Jhana - Jhana and The Supramundane

The Jhanas in Theravada Buddhist Meditation
by Bhikkhu Henepola Gunaratana



  Chapter 5
  Jhana and The Supramundane



    
    The Way of Wisdom
    The goal of the Buddhist path, complete and permanent liberation from
    suffering, is to be achieved by practicing the full threefold discipline of
    morality (sila), concentration (samadhi), and wisdom (panna). The mundane
    jhanas, comprising the four fine-material jhanas and the four immaterial
    jhanas, pertain to the stage of concentration, which they fulfill to an
    eminent degree. However, taken by themselves, these states do not ensure
    complete deliverance, for they are incapable of cutting off the roots of
    suffering. The Buddha teaches that the cause of suffering, the driving power
    behind the cycle of rebirths, is the defilements with their three
    unwholesome roots -- greed, hatred and delusion. Concentration of the
    absorption level, no matter to what heights it is pursued, only suppresses
    the defilements, but cannot destroy their latent seeds. Thence bare mundane
    jhana, even when sustained, cannot by itself terminate the cycle of
    rebirths. To the contrary, it may even perpetuate the round. For if any
    fine-material or immaterial jhana is held to with clinging, it will bring
    about a rebirth in that particular plane of existence corresponding to its
    own kammic potency, which can then be followed by rebirth in some lower
    realm.
    What is required to achieve complete deliverance from the cycle of rebirths
    is the eradication of the defilements. Since the most basic defilement is
    ignorance (avijja), the key to liberation lies in developing its direct
    opposite, namely wisdom (panna).
    Since wisdom presupposes a certain proficiency in concentration it is
    inevitable that jhana comes to claim a place in its development. This place,
    however, is not fixed and invariable, but as we will see allows for
    differences depending on the individual mediator's disposition.
    Fundamental to the discussion in this chapter is a distinction between two
    terms crucial to Theravada philosophical exposition, "mundane" (lokiya) and
    "supramundane" (lokuttara). The term "mundane" applies to all phenomena
    comprised in the world (loka) -- to subtle states of consciousness as well
    as matter, to virtue as well as evil, to meditative attainments as well as
    sensual engrossments. The term "supramundane," in contrast, applies
    exclusively to that which transcends the world, that is the nine
    supramundane states: Nibbana, the four noble paths (magga) leading to
    Nibbana, and their corresponding fruits (phala) which experience the bliss
    of Nibbana.
    Wisdom has the specific characteristic of penetrating the true nature of
    phenomena. It penetrates the particular and general features of things
    through direct cognition rather than discursive thought. Its function is "to
    abolish the darkness of delusion which conceals the individual essences of
    states" and its manifestation is "non-delusion." Since the Buddha says that
    one whose mind is concentrated knows and sees things as they are, the
    proximate cause of wisdom is concentration (Vism. 438; PP.481).
    The wisdom instrumental in attaining liberation is divided into two
    principal types: insight knowledge (vipassananana) and the knowledge
    pertaining to the supramundane paths (magganana). The first is the direct
    penetration of the three characteristics of conditioned phenomena --
    impermanence, suffering and non-self. [1] It takes as its objective sphere
    the five aggregates (pancakkhandha) -- material form, feeling perception,
    mental formations and consciousness. Because insight knowledge takes the
    world of conditioned formations as its object, it is regarded as a mundane
    form of wisdom. Insight knowledge does not itself directly eradicate the
    defilements, but serves to prepare the way for the second type of wisdom,
    the wisdom of the supramundane paths, which emerges when insight has been
    brought to its climax. The wisdom of the path, occurring in four distinct
    stages ( to be discussed below ), simultaneously realizes Nibbana, fathoms
    the Four Noble Truths, and cuts off the defilements. This wisdom is called
    "supramundane" because it rises up from the world of the five aggregates to
    realize the state transcendent to the world, Nibbana.
    The Buddhist disciple, striving for deliverance, begins the development of
    wisdom by first securely establishing its roots -- purified moral discipline
    and concentration. He then learns and masters the basic material upon which
    wisdom is to work -- the aggregates, elements, sense bases, dependent
    arising, the Four Noble Truths, etc. He commences the actual practice of
    wisdom by cultivating insight into the impermanence, suffering and non-self
    aspect of the five aggregates. When this insight reaches its apex it issues
    in supramundane wisdom, the right view factor of the Noble Eightfold Path,
    which turns from conditioned formations to the unconditioned Nibbana and
    thereby eradicates the defilements.
    The Two Vehicles
    The Theravada tradition recognizes two alternative approaches to the
    development of wisdom, between which practitioners are free to choose
    according to their aptitude and propensity. These two approaches are the
    vehicle of serenity (samathayana) and the vehicle of insight
    (vipassanayana). The meditators who follow them are called, respectively,
    the samathayanika," one who makes serenity his vehicle," and the
    vipassanayanika, "one who makes insight his vehicle, " Since both vehicles,
    despite their names, are approaches to developing insight, to prevent
    misunderstanding the latter type of meditator is sometimes called a
    suddhavipassanayanika, "one who makes bare insight his vehicle," or a
    sukkhavipassaka, "a dry-insight worker."
    Though all three terms appear initially in the commentaries rather than in
    the suttas, the recognition of the two vehicles seems implicit in a number
    of canonical passages.
    The samathayanika is a meditator who first attains access concentration or
    one of the eight mundane jhanas, then emerges and uses his attainment as a
    basis for cultivating insight until he arrives at the supramundane path. In
    contrast, the vipassanayanika does not attain mundane jhana prior to
    practicing insight contemplation, or if he does, does not use it as an
    instrument for cultivating insight. Instead, without entering and emerging
    from jhana, he proceeds directly to insight contemplation on mental and
    material phenomena and by means of this bare insight he reaches the noble
    path. For both kinds of meditator the experience of the path in any of its
    four stages always occurs at a level of jhanic intensity and thus
    necessarily includes supramundane jhana under the heading of right
    concentration (samma samadhi), the eighth factor of the Noble Eightfold
    Path.
    The classical source for the distinction between the two vehicles of
    serenity and insight is the Visuddhimagga where it is explained that when a
    meditator begins the development of wisdom "if firstly, his vehicle is
    serenity, [he] should emerge from any fine-material or immaterial jhana
    except the base consisting of neither-perception-nor-non-perception, and he
    should discern, according to characteristic, function, etc. the jhana
    factors consisting of applied thought, etc. and the states associated with
    them" (Vism. 557; PP679-80). Other commentarial passages allow access
    concentration to suffice for the vehicle of serenity, but the last
    immaterial jhana is excluded because its factors are too subtle to be
    discerned. The meditator whose vehicle is pure insight, on the other hand,
    is advised to start directly by discerning material and mental phenomena,
    beginning with the four elements, without utilizing a jhana for this purpose
    (Vism. 558; PP.680). Thus the samathayanika first attains access
    concentration or mundane jhana and then develops insight knowledge, by means
    of which he reaches the supramundane path containing wisdom under the
    heading of right view, and supramundane jhana under the heading of right
    concentration. The vipassanayanika, in contrast, skips over mundane jhana
    and goes directly into insight contemplation. When he reaches the end of the
    progression of insight knowledge he arrives at the supramundane path which,
    as in the previous case, brings together wisdom with supramundane jhana.
    This jhana counts as his accomplishment of serenity.
    For a meditator following the vehicle of serenity the attainment of jhana
    fulfills two functions: first, it produces a basis of mental purity and
    inner collectedness needed for undertaking the work of insight
    contemplation; and second, it serves as an object to be examined with
    insight in order to discern the three characteristics of impermanence,
    suffering and non-self. Jhana accomplishes the first function by providing a
    powerful instrument for overcoming the five hindrances. As we have seen, for
    wisdom to arise the mind must first be concentrated well, and to be
    concentrated well it must be freed from the hindrances, a task accomplished
    pre-eminently by the attainment of jhana. Though access concentration will
    keep the hindrances at bay, jhana will ensure that they are removed to a
    much safer distance.
    In their capacity for producing concentration the jhanas are called the
    basis (pada) for insight, and that particular jhana a meditator enters and
    emerges from before commencing his practice of insight is designated his
    padakajjhana, the basic or foundational jhana. Insight cannot be practiced
    while absorbed in jhana, since insight meditation requires investigation and
    observation, which are impossible when the mind is immersed in one-pointed
    absorption. But after emerging form the jhana the mind is cleared of the
    hindrances, and the stillness and clarity that then result conduce to
    precise, penetrating insight.
    The jhanas also enter into the samathayanika's practice in second capacity,
    that is, as objects for scrutinization by insight. The practice of insight
    consists essentially in the examination of mental and physical phenomena to
    discover their marks of impermanence, suffering and non-self. The jhanas a
    meditator attains provide him with a readily available and strikingly clear
    object in which to seek out the three characteristics. After emerging from a
    jhana the meditator will proceed to examine the jhanic consciousness and to
    discern the way it exemplifies the three universal marks. This process is
    called sammasananana, "comprehension knowledge," and the jhana subject to
    such treatment is termed sammasitajjhana, "the comprehended jhana" (Vism.
    607-11; PP.706-10). Though the basic jhana and the comprehended jhana will
    often be the same, the two do not necessarily coincide. A meditator cannot
    practice comprehension on a jhana higher than he is capable of attaining,
    but one who uses a higher jhana as his padakajjhana can still practice
    insight comprehension on a lower jhana which he has previously attained and
    mastered. The admitted difference between the padakajjhana and the
    sammasitajjhana leads to discrepant theories about the supramundane
    concentration of the noble path, as we will see.
    Whereas the sequence of training undertaken by the samathayanika meditator
    is unproblematic, the vipassanayanika's approach presents the difficulty of
    accounting for the concentration he uses to provide a basis for insight.
    Concentration is needed in order to see and know things as they are, but
    without access concentration or jhana, what concentration can he use? The
    solution to this problem is found in a type of concentration distinct from
    the access and absorption concentrations pertaining to the vehicle of
    serenity, called "momentary concentration" (khanika samadhi). Despite its
    name, momentary concentration does not signify a single moment of
    concentration amidst a current of distracted thoughts, but a dynamic
    concentration which flows from object to object in the ever-changing flux of
    phenomena, retaining a constant degree of intensity and collectedness
    sufficient to purify the mind of the hindrances. Momentary concentration
    arises in the samathayanika simultaneously with his post-jhanic attainment
    of insight, but for the vipassanayanika it develops naturally and
    spontaneously in the course of his insight practice without his having to
    fix the mind upon a single exclusive object. Thus the follower of the
    vehicle of insight does not omit concentration altogether from his training,
    but develops it in a different manner from the practitioner of serenity.
    Without gaining jhana he goes directly into contemplation on the five
    aggregates and by observing them constantly from moment to moment acquires
    momentary concentration as an accompaniment of his investigations. This
    momentary concentration fulfills the same function as the basic jhana of the
    serenity vehicle, providing the foundation of mental clarity needed for
    insight to emerge.
    Supramundane Jhana
    The climax in the development of insight is the attainment of the
    supramundane paths and fruits. Each path is a momentary peak experience
    directly apprehending Nibbana and permanently cutting off certain
    defilements. These defilements are generally grouped into a set of ten
    "fetters" (samyojana) which keep beings chained to the round of rebirths.
    The first path, called the path of stream-entry (sota patti) because it
    marks the entry into the stream of the Dhamma, eradicates the first three
    fetters -- The false view of self, doubt, and clinging to rites and rituals.
    The disciple who has reached stream-entry has limited his future births to a
    maximum of seven in the happy realms of the human and heavenly worlds, after
    which he will attain final deliverance. But an ardent disciple may progress
    to still higher stages in the same life in which he reaches stream-entry, by
    making an aspiration for the next higher path and again undertaking the
    development of insight with the aim of reaching that path.
    The next supramundane path is that of the once-returner (sakadagami). This
    path does not eradicate any fetters completely, but it greatly attenuates
    sensual desire and ill will. The once-returner is so called because he is
    bound to make an end of suffering after returning to this world only one
    more time. The third path, that of the non-returner (anagami) utterly
    destroys the sensual desire and ill will weakened by the preceding path. The
    non-returner is assured that he will never again take rebirth in the
    sense-sphere; if he does not penetrate higher he will be reborn
    spontaneously in the Pure Abodes and there reach final Nibbana. The highest
    path, the path of arahatship, eradicate the remaining five fetters -- desire
    for existence in the fine-material and immaterial spheres, conceit,
    restlessness and ignorance. The arahat has completed the development of the
    entire path taught by the Buddha; he has reached the end of rebirths and can
    sound his "lion's roar": "Destroyed is birth, the holy life has been lived,
    what was to be done has been done, there is nothing further beyond this."
    Each path is followed immediately by the supramundane experience of
    fruition, which results from the path, comes in the same four graded stages,
    and shares the path's world-transcending character. But whereas the path
    performs the active function of cutting off defilements, fruition simply
    enjoys the bliss and peace that result when the path has completed its task.
    Also, where the path is limited to a single moment of consciousness, the
    fruition that follows immediately on the path endures for two or three
    moments. And while each of the four paths occurs only once and can never be
    repeated, fruition remains accessible to the noble disciple at he
    appropriate level. He can resort to it as a special meditative state called
    fruition attainment (phalasamapatti) for the purpose of experiencing
    nibbanic bliss here and now (Vism. 699-702; PP.819-24).
    The supramundane paths and fruits always arise as states of jhanic
    consciousness. They occur as states of jhana because they contain within
    themselves the jhana factors elevated to an intensity corresponding to that
    of the jhana factors in the mundane jhanas. Since they possess the jhana
    factors these states are able to fix upon their object with the force of
    full absorption. Thence, taking the absorptive force of the jhana factors as
    the criterion, the paths and fruits may be reckoned as belonging to either
    the first, second, third or fourth jhana of the fourfold scheme, or to the
    first, second, third, fourth or fifth jhana of the fivefold scheme.
    The basis for the recognition of a supramundane type of jhana goes back to
    the suttas, especially to the section of "The Great Discourse on the
    Foundations of Mindfulness" where the Buddha defines right concentration of
    the Noble Eightfold Path by the standard formula for the four jhanas
    (D.ii,313). However, it is in the Abhidhamma that the connection between the
    jhanas, paths and fruits comes to be worked out with great intricacy of
    detail. The Dhammasangani, in its section on states of consciousness,
    expounds each of the path and fruition states of consciousness as occasions,
    first, of one or another of the four jhanas in the fourfold scheme, and then
    again as occasions of one or another of the five jhanas in the fivefold
    scheme (Dhs.74-86). Standard Abhidhammic exposition, as formalized in the
    synoptical manuals of Abhidhamma, employs the fivefold scheme and brings
    each of the paths and fruits into connection with each of the five jhanas.
    In this way the eight types of supramundane consciousness -- the path and
    fruition consciousness of stream-entry, the once-returner, the non-returner
    and arahatship -- proliferate to forty types of supramundane consciousness,
    since any path or fruit can occur at the level of any of the five jhanas. It
    should be noted, however, that there are no paths and fruits conjoined with
    the immaterial attainments, the reason being that supramundane jhana is
    presented solely from the standpoint of its factorial constitution, which
    for the immaterial attainment and the fifth jhana is identical -- equanimity
    and one-pointedness.
    The fullest treatment of the supramundane jhanas in the authoritative Pali
    literature can be found in the Dhammasangani read in conjunction with its
    commentary, the Atthasalini. The Dhammasangani opens its analysis of the
    first wholesome supramundane consciousness with the words:
      On the occasion when one develops supramundane jhana which is
      emancipating, leading to the demolition (of existence), for the
      abandonment of views, for reaching the first plane, secluded from sense
      pleasures ... one enters and dwells in the first jhana. (Dhs. 72)
    The Atthasalini explains the word lokuttara, which we have been translating
    "supramundane," as meaning "it crosses over the world, it transcends the
    world, it stands having surmounted and overcome the world." It glosses the
    phrase "one develops jhana" thus: "One develops, produces, cultivates
    absorption jhana lasting for a single thought-moment." This gloss shows us
    two things about the consciousness of the path: that it occurs as a jhana at
    the level of full absorption and that this absorption of the path lasts for
    only a single thought-moment. The word "emancipating" (niyyanika) is
    explained to mean that this jhana "goes out" from the world, from the round
    of existence, the phrase "leading to demolition" (apacayagami) that it
    demolishes and dismantles the process of rebirth (Dhs.A.259).
    This last phrase points to a striking difference between mundane and
    supramundane jhana. The Dhammasangani's exposition of the former begins: "On
    the occasion when one develops the path for rebirth in the fine-material
    sphere ... one enters and dwells in the first jhana" [my italics]. Thus,
    with this statement, mundane jhana is shown to sustain the round of
    rebirths; it is a wholesome kamma leading to renewed existence. But the
    supramundane jhana of the path does not promote the continuation of the
    round. To the contrary, it brings about the round's dismantling and
    demolition, as the Atthasalini shows with an illustrative simile:
    The wholesome states of the three planes are said to lead to accumulation
    because they build up and increase death and rebirth in the round. But not
    this. Just as when one man has built up a wall eighteen feet high another
    might take a club and go along demolishing it, so this goes along
    demolishing and dismantling the deaths and rebirths built up by the
    wholesome kammas of the three planes by bringing about a deficiency in their
    conditions. Thus it leads to demolition. [2]
    Supramundane jhana is said to be cultivated "for the abandoning of views."
    This phrase points to the function of the first path, which is to eradicate
    the fetters. The supramundane jhana of the first path cuts off the fetter of
    personality view and all speculative views derived from it. The Atthasalini
    points out that here we should understand that it abandons not only wrong
    views but other unwholesome states as well, namely, doubt, clinging to rites
    and rituals, and greed, hatred and delusion strong enough to lead to the
    plane of misery. The commentary explicates "for reaching the first plane" as
    meaning for attaining the fruit of stream-entry.
    Besides these, several other differences between mundane and supramundane
    jhana may be briefly noted. First, with regard to their object, the mundane
    jhanas have as object a conceptual entity such as the counterpart sign of
    the kasinas or, in the case of the divine abodes, sentient beings. In
    contrast, for the supramundane jhana of the paths and fruits the object is
    exclusively Nibbana. With regard to their predominant tone, in mundane jhana
    the element of serenity prevails, while the supramundane jhana of the paths
    and fruits brings serenity and insight into balance. Wisdom is present as
    right view and serenity as right concentration, both function together in
    perfect harmony, neither one exceeding the other.
    This difference in prevailing tone leads into a difference in function or
    activity between the two kinds of jhana. Both the mundane and supramundane
    are jhanas in the sense of closely attending (upanijjhana), but in the case
    of mundane jhana this close attention issues merely in absorption into the
    object, an absorption that can only suppress the defilement temporarily. In
    the supramundane jhana, particularly of the four paths, the coupling of
    close attention with wisdom brings the exercise of four functions at a
    single moment. These four functions each apply to one of the Four Noble
    Truths. The path penetrates the First Noble Truth by fully understanding
    suffering; it penetrates the Second Noble Truth by abandoning craving, the
    origin of suffering; it penetrates the Third Noble Truth by realizing
    Nibbana, the cessation of suffering; and it penetrates the fourth Noble
    Truth by developing the Noble Eightfold Path that leads to the end of
    suffering. Buddhaghosa illustrates this with the simile of a lamp, which
    also performs four tasks simultaneously: it burns the wick, dispels
    darkness, makes light appear, and consumes oil (Vism.690; PP.808).
    The Jhanic Level of the Path and Fruit
    When the paths and fruits are assigned to the level of the four or five
    jhanas, the question arises as to what factor determines their particular
    level of jhanic intensity. In other words, why do the path and fruit arise
    for one meditator at the level of the first jhana, for another at the level
    of the second jhana, and so forth? The commentaries present three theories
    concerning the determination of the jhanic level of the path, apparently
    deriving from the lineages of ancient teachers (Vism. 666-67; PP.778-80.
    Dhs.A.271-74). The first holds that it is the basic jhana, i.e. the jhana
    used as a basis for the insight leading to emergence in immediate proximity
    to the path, that governs the difference in the jhanic level of the path. A
    second theory says that the difference is governed by the aggregates made
    the objects of insight on the occasion of insight leading to emergence. A
    third theory holds that it is the personal inclination of the meditator that
    governs the difference.
    According to the first theory the path arisen in a dry-insight meditator who
    lacks jhana, and the path arisen in one who possesses a jhana attainment but
    does not use it as a basis for insight, and the path arisen by comprehending
    formations after emerging from the first jhana, are all paths of the first
    jhana only. When the path is produced after emerging from the second, third,
    fourth and fifth jhanas (of the fivefold system) and using these as the
    basis for insight, then the path pertains to the level of the jhana used as
    a basis -- the second, third, fourth of fifth. For a meditator using an
    immaterial jhana as basis the path will be a fifth jhana path. Thus in this
    first theory, when formations are comprehended by insight after emerging
    from a basic jhana, then it is the jhana attainment emerged from at the
    point nearest to the path, i.e. just before insight leading to emergence is
    reached, that makes the path similar in nature to itself.
    According to the second theory the path that arises is similar in nature to
    the states which are being comprehended with insight at the time insight
    leading to emergence occurs. Thus if the meditator, after emerging from a
    meditative attainment, is comprehending with insight sense-sphere phenomena
    or the constituents of the first jhana, then the path produced will occur at
    the level of the first jhana. On this theory, then, it is the comprehended
    jhana (sammasitajjhana) that determines the jhanic quality of the path. The
    one qualification that must be added is that a meditator cannot contemplate
    with insight a jhana higher than he is capable of attaining.
    According to the third theory, the path occurs at the level of whichever
    jhana the meditator wishes -- either at the level of the jhana he has used
    as the basis for insight or at the level of the jhana he has made the object
    of insight comprehension. In other words, the jhanic quality of the path
    accords with his personal inclination. However, mere wish alone is not
    sufficient. For the path to occur at the jhanic level wished for, the
    mundane jhana must have been either made the basis for insight or used as
    the object of insight comprehension.
    The difference between the three theories can be understood through a simple
    example. [3] If a meditator reaches the supramundane path by contemplating
    with insight the first jhana after emerging from the fifth jhana, then
    according to the first theory his path will belong to the fifth jhana, while
    according to the second theory it will belong to the first jhana. Thus these
    two theories are incompatible when a difference obtains between basic jhana
    and comprehended jhana. But according to the third theory, the path becomes
    of whichever jhana the meditator wishes, either the first or the fifth. Thus
    this doctrine does not necessarily clash with the other two.
    Buddhaghosa himself does not make a decision among these three theories. He
    only points out that in all three doctrines, beneath their disagreements,
    there is the recognition that the insight immediately preceding the
    supramundane path determines the jhanic character of the path. For this
    insight is the proximate and the principal cause for the arising of the
    path, so whether it be the insight leading to emergence near the basic jhana
    or that occurring through the contemplated jhana or that fixed by the
    meditator's wish, it is in all cases this final phase of insight that gives
    definition to the supramundane path. Since the fruition that occurs
    immediately after the path has an identical constitution to the path, its
    own supramundane jhana is determined by the path. Thus a first jhana path
    produces a first jhana fruit, and so forth for the remaining jhanas.
    Notes:
    [1] Anicca, dukkha, anatta
    [2] Dhs.A.259.See Expositor, ii.289-90.
    [3] Dhs.A.274. See Expositor, ii.310.