MN 19 is more explicit about what happens to V&V in first jhana, compared to
AN 6.73-6.75
where one has to read terse statements carefully and deduce.
In MN 19, if you study the simile of the cowherd carefully in the version before jhana, to the one with jhana, it explains V&V in first jhana very well, and also shows why the VRJ (vism. redefinition of jhana, V&V, and B. Sujatoās V&V redefinition) does not work.
In the first cowherd simile, the cowherd is busy monitoring the cows, poking them, keeping them in bounds, for straying into kings property could result in punishment up to death. This corresponds to right effort and right mindfulness busy guarding sense doors, etc.
In the second cowherd simile corresponding to first jhana:
(simile of cowherd relaxed in jhÄna)
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seyyathÄpi, bhikkhave, |
āJust as (in the) |
gimhÄnaį¹ pacchime mÄse |
hot-season, (in the) last month, |
sabba-sassesu gÄmanta-sambhatesu |
(when) all-crops (into the) village-(they've been)-stored-up, |
gopÄlako gÄvo rakkheyya, |
a cowherd {would look after} (his) cows: |
tassa rukkha-mÅ«la-gatassa vÄ |
While resting under the shade of a tree or |
abbhokÄsa-gatassa vÄ |
out in the open, |
sati-karaį¹Ä«yam-eva hoti ā āetÄ VAR gÄvoāti. |
he simply keeps himself mindful of āthose cows.ā |
evamevaį¹ kho, bhikkhave, |
In the same way, |
sati-karaį¹Ä«yam-eva ahosi ā āete dhammÄāti. |
I simply kept myself mindful of āthose qualities.ā |
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(code phrase for successful entry into 4 jhÄnas)
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ā¦ 211. āÄraddhaį¹ kho pana me, bhikkhave, vÄ«riyaį¹ ahosi a-sallÄ«naį¹, |
āaroused indeed in me, monks, vigor was un-flagging, |
upaį¹į¹hitÄ sati a-sam-muį¹į¹hÄ, |
established remembering, not-forgetful, |
passaddho kÄyo a-sÄraddho, |
Pacified body, un-aroused, |
samÄhitaį¹ cittaį¹ ekaggaį¹. |
Undistractability-and-lucidity (of) mind, singular. |
with viriya calm, kaya-passsadhi (body pacification) easy to do
So the cowherd in first jhana has awareness of the cows, heās not in a frozen state of consciousness of VRJ (vism. redefinition of jhana), heās able to discern (pajanati) that heās in first jhana, that the cows are behaved (defilments supressed), and he can still have thoughts such as, āmy cows/defilements are well behaved, may my cows be happy, etc.ā
If the cowherd was in Ajahn Brahm first Jhana, basically the same as Vism. VRJ without the underlying Abhidhamma, then his body awareness would be gone. He would not be able hear sounds, feel mosquito bites, or even have the ability to think the thought āmay those cows be happyā, or āam I in first jhana?ā (nekkhamma abyapada sankappa/vitakka). The cows could get bored, start trampling on the kings property (leading to punishment of death for the cowherd), and the cowherd is frozen and blissed out on Ajahn Brahmās first jhana wouldnāt realize what happened until he emerged hours later when its too late to stop the cows.
Does that sound anything even remotely like the EBT first jhana in this sutta MN 19?
Summary of what happens to V&V in EBT first jhana
In MN 19, as with everywhere else in the EBT, V&V goes through these stages into first jhana:
- right effort and sati removes and prevents unskillful/akusala V&V
- right effort and sati allows only skillful V&V
- once the mind is predominantly only skillful V&V, attenuate V&V, since too much of even skillful V&V is tiring for both body and mind
- kaya-passadhi, body pacification, is what unlocks the piti and sukha and slides you into first jhana
what happens to V&V in B. Sujatoās MN 19
When it gets to the first jhana formula, V&V suddenly become āplacing the mind, keeping it connectedā, losing the explicit EBT nekkhamma/abyapada sankappo/vitakka possibility of thinking skillful thoughts such as āmy right effort has calmed my defilements, may all beings be happy.ā
MN 19, of all the EBT suttas dealing with first jhana V&V, is probably the most detailed treatment. Itās unthinkable that the Buddha would suddenly redefine V&V for first jhana and not explain it here. The Chinese Agama parallel sutta, much like MN 125, makes things even more clear about the role of V&V by just completing omitting the first jhana formula and jumping directly to jhanas 2 through 4 to show that first jhana V&V is still thinking those kusala thoughts explicitly stated right before MN 19ās first jhana occurence.