Ian Edwards:
I have been trying to reach the first jhana but I am finding it hard to tell if I have reached it because I don't know what to look for. I have read the sticky about jhanas (http://www.dharmaoverground.org/web/guest/discussion/-/message_boards/message/1191517).
When meditating on breath I feel like a shift of my vision (even though my eyes are closed) that sometimes is like a shaking and then my body sometimes feels smaller or different in some way (this is hard to explain) and sometimes it just feels like my visual plane (again my eyes are closed) seems to take different forums, I don't know what this is but I usually can't stay in it long as I become distracted by the sensation which causes thoughts to arise.
I have read that page two or three times but how will I know when I am in the jhana?
Hi Ian,
The question you asked ("How will I know when I am in the
jhana?") is among the difficulties of attempting to discuss these subtle states when on the Internet. It is, of course, better to have someone with whom you are able to discuss these matters in person. It can be a tricky and slippery phenomenon (
jhana, that is) to describe to someone who has not had any contact with this level of concentration, and therefore has little experience to fall back on in order to be able to make these determinations.
All that difficulty aside, though, I will endeavor to describe the first
jhana in terms that you may be more able to relate to from an experiential standpoint. I have been preparing just such an addendum for the "General, All Purpose Jhana Thread" so as to help out other people in a similar predicament. I'm not finished with it just yet as it is a secondary writing project for me, and I haven't been able to return to it for more than two weeks. But I will share with you the section that applies to the question you asked, which may help you to better understand this from your own experience.
The sections from Daniel's book that Beoman has quoted are pretty good and accurate. Yet, as you say, being unfamiliar with the territory, they leave you with little idea of what to look for in terms of the first
jhana.
It might be good at this point not to be too concerned with being able to identify all the traditional
jhana factors themselves and just to focus on the overall "feel" of the state itself. In that regard, let's see if we can arrive at a description that yields itself to your understanding.
When I was first learning about
jhana and how to attain it, I came across an intuitive description of it by long-time practitioner Leigh Brasington. I used his description map to help me be able to determine whether or not I had attained
jhana. Rather than refer you to that map (as there are several things in it that I do not currently agree with any longer) I will quote the parts of it that I think will help you to understand how to discern this first level of
jhana from your own experience.
Entry into the first Jhana from a physiological perspective proceeds something like this:
1. You quiet your mind with the initial and sustained attention (vitakka and vicara) to the meditation subject [the breath].
2. By shifting your attention to a pleasant sensation (piti), you set up a positive reinforcement feedback loop within your quiet mind. For example, one of the most useful pleasant sensations to focus on is a smile. The act of smiling generates endorphins, which make you feel good, which makes you smile more, which generates more endorphins, etc.
3. The final and most difficult part of entering the First Jhana is to not do anything but observe the pleasure (sukkha). Any attempt to increase the pleasure, even any thoughts of wanting to increase the pleasure, interrupt the feedback loop and drop you into a less quiet state of mind. But by doing nothing but focusing intently on the pleasure, you are propelled into an unmistakably altered state of consciousness (ekaggata).
Now, I don't agree with his characterization of the first
jhana as an "altered state of consciousness," but I do agree that it is one-pointed (
ekaggata) and that it has the feel of a unification of the mind on its object.
The practice of
jhana, in my experience, has been revealed to be a fluid process, in many ways similar to a moving river, not standing still but always moving forward in whatever direction the mind is inclined to place its attention. Often, the movement is so subtle and quick as to be almost invisible to the conscious mind, making it nearly impossible for the practitioner to observe in real time. And yet practitioners may in general be dependent on making these observations of subtle mental movement in order to confirm which level they might have attained.
A better way of viewing this process for someone who is inexperienced and does not have access to a meditation guide might be to use the map provided by
Leigh Brasington wherein by following the description in the "Suttas" column one may find some general descriptions which more accurately match up with one's experience of the process while one is in the early stages of its development within their practice regimen. These descriptions are more easily recognized and may serve at this early stage as a more solid knowledge base for the practice.
Using Leigh's map, the only stage that might seem to be somewhat vague and indistinct could be the stock description of the first
jhana. Without an experienced instructor, it might be difficult to figure out the relationship of
vitakka and
vicara to the arising of
piti (the momentary upswell of rapture or elation) and
sukkha (the smooth arising of pleasure or joy) as the mind begins to become fixed on an object (either mental or physical), producing a pleasant sensation or mental effect.
At this point, one might examine a passage from the
Mahasaccaka Sutta (MN 36) in order to help fill in some missing information about the attainment of the first
jhana. In the sutta, Gotama describes his difficulty in obtaining enlightenment to a Jain ascetic. He tells the Jain that after realizing the futility of his ascetic practices of starving his body, he recalled an occasion that occurred to him as a young child:
"I recall that when my father the Sakyan was occupied [ploughing in the field], while I was sitting in the cool shade of a rose-apple tree, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, I entered upon and abided in the first
jhana, which is accompanied by applied and sustained thought, with rapture and pleasure born of seclusion. Could that be the path to enlightenment? Then, following on that memory, came the realization: 'That
is the path to enlightenment.'
"I thought: 'Why am I afraid of that pleasure that has nothing to do with sensual pleasures and unwholesome states?' I thought: 'I am not afraid of that pleasure since it has nothing to do with sensual pleasures and unwholesome states.' "
In this passage Gotama relates his experience as a young boy attaining the first
jhana. Key to the description of this passage is the young Gotama's experiencing such a pleasurable state by being “quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states.” Instead of finding pleasure by engaging in the many distractions and activities that would have interested a boy of that age, the young Gotama finds pleasure through being secluded from these activities. And he determines that this kind of mental pleasure is not an unwholesome state nor does it have anything to do with unwholesome sensual pleasure.
What is important to note about this passage is that it does not convey any notion at all that the young Gotama entered into any type of concentrated mental "absorption" that shut out the world. Quite the contrary, the passage conveys a sense of effortless relaxation and relinquishment with no mention nor any hint of an idea of losing all contact with the surrounding world. The young Gotama used this pleasantly relaxed state to discover the natural process of the unification of the mind while also experiencing inner tranquility.
The first
jhana had demonstrated to Gotama that for the mind to quiet down (become tranquil) it was necessary for it to be at ease (to be secluded from unwholesome states or thought) and to be so concentrated as to be unified (a oneness of mind, focused on its object). Such a state of mind can foster a sign in the form of a sensation (such as a pressure in the center of the forehead between the brows) which may signal the onset of deeper levels of concentration. (At least this distinction has been reported by countless practitioners, each of whom has experienced this pressure in the center of the brow along with the corresponding increase in concentration.)
Gotama then went ahead and began to cultivate those states that offered an experience of pleasure or joy, which turned out to be his description of the first
jhana. It is likely that the pleasurable feeling in the first
jhana was something similar to the relaxing, blissful feeling of disengaging the senses which Gotama experienced as a young boy, yet arrived at through the formal skill of meditation by directing (
vitakka) his mind toward this pleasurable state and cultivating its continuation through its examination (
vicara). It is in this way that I understand the terms
vitakka and
vicara to be used within the context of their reference in the discourses to the first
jhana. In other words, if one is making the attempt to enter into
jhana from the standpoint of a busy and occupied mind, as is usually the case right before one engages in a meditative sitting, then one uses one's ability of concentration to induce a relaxed and pleasurable mental state that is maintained through
directed attention and
examination of this pleasurable activity in the first stage of its occurrence and development, which we call the first
jhana.
As the second stage of the development of
jhana begins to occur, a slightly different set of mental factors come into play in which
vitakka (directed attention) and
vicara (examination or evaluation) are dropped as tools to maintain the emergence of the
jhana, and
inner tranquility and
unification of mind along with
piti (rapture or elation) and
sukkha (pleasure or joy) take precedence.
In the second level of
jhana, the
jhana factors of
vitakka and
vicara are replaced by this "positive reinforcement feedback loop" that Leigh writes about. This feedback loop is something that develops all on its own within the unified atmosphere of the mind which is absorbed in or on its object. In other words, it is an effortless phenomenon that arises as the mind becomes enveloped in the pleasurable sensation of the absorption state.
Therefore, the things to look for in terms of the first
jhana are the ability of the mind to remain concentrated (
upacara samadhi or "neighborhood concentration") on an object which is pleasurable to observe or to stay focused upon. As this pleasurable feeling or sensation is realized (comes to fruition), one can be inescapably impelled forward into the second
jhana (often literally within seconds after having reached the first
jhana) wherein this "positive reinforcement feedback loop" takes over, and the second
jhana is held in place in the mind without your having to make any effort at all except to focus on the enjoyment of its arising.
As you can perhaps now begin to appreciate, these subtle states can be very difficult and slippery to describe in words. But once you've had the experience,
then you begin to understand what the words are referring to in terms of your direct experience.
I hope this helps you to begin solving, in your own mind, just what the first
jhana is and how to enter it. If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to ask.
All the best,
Ian