I cleaned/removed the bad OCR scanning artifacts from footnotes, reformatted parts into logical paragraphs, added lots of headers to create a table of contents that lets you easily find what you’re looking for. I’ll wait a week and see if anyone finds any problems for me to fix, then I’ll upload to archive.org.
I couldn’t post the file directly into the message body, I exceeded SC’s 25,000 character limit (by about 2000).
Confirmed, the upload worked. Just click that index.7z link to download and view the html file inside in your webbrowser. 7z is 7zip, in case you don’t have that, make sure you get it from the official site, google “7 zip”, other download sites will usually try to attach nasty viruses to it. I should have upload a zip instead.
OK here, you go, a zip version: index.zip (34.1 KB)
Zip is more universal, SC didn’t let me directly upload html file directly.
Thanks for finding that, I’ll look into it. [quote=“cjmacie, post:2, topic:5956”]
I don’t see the advantage of your duplicating all this text. It’s no more readable than the original, and lacks the Pali sources supplied in the footnotes.
[/quote]
I started with an OCR using google doc on the PDF photocopy of the original book. The OCR output, the digitized text, can’t handle the pali characters, so it comes up garbled with paragraph formatting really is unreadable in a lot of places.
As for the point of doing this, it’s precisely to make it easier to study and compare the different historical interpretations of jhāna easily among different books. My comments and headers are meant as easy book mark references for me to find key doctrinal points quickly, not to try to influence anyone’s view.
The whole file is only 28k, even the poorest people in india can stick it on their android phone read this with their web browser, and use the html hyperlink table of contents to find what they’re looking for quickly. Try finding the topics in my TOC by hand with a physical book and see if you think its faster to flip through a physical table of contents and the index.
A monastic or yogi traveling around Asia is not going to carry around the Vimuttimagga hardcover book with them, but if they have an android phone, they’d probably be really happy to have a digital version with no pali footnotes.
Two points. First of all, that’s a really rude thing to say. I’m sharing something publicly that I think will be of use to others also interested in studying Jhāna from different historical perspectives. I made it clear at the top of document that headers with parenthesis contain my personal injected comments. If you think I did this project with the motive to try to influence people with my views using a few key word title blurbs, I don’t know what to say.
Put it another way, if someone else did this project and they had the opposite point of view on jhanas than me and their header blurbs reflected that, I’d still be grateful and happy someone took the time to make it easy to click a hyperlink and see the controversial passages quickly, without having to flip through the hardcover book.
Your tone and attitude fosters an environment where people won’t want to share their work or views in the forum.
Thanks again cjmacie for finding the missing page . I’ve hand type it in, and will integrate it into both the full Vimt-2017.epub and jhana section html file later. There are some real gold nuggets in here on what V&V can do in first jhāna that are only implied in the EBT.
SIMILES OF THE BIRD ETC.
Like a bird taking off from a hill flapping its wings, is initial application
{google doc OCR skipped entire book page 88, here below typed in by hand}
of thought and the planing movement (of a bird in the sky) is sustained application of thought {vicāra}.
The first spreading (of the wings) is initial application of thought {vitakka}.
The spreading (of the wings) when it is continued {a}long is sustained application of thought {vicāra} -1-.
With initial application of thought {vitakka} one protects;
with sustained application of thought {vicāra} one searches.
With initial application of thought {vitakka} one considers;
with sustained application of thought {vicāra} one continues to consider.
{Do jhāna while walking}
The walker in initial application of thought {vitakka} does not think of wrong states;
the walker in sustained application of thought {vicāra} induces meditation {jhāna}.
{V&V is coarser version of S&S + dhamma-vicaya-bodhi-anga}
Sustained application of thought {vicāra} is ike a man who is able, while reciting the discourses in mind, to gather the meaning.
Initial application of thought {vitakka} is like a man who sees what he wants to see and after seeing understands it well.
Expertness in etymology and dialectic is initial application of thought {vitakka};
expertness in theory and practice is sustained application of thought {vicāra} -2-.
To appreciate the distinction is initial application of thought {vitakka};
to understand the distinction of things is sustained application of thought {vicāra}.
These are the diference between initial application of thought {vitakka} and sustained application of thought {vicāra}.
SOLITUDE
Born of solitude. It is called solitude because of separation from the five hindrances. This is named solitude.
And again, it is the merit-faculty of the form plane.
And again, it is taught as the access of the first meditation, jhana.
And again, it is taught as the meditation-thought.
What is produced from this is called born of solitude, as the flower which grows on earth is called earth-flower and the flower which grows in water, water-flower.
JOY {pīti} AND BLISS {sukha}
Joy {pīti} and bliss. The mind at this time is greatly glad and at ease. The mind is filled with coolness. This is called joy {pīti}.
Q. What are the salient characteristic, function, manifestation and near cause of joy {pīti} and how many kinds of joy {pīti} are there?
A. joy {pīti}: the being filled with joy {pīti} is its salient characteristic; to gladden is its function; the overcoming of mental disturbance is its manifestation; bouyancy is its near cause.
{six kinds of joy {pīti}}
How many kinds of joy {pīti} are there? There are six kinds of joy {pīti}; one
It compares SN 48.40 with parallels, and what a complicated mess that is, to state it mildly.
Studying the pali text alone, I view it as corrupt if it contradicts basic definitions in EBT. And if the parallels to that sutta all say very different things, it’s just further confirmation. My definition of corrupt is pragmatic: It means you can’t rely on it in theory or for your practice. Maybe there’s a more specific criteria for academic designation as corruption, but all I care about is ending dukkha, and WRT SN 48.40 is completely corrupt.
On the usefulness of Pali to Vimuttimagga, see comments by Bhante Sujato on recent threads, on the thread where I posted the 16 APS vimuttimagga excerpt. The short summary is, wait for a forthcoming reworked translation from BPS.
Maybe, it’s hard to say from terse statements like that. But it’s worth noting that Pa Auk Sayadaw (famous teacher of Vism. jhāna) says it’s possible to walk and enter jhāna. I assume he’s basing that on Vism.
Yes, but look at the part I bolded below
Vimt passage on V&V:
Sustained application of thought {vicāra} is like a man who is able, while reciting the discourses in mind, to gather the meaning.
Initial application of thought {vitakka} is like a man who sees what he wants to see and after seeing understands it well.
Expertness in etymology and dialectic is initial application of thought {vitakka};
expertness in theory and practice is sustained application of thought {vicāra} -2-.
To appreciate the distinction is initial application of thought {vitakka};
to understand the distinction of things is sustained application of thought {vicāra}.
These are the diference between initial application of thought {vitakka} and sustained application of thought {vicāra}.
SOLITUDE
Born of solitude. It is called solitude because of separation from the five hindrances. This is named solitude.
And again, it is the merit-faculty of the form plane.
And again, it is taught as the access of the first meditation, jhana.
**> ** > And again, it is taught as the meditation-thought.
What is produced from this is called born of solitude, as the flower which grows on earth is called earth-flower and the flower which grows in water, water-flower.
“meditation” is his translation for jhāna, and he’s explicitly saying thought, probably representing both V&V and not just vitakka is what’s discussed here. If there was a distinction between a different type of V&V for first jhāna, there is sure no mention of it. And from how 16 APS (ananana) is treated, V&V is no different in first jhāna than in access.
Vimt. is following a very EBT sutta definition of V&V. Take a look at SN 46.3. In fact for the 7sb (awakening factors) #1 and #2, the word vitakka appears in #1, and vicara appears in the 2nd factor of dhamma vicaya.
SN 46.3 excerpt, I’ve bolded the relevant parts:
SN 46.3 Sīla-sutta: Virtue
SN 46.3 Sīla-sutta
SN 46.3 Virtue-discourse
The V&V in the 7sb, and as described in the Vimt. passage above, are describing the same range of comprehension, insight, will that is possible within first jhāna, not just before 1st J.
Whether you consider his conclusions valid or not, the fact is SN 48.40 violates common sense and basic logic at a very fundamental level. That alone was enough for me to discard it as a corrupt text. That the parallels have completely different ways of having the 5 factors disasppear in the jhānas, that may or may not be enough to land SN 48.40 on Bhante Sujato’s inauthentic list, but considering how much concordance is between the Agamas and pali texts in general, that’s enough for me to put it on my inauthentic list.
I wasn’t dismissing the Pali, I was just explaining why I decided not to include those pali citation footnotes in my html version. First of all the OCR garbled most of the pali so it’s hard to read unless you already know the pali passasges and just wanted the book/sutta citation. Had I know there were people that would find the garbled pali useful, I would have taken the time to turn it into subscript, fix the bad formatting and left it in. THat would have added a couple more hours though, so that’s why I didn’t do that.
edit: addition
Here’s one more passage from Vimt. talking about speech ceasing in first jhāna:
(speech ceasing in first jhāna)
Q. What are the miscellaneous teachings in the field of concentration?
A. Stoppage of sounds; overturning; rising; transcending; access; initial application of thought; feeling; uncertainty. “Stoppage of sounds”: In the first meditation, jhāna, speech is stopped. On entering the fourth meditation, jhāna, the yogin stops breathing.
Gradual stoppage of sounds: When the yogin enters into concentration, he hears sounds, but he is not able to speak because the faculty of hearing and that of speech are not united. To a man who enters form concentration {four jhānas}, sound is disturbing. Hence the Buddha taught: “To a man who enters meditation, jhāna, sound is a thorn”.
So between SN 46.3, the meditator listening to, or reflecting on a memorized piece of dhamma, or even visualizing the image or idea of the inspiring monastic who taught the dhamma, V&V (vitakka and vicara) is doing all of that, while in first jhana.
In the Vimt. passage, he hears sounds, he can hear and reflect on those sounds relating to a dhamma talk, but if tries to speak, then it pops him out of first jhana.
This is something anyone who can do jhana can try for themselves. Reflect on a piece of dhamma or think about inspiring qualities of a monastic you admire that makes you happy. Now take it into first jhāna by having a continuous rain of piti-sukha spikes pervade and flow through your body like juice, or if your base level samadhi is higher, like your whole body is a balloon that inflates.
If the “spiky-ness” of the piti-sukha has smoothed out and intensified in power, you probably stopped thinking with V&V and slipped into 2nd jhana. Go back to giving a deliberate V&V thinking on the piece of dhamma, while keeping the pitisukha going.
Now, say that piece of dhamma out loud with your vocal cords, emitting a sound. That energetic shift, having to speak, diverts the energy flow that causes the piti-sukha and goees into your vocal cords to speak. You lose the juice (of pitisukha) or the feeling like an inflated balloon. You’ve popped yourself out of first jhana by talking. You stop talking, go back to just thinking, pitisukha comes back. You’re back in first jhana. V&V causes the spikiness, the noncontinuity of the pitisukha flow.
Works in theory, works in practice. At least if you’re going by an ockham’s razor understanding of EBT jhāna. If you’re following Vism., you’re left to wonder what speech ceasing in jhana could possibly mean, and why would the Buddha even mention such a coarse activity if in first jhana you can’t hear sounds, can’t feel leg pain or mosquito bites.
