I think that might be a question that you have to answer for yourself. There doesn't seem to be a consensus regarding what even constitutes jhana. If you have not already found it, Leigh Brasington's Jhana Pages do a good job of exploring different approaches to concentration and the jhanas. For my part, I haven't had to worry about too much Right Concentration.Alex123 wrote:
The question is: does one need concentration that strong that one doesn't see or hear.
I'm not sure about your translation, but then I don't read Pali. I can't say that I'm seeing it here.Alex123 wrote:
Interesting flowchart in DN34 on 9s.
yonisomanasikāra -> joy -> rapture -> tranquil body -> happiness -> concentrated mind -> seeing things as they are -> revulsion -> dispassion -> liberation
Appropriate attention leads to factors that appear to be similar to Jhanic states.
I like Ajaan Lee's take in, Keeping the Breath in Mind.
YMMV.Some people believe that they don't have to practice centering the mind, that they can attain release through discernment (pañña-vimutti) by working at discernment alone. This simply isn't true. Both release through discernment and release through stillness of mind (ceto-vimutti) are based on centering the mind. They differ only in degree. Like walking: Ordinarily, a person doesn't walk on one leg alone. Whichever leg is heavier is simply a matter of personal habits and traits.
Release through discernment begins by pondering various events and aspects of the world until the mind slowly comes to rest and, once it's still, gives rise intuitively to liberating insight (vipassana-ñana): clear and true understanding in terms of the four Noble Truths (ariya sacca). In release through stillness of mind, though, there's not much pondering involved. The mind is simply forced to be quiet until it attains the stage of fixed penetration. That's where intuitive insight will arise, enabling it to see things for what they are. This is release through stillness of mind: Concentration comes first, discernment later.