JHĀNA

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ToVincent
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JHĀNA

Post by ToVincent »

JHĀNA (a cheatsheet)


Jhāna (from jhāyati) - Sk. kṣāyati (root kṣi) = to be diminished, decrease, waste away).
What is "to be diminished" or "waste away", is bolded and red.

These "decreases", lead to the ensuing state, which are the "perception and thinking upon" what we should be perceptive in that state — Here we have jhāna as jhāna (from jhāyati) - Sk. dhyāyati (root dhī) = to perceive, think upon, meditate over).

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Rūpa

___________
First jhāna

- Vivicceva kāmehi
- (separating oneself from objects of sensual pleasures)

- Vivicca akusalehi dhammehi
- (seperating oneself from unproper states)

ENTER FIRST JHĀNA

Vitakka
(abstract thoughts)

Vicara
(concrete thoughts)

Pīti
(propitiatory pleasure (pīti = contentment with oneself) — born of seclusion)

Sukkha
(Add serenity/confidence (passaddha/pra-śrabdha) to pīti, and you have sukkha— born of seclusion)

Does not follow the pleasure born of seclusion (viveka)

Second jhāna

- Vitakka
- (near total cessation - [Skt. vy-upa-śama])

- Vicara
- (near total cessation - [vy-upa-śama])

ENTER SECOND JHĀNA

ajjhatta sampasādana
(inner tranquillity (reconciliation with oneself - sam+pasādana ))

cetaso ekodibhāva
(transcendence of ceto)

Pīti
(propitiatory pleasure — born of samādhi)

Sukkha
(propitiatory pleasure + serenity/confidence — born of samādhi)

Does not follow the pleasure born of samādhi .

Third jhāna

- Pīti
- indifference towards this propitiatory pleasure.

ENTER THIRD JHĀNA

Upekkhako
(From उपेक्ष् upekṣ ( upa-√ īkṣ) )

Abandonment, relinquishment (AitBr. MBh.).

(In AitBr., it is used with the √ hā, which is synonymous).
to see in one’s mind ŚBr. ChUp. MBh. (in this case, to see in one's citta - a liberated citta which has relinquished raga towards propitiatory pleasure, and what came before (pleasure born of seclusion, etc. ).


Sato

Sati" has two meanings:

* First meaning: from the Vedic smṛti स्मृति (√ smṛ), meaning "thinking upon" (calling to mind, ~"mindful") [TĀr. ChUp. MBh.]. It can be being mindful of (thinking upon) the breath. Or being mindful of not letting the external akusala get in, etc.

* Second meaning: from सति sati = साति sāti = सन्ति santi = gaining , obtaining , acquisition (RV.)
Sati as "obtention", "acquisition".
https://sanskritdictionary.com/?iencodi ... ion=Search

If cetaso ekodibhāva is the transcendence of ceto (the polluted citta by mano), sato is the aquisition of citta.

Sampajāno
(clearly discerning - (正智 correct cognition) )

Sukhañca kāyena
(propitiatory pleasure + serenity/confidence with the body)
Here the body does not refer to the physical body, but to the kāya in the kāyasaṅkhāro of the saṅkhārā nidāna ( that is to say the in-breaths and out-breaths).

Does not follow the pleasure born of upekkha)


Fourth jhāna

- somanassa - domanassa
- (vanishing of comfortableness (somanassa) and difficultness (domanassa) [of the mano/manas])

- dukkha - sukha
- (giving up of pleasure (sukha) and pain (dukkha))

ENTER FOURTH JHĀNA

Adukkhamasukha
(neither-pain-nor-pleasure)

Upekkhāsatipārisuddhi
(purity of the obtention (sati) [of citta], due to upekkha)

Does not follow pain, or pleasure.


_____________

Arūpa

_____________
Fitfth attainment
.
- rūpasaññānaṃ samatikkamā
- (complete transcending of perceptions of Form (matter))

- paṭighasaññānaṃ atthaṅgamā
- (vanishing of perceptions (based) upon the organs of senses - (sensory āyatanāni))

- nānattasaññānaṃ amanasikārā
- (not turning the mano towards perceptions of manifoldness (lit. (what is) different than one)

- ananto ākāsoti
- (aware that space is not-internal)
Note: From now on, one "sees" with the free citta - not with the organs of senses any longer.

ENTER THE FIELD OF NOT-INTERNAL (INFINITE) SPACE

(Note: here, "internal" (anto) refers to the "within" that takes place in "the world of senses".
Anta also means "limit" — Therefore the two underlying meanings of "not internal" (viz. outside the world of senses) ; and "limiteless" (viz. infinite).

Anañca (√ अञ्च् añc) means not-bending (viz. towards the internal space - see ‘ananto ākaso' SN 36.19)
In the time of Buddha, space was considered the revealer of nāmarūpa".
When one reaches the sixth field/attainment - that is to say the external space (aka the non-internal space, that is not revealing the nāmarūpa in the world of senses any longer) - then this external space is just revealing the nāmarūpa of the nāmarūpa nidāna - that is to say the rūpa loka.)


Sixth attainment

- ākāsānañcāyatanaṃ samatikkamma
- (completly transcending the field of the not- bending space)

- anantaṃ viññāṇanti
- (aware that consciousness is not-internal (yet infinite) — viz. no more sense-consciousness).

ENTER THE FIELD OF THE NOT-BENDING (INFINITE) CONSCIOUSNESS


Seventh attainment

- viññāṇañcāyatanaṃ samatikkamma
- (complete transcending the field of the not-bending Consciousness)

- 'natthi kiñcī’ti'
- (aware that ‘there is nothing' (to crave for))

ENTER THE FIELD OF NOTHINGNESS

In the late Vedic litterature, nothingness is what has no manifested name and form (nāma rūpa).



Eighth attainment

- ākiñcaññāyatanaṃ
- (complete transcending the field of Nothingness (to crave for))

ENTER THE FIELD OF NEITHER AQUIESCENCE NOR NON-AQUIESCENCE

(Sañña/saṃjña (also) means agreement , acquiescence TBr. ŚBr. — namely not to agree (be in harmony) any longer, with what has been transcended, in everything that was stated above - yet to agree with reaching the next transcending stage towards nibbāna (without remnant)).



Ninth attainment

nevasaññānāsaññāyatanaṃ samatikkamma
- (complete transcending the field of neither-aquiescence-nor-non-aquiescence)

ENTER THE CESSATION OF EXPERIENCE AND AQUIESCENCE (of these experiences)


_______________
_______________

Then, bhikkhu, I have also taught the successive restraints on co-actions (saṅkhārā).

For one who has attained the first jhana, speech has been restrained (nirodha — ni-√ rudh*), (and subsided and has been tranquillized).
Note that nirodah doesn't always mean cessation, but can also take the meaning of "restraint".

For one who has attained the second jhana, vitakka and vicāra have been restrained, (and subsided and have been tranquillized).

For one who has attained the third jhana, propitiatory pleasure has been restrained (and subsided and has been tranquillized).

For one who has attained the fourth jhana, in-breathing and out-breathing have been restrained (and subsided and have been tranquillized).

For one who has attained the base of the infinity of space, the perception of form has been restrained (and subsided).

For one who has attained the base of the infinity of consciousness, the perception pertaining to the base of the infinity of space has been restrained (and subsided).

For one who has attained the base of nothingness, the perception pertaining to the base of the infinity of consciousness has been restrained (and subsided).

For one who has attained the base of neither-perception-nor-nonperception, the perception pertaining to the base of nothingness has been restrained (and subsided).

For one who has attained the cessation of perception and feeling, perception and feeling have been restrained (and subsided and have been tranquillized).

For a bhikkhu whose taints are destroyed, lust has ceased, hatred has ceased, delusion has been restrained (and subsided and has been tranquillized).

SN 36.11
In this world, there are many people acting and yearning for the Mara's world; some for the Brahma's world; and very few for the Unborn.
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Sam Vara
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Re: JHĀNA

Post by Sam Vara »

ToVincent wrote: Wed Nov 30, 2022 2:31 pm JHĀNA (a cheatsheet)


Jhāna (from jhāyati) - Sk. kṣāyati (root kṣi) = to be diminished, decrease, waste away).
What is "to be diminished" or "waste away", is bolded and red.

These "decreases", lead to the ensuing state, which are the "perception and thinking upon" what we should be perceptive in that state — Here we have jhāna as jhāna (from jhāyati) - Sk. dhyāyati (root dhī) = to perceive, think upon, meditate over).

___________
Sorry, this is a bit confusing. As well as
jhāna (from jhāyati) - Sk. dhyāyati (root dhī) = to perceive, think upon, meditate over).
which appears correct, we also have
Jhāna (from jhāyati) - Sk. kṣāyati (root kṣi) = to be diminished, decrease, waste away).
I would have thought that the "wasting away" verb would be khīyati from kṣīyate. Are you saying these two are the same, or that jhāyati is from both, or something else?
ToVincent
Posts: 1839
Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2016 6:02 pm

Re: JHĀNA

Post by ToVincent »

Sam Vara wrote: Wed Nov 30, 2022 3:12 pm I would have thought that the "wasting away" verb would be khīyati from kṣīyate. Are you saying these two are the same, or that jhāyati is from both, or something else?
Sorry for the typo.
kṣiyati, not kṣāyati.
kṣiyati in Skt, lemmatizes as: [kṣi]
Still from root kṣi.
https://sanskrit.inria.fr/MW/72.html#k.sif4
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In this world, there are many people acting and yearning for the Mara's world; some for the Brahma's world; and very few for the Unborn.
ToVincent
Posts: 1839
Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2016 6:02 pm

Re: JHĀNA

Post by ToVincent »

Note that in the first jhana, pīti, the propitiatory pleasure, the contentment with oneself, is born of the separation (vivicca/viveka) from those two states — and that sukkha is just the serenity and confidence acquired from that.
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In this world, there are many people acting and yearning for the Mara's world; some for the Brahma's world; and very few for the Unborn.
BrokenBones
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Joined: Sat Nov 10, 2018 10:20 am

Re: JHĀNA

Post by BrokenBones »

ToVincent wrote: Wed Nov 30, 2022 8:18 pm Note that in the first jhana, pīti, the propitiatory pleasure, the contentment with oneself, is born of the separation (vivicca/viveka) from those two states — and that sukkha is just the serenity and confidence acquired from that.
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There's a discussion around Viveka as meaning discernment; as in between the wholesome and the unwholesome rather than separation. I like the idea it means both 🤹
ToVincent
Posts: 1839
Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2016 6:02 pm

Re: JHĀNA

Post by ToVincent »

There is a more complete version of this jhāna cheatsheet at:
https://justpaste.it/Jhana_cheatsheet
That can be downloaded as pdf.
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In this world, there are many people acting and yearning for the Mara's world; some for the Brahma's world; and very few for the Unborn.
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