What is the difference between neutral feelings vs Samadhi or Jhana?

[jons]

What is the difference between neutral feelings vs Samadhi, Jhana, Upekkha and Bojjanga?

Neutral feeling (adukkhamasukhā vedanā) is bland feeling or boring feeling... and is not pleasure or painful feeling.

Samādhi is stillness: There are many levels of stillness: khanika samādhi, upacāra samādhi, and appanā samādhi

(khanika samādhi) Momentary concentration: this stillness of the mind is like you are walking around in a park or a garden, then you sit down on a bench for a while, and then you get up and walk around again, and repeat over and over.

(upacāra samādhi) Access concentration: this stillness of the mind is like you are walking around inside your house, then you sit down on a chair, and then you get up and walk around again, and repeat over and over. This level of stillness has light and vision, your citta can leave your body and communicate with other beings in various realms of existence. If your citta leaves your body, your mental development in the path stops progressing. So the Buddha advised Bhikkhus to contemplate on their bodies to prevent the citta from leaving the body (check Sakunagghi Sutta). Some people need to use Kasinas to help getting to access concentration.

(appanā samādhi) Absorption concentration: this stillness of the mind is at the Jhana levels: level 1, level 2, level 3, and level 4.
Peaceful and pleasurable abiding, and there is no disturbing from the senses. At Jhana levels, (sukhā vedanā) pleasurable feeling is better than sex, and it can be addictive, so be careful, and do not forget to get back to body contemplation to develop wisdom.

Jhana is state of mind at very high stillness levels: level 1, level 2, level 3, and level 4.

Upekkhā is a factor of the middle path and is translated as equanimity. The definition of equanimity is the quality of being calm and even-tempered; composure. This is a very abstract definition. My personal definition of Upekkhā is Teflon mind, the state of mind that does not affect by pain and pleasure. This state of mind happens when you practice meditation and observing the sensations (Goenka teaches this technique at 10 days Vipassana retreat).

Bojjhaṅga is the factor of awakening. There are seven factors:

Mindfulness (sati),
investigation (vicaya),
energy (viriya),
rapture (pīti)
tranquility (passaddhi),
concentration (samādhi),
equanimity (upekkhā).

They are very beneficial factors of practice, and they are like grease to keep the wheel of your practice rolling along the path. Keep the 4NT spins in your mind, and you are on your way to awakening.

Jons

[frank k]

What is the difference between neutral feelings vs Samadhi, Jhana, Upekkha and Bojjanga?

see MN 137
https://lucid24.org/mn/mn137/index.html#

vedana originates in the body.
a-dukkham-a-sukham (neutral) vedana is associated with upekkha.
See how the 3 types of upekkha differ in MN 137 from ordinary person to 4 jhanas to formless attainment, and you'll understand how neutral sensations differ as well.

4 jhanas are 4 quality levels of samadhi, and samadhi is the quality of undistractibility of our attention in our sati.
upekkha as 7th awakening factor, 3rd and 4th jhana factor, are the same.

samadhi is not "stillness". Stillness, passaddhi, samatha, are nutriments of jhāna and samādhi.
upacara "access" concentration is not a term the Buddha used, it's part of a redefined LBT (late buddhist text) redefinition of jhāna which is a completely different meditation system from the Buddha's.

[User13866]

The four jhana are called Right Concentration.

They are also called 'a pleasant abiding' and are endowed with jhana factors.

Neither pleasant nor unpleasant feelings are painful when they are dissociated from wisdom and are pleasant if they are associated with wisdom.

[mjaviem]

vedana originates in the body.
...

Do you mean the five aggregates or the flesh body? I think it's the former when it is explained "so too, various feelings arise in this kaya" "imasmiṁ kāyasmiṁ vividhā vedanā uppajjanti". I would argue that in formless realms there are still feelings arising.

[frank k]

vedana originates in the body.
...

Do you mean the five aggregates or the flesh body? I think it's the former when it is explained "so too, various feelings arise in this kaya" "imasmiṁ kāyasmiṁ vividhā vedanā uppajjanti". I would argue that in formless realms there are still feelings arising.

there is still vedana in the formless attainments.
but kāya is referring to a physical body of the 5 senses in vedana samyutta SN 36.
suttas using 3 fold vedana scheme where anatomical body is the cause of vedana
suttas SN 36.4, SN 36.6, SN 36.7, SN 36.12, SN 36.13