Vitakka vicāra (Jhana-factors)

[mikenz66]

@Deeele

This seems to infer there is a “shallow version of jhana”. I doubt the EBTs support such an idea, hope &/or fantasy.

While I tend to agree, there is certainly a lot of talk of “shallow versions of jhana” (apparently mislabelled as “sutta jhana”). See the thread I linked to and this one:

"Sutta" and "Visuddhimagga" jhanas

It is quite common to see the mention of “sutta jhanas” that are less absorbed than “Visuddhimagga jhanas”: I find this a little confusing, since there are a number of people who swear by the Early Buddhist Texts who interpret the jhana passages in the suttas as indicating a highly absorbed state (E.g. Vens. Brahm, Sujato, Bramali, Analayo). It’s not clear to me what is different between a “Visuddhimagga jhana” and the jhanas taught by, for example, Ajahn Brahm: Another feature of j…