Jhana/Dhyana, a simple explanation

Brief explanation on the elements of Jhana/dhyana

Vichara: is just thoughts going around in the head nothing more, a lot of times people unfamiliar with Indian languages on a more wider spectrum tend to obsess too much with a word, for eg. If i was to ask an English speaker what is the meaning of the word ‘thought’ they would explain and that is that, now imagine if i were to have long arguments on what the word thought really means and endless debating on the word thought, the whole scene would appear ridiculous. Therefore ‘vichara’ is just thoughts.

Vitarka: to understand the word ‘vitarka’ it is essential to know the word ‘tarka’, when 2 people are engaged in an argument in India it is referred to as “those two people are engaged in tarka vitarka”, so ‘tarka’ is a point( in the context of an argument/debate) and ‘vitarka’ is the counter to it, in the mind we often are engaged in arguments with ourselves, so vitarka is simply to internalized points or argument to the question in our head. In the context of Jhana, it refers to the voicing of language in your head.

pīti: is to possess " ānada", now ānanda means a very joyful comfort. Therefore, it is to possess joyful comfort as opposed to just joy.

Sukha: now sukha does not simply mean happiness, it means an intensely comforting happiness or happiness+ tranquillity. Sukha unlike joy is not visible of the face, it is a very deep experience, where the body and mind are internally appeased.

Upekkha: equanimity is the best word for it.

Ekaggāta: one pointedness of mind as well as concentration, ekaggāta requires the mind to be listening to you and focused.

Rupa Jhana is the word used to describe the jhana 1 to 4. However, Rupa Jhana is misleading if you were to change the position of the words to Jhana Rupa, then it all becomes clear. Jhana Rupa is the Rupa(appearance) of the Jhana, or in other words
Jhana Rupa : this is how the Jhana looks like/appears.
From this one can conclude, that to be in the first Jhana it is essential for all these elements to appear, and when they do you are in the first Jhana.

If I’m not wrong, ekaggāta as factor of jhana is not mentioned in the early suttas…

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Perhaps ekaggāta was not restricted to the jhanas. Some other variants on the theme -

  • cittaṃ ekaggaṃ (the mind [was] unified) in MN 4, MN 19

  • cittassa ekaggatā (unification of the mind) in MN 44, MN 117, MN 125, SN 45.28 (mirroring MN 117), SN 48.9 – 11, SN 48.50

  • ekaggacittā in SN 47.4 and AN 2.43 in the context of satipaṭṭhāna,

In fact, its occurrence as cittaṃ ekaggaṃ (the mind was unified) in MN 4 and MN 19 within the context of satipaṭṭhāna just before the 1st Jhana would suggest that it is not a quality that shows up only in the Jhanas.

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If the mind cannot be Ekkagārit (focused and concentrated), how do you expect Vichara Vitarka to stop and not sway you away from meditation object?

Think about it.

Dear Daman,

I can’t meditate when I focus and concetrate in the mind. But when I let go and just relax and don’t mess with it, the mind relaxes and just gets still.

Your way of practicing bhavana seems to be different from what the suttas are pointing to. Just my thoughts.

in mettā,
russ

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Russell,
Letting go is essential, maybe i wrote it in a way that may have appeared as some kind of tense concentration but that was definitely not my point.

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:pray:

Dear Daman,

Thank you so much for clarifying

:slight_smile:

in mettā,
russ

:pray: