jhana, kundalini, kriya, jhana archive, jhana resource guide, jhana support group, jhanananda, jhanananda's journal, jhananda, jhana-nimitta, joy, joy of meditation, joyful home of the way, jsg, kriyas, kundaliniheat, language of ecstasy, language of gnosis, absorption, articles on ecstatic meditation, bliss, di.t.thadhammasukhavihaaraa, ecstatic buddhism, ecstasy, ecstatic, ecstatic case histories, ecstatic contemplative, ecstatic meditation, field meditation, fragrance of enlightenment, fruits of the contemplative life, fourth wheel, great western vehicle, gwv, jeff brooks, jeffrey s. brooks, mahaparacakkayana, mahasatipatthana, maha-satipatthana, manomaya, meditation, meditation case histories, meditation induced neurosis, meditation induced physical ailment, meditation induced psychosis, meditation induced tinnitus, meditative absorption, mind-made body, mystic, mysticism, nimitta, oob, oobe, out-of-body experience, past life, past lifetimes, phala, phala nikaya, phenomena of absorption, piiti, pleasure not of the senses, psychology of ecstasy, recognizing the absorption states, remaining conscious during sleep, right meditation, saint vitus' dance, samadhi, sama-samadhi, satipatthana, shaman, shamanic, shamanism, spiritual awakening, spontaneous movement, succor, sukha, tinnitus, understanding meditation states, understanding meditative absorption, unifying theory of gnosis, wholesome states, advaita, advaita vedanta, anapanasati, arahant, arahanta, arahat, astral projection, aura, boundless states, brahma viharas, buddhist criticism, chakra, characteristic manifestations of absorption, characteristics of absorption, charism, charisma, charismatic, charismatic movement, charismatic buddhism, christian mystic, christian mysticism, clairaudience, clairvoyance, contemplative, contemplative arts, dark night of the soul, divine abodes, divine ear, dzikr, equanimity, fana, former lives, gnosis, gnostic, houses of god, insight, kabbalah, kasina, kayagata-sati, lucid, lucid dreaming, meditation object, rapture, reincarnation, revelation, rigpa, seven factors of enlightenment, shunyata, siddhi, signless, signlessness, supernatural powers, supranormal powers, trance, tranquility, upekkha, vedanta, vertigo, vipassana,

[Great Western Vehicle] [Events] [Supporting the GWV]

[Pali & Buddhist Studies] [Tipitaka Index]  [Buddhist Timeline] [Pali-English Dictionary] [Sanskrit & Vedic Studies] [Ecstatic Meditation Archive]

The Characteristics of Meditative Absorptions (jhana-samadhi)

March 19, 2006

By Bhikkhu Jhanananda (Jeffrey S. Brooks):

(copyright 2006 all rights reserved)

The Four Material Absorptions (rupa-jhana, savikalpa samadhi) where there is an awareness of the material senses

Jhananda

Buddha

English

Pali/Sanskrit Jhana/Samadhi

Description

1

1

  

Piiti, Sukha, Ekaggatha, Vitakka, Vicára

Bliss, Joy, concentration on a single sense, applied & sustained attention

2

2

  

Piiti, Sukha, Passaddhi,

Bliss, Joy, tranquility,

3

  

Hypersensitivity phase

  

Dark Night of the Soul

4

3

  

Piiti, Passaddhi, Upekkha,

Bliss, tranquility, equanimity,

5

4

  

Piiti, Passaddhi, Upekkha, Asukha ca Adukkha

Bliss, tranquility, equanimity, freedom from pleasure and suffering

The Four Immaterial Attainments trances, raptures, nonmaterial absorptions (arupa-jhanas) (Jhanas 5-8) "asamprajata-samadhi." where there is no awareness of the material senses

6

Transitional Phase I

Kasina

Luminous Orbs

7

II

OOBs

Manomaya

Out-of-Body

8

III

Kaleidascope

  

Whirling stars

9

5

Sphere of Infinite Space

Akasanancayatana, yoga

absorption or union with infinite space, or a God of infinite dimension,

10

  

Sphere of Infinite Time

yoga

absorption or union with infinite time, or a God of infinite time,

11

6

Sphere of Infinite Consciousness

Vinnananaacayatana, yoga Devekut with the Shekhinah, dharma meghaï

Absorption or union with the infinite consciousness of God, or absorption into infinite being, Indra's net of jewels, Vishnu's Ocean of Milk, the cloud of truth

12

7

The Sphere of No-Thingness

Akincannayatana, yoga, Tat Twam Assi.

absorption or union with the Infinite such that he or she cannot distinguish between either this nor that, neither self nor other, neither self nor god.  "I am That"

13

8

The Sphere of Neither-Perception-nor-non-perception

nevasannanasannnayatana

Attaining the domain of the highest heaven

14

  

Cessation

nibbana/nirvana/yoga/fana

Cessation union with the Infinite in which there is no sensible dimension, blackness, the full enlightenment or annihilation

(Discourses of the Buddha: DN 2, 22, MN 119, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali)

the Eight Jhana/samadhi factors

Vitakka

(applied or initiating attention)

Vicára

(sustained attention)

Sukha

joy

Piiti

bliss (a factor of enlightenment)

Ekaggatha

one-pointedness

Passaddhi

tranquility (a factor of enlightenment)

Upekkha

equanimity (a factor of enlightenment)

Asukha ca Adukkha

freedom from pleasure and suffering

(DN 2, 22 MN 119)

Please note: the 6th factor of enlightenment, bliss (piiti), remains the backbone of all the meditative absorption (jhanas-samadhis). It simply gets rarefied with each stage of absorption.

Also, three of the jhana factors are factors of enlightenment (Piiti, Passaddhi & Upekkha), and by definition jhana is also a factor of enlightenment (samadhi).  Also, meditative absorption (jhana-samadhi) is the consequence of mindfulness (sati). The Four Paths of Power (iddhi-páda, q.v.) (DN 26) reveal that the remaining two factors of enlightenment are also a product (phala) of the attainment of jhana [Wisdom (panna) and Energy (viriya)]),  How I interpret wisdom coming from the Paths of Power (iddhi-páda), when the term 'panna' is not used in that context is intention (chanda), cognition (citta) and investigation (vimamsa) are the very defining qualities of wisdom (panna).

The four paths or bases of spiritual power (iddhi-páda, q.v.)

1

Intention arising from absorption

chanda samádhi

2

Energy arising from absorption

viriya samádhi

3

Cognition arising from absorption

citta samádhi

4

Investigation arising from absorption

vimamsa samádhi

(DN 26)

Thus meditative absorption (jhana-samadhi) directly accounts for all 7 of the factors of enlightenment.

The Seven Factors of Enlightenment (bojjhanga, sambojjhanaga)

#

English

Pali

Source

1

Investigation of the way

dhamma-vicaya

siddhi

2

Energy

viriya, vîrya

Kundalini, iddhi-páda

3

Tranquility

passaddhi

2nd jhana

4

Mindfulness

sati

7th fold of N8p

5

Equanimity

upekkha

3rd jhana

6

Bliss

piiti

1st jhana

7

Absorption

samadhi

Jhana/samadhi 1-8

(DN 2, 22, 33.2.3(2); MN 119)

May you become enlightened in this very lifetime,

Bhikkhu Jhanananda (Jeffrey S. Brooks):

the Great Western Vehicle