How to get into jhanas

[Guy]

In my short time (a few months, almost every day, sometimes a few times per day) practing meditation I have had some interesting experiences so far. Some of these experiences include parts of the body "disappearing" (usually hands first), feeling like the body is being stretched, (as if it were magnetic...sounds weird but I don't know how to describe this one), twisted, enlarged, very solid and disconnected. Also experiences ranging from deep calm and tranquility to panic attacks (though I figured out the source of these and so are not a problem anymore). I have also experienced what Ajahn Brahm calls the "Beautiful Breath" and seen a nimitta occassionally but I'm yet to enter a jhana.

Usually I only sit for 30-45 minutes with an alarm set or listening to a guided meditation and I have heard that to enter a jhana it takes longer than this, is this true or have I got my facts wrong? If it is true then would it be impossible for me to enter a jhana given that I never sit longer than 45 minutes? Also I think that I might be desiring to enter jhanas too much rather than just being content which is probably preventing the possibility of entering a jhana. I have read "Mindfulness, Bliss and Beyond" by Ajahn Brahm once through, which I found helpful, and will read it again soon. Also I will read "Mindfulness in Plain English" by Ven Henepola Gunaratana soon.

I try to keep the five precepts.

Given all the above information, what would some of you more experienced meditators suggest to help reach jhanas? Do I just need to be more patient and content or is there more to it than that?

With Metta,

Guy

[rowyourboat]

Hello Guy

You seem to be developing some good samadhi from what you have mentioned. 45mins- 1hr is usually enough if you are doing 2-3 hrs a day overall. However you might need a few more months. Just relax and stay with the focus- it will happen when it happens! That letting go paves the way for deeper states of samadhi. Ajhan Chah once said that to see strange and beautiful creatures by a forest pool you must stay very very still, otherwise they dont come!

Another approximation is that if you are only experiencing 4-5 thought distractions per hour your samadhi might be good enough to give rise to jhana. In my tradition we try to get what is called mastery over jhana- hence when we reach the abovementioned level of samadhi the yogi is asked to make a determination 'may my mind go into the first jhana' and let go of all awarness completly and let the mind do what it likes for a few seconds -it is a bit like tipping a boulder over a cliff now that you have rolled it all the way to the top of a mountain. There are two possible outcomes- nothing will happen or something might happen. If nothing happens- just keep meditating! If something does happen- some sort of a sudden change, let me know!

with metta

[Jechbi]

Howdy Guy,

Why do you want to reach jhanas? What's your underlying motivation?

[Jechbi]

Any way, here's an article that might be of interest to you:
The Jhanas In Theravada Buddhist Meditation by Henepola Gunaratana

[Peter]

Every night before bed I climb into my pajhanas.

[Guy]

Hello Guy

You seem to be developing some good samadhi from what you have mentioned. 45mins- 1hr is usually enough if you are doing 2-3 hrs a day overall. However you might need a few more months. Just relax and stay with the focus- it will happen when it happens! That letting go paves the way for deeper states of samadhi. Ajhan Chah once said that to see strange and beautiful creatures by a forest pool you must stay very very still, otherwise they dont come!

Another approximation is that if you are only experiencing 4-5 thought distractions per hour your samadhi might be good enough to give rise to jhana. In my tradition we try to get what is called mastery over jhana- hence when we reach the abovementioned level of samadhi the yogi is asked to make a determination 'may my mind go into the first jhana' and let go of all awarness completly and let the mind do what it likes for a few seconds -it is a bit like tipping a boulder over a cliff now that you have rolled it all the way to the top of a mountain. There are two possible outcomes- nothing will happen or something might happen. If nothing happens- just keep meditating! If something does happen- some sort of a sudden change, let me know!

with metta

Thanks for the advice, I will definitely give it a try and let you know how I'm going.

Howdy Guy,

Why do you want to reach jhanas? What's your underlying motivation?

Good question, I guess the short answer would be that they are part of the path to liberation.

Any way, here's an article that might be of interest to you:
The Jhanas In Theravada Buddhist Meditation by Henepola Gunaratana

Thanks, I will check it out now.

Every night before bed I climb into my pajhanas.

[Ben]

Hi Guy

Depending on who you talk to, you may get some conflicting advice with regards to the jhanas. For example, my own teacher says that it is impossible to attain the jhanas without maintaining perfect sila. And that the jhanas are not a pre-requisite to develop insight to sotapanna. And so getting advice from a number of different sources may make some people confused.
What I recommend that you do is to rely on a reputable teacher or source. As you have already mentioned Ajahn Brahm, and given your geographic proximity to BSWA, I recommend that you seek instruction and advice from Ajahn himself or one of his assistant teachers or senior students.
Metta

Ben

[Nibbida]

Richard Shankman addresses this in his book The Experience of Samadhi. In the end of the book he interviews several Dharma teachers. Some insist that attaining jhana first is essential to do vipassana because the concentration is so necessary. Others assert that it is not necessary and recommend developing concentration and insight in tandem, warning that people can sometimes get distracted by the pleasant or absorbed states of jhana. There's such a wide variation in opinions.

[Pannapetar]

I think it is a good idea to discuss this face-to-face with an experienced master. It is very difficult to do this on a discussion board. At the beginning of my meditation practice, I experienced a number of strange phenomena and I thought, wow this is great, I am making progress. But then it plateaued afterwards. I have compared this to the effect of accelerated hypertrophy within the first months of beginning weight-training. So, in my case progress was non-linear in the beginning and then fairly steady with occasional highs and lows afterwards. But everybody is different.

Cheers, Thomas