How many of you really tried to attain jhana?

The cultivation of calm or tranquility and the development of concentration
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pitithefool
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Re: How many of you really tried to attain jhana?

Post by pitithefool »

Inedible wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 5:32 am The advice a lot of people here seem to have is to work on removing the five hindrances in daily life, not only on the cushion. Same thing for building jhana factors. Then we start out closer to access concentration when sitting down. Instead I have been hoping to learn jhana first and use it for suppressing hindrances second.
That's rright, and there is a huge amount of instruction given on this. Guard the senses, practice the perception of impermanence, practice asubhasanna, speak cordially to everyone, don't kill things, observe uposatha, abstain from alcohol or other intoxicants.
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arch
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Re: How many of you really tried to attain jhana?

Post by arch »

Until last 3-4 years I was naturally able to attain and keep jhanas without making any effort. Anapana practice does help a lot esp if you have some level of jhana - it’s easy to attain higher ones more easily. I also observed that sitting Vipassana courses with others where normally the first few days you practice Anapana helps tremendously.

Since then my practice has gone down due to a challenging health/spirit problem I am facing. Once you enter the realm of feelings and physical discomfort or illness, practice of jhana is affected.
Inedible
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Re: How many of you really tried to attain jhana?

Post by Inedible »

There was a place in the Suttas where someone was telling Buddha that he lost his ability to reach Jhana. Buddha told him to examine the five aggregates in his experience of daily life.
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confusedlayman
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Re: How many of you really tried to attain jhana?

Post by confusedlayman »

Inedible wrote: Sun Jun 13, 2021 12:40 pm There was a place in the Suttas where someone was telling Buddha that he lost his ability to reach Jhana. Buddha told him to examine the five aggregates in his experience of daily life.
can u find me that sutta?
I may be slow learner but im at least learning...
Spiny Norman
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Re: How many of you really tried to attain jhana?

Post by Spiny Norman »

confusedlayman wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 7:26 am
Inedible wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 5:32 am The advice a lot of people here seem to have is to work on removing the five hindrances in daily life, not only on the cushion. Same thing for building jhana factors. Then we start out closer to access concentration when sitting down. Instead I have been hoping to learn jhana first and use it for suppressing hindrances second.
Whenever i want to attain jhana, mara disturbs me and delays.. in other words im getting distracted
Wanting to "attain" meditative states like jhana can be counterproductive. It is better to allow the mind to calm and become still, and then notice what follows naturally.
Buddha save me from new-agers!
Inedible
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Re: How many of you really tried to attain jhana?

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confusedlayman wrote: Sun Jun 13, 2021 1:59 pm can u find me that sutta?
All I remember about reading it was that it was in the connected Suttas. The search function for the PDF file hasn't been much help. There was a Bhikkhu who had health problems and could no longer enter jhana. He was worried that without it, he couldn't make progress. Buddha told him to examine the five aggregates. Keep in mind that this isn't a casual thing to do a few minutes here and there. It would also be especially powerful with health issues so that painful sensations in the body could be seen as separate from painful feeling tone, painful thoughts, and the painful stories about the health concerns. This would lead to developing the four foundations of mindfulness and those bring about the seven awakening factors. It also said in the connected Suttas that examining the five aggregates is a suitable way to spend time even for an Arhat, whose work is finished.
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confusedlayman
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Re: How many of you really tried to attain jhana?

Post by confusedlayman »

jhana can be entered why when one stops thinking/day dreaming.
I may be slow learner but im at least learning...
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