The Frontiers of Meditation – navigating the path to the Buddhist jhānas
The jhānas (Pāli; Sanskrit: dhyānas) are meditational states that many Buddhists aspire to practise but only some attain. Their practice in Buddhism is highly valued as it is said to lead to the development of insight and wisdom, and ultimately to liberation from suffering (nibbāna) or Enlightenment. However, despite their key role in Buddhist meditation practice, they have been the subject of much debate and confusion, both among practitioners and scholars.
As well as their spiritual significance to Buddhists, they are now attracting interest in the secular scientific world of meditation research. A recent paper in Scientific American describes studies using EEG and MRI scanning to elucidate the nature of these states and their possible benefits (Sacchet and Brewer, 2024). While a previous phase of meditation research in the mid 1990’s to early 2000’s looked at meditation’s potential to treat a range of psychological and physical health concerns, and a second phase in the early 2000’s focused on mechanisms of mindfulness’s effectiveness, science is now entering a third wave exploring advanced meditation. The jhānas are considered to be prime examples of ‘advanced concentrative absorption meditation (ACAM)’. The hypothesis is that deeper, more intense meditational experiences, such as the jhānas, may not only offer health benefits benefits beyond what is currently understood in the domain of ‘mindfulness’ research, but also a more radical, transformative resetting of our habitual modes of understanding ourselves and encountering the world.
While, the attainment of the jhānas was once considered the exclusive preserve of monastics or recluses, there is increasing recognition now that lay people can access them with appropriate guidance and practice. For aspirants however, the path to the jhānas can seem like a path in an overgrown garden that needs weeding and brambles trimmed in order to clear it. A recent article in the journal Mindfulness (Sparby and Sacchet, 2024) attempts to clear the path by distilling out of eight contemporary meditation manuals consistent features of jhānas that might act as operational definitions and criteria for future meditation research. I myself have used one of the manuals selected – that by Brasington (2015).
The manuals scrutinised all provide detailed accounts of how to attain jhānic states and their authors are all connected with the Theravāda Buddhist tradition. Only manuals containing a comprehensive description of the phenomenology of the eight ‘jhānas’ (four jhānas and four formless states) and published after 2003, were chosen for analysis.
From the consistencies between the various manuals, they conclude that the jhānas are characterised by clear awareness and are of different types The criterion of clear awareness seems important as scientific study of advanced meditational states is also turning its attention to so-called ‘cessations’ (Sacchet and Brewer, 2024, p.75). These are said to be characterised by momentary lapses of consciousness and thought to result from mindfulness-based meditation that is part of the vipassanā tradition in Theravāda Buddhism. These experiences, if characterised by loss of consciousness, would then be distinctly outside the ambit of jhāna. The same objection would be levelled against nirodha samāpatti[1], a so-called ‘ninth jhāna’, in which the meditator does not experience any conscious processing at all for extended periods – this state was not included in the study’s analysis.
In regard to types, they conclude that ‘jhāna’ may be classified into ‘light’, ‘intermediate’ and ‘deep’ types. The distinction they draw between what they call ‘intermediate’ and ‘deep’ jhānas is made elsewhere by Shankman (2008, p. 103) when he refers to ‘Sutta jhāna’ and ‘Visuddhimagga jhāna.’
While many consistencies were found in the descriptions and practice guidance, the discrepancies related among other things to the extent of thinking and the depth of absorption in the jhānas. To the inconsistencies they mention I would add: the nomenclature and the different lists relating to the jhānas, the status of access concentration (upacāra-samādhi), what vitakka and vicāra (which relate to thought or attention) actually mean, and the frequent insertion of one-pointedness (ekaggata) as a jhānic factor. All of the areas of ambiguity revealed by the authers or me relate to differences between what is described in the Sutta Piṭaka[2] of the Pāli canon and what is to found in the traditional commentaries[3].
In my opinion, the jhānas as described in the suttas, should be within the grasp of most regular meditators. Not only does jhānic experience bring wholesome happiness which fuels one’s Buddhist practice generally, their experience is of course an important means to insight and awakening.
I have found Brasington’s book (2015) useful as a practical guide to attaining jhānic states. He places less emphasis on nimitta[4] as an object in meditation and advises focusing on a pleasant sensation, allowing this to grow and become more generalised in order to enter the jhānas. An appropriate substrate is essential for entering these luminous states. Traditionally certain practices are described as prerequisites for entry into the jhānas. The detail varies in the suttas, but morality (sīla), awareness (sampajañña), and mindfulness (sati) seem to be required to a sufficient degree, as well as abandonment of the hindrances to meditation (nīvaraṇāni). Being in the right ‘frame of mind’ appears to be crucial for me. In my experience, this means feeling alright about myself ethically - without guilt or shame, feeling inspired by the Buddha’s teaching (Dhamma), not having too much sensory stimulation, and being mindful and aware in everyday life - including bodily awareness.
It appears that the jhānas may be experienced at different intensities and as described in the Visuddhimagga, they may be more difficult to attain than as portrayed in the suttas. The English monk, Ñāṇavīra, considered ignorance of the traditional commentaries an advantage generally, as less then needs to be unlearned (2010, 3, note a). It is a controversal statement, but when it comes to the jhānas he may have had a point – at least for those aspiring to achieve the ‘light’ or ‘intermediate’ types.
Unfortunately, in nearly all we read or hear about the jhānas, the commentarial descriptions seem to be inextricably tangled up with the early material from the Sutta Piṭaka.The commentaries may be a useful source for the more adept meditator seeking to access ‘deep’ or ‘Visuddhimagga jhāna’, but my advice to someone in the early stages of approaching jhānic practice would be to stick to the accounts in the Sutta Piṭaka as much as possible. It makes life much more simple and is likely to be at least as effective for the early experience of these exalted meditational states.
References
Brasington, L. (2015) Right Concentration. A Practical Guide to the Jhānas. Boston: Shambhala Publications.
Ñāṇavīra Thera. 2010. Clearing the Path (1960–1965). Path Press Publications.
Sacchet, M.D. and Brewer, J.A. (2024). Beyond mindfulness. An emerging science of advanced meditation could transform mental health and our understanding of consciousness. Scientific American. 331(1), 70-75.
Shankman, R. (2008). The experience of samādhi. An in-depth exploration of Buddhist meditation. Boston: Shambhala.
Sparby, J.T. and Sacchet, M.D. (2024). Toward a unifed account of advanced concentrative absorption meditation: A systematic definition and classifcation. Mindfulness 15, 1375–1394.
[1] ‘cessation of perception, feelings and consciousness’ (see Anuppada Sutta, MN 111; iii, 25)
[2] The Sutta Piṭaka (P; E: Basket of Discourse) is the second of the three division of the Tipiṭaka, the canonical collection of scripture of Theravāda Buddhism. The other two parts of the Tipiṭaka are the Vinaya Piṭaka (Basket of Discipline) and the Abhidhamma Piṭaka (Basket of Higher Doctrine).
[3] The traditional Pāli commentarial material consists mainly of the commentaries (aṭṭhakathā) on the canonical texts and Buddhaghosa’s (5th c. CE) Visuddhimagga. They are separated from the sutta texts by more than seven or eight centuries, although possibly based on much earlier commentarial material.
[4] Nimitta-based jhāna practitioners use an internally perceived light to enter and progress through the four jhānas