I’ve been introduced to the debate around the jhanas (lite vs deep) and feel drawn to the deep jhana practices in light of Ven. Sujato’s work and further canonical studies which back up his approach.
Long story short, I’m interested in the community’s recommendations on meditation handbooks or guides that approach the subject like Bhikkhu Sujato does, especially with an appreciation of the full picture of the path described by the Buddha in the Pāli canon and the necessity of the jhanas.
(As an aside, as a trained theologian who cares about the integrity and lineage of one’s Dhamma/Vinaya, the whole approach to “secular-Buddhism” or “clinical-Buddhism” strikes me as silly and unhelpful in the long run. Coming from a tradition that actually values confession/meditation/absolution/prayer as more than materialistic therapeutic experiences, or wishes to challenge individuals to deeper embodied spirituality, I wish to extend my appreciation to the scholars and teachers I’ve come across here for their holistic, canonical, and transcendent(?) approach).
Ven Sujato has audio talks, youtube videos, books and blog posts freely online that are easily found. Enjoy. If you can do a retreat with Ven Sujato that will be even better.
Similarly for Ajahn Sucitto and Ajahn Thanisarro.
Ignore the random Abhidhamma post above. Its not canonical as you specified.
For canonical approach we can refer to MN suttas, mainly MN107 which outlines the practice one step at a time. An interesting point to mention is that abhijjhā/domanassā (wanting/dejection) is mentioned in several steps (2. 5. 6.)
ethical conduct
guarding sense doors from abhijjhādomanassā (wanting&dejection)
moderation in eating
commitment to wakefulness & purifying heart from obstacles
MN61
All the ascetics and brahmins of the past, future, and present who purify their physical, verbal, and mental actions do so after repeatedly checking.
sati (observes body,feelings,heart,mental phenomena rid of abhijjhādomanassā (wanting&dejection)) +
sampajañña (knows feelings, thoughts, perceptions as thery arise,remain,cease) SN47.35
giving up 5 hindrances (abhijjhā is one one of them again)
You’ve asked for handbooks or guides on the subject, so a few of the posts in this topic might qualify as a guide in that realm. (it’s an old thread that should probably not be revived, but Ven. Sujato and Ven. Brahmali made some very insightful distinctions.)
Ajahn Brahm’s ‘Mindfulness Bliss and Beyond’ aka ‘Happiness through meditation’ explains the process to enter and develop jhana inline with the suttas. He is one of Bhante Sujato’s teachers, so the teachings should align with what you have read/heard
Ajahn Brahm truly employs humor to attract and engage with people. I think one time he said that when people have their mouths open laughing at one of his jokes, “the better to be able to feed them Dhamma.” Interestingly, he’s also a very serious monk; I listened years ago to some of his talks to his monks and nuns, and he was very scholarly and serious. Behind the humor is a very disciplined and serious teacher. He’s unique in this way, and his approach is testament to his ability to build successful monasteries and a large global community. As I recall, he started with a plot of land in Australia (he’s English) and slept on a wooden door in the open fields when he first championed a Forest (Ajahn Chah tradition) monastery in western Australia.
A book on how to practice metta from the start to jhana: A Flower Called Metta by Ajahn Chatchai (Bhante Sujato’s metta teacher): Book Downloads – Wisdom & Wonders
