The Jhanas (Meditative Absorptions)
The Jhanas are eight altered states of consciousness which can arise during periods of strong concentration. The Jhanas are naturally occurring states of mind, but learning how to enter them at will and how to stay in them takes practice.
Their principle use in Buddhist meditation is to generate ever increasing
levels of concentration so that later when the meditative mind is turned to
a practice that tends towards wisdom, it can do that practice with far less
distraction.
Below are links to several places on the 'net where the Jhanas are discussed.
Some of these pages are mine; some are at other sites I've found.
-
The Access to Insight
website's Jhana Page
-
The Jhanas are defined by the Buddha as
Right Concentration. His declaration of this - here in both Pali and English
- can be found found in many discourses inclluding
DN 22,
MN 141
and SN 45:8.
-
Sharpening Manjushri's Sword
The Jhanas in Theravadan Buddhist Meditation ~ Leigh Brasington
This is revised edition of a paper I presented to the American Academy of Religon/Western Regional meeting on 25 Mar '97. It contains a bibliography and links to other sites that discuss the Jhanas.
-
Jhanas at the Forest Refuge ~ Leigh Brasington
I spent the month of May 2006 on retreat at the Forest Refuge with Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw. This details some extra curricular exploration of the jhanas while more deeply concentrated than described above.
-
Instruction for Entering Jhàna ~ Leigh Brasington
This is a reprint of an article that first appeared in Insight Journal, Fall 2002.
It is a transcription of a talk I gave at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in April of 2002.
-
Interpretations of the Jhanas. ~ Leigh Brasington
There is no real agreement among Jhana teachers as to what exactly the Jhanic state are! This paper outlines the various methods that I have heard about.
-
Arguments for the Importance of the Jhanas in the Suttas
~ Leigh Brasington
A paper I wrote back in 1996 discussing the importance of the Jhanas
in the Pali Cannon.
- 3 handouts on the jhana factors for a day-long course I taught at the Sati Center.
~ Leigh Brasington
-
The Jhánas
in Theravadan Buddhist Meditation ~ Maháthera Henepola Gunaratana
This classic book on the jhanas is now available on the 'net.
-
Ajahn Brahmavamso is a Theravaden Buddhist monk who lives in Western Australia.
He studied extensively with Ajahn Cha in Thailand as well as in other places before
returning to Australia. His definition of exactly what constituted a Jhana
seems to imply Much stronger absorption than my own definition - or that of other
Westerners I have discussed the Jhanas with (such as Ayya Khema,
Thanissaro Bhikkhu and others).
He has given several talks on the Jhanas which have been transcribed and now appear on the 'net:
-
Practical Advice for Meditators ~ Bhikkhu Khantipalo
-
"Nimitta, nimitta, who's got a nimitta?" Ever wonder why the suttas don't mention "nimitta" but that "nimitta" is so important in the Visuddhimagga? Definitely read The Mystery of the Breath Nimitta ~ Bhikkhu Sona.
-
Two articles by Biswadeb Mukherjee on the pre-Buddhist history of the jhanas discuss
A Pre-Buddhist meditation system and Early Modificatios by Gotama the Bodhisattva Part I
and Part II.
-
The Winter 2004 issue of Tricycle magazine has a special section on Jhanas.
-
Lloyd Burton has written a paper entitled
The Jhanas and the Brahma Viharas
which discusses Brahma Vihara practice in relation to the Jhanas.
-
The first Western conference on Jhana practice in Theravada Buddhism
was held near Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, in June, 2001. See Lloyd Burton's report
Gathering Fruit and Planting Seeds for the details.
-
Working Paper presented at the 2008 Mind and Life Conference:
EEG Power and Coherence Analysis of an Expert Meditator in the Eight Jhanas (MS-Word file).
-
And finally, I've compiled a one page Lists of Things To Do
that are helpful for entering the Jhanas ~ Leigh Brasington
For further reading on the Jhanas, see the books on my Buddhist Reading List that are marked with an asterisk.
Tho not specifically about the Jhanas, this article from Newsweek on meditation is interesting as well.
New Scientist reports that self-awareness is switched off when the brain needs to concentrate hard.
This page hosted by
Leigh Brasington
/
/ Revised 11 June 09