Kelly Gordon Weeks:
Can someone please explain how the path affects concentration practice. I've been practicing the jhanas for about a month but in the past few days I'm unable to because I believe I may be headed into the DN. I've cycled through it several times so I recognize it's characteristics. Are the jhanas not as easily accesible in the DN? All I am seeing right now is the endings of sensations and thoughts. Single pointed samatha seems futile.
Thank you for reading this!
G
You haven't given a lot of detail but if I understand what you mean by jhana (blissful states during meditation) I think there could be a connection. Your brain needs the right chemicals to produce bliss, if you are "depressed" (experiecing dark night) it might be a reflection in changed brain chemistry and that could influence what your brain is capable of doing.
Personally I find that the right diet (a lower carb type diet: ~600 calories of carbs/day) is hepful in producing the jhanas reliably and also I do
relaxation exercises before meditating and that helps make the jhanas easily accessible.
I also believe I can tell when my mind is prepared to enter the jhanas but the brain chemistry isn't there to make bliss possible I feel the usual transition but no bliss. So I just meditate without being attached to the bliss understanding my mind is still well concentrated and I am getting the benefits of a quiet mind (lack of unpleasant thinking) and I have the concentration (mindfulness) needed to go on to do vipassana.
I don't know what the orthodox doctrine is, but personally I don't find it is necessary to produce bliss first to get to the higher jhanas (4 and higher) so I don't really worry too much about it. Trying to get bliss when it isn't there is really counterproductive and very unpleasant and unhelpful so I don't push it. In fact I have found
something I like better than bliss and seems to be less dependent on brain chemistry, it can produce a pleasant result when jhanas can't. (My working theory is that if neurotransmitters are limiting, jhana type bliss can drain them but this other type of meditation will use the limited amount to best effect).