Why do the noble ones single out third jhāna for praise? Why not 4th jhāna or first?

[frank k]

https://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2 ... third.html

[form]

Who say so?

Always the higher the better.

[confusedlayman]

https://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2 ... third.html

I dont know what is jhana battery means? what is Pali word for battery?

[Cause_and_Effect]

"And furthermore, with the fading of rapture, he remains equanimous, mindful, & alert, and senses pleasure with the body. He enters & remains in the third jhana, of which the Noble Ones declare, 'Equanimous & mindful, he has a pleasant abiding.' He permeates and pervades, suffuses and fills this very body with the pleasure divested of rapture, so that there is nothing of his entire body unpervaded with pleasure divested of rapture."

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dha ... jhana.html


I think it is interesting that this state of jhana has the mention of the Noble Ones declaration. Perhaps it implies that attaining to the third Jhana is a guarantee of stream entry and being a Noble One?

[frank k]

The suttas don't explicitly describe it that way, the jhana battery getting charged.
The battery is just my 21st century analogy.
But a skilled meditator, comparing the jhana similes in AN 5.28 will understand that's what's going on.
For example, someone whose baseline is 4th jhana, with their battery full, while doing jhana (in any posture) is not going to get the physical pleasure of sukha of second jhana (intense hydraulic force) or 3rd jhana's smooth sukha. Only if they've done a fair amount of jhana battery draining activity, like thinking about Dhamma too much, giving Dhamma talk, doing physical labor, will they be able to get to taste sukha, and only for the time it takes for the jhana battery to full charge up again. It's just like eating. If you're hungry and your body needs nutrients, you'll get sukha in the form of brain pleasure chemicals to encourage you to eat more.

https://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2 ... third.html

I dont know what is jhana battery means? what is Pali word for battery?

[frank k]

"And furthermore, with the fading of rapture, he remains equanimous, mindful, & alert, and senses pleasure with the body. He enters & remains in the third jhana, of which the Noble Ones declare, 'Equanimous & mindful, he has a pleasant abiding.' He permeates and pervades, suffuses and fills this very body with the pleasure divested of rapture, so that there is nothing of his entire body unpervaded with pleasure divested of rapture."

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dha ... jhana.html


I think it is interesting that this state of jhana has the mention of the Noble Ones declaration. Perhaps it implies that attaining to the third Jhana is a guarantee of stream entry and being a Noble One?

The higher the jhana, the more powerful the tool you have and the more attenuated some of the coarser defilements tend to be, but I really doubt it's any guarantee of any ariya status. For example, non Buddhists can be highly skilled in all four jhanas, but without specialized training, they're no closer to nirvana than anyone else.

[confusedlayman]

Thanks. I will see that sutta

[form]

https://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2 ... third.html

I dont know what is jhana battery means? what is Pali word for battery?

Immediately after you meditate and do normal activity, you.find that the calming effect is still there. how long it can stay depend on the battery analogy

[form]

"And furthermore, with the fading of rapture, he remains equanimous, mindful, & alert, and senses pleasure with the body. He enters & remains in the third jhana, of which the Noble Ones declare, 'Equanimous & mindful, he has a pleasant abiding.' He permeates and pervades, suffuses and fills this very body with the pleasure divested of rapture, so that there is nothing of his entire body unpervaded with pleasure divested of rapture."

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dha ... jhana.html


I think it is interesting that this state of jhana has the mention of the Noble Ones declaration. Perhaps it implies that attaining to the third Jhana is a guarantee of stream entry and being a Noble One?

The higher the jhana, the more powerful the tool you have and the more attenuated some of the coarser defilements tend to be, but I really doubt it's any guarantee of any ariya status. For example, non Buddhists can be highly skilled in all four jhanas, but without specialized training, they're no closer to nirvana than anyone else.

there are suttas that say first jhana can reach nibanna. there are sutta that said the higher the jhana the more superior.