollections(but maintaining the awareness of imminent death), the early Chan-tradition developed the notions or practices ofwu nian( "no thought, no" fixation on thought, such as one's own views, experiences, and knowledge ")andfēi sīliàng(Phi tư lượng,Japanese:hishiryō,"nonthinking" );andkanxin( "observing the mind" )andshou-i pu i(Thủ nhất bất di,"maintaining the one without wavering" )turning the attention from the objects of experience, to thenature of mind,the perceiving subject itself, which is equated withBuddha-nature.

Mindfulness

Observing the breath

VenerableHsuan Huameditating in the Lotus Position.Hong Kong,1953

During sitting meditation, practitioners usually assume a position such as thelotus position,half-lotus, Burmese, oryogapostures, using thedhyānamudrā.To regulate the mind, awareness is directed towards counting or watching the breath or by bringing that awareness to the energy center below the navel (see alsoānāpānasati).Often, a square or round cushion placed on a padded mat is used to sit on; in some other cases, a chair may be used. This practice may simply be called sitting dhyāna, which iszuòchán(Tọa thiền) in Chinese,zazen(Tọa thiền) in Japanese,jwaseon(Tọa thiền) in Korean, andtọa thiềnin Vietnamese.

Observing the mind

In the Sōtō school of Zen, meditation with no objects, anchors, or content, is the primary form of practice. The meditator strives to be aware of the stream of thoughts, allowing them to arise and pass away without interference. Considerable textual, philosophical, and phenomenological justification of this practice can be found throughoutDōgen'sShōbōgenzō,as for example in the "Principles of Zazen"and the "Universally Recommended Instructions for Zazen".In the Japanese language, this practice is calledShikantaza.

Insight

Pointing to the nature of the mind

According to Charles Luk, in the earliest traditions of Chán, there was no fixed method or formula for teaching meditation, and all instructions were simply heuristic methods, to point to the true nature of the mind, also known asBuddha-nature.According to Luk, this method is referred to as the "Mind Dharma", and exemplified in the story of Śākyamuni Buddha holding up a flower silently, andMahākāśyapasmiling as he understood.A traditional formula of this is, "Chán points directly to the human mind, to enable people to see their true nature and become buddhas."

Kōan practice

Main article:Kōan

Chinese characterfor "nothing"(Hanyu Pinyin:wú;Japanese pronunciation:mu;Korean pronunciation:mu;Vietnamese:vô). It figures in the famousZhaozhou's dogkōan.

At the beginning of theSòng dynasty,practice with the kōan method became popular, whereas others practiced "silent illumination".This became the source of some differences in practice between theLínjìandCáodòng schools.

A kōan, literally "public case", is a story or dialogue, describing an interaction between a Zen master and a student. These anecdotes give a demonstration of the master's insight. Koans emphasize the non-conceptional insight that the Buddhist teachings are pointing to. Koans can be used to provoke the "great doubt", and test a student's progress in Zen practice.

Kōan-inquiry may be practiced during zazen (sitting meditation),kinhin(walking meditation), and throughout all the activities of daily life. Kōan practice is particularly emphasized by the JapaneseRinzai school,but it also occurs in other schools or branches of Zen depending on the teaching line.

The Zen student's mastery of a given kōan is presented to the teacher in a private interview (referred to in Japanese asdokusan( độc tham ),daisan( đại tham ), orsanzen( tham thiền )). While there is no unique answer to a kōan, practitioners are expected to demonstrate their understanding of the kōan and of Zen through their responses. The teacher may approve or disapprove of the answer and guide the student in the right direction. The interaction with a Zen teacher is central in Zen, but makes Zen practice also vulnerable to misunderstanding and exploitation.

Vajrayāna

B. Alan Wallaceholds that modern Tibetan Buddhism lacks emphasis on achieving levels of concentration higher than access concentration.According to Wallace, one possible explanation for this situation is that virtually all Tibetan Buddhist meditators seek to become enlightened through the use oftantric practices.These require the presence of sense desire and passion in one's consciousness, butjhānaeffectively inhibits these phenomena.

While few Tibetan Buddhists, either inside or outside Tibet, devote themselves to the practice of concentration, Tibetan Buddhist literature does provide extensive instructions on it, and great Tibetan meditators of earlier times stressed its importance.

Related concepts in Indian religions

See also:Dhyana in Hinduism

Dhyana is an important ancient practice mentioned in the literature of Hinduism, as well as early texts of Jainism.Dhyana in Buddhism influenced these practices as well as was influenced by them, likely in its origins and its later development.

Parallels with Patanjali's Ashtanga Yoga

See also:Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

There are parallels with the fourth to eighth stages ofPatanjali'sAshtanga Yoga,as mentioned in his classical work,Yoga Sutras of Patanjali,which were compiled around 400 CE by, taking materials about yoga from older traditions.

Patanjali discernsbahiranga(external) aspects of yoga namely,yama,niyama,asana,pranayama,and theantaranga(internal) yoga. Having actualized thepratyaharastage, a practitioner is able to effectively engage into the practice ofSamyama.At the stage ofpratyahara,the consciousness of the individual is internalized in order that the sensations from thesensesof taste, touch, sight, hearing and smell don't reach their respective centers in the brain and takes thesadhaka(practitioner) to next stages ofYoga,namelyDharana(concentration),Dhyana(meditation), andSamadhi(mystical absorption), being the aim of allYogicpractices.

The Eight Limbs of the yoga sutras show Samadhi as one of its limbs. TheEight limbs of the Yoga Sutrawas influenced by Buddhism.Vyasa's Yogabhashya, the commentary to the Yogasutras, and Vacaspati Misra's subcommentary state directly that the samadhi techniques are directly borrowed from the Buddhists'Jhana,with the addition of the mystical and divine interpretations of mental absorption.The Yoga Sutra, especially the fourth segment of Kaivalya Pada, contains several polemical verses critical of Buddhism, particularly the Vijñānavāda school of Vasubandhu.

The suttas show that during the time of the Buddha, Nigantha Nataputta, the Jain leader, did not even believe that it is possible to enter a state where the thoughts and examination stop.

See also

• Research on meditation
• Altered state of consciousness
• Jñāna

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Further reading

Scholarly (philological/historical)

• Analayo(2017),Early Buddhist Meditation Studies(defence of traditional Theravada position)
• Bronkhorst, Johannes(1993),The Two Traditions Of Meditation In Ancient India,Motilal Banarsidass Publ.
• Bucknell, Robert S. (1993), "Reinterpreting the Jhanas",Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies,16(2)
• Polak (2011),Reexamining Jhana
• Stuart-Fox, Martin (1989), "Jhana and Buddhist Scholasticism",Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies,12(2)
• Wynne, Alexander (2007),The Origin of Buddhist Meditation,Routledge

Re-assessment ofjhanain Theravada

• Arbel, Keren (2017).Early Buddhist meditation: the four jhânas as the actualization of insight.London: Routledge.ISBN978-1-317-38399-4.
• Quli, Natalie (2008),"Multiple Buddhist Modernisms: Jhana in Convert Theravada"(PDF),Pacific World,10:225–249
• Shankman, Richard (2008),The Experience of Samadhi

External links

From Sutta Pitaka

• "Jhana" (2005)Archived2008-11-23 at theWayback Machine,descriptions and similes from thePali Canon'sAnguttara NikayaandDhammapada,by John T. Bullitt.

Theravādin Buddhist perspective

• Henepola Gunaratana,Jhanas in Theravada Buddhist Meditation
• Ajahn Brahmavamso,Travelogue to the four Jhanas
• Ajahn Brahmavamso,The Jhanas
• Thanissaro Bhikkhu,Jhana not by the numbers
• Bhante Vimalaramsi Mahāthera,MN 111 One by One as They Occurred – Anupada Sutta.Dhamma-Talks on the Anupada-Sutta. This provides a highly detailed account of the progression through the jhānas.
• Sutta-style jhanas: a western phenomenon?,Dhamma Wheel

Mahayana

• Nagarjuna,Commentary in the Four Dhyanas

Others

• Leigh Breighton,Interpretations of the Jhanas
• Jhana Wars!,Simple|Suttas
• O'Brien, Barbara. "Jhanas or Dhyanas: A Progression of Buddhist Meditation."Learn Religions,28 Sept. 2018.