James E P:
They say concentration can be broken and full Jhana absorption can not take place if you shift you focus from your object of meditation to the pleasurable sensation.
That is just plain poppycock. Concentration is
not broken when, for instance, one shifts one's main attention from the breath to a pleasant sensation in order to bring the mind into a calm abiding. While the breath may remain as a secondary object in the background, the pleasant sensation in the foreground, if it is followed, will help the mind to achieve the four factors of the first jhana as they are described in the discourses: viz. applied and sustained thought or attention (
vitakka and
vicara), elation/rapture (
piti), and pleasure/happiness (
sukha). From this, ideally one experiences
inner tranquillity and
unification of mind as the mind transitions to the second (stock description of) jhana. As
piti fades out in the third stage of this progression,
clear awareness,
equanimity, and
mindfulness ideally replace
piti, leaving
sukha remaining. As the disturbance of
sukha fades away in reaching the quiet and profoundly still fourth level of this progression, one is left, ideally, with
equanimity (that is, if one is concentrating on remaining equanimous) and
mindfulness, the perfect setting in which to experience the progress of insight.
It might be noted that while one may be able to achieve these four levels of concentration (commonly described as "jhana"), one may, in the early stages of their practice, reach them without being able to discern all these various subtle changes through the four levels. Do not be concerned about this. Time and practice will correct this deficiency. Use the fourth level (of the establishment of
samadhi concentration) to conduct contemplation on the truths of the Dhamma.
James E P:
Full Jhana Absorption, they characterize as being fully absorbed without any perception form the 5 senses, anything short of this is not full absorption.
The kind of "absorption" described above is not a characteristic of
samatha meditation methods when applied to the concept of "absorption." The six senses
can and do remain fully engaged during the "absorption" process; and generally will remain engaged (at least to some degree) until one reaches the so-called ninth jhanic level of
sannavedayita nirodha (or the cessation of perception and feeling).
Samatha meditation is designed to help calm and smooth the mind for insight meditation. Please be aware that there is a lot more involved with
samatha/
vipassana meditation than just bringing the mind into an "absorption" state. Absorption is practiced to help the mind become able to remain fixed on an object. I used it to help me
condition the mind to establish mindfulness. Yet absorption isn't an end in and of itself. It's part of a whole process that one undergoes in the transformation of mental conditioning.
It is important to differentiate and understand that the kind of blank "absorption" described above (as opposed to
samadhi concentration in firmly establishing the mind upon its object in order to gain insight about that object) will not benefit someone attempting to achieve awakening. How
can they if their mind is cut off from perception of the six senses (which includes the very mind that one is attempting to re-condition). It is
impossible to arrive at awakening from such a state. In fact, if a person takes these instructions seriously as the culminating of a path to achievement, they will likely only end up in slowing down their progress on the path toward awakening. Be aware that this can be a red herring approach when it comes to assisting people to wake up to the truth of the three characteristics, dependent co-arising, and the process of the five aggregates in mental processing.
A person is better off not offering second-hand instruction when they themselves have not experienced the instruction nor do they fully know or understand what they are talking about. Do the members here a favor and only offer first hand observations from your own direct experience. When you know better, you will do better. (This is just a suggestion.)