Are the pleasures that arise from the jhanas derived from the five senses, are they sensual? I ask because from what I’ve read people describe bodily pleasures and sensations with jhana, for example a warmth in the body or the hairs on the arm standing up, among other things, which to me makes it seem like it is sensual as this is associated with the body and tangibility. However, I thought the pleasure of jhana comes from withdrawing from sensuality and that it is a pleasure not of the flesh but of the mind.
I’ve also seen some say its good to experience these pleasures, and that there is nothing wrong becoming attached to them. But if we are supposed to give up sensuality and sensual pleasures how can the pleasures associated with the jhanas be sensual?
This excerpt below from MN 36 sheds some light on your question—from it, we can see that jhana is secluded from sensual pleasures and its pleasure not to be feared.
Then it occurred to me, ‘I recall sitting in the cool shade of a black plum tree while my father the Sakyan was off working. Quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unskillful qualities, I entered and remained in the first absorption, which has the rapture and bliss born of seclusion, while placing the mind and keeping it connected. Could that be the path to awakening?’
Stemming from that memory came the understanding: ‘That is the path to awakening!’
Then it occurred to me, ‘Why am I afraid of that pleasure, for it has nothing to do with sensual pleasures or unskillful qualities?’ Then I thought, ‘I’m not afraid of that pleasure, for it has nothing to do with sensual pleasures or unskillful qualities.’
If not maybe, its part of samatha training before Jhana is established with depth ie its not actually an intrinsic aspect of Jhana. That would solve your conundrum.
“Monks, there is rapture of the flesh, rapture not of the flesh, and rapture more not-of-the-flesh than that not of the flesh. There is pleasure of the flesh, pleasure not of the flesh, and pleasure more not-of-the-flesh than that not of the flesh. There is equanimity of the flesh, equanimity not of the flesh, and equanimity more not-of-the-flesh than that not of the flesh. There is liberation of the flesh, liberation not of the flesh, and liberation more not-of-the-flesh than that not of the flesh.
“And what is rapture of the flesh? There are these five strings of sensuality. Which five? Forms cognizable via the eye—agreeable, pleasing, charming, endearing, enticing, linked to sensual desire. Sounds cognizable via the ear… Aromas cognizable via the nose… Flavors cognizable via the tongue… Tactile sensations cognizable via the body—agreeable, pleasing, charming, endearing, enticing, linked to sensual desire. Now whatever rapture arises in dependence on these five strings of sensuality, that is called rapture of the flesh.
“And what is rapture not of the flesh? There is the case where a monk—quite secluded from sensuality, secluded from unskillful qualities—enters & remains in the first jhāna: rapture & pleasure born of seclusion, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation. With the stilling of directed thoughts & evaluations, he enters & remains in the second jhāna: rapture & pleasure born of concentration, unification of awareness free from directed thought & evaluation—internal assurance. This is called rapture not of the flesh.
The answer is straight no, but it seems to be a little more complicated than that.
For example, suppose you close your eyes in meditation. So obviously there is no visual object and no visual stimulation. And in deep trance you even forget about your eyes.
But then you “see” bright light. This vision arose not from the usual eye-sense… So where does it come from? I will leave others to answer that.
The same with sense of touch. The swirling of energy caused by jhana will echo in the body, similar to sense of touch. But just like vision of bright light is not caused by eye-sense, this bodily feeling should not be confused with ordinary sense of touch.
At the beginning, it is good to experience the pleasure of jhana. Because this reward will open up the mind about pleasure beyond sensual.
But later on, this pleasure should be discarded too.
I’m honestly not sure. Just from what I’ve read online about the experiences of jhana it seems to include bodily pleasure and sensations, but I’m not sure if that occurs prior to actually entering the state or is a part of entering it.
But people say they experience bodily pleasure and sensations with the jhanas. If that is not sensual, as in not “tactile sensations cognizable via the body”, what is it?
There’s a certain school of thought - Ajahn Brahm, @Sunyo and some others of this view - that Jhanas are experiences where you stop the 5 senses. There’s certainly a lot of evidence in support of this view, though I must say some other passages make it more ambiguous. For example, there’s mention of Buddha walking in jhana, which seems hard to do unless you were actually aware of your physical properties.
DN2 details how jhanic experiences cultivate in a mind-made body, therefore any bodily descriptions in jhanas might be considered part of this mind-made body experience.
In any case, what’s unambiguous is that repeatedly, jhanic pleasures are not sensual in nature.
Bhikkhu Analayo, in his book “A Meditator’s Life of the Buddha Based on the Early Discourses” covers this topic from multiple suttas from the Pali and Chinese texts. You can read it here and, since it’s not copywrited, I’ll quote one paragraph from chapter 4 but reading chapter 3 first can add important illuminating perspective.
"Be that as it may, what remains common ground among the texts reporting this episode is that he recollected an experience of absorption from the time before he had set out to cultivate the two modes of practice he later found insufficient to lead him to his goal: the immaterial attainments and asceticism. Recalling what he had experienced earlier, well before he had engaged in the practices that in the end had not led him to awakening, helped the bodhisattva to change perspective. The resultant change of perspective is based on the realization that wholesome types of happiness need not be shunned, as they can support progress to awakening. This is precisely the insight that comes to the fore in the Kīṭāgiri-sutta and its Madhyama- āgama parallel, taken up in the previous chapter, which report the Buddha clarifying his own realization that some types of pleasure are obstructive, but others are not. The decisive criterion is therefore not the affective nature of a particular experience, but its wholesome or unwholesome repercussions."
My understanding is that the pleasure from the jhanas, the rapture, originates in the mind. However, based on what I’ve read it is definitely felt physically, like a tingling or movement in the body, or a warmth spreading all over, and these sensations are very pleasurable. To me that seems sensual since the body is feeling something, but is it not because it originates in the mind?
It is, but the mind is not one thing and the body another thing. They are connected tightly, so what happen in the mind will impact the body.
The Tibetan described it this way: When the mind become pliable, the energy channel in the body also becomes pliable. And when the energy channel clears out, the energy will flow and burst.
Because energy here is physical, it will influence body.
Consider something like a sexual fantasy, it is “of the mind” but it is still clearly sensual.
Consider someone meditating and becoming very relaxed. The lack of tension in the physical body might feel really good, but is that sensual?
I think the physical ease that can come from meditation is probably not really what the Buddha has in mind when he speaks about sensuality[1]. E.g. there’s this fairly common sequence in the suttas (this one is from SN 42.13):
Joy springs up in them. Being joyful, rapture springs up. When the mind is full of rapture, the body becomes tranquil. When the body is tranquil, they feel bliss. And when blissful, the mind becomes immersed in samādhi.
It seems to me that the question is really about the strength and interpretation of these factors.
AFAIK, bodily tranquility ranges from relaxation to the body becoming so relaxed that it fades from your perception. Bliss can range from mild to so extreme you’re not sure if your mind can withstand it.
There is a spectrum of opinions as to exactly in what way these factors come together to make a jhana. E.g. whether a jhana involves perceiving the body at all is one of those things that people love to discuss
Though perhaps it can be argued that sensuality in the deepest sense is consenting/assenting/approving of the five sense on the level of view. IIRC Ajahn Brahm sometimes makes this point about the first hindrance. ↩︎
I’ve understood that calming, stilling, tranquilizing the course aspects of awareness like the body, vendanas and the hinderances is necessary for samadhi., no?
In the anapanasatisutta the instructions are to calm/still/tranquilize to body and vendanas (and obviously hinderances) before one is able to immerse in samadhi. So I understand that it’s by stilling these course and sensual aspects, they have faded away from perception for samadhi.
Although I’m not a skilled meditator, I understand that there are important differences between sensual pleasure and the pleasure that arises from meditation.
Meditation and the attainment of jhāna do indeed result in pleasant physical and mental feelings. However, this pleasure is fundamentally not sensual, because it does not arise through engagement with sensory objects.
Sensual pleasure is tied to sensory stimulation. It relies on the mind seeking satisfaction through contact with external objects—sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches—or even through mental representations of those objects, as in fantasies. In both cases, the mind is being stimulated, either directly or indirectly, in pursuit of pleasurable feelings. Pleasant sensations can arise both during the active engagement driven by craving and in the temporary relaxation or satisfaction that follows. Yet the entire process remains rooted in craving and tends to agitate rather than calm the mind.
Samādhi, on the other hand, depends on seclusion from sense input. The practitioner reduces sensory activity and narrows attention to a single object—not for stimulation, but to develop calm and stability. The pleasure that arises is a byproduct of this unification of mind, not of the object itself. In fact, as concentration deepens, even the meditation object becomes less relevant, and the joy (pitī) becomes more subtle and self-sustaining.
When the five hindrances are suppressed and the jhāna factors are sufficiently developed, this process culminates in the first jhāna.
