The Jhanas in Theravada Buddhist Meditation
by Bhikkhu Henepola Gunaratana
Chapter 3
The First Jhana and Its Factors
The attainment of any jhana comes about through a twofold process of
development. On one side the states obstructive to it, called its factors of
abandonment, have to be eliminated, on the other the states composing it,
called its factors of possession, have to be acquired. In the case of the
first jhana the factors of abandonment are the five hindrances and the
factors of possession the five basic jhana factors. Both are alluded to in
the standard formula for the first jhana, the opening phrase referring to
the abandonment of the hindrances and the subsequent portion enumerating the
jhana factors:
Quite secluded from sense pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states of
mind, he enters and dwells in the first jhana, which is accompanied by
applied thought and sustained thought with rapture and happiness born of
seclusion. (M.i,1818; Vbh.245)
In this chapter we will first discuss the five hindrances and their
abandonment, then we will investigate the jhana factors both individually
and by way of their combined contribution to the attainment of the first
jhana. We will close the chapter with some remarks on the ways of perfecting
the first jhana, a necessary preparation for the further development of
concentration.
The Abandoning of the Hindrances
The five hindrances (pancanivarana) are sensual desire, ill will, sloth and
torpor, restlessness and worry, and doubt. This group, the principal
classification the Buddha uses for the obstacles to meditation, receives its
name because its five members hinder and envelop the mind, preventing
meditative development in the two spheres of serenity and insight. Hence the
Buddha calls them "obstructions, hindrances, corruptions of the mind which
weaken wisdom"(S.v,94).
The hindrance of sensual desire (kamachanda) is explained as desire for the
"five strands of sense pleasure," that is, for pleasant forms, sounds,
smells, tastes and tangibles. It ranges from subtle liking to powerful lust.
The hindrance of ill will (byapada) signifies aversion directed towards
disagreeable persons or things. It can vary in range from mild annoyance to
overpowering hatred. Thus the first two hindrances correspond to the first
two root defilements, greed and hate. The third root defilement, delusion,
is not enumerated separately among the hindrances but can be found
underlying the remaining three.
Sloth and torpor is a compound hindrance made up of two components: sloth
(thina), which is dullness, inertia or mental stiffness; and torpor
(middha), which is indolence or drowsiness. Restlessness and worry is
another double hindrance, restlessness (uddhacca) being explained as
excitement, agitation or disquietude, worry (kukkucca) as the sense of guilt
aroused by moral transgressions. Finally, the hindrance of doubt
(vicikiccha) is explained as uncertainty with regard to the Buddha, the
Dhamma, the Sangha and the training.
The Buddha offers two sets of similes to illustrate the detrimental effect
of the hindrances. The first compares the five hindrances to five types of
calamity: sensual desire is like a debt, ill will like a disease, sloth and
torpor like imprisonment, restless and worry like slavery, and doubt like
being lost on a desert road. Release from the hindrances is to be seen as
freedom from debt, good health, release from prison, emancipation from
slavery, and arriving at a place of safety (D.i,71-73). The second set of
similes compares the hindrances to five kinds of impurities affecting a bowl
of water, preventing a keen-sighted man from seeing his own reflection as it
really is. Sensual desire is like a bowl of water mixed with brightly
colored paints, ill will like a bowl of boiling water, sloth and torpor like
water covered by mossy plants, restlessness and worry like water blown into
ripples by the wind, and doubt like muddy water. Just as the keen-eyed man
would not be able to see his reflection in these five kinds of water, so one
whose mind is obsessed by the five hindrances does not know and see as it is
his own good, the good of others or the good of both (S.v,121-24). Although
there are numerous defilements opposed to the first jhana the five
hindrances alone are called its factors of abandoning. One reason according
to the Visuddhimagga, is that the hindrances are specifically obstructive to
jhana, each hindrance impeding in its own way the mind's capacity for
concentration.
The mind affected through lust by greed for varied objective fields does not
become concentrated on an object consisting in unity, or being overwhelmed
by lust, it does not enter on the way to abandoning the sense-desire
element. When pestered by ill will towards an object, it does not occur
uninterruptedly. When overcome by stiffness and torpor, it is unwieldy. When
seized by agitation and worry, it is unquiet and buzzes about. When stricken
by uncertainty, it fails to mount the way to accomplish the attainment of
jhana. So it is these only that are called factors of abandonment because
they are specifically obstructive to jhana.(Vism.146: PP.152)
A second reason for confining the first jhana's factors of abandoning to the
five hindrances is to permit a direct alignment to be made between the
hindrances and the jhanic factors. Buddhaghosa states that the abandonment
of the five hindrances alone is mentioned in connection with jhana because
the hindrances are the direct enemies of the five jhana factors, which the
latter must eliminate and abolish. To support his point the commentator
cites a passage demonstrating a one-to-one correspondence between the jhana
factors and the hindrances: one-pointedness is opposed to sensual desire,
rapture to ill will, applied thought to sloth and torpor, happiness to
restlessness and worry, and sustained thought to doubt (Vism. 141;
PP.147).[1] Thus each jhana factor is seen as having the specific task of
eliminating a particular obstruction to the jhana and to correlate these
obstructions with the five jhana factors they are collected into a scheme of
five hindrances.
The standard passage describing the attainment of the first jhana says that
the jhana is entered upon by one who is "secluded from sense pleasures,
secluded from unwholesome states of mind." The Visuddhimagga explains that
there are three kinds of seclusion relevant to the present context --
namely, bodily seclusion (kayaviveka), mental seclusion (cittaviveka), and
seclusion by suppression (vikkhambhanaviveka) (Vism. 140; PP.145). These
three terms allude to two distinct sets of exegetical categories. The first
two belong to a threefold arrangement made up of bodily seclusion, mental
seclusion, and "seclusion from the substance" (upadhiviveka). The first
means physical withdrawal from active social engagement into a condition of
solitude for the purpose of devoting time and energy to spiritual
development. The second, which generally presupposes the first, means the
seclusion of the mind from its entanglement in defilements; it is in effect
equivalent to concentration of at least the access level. The third,
"seclusion from the substance," is Nibbana, liberation from the elements of
phenomenal existence. The achievement of the first jhana does not depend on
the third, which is its outcome rather than prerequisite, but it does
require physical solitude and the separation of the mind from defilements,
hence bodily and mental seclusion. The third type of seclusion pertinent to
the context, seclusion by suppression, belongs to a different scheme
generally discussed under the heading of "abandonment" (pahana) rather than
"seclusion." The type of abandonment required for the attainment of jhana is
abandonment by suppression, which means the removal of the hindrances by
force of concentration similar to the pressing down of weeds in a pond by
means of a porous pot.[2]
The work of overcoming the five hindrances is accomplished through the
gradual training (anupubbasikkha) which the Buddha has laid down so often in
the suttas, such as the Samannaphala Sutta and the Culahatthipadopama Sutta.
The gradual training is a step-by-step process designed to lead the
practitioner gradually to liberation. The training begins with moral
discipline, the undertaking and observance of specific rules of conduct
which enable the disciple to control the coarser modes of bodily and verbal
misconduct through which the hindrances find an outlet. With moral
discipline as a basis, the disciple practices the restraint of the senses.
He does not seize upon the general appearances of the beguiling features of
things, but guards and masters his sense faculties so that sensual
attractive and repugnant objects no longer become grounds for desire and
aversion. Then, endowed with the self-restraint, he develops mindfulness and
discernment (sati-sampajanna) in all his activities and postures, examining
everything he does with clear awareness as to its purpose and suitability.
He also cultivates contentment with a minimum of robes, food, shelter and
other requisites.
Once he has fulfilled these preliminaries the disciple is prepared to go
into solitude to develop the jhanas, and it is here that he directly
confronts the five hindrances. The elimination of the hindrances requires
that the meditator honestly appraises his own mind. When sensuality, ill
will and the other hindrances are present, he must recognize that they are
present and he must investigate the conditions that lead to their arising:
the latter he must scrupulously avoid. The meditator must also understand
the appropriate antidotes for each of the five hindrances. The Buddha says
that all the hindrances arise through unwise consideration (ayoniso
manasikara) and that they can be eliminated by wise consideration (yoniso
manasikara). Each hindrance, however, has its own specific antidote. Thus
wise consideration of the repulsive feature of things is the antidote to
sensual desire; wise consideration of loving-kindness counteracts ill will;
wise consideration of the elements of effort, exertion and striving opposes
sloth and torpor; wise consideration of tranquillity of mind removes
restlessness and worry; and wise consideration of the real qualities of
things eliminates doubt (S.v,105-106).
Having given up covetousness [i.e. sensual desire] with regard to the world,
he dwells with a heart free of covetousness; he cleanses his mind from
covetousness. Having given up the blemish of ill will, he dwells without ill
will; friendly and compassionate towards all living beings, he cleanses his
mind from the blemishes of ill will. Having given up sloth and torpor, he
dwells free from sloth and torpor, in the perception of light; mindful and
clearly comprehending, he cleanses his mind from sloth and torpor. Having
given up restlessness and worry, he dwells without restlessness; his mind
being calmed within, he cleanses it from restlessness and worry. Having
given up doubt, he dwells as one who has passed beyond doubt; being free
from uncertainty about wholesome things, he cleanses his mind from doubt
....
And when he sees himself free of these five hindrances, joy arises; in him
who is joyful, rapture arises; in him whose mind is enraptured, the body is
stilled; the body being stilled, he feels happiness; and a happy mind finds
concentration. Then, quite secluded from sense pleasures, secluded from
unwholesome states of mind, he enters and dwells in the first jhana, which
is accompanied by applied thought and sustained thought, with rapture and
happiness born of seclusion. (D.i,73-74) [3]
The Factors of the First Jhana
The first jhana possesses five component factors: applied thought, sustained
thought, rapture, happiness and one-pointedness of mind. Four of these are
explicitly mentioned in the formula for the jhana; the fifth,
one-pointedness, is mentioned elsewhere in the suttas but is already
suggested by the notion of jhana itself. These five states receive their
name, first because they lead the mind from the level of ordinary
consciousness to the jhanic level, and second because they constitute the
first jhana and give it its distinct definition.
The jhana factors are first aroused by the meditator's initial efforts to
concentrate upon one of the prescribed objects for developing jhana. As he
fixes his mind on the preliminary object, such as a kasina disk, a point is
eventually reached where he can perceive the object as clearly with his eyes
closed as with them open. This visualized object is called the learning sign
(uggahanimitta). As he concentrates on the learning sign, his efforts call
into play the embryonic jhana factors, which grow in force, duration and
prominence as a result of the meditative exertion. These factors, being
incompatible with the hindrances, attenuate them, exclude them, and hold
them at bay. With continued practice the learning sign gives rise to a
purified luminous replica of itself called the counterpart sign
(patibhaganimitta), the manifestation of which marks the complete
suppression of the hindrances and the attainment of access concentration
(upacarasamadhi). All three events-the suppression of the hindrances, the
arising of the counterpart sign, and the attainment of access concentration
-- take place at precisely the same moment, without interval (Vism. 126;
PP.131). And though previously the process of mental cultivation may have
required the elimination of different hindrances at different times, when
access is achieved they all subside together:
Simultaneously with his acquiring the counterpart sign his lust is abandoned
by suppression owing to his giving no attention externally to sense desires
(as object). And owing to his abandoning of approval, ill will is abandoned
too, as pus is with the abandoning of blood. Likewise stiffness and torpor
is abandoned through exertion of energy, agitation and worry is abandoned
through devotion to peaceful things that cause no remorse; and uncertainty
about the Master who teaches the way, about the way, and about the fruit of
the way, about the way, and about the fruit of the way, is abandoned through
the actual experience of the distinction attained. So the five hindrances
are abandoned. (Vism. 189; PP.196)
Though the mental factors determinative of the first jhana are present in
access concentration, they do not as yet possess sufficient strength to
constitute the jhana, but are strong enough only to exclude the hindrances.
With continued practice, however, the nascent jhana factors grow in strength
until they are capable of issuing in jhana. Because of the instrumental role
these factors play both in the attainment and constitution of the first
jhana they are deserving of closer individual scrutiny.
Applied Thought (vitakka)
The word vitakka frequently appears in the texts in conjunction with the
word vicara. The pair signify two interconnected but distinct aspects of the
thought process, and to bring out the difference between them (as well as
their common character), we translate the one as applied thought and the
other as sustained thought.
In both the suttas and the Abhidhamma applied thought is defined as the
application of the mind to its object (cetaso abhiniropana), a function
which the Atthasalini illustrates thus: "Just as someone ascends the king's
palace in dependence on a relative of friend dear to the king, so the mind
ascends the object in dependence on applied thought" (Dhs.A.157). This
function of applying the mind to the object is common to the wide variety of
modes in which the mental factor of applied thought occurs, ranging from
sense discrimination to imagination, reasoning and deliberation and to the
practice of concentration culminating in the first jhana. Applied thought
can be unwholesome as in thoughts of sensual pleasure, ill will and cruelty,
or wholesome as in thoughts of renunciation, benevolence and compassion
(M.i,116).
In jhana applied through is invariably wholesome and its function of
directing the mind upon its object stands forth with special clarity. To
convey this the Visuddhimagga explains that in jhana the function of applied
thought is "to strike at and thresh -- for the meditator is said, in virtue
of it, to have the object struck at by applied thought, threshed by applied
thought" (Vism.142;PP148). The Milindapanha makes the same point by defining
applied thought as absorption (appana): "Just as a carpenter drives a
well-fashioned piece of wood into a joint, so applied thought has the
characteristic of absorption" (Miln.62).
The object of jhana into which vitakka drives the mind and its concomitant
states is the counterpart sign, which emerges from the learning sign as the
hindrances are suppressed and the mind enters access concentration. The
Visuddhimagga explains the difference between the two signs thus:
In the learning sign any fault in the kasina is apparent. But the
counterpart sign appears as if breaking out from the learning sign, and a
hundred times, a thousand times more purified, like a looking-glass disk
drawn from its case, like a mother-of-pearl dish well washed, like the
moon's disk coming out from behind a cloud, like cranes against a thunder
cloud. But it has neither color nor shape; for if it had, it would be
cognizable by the eye, gross, susceptible of comprehension (by insight) and
stamped with the three characteristics. But it is not like that. For it is
born only of perception in one who has obtained concentration, being a mere
mode of appearance (Vism. 125-26; PP.130)
The counterpart sign is the object of both access concentration and jhana,
which differ neither in their object nor in the removal of the hindrances
but in the strength of their respective jhana factors. In the former the
factors are still weak, not yet fully developed, while in the jhana they are
strong enough to make the mind fully absorbed in the object. In this process
applied thought is the factor primarily responsible for directing the mind
towards the counterpart sign and thrusting it in with the force of full
absorption.
Sustained Thought (vicara)
Vicara seems to represent a more developed phase of the thought process than
vitakka. The commentaries explain that it has the characteristic of
"continued pressure" on the object (Vim. 142; PP.148). Applied thought is
described as the first impact of the mind on the object, the gross inceptive
phase of thought; sustained thought is described as the act of anchoring the
mind on the object, the subtle phase of continued mental pressure.
Buddhaghosa illustrates the difference between the two with a series of
similes. Applied thought is like striking a bell, sustained thought like the
ringing; applied thought is like a bee's flying towards a flower, sustained
thought like its buzzing around the flower; applied thought is like a
compass pin that stays fixed to the center of a circle, sustained thought
like the pin that revolves around (Vism. 142-43; PP.148-49).
These similes make it clear that applied thought and sustained thought
functionally associated, perform different tasks. Applied thought brings the
mind to the object, sustained thought fixes and anchors it there. Applied
thought focuses the mind on the object, sustained thought examines and
inspects what is focused on. Applied thought brings a deepening of
concentration by again and again leading the mind back to the same object,
sustained thought sustains the concentration achieved by keeping the mind
anchored on that object.
Rapture (piti)
The third factor present in the first jhana is piti, usually translated as
joy or rapture.[4] In the suttas piti is sometimes said to arise from
another quality called pamojja, translated as joy or gladness, which springs
up with the abandonment of the five hindrances. When the disciple sees the
five hindrances abandoned in himself "gladness arises within him; thus
gladdened, rapture arises in him; and when he is rapturous his body becomes
tranquil" (D.i,73). Tranquillity in turn leads to happiness, on the basis of
which the mind becomes concentrated. Thus rapture precedes the actual
arising of the first jhana, but persists through the remaining stages up to
the third jhana.
The Vibhanga defines piti as "gladness, joy, joyfulness, mirth, merriment,
exultation, exhilaration, and satisfaction of mind" (Vbh. 257). The
commentaries ascribe to it the characteristic of endearing, the function of
refreshing the body and mind or pervading with rapture, and the
manifestation as elation (Vism.143; PP.149). Shwe Zan Aung explains that
"piti abstracted means interest of varying degrees of intensity, in an
object felt as desirable or as calculated to bring happiness."[5]
When defined in terms of agency, piti is that which creates interest in the
object; when defined in terms of its nature it is the interest in the
object. Because it creates a positive interest in the object, the jhana
factor of rapture is able to counter and suppress the hindrance of ill will,
a state of aversion implying a negative evaluation of the object.
Rapture is graded into five categories: minor rapture, momentary rapture,
showering rapture, uplifting rapture and pervading rapture.[6] Minor rapture
is generally the first to appear in the progressive development of
meditation; it is capable of causing the hairs of the body to rise.
Momentary rapture, which is like lightning, comes next but cannot be
sustained for long. Showering rapture runs through the body in waves,
producing a thrill but without leaving a lasting impact. Uplifting rapture,
which can cause levitation, is more sustained but still tends to disturb
concentration, The form of rapture most conductive to the attainment of
jhana is all-pervading rapture, which is said to suffuse the whole body so
that it becomes like a full bladder or like a mountain cavern inundated with
a mighty flood of water. The Visuddhimagga states that what is intended by
the jhana factor of rapture is this all-pervading rapture "which is the root
of absorption and comes by growth into association with absorption"
(Vism.144; PP.151)
Happiness (sukha)
As a factor of the first jhana, sukha signifies pleasant feeling. The word
is explicitly defined in the sense by the Vibhanga in its analysis of the
first jhana: "Therein, what is happiness? Mental pleasure and happiness born
of mind-contact, the felt pleasure and happiness born of mind-contact,
pleasurable and happy feeling born of mind contact -- this is called
'happiness' " (Vbh.257). The Visuddhimagga explains that happiness in the
first jhana has the characteristic of gratifying, the function of
intensifying associated states, and as manifestation, the rendering of aid
to its associated states (Vism. 145; PP.151).
Rapture and happiness link together in a very close relationship, but though
the two are difficult to distinguish, they are not identical. Happiness is a
feeling (vedana);, rapture a mental formation (sankhara). Happiness always
accompanies rapture, so that when rapture is present happiness must always
be present; but rapture does not always accompany happiness, for in the
third jhana, as we will see, there is happiness but no rapture. The
Atthasalini, which explains rapture as "delight in the attaining of the
desired object" and happiness as "the enjoyment of the taste of what is
required," illustrates the difference by means of a simile:
Rapture is like a weary traveler in the desert in summer, who hears of, or
sees water of a shady wood. Ease [happiness] is like his enjoying the water
of entering the forest shade. For a man who, traveling along the path
through a great desert and overcome by the heat, is thirsty and desirous of
drink, if he saw a man on the way, would ask 'Where is water?' The other
would say, 'Beyond the wood is a dense forest with a natural lake. Go there,
and you will get some.' He, hearing these words, would be glad and delighted
and as he went would see lotus leaves, etc., fallen on the ground and become
more glad and delighted. Going onwards, he would see men with wet clothes
and hair, hear the sounds of wild fowl and pea-fowl, etc., see the dense
forest of green like a net of jewels growing by the edge of the natural
lake, he would see the water lily, the lotus, the white lily, etc., growing
in the lake, he would see the clear transparent water, he would be all the
more glad and delighted, would descend into the natural lake, bathe and
drink at pleasure and, his oppression being allayed, he would eat the fibers
and stalks of the lilies, adorn himself with the blue lotus, carry on his
shoulders the roots of the mandalaka, ascend from the lake, put on his
clothes, dry the bathing cloth in the sun, and in the cool shade where the
breeze blew ever so gently lay himself down and saw: 'O bliss! O bliss!'
Thus should this illustration be applied. The time of gladness and delight
from when he heard of the natural lake and the dense forest till he say the
water is like rapture having the manner of gladness and delight at the
object in view. The time when, after his bath and dried he laid himself down
in the cool shade, saying, 'O bliss! O bliss!' etc., is the sense of ease
[happiness] grown strong, established in that mode of enjoying the taste of
the object. [7]
Since rapture and happiness co-exist in the first jhana, this simile should
not be taken to imply that they are mutually exclusive. Its purport is to
suggest that rapture gains prominence before happiness, for which it helps
provide a causal foundation.
In the description of the first jhana, rapture and happiness are said to be
"born of seclusion" and to suffuse the whole body of the meditator in such a
way that there is no part of his body which remains unaffected by them:
Monks, secluded from sense pleasure ... a monk enters and dwells in the
first jhana. He steeps, drenches, fills and suffuses his body with the
rapture and happiness born of seclusion, so that there is no part of his
entire body that is not suffused with this rapture and happiness. Just as a
skilled bath-attendant or his apprentice might strew bathing powder in a
copper basin, sprinkle it again and again with water, and knead it together
so that the mass of bathing soap would be pervaded, suffused, and saturated
with moisture inside and out yet would not ooze moisture, so a monk steeps,
drenches, fills and suffuses his body with the rapture and happiness born of
seclusion, so that, there is no part of his entire body that is not suffused
with this rapture and happiness born of seclusion. (D.i,74)
One-pointedness (ekaggata)
Unlike the previous four jhana factors, one-pointedness is not specifically
mentioned in the standard formula for the first jhana, but it is included
among the jhana factors by the Mahavedalla Sutta (M.i,294) as well as in the
Abhidhamma and the commentaries. One-pointedness is a universal mental
concomitant, the factor by virtue of which the mind is centered upon its
object. It brings the mind to a single point, the point occupied by the
object.
One-pointedness is used in the text as a synonym for concentration (samadhi)
which has the characteristic of non-distraction, the function of eliminating
distractions, non-wavering as its manifestation, and happiness as its
proximate cause (Vism.85; PP.85). As a jhana factor one-pointedness is
always directed to a wholesome object and wards off unwholesome influences,
in particular the hindrance of sensual desire. As the hindrances are absent
in jhana one-pointedness acquires special strength, based on the previous
sustained effort of concentration.
Besides the five jhana factors, the first jhana contains a great number of
other mental factors functioning in unison as coordinate members of a single
state of consciousness. Already the Anupada Sutta lists such additional
components of the first jhana as contact, feeling, perception, volition,
consciousness, desire, decision, energy, mindfulness, equanimity and
attention (M.iii,25). In the Abhidhamma literature this is extended still
further up to thirty-three indispensable components. Nevertheless, only five
states are called the factors of the first jhana, for only these have the
functions of inhibiting the five hindrances and fixing the mind in
absorption. For the jhana to arise all these five factors must be present
simultaneously, exercising their special operations:
But applied thought directs the mind onto the object; sustained thought
keeps it anchored there. Happiness [rapture] produced by the success of the
effort refreshes the mind whose effort has succeeded through not being
distracted by those hindrances; and bliss [happiness] intensifies it for the
same reason. Then unification aided by this directing onto, this anchoring,
this refreshing and this intensifying, evenly and rightly centers the mind
with its remaining associated states on the object consisting in unity.
Consequently possession of five factors should be understood as the arising
of these five, namely, applied thought, sustained thought, happiness
[rapture], bliss [happiness], and unification of mind. For it is when these
are arisen that jhana is said to be arisen, which is why they are called the
five factors of possession. (Vism.146;PP.152)
Each jhana factor serves as support for the one which succeeds it. Applied
thought must direct the mind to its object in order for sustained thought to
anchor it there. Only when the mind is anchored can the interest develop
which will culminate in rapture. As rapture develops it brings happiness to
maturity, and this spiritual happiness, by providing an alternative to the
fickle pleasures of the senses, aids the growth of one-pointedness. In this
way, as Nagasena explains, all the other wholesome states lead to
concentration, which stands at their head like the apex on the roof of a
house (Miln. 38-39).
Perfecting the First Jhana
The difference between access and absorption concentration, as we have said,
does not lie in the absence of the hindrances, which is common to both, but
in the relative strength of the jhana factors. In access the factors are
weak so that concentration is fragile, comparable to a child who walks a few
steps and then falls down. But in absorption the jhana factors are strong
and well developed so that the mind can remain continuously in concentration
just as a healthy man can remain standing on his feet for a whole day and
night (Vism.126; PP.131).
Because full absorption offers the benefit of strengthened concentration, a
meditator who gains access is encouraged to strive for the attainment of
jhana. To develop his practice several important measures are recommended.
[8] The meditator should live in a suitable dwelling, rely upon a suitable
alms resort, avoid profitless talk, associate only with spiritually-minded
companions, make use only of suitable food, live in a congenial climate, and
maintain his practice in a suitable posture. He should also cultivate the
ten kinds of skill in absorption. He should clean his lodging and his
physical body so that they conduce to clear meditation, balance his
spiritual faculties by seeing that faith is balanced with wisdom and energy
with concentration, and he must be skillful in producing and developing the
sign of concentration (1-3). He should exert the mind when it is slack,
restrain it when it is agitated, encourage it when it is restless or
dejected, and look at the mind with equanimity when all is proceeding well
(4-7). The meditator should avoid distracting persons, should approach
people experienced in concentration, and should be firm in his resolution to
attain jhana (8-10).
After attaining the first jhana a few times the meditator is not advised to
set out immediately striving for the second jhana. This would be a foolish
and profitless spiritual ambition. Before he is prepared to make the second
jhana the goal of his endeavor he must first bring the first jhana to
perfection. If he is too eager to reach the second jhana before he has
perfected the first, he is likely to fail to gain the second and find
himself unable to regain the first. The Buddha compares such a meditator to
a foolish cow who, while still unfamiliar with her own pasture, sets out for
new pastures and gets lost in the mountains: she fails to find food or drink
and is unable to find her way home (A.iv, 418-19).
The perfecting of the first jhana involves two steps: the extension of the
sign and the achievement of the five masteries. The extension of the sign
means extending the size of the counterpart sign, the object of the jhana.
Beginning with a small area, the size of one or two fingers, the meditator
gradually learns to broaden the sign until the mental image can be made to
cover the world-sphere or even beyond (Vism. 152-53; PP.158-59).
Following this the meditator should try to acquire five kinds of mastery
over the jhana: mastery in adverting, in attaining, in resolving, in
emerging and in reviewing. [9] Mastery in adverting is the ability to advert
to the jhana factors one by one after emerging from the jhana, wherever he
wants, whenever he wants, and for as long as he wants. Mastery in attaining
is the ability to enter upon jhana quickly, mastery in resolving the ability
to remain in the jhana for exactly the pre-determined length of time,
mastery in emerging the ability to emerge from jhana quickly without
difficulty, and mastery in reviewing the ability to review the jhana and its
factors with retrospective knowledge immediately after adverting to them.
When the meditator has achieved this fivefold mastery, then he is ready to
strive for the second jhana.
Notes:
[1] Buddhaghosa ascribes the passage he cites in support of the
correspondence to the "Petaka," but it cannot be traced anywhere in the
present Tipitaka, nor in the exegetical work named Petakopadesa.
[2] The other two types of abandoning are by substitution of opposites
(tadangappahana), which means the replacement of unwholesome states by
wholesome ones specifically opposed to them, and abandoning by eradication
(samucchedappahana), the final destruction of defilements by the
supramundane paths. See Vism.693-96;PP.812-16.
[3] Adapted from Nyanaponika Thera, The Five Mental Hindrances and Their
Conquest (Wheel No. 26). This booklet contains a full compilation of texts
on the hindrances.
[4] Ven Nanamoli, in his translation of the Visuddhimagga, renders piti by
"happiness," but this rendering can be misleading since most translators use
"happiness" as a rendering for sukha, the pleasurable feeling present in the
jhana. We will render piti by "rapture," thus maintaining the connection of
the term with ecstatic meditative experience.
[5] Shwe Zan Aung, Compendium of Philosophy (London: Pali Text Society,
1960), p243.
[6] Khuddhikapiti, khanikapiti, okkantikapiti, ubbega piti and pharana piti.
Vism 143-44; PP. 149-51. Dhs.A.158.
[7] Dhs.A.160-61. Translation by Maung Tin, The Expositor (Atthasalini)
(London: Pali Text Society, 1921), i.155-56.
[8] The following is based on Vism. 126-35; PP.132-40
[9] Avajjanavasi, samapajjanavasi, adhitthanavasi, vutthanavasi,
paccavekkhanavasi. For a discussion see Vism. 154-55; PP.160-61. The
canonical source for the five masteries is the Patisambhidamagga, i.100.
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