how do i get into jhana states?

[bpallister]

is there a jhana for dummies book? or something with step-by-step instructions??

[cappuccino]

Calm

[BrokenBones]

Wisdom.

[JamesTheGiant]

This book is one of the best Focused and Fearless: A Meditator's Guide to States of Deep Joy, Calm, and Clarity by
Shaila Catherine
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/328 ... d-fearless

This one is also good Right Concentration: A Practical Guide to the Jhanas
Leigh Brasington
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/252 ... centration

And this one too Beyond Mindfulness in Plain English: An Introductory guide to Deeper States of Meditation, by Henepola Gunaratana
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/630 ... in-english

[Ceisiwr]

is there a jhana for dummies book? or something with step-by-step instructions??

Morality > sense restraint. By practicing these too you are training the mind to prepare for the next stage, the suppression of the hindrances either via insight or Samatha.

I would recommend the Visuddhimagga: https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/aut ... on2011.pdf

[justindesilva]

is there a jhana for dummies book? or something with step-by-step instructions??

Morality > sense restraint. By practicing these too you are training the mind to prepare for the next stage, the suppression of the hindrances either via insight or Samatha.

I would recommend the Visuddhimagga: https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/aut ... on2011.pdf

In meditation vitakka, vicara, piti suka are four steps of getting in to jhana. With proper application of right concentration one will go in to these stages .. vitakka being application
Vicara is sustaining the signal or nimitta of meditation . By overcoming obstacles of wandering mind with effort one can sustain the mind on a symbol such as breath or a feeling .

[thepea]

is there a jhana for dummies book? or something with step-by-step instructions??

Probably have to begin with observing aversion before craving.

[BrokenBones]

Found this great training manual...

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitak ... .than.html

Preliminaries would be having good sila and being restrained in the senses (as outlined in various other sutta training manuals).

I would recommend the sutta manuals... being the perfect teacher; the Buddha left perfect instructions. And that brings faith into the equation which is also good fuel for the arising of jhana... don't underestimate where sustained Dhammic thinking can take you... the skill is letting the thoughts subside as jhanic mental factors gradually arise.

As the above manual instructs, the main thrust is recognising what is unwholesome. Recognise this and the wholesome requires little to no effort see... https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitak ... .nypo.html

A clean cloth is easy to dye.

[SarathW]

Herein, monks, a monk, having gone to the forest, to the foot of a tree or to an empty place, sits down with his legs crossed, keeps his body erect and his mindfulness alert.[3]

Ever mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes out. Breathing in a long breath, he knows, "I am breathing in a long breath"; breathing out a long breath, he knows, "I am breathing out a long breath"; breathing in a short breath, he knows, "I am breathing in a short breath"; breathing out a short breath, he knows, "I am breathing out a short breath."

https://accesstoinsight.org/ati/tipitak ... .nysa.html

Why are you prospecting gold on someone else's land when you have it in your backyard?

[bpallister]

This book is one of the best Focused and Fearless: A Meditator's Guide to States of Deep Joy, Calm, and Clarity by
Shaila Catherine
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/328 ... d-fearless

This one is also good Right Concentration: A Practical Guide to the Jhanas
Leigh Brasington
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/252 ... centration

And this one too Beyond Mindfulness in Plain English: An Introductory guide to Deeper States of Meditation, by Henepola Gunaratana
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/630 ... in-english

ooh, thanks! i think i'll start with the Bhante G one. He's one of my favorite teachers

[bpallister]

is there a jhana for dummies book? or something with step-by-step instructions??

Morality > sense restraint. By practicing these too you are training the mind to prepare for the next stage, the suppression of the hindrances either via insight or Samatha.

I would recommend the Visuddhimagga: https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/aut ... on2011.pdf

i have been working on my sila and sense restraint recently. I know i need that as a foundation.

[bpallister]

Found this great training manual...

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitak ... .than.html

Preliminaries would be having good sila and being restrained in the senses (as outlined in various other sutta training manuals).

I would recommend the sutta manuals... being the perfect teacher; the Buddha left perfect instructions. And that brings faith into the equation which is also good fuel for the arising of jhana... don't underestimate where sustained Dhammic thinking can take you... the skill is letting the thoughts subside as jhanic mental factors gradually arise.

As the above manual instructs, the main thrust is recognising what is unwholesome. Recognise this and the wholesome requires little to no effort see... https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitak ... .nypo.html

A clean cloth is easy to dye.

i was just thinking about this sutta on the two types of thought today. I was thinking about it in the context of how I can start applying it in my life. Of course, i need to cut through my ignorance so i'm not lying to myself about what is wholesome and what is unwholesome. I think I'm going to do that while I'm meditating and working with the breath. We'll see where it goes.

[BrokenBones]

Found this great training manual...

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitak ... .than.html

Preliminaries would be having good sila and being restrained in the senses (as outlined in various other sutta training manuals).

I would recommend the sutta manuals... being the perfect teacher; the Buddha left perfect instructions. And that brings faith into the equation which is also good fuel for the arising of jhana... don't underestimate where sustained Dhammic thinking can take you... the skill is letting the thoughts subside as jhanic mental factors gradually arise.

As the above manual instructs, the main thrust is recognising what is unwholesome. Recognise this and the wholesome requires little to no effort see... https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitak ... .nypo.html

A clean cloth is easy to dye.

i was just thinking about this sutta on the two types of thought today. I was thinking about it in the context of how I can start applying it in my life. Of course, i need to cut through my ignorance so i'm not lying to myself about what is wholesome and what is unwholesome. I think I'm going to do that while I'm meditating and working with the breath. We'll see where it goes.

sounds like a plan... the breath is good background music.

[DeadBuddha]

The book Practicing the Jhânas (Stephen Snyder) is very good, very educational, and has a preface by Pa Auk (= renowned jhâna meditation master) stating that Stephen Snyder has attained mastery of the 8 jhânas. I strongly recommend this book.
I can faithfully summarize the book in one sentence: to reach the first jhana, you have to concentrate continuously on the breath passing in a place of your choice at the upperlip or at the tip of the nostrils, and if you do NOTHING ELSE than concentrate on this breath without ever changing the place, you will automatically reach the first jhana.

And if you want to see a slightly different technique, still in the line of Pa Auk, there is the book "A Companion Volume To Brief Discussion On Ānāpānasati" (Pannananda) which you can find here: https://archive.org/details/ACompanionV ... a/mode/1up . On the other hand, this book is much more head-scratching than Snyder's.
I can faithfully summarize the book for you: first, concentrate a little bit on the physical breath (= breath rubbing/sliding against the skin) passing through the upperlip or the tip of the nostrils; then, stop concentrating on the physical breath, and start concentrating on the PLACE, (the place, the space) where the physical breath is at the upperlip or the tip of the nose; after a while, the conceptual breath (= breath that you feel is totally still, stable, hard, solid, non-changing, frictionless, non-slip) appears, and you have to stop concentrating on the place of the physical breath, but you have to start concentrating on the conceptual breath, and if you manage to do that without doing anything else, after a while you will reach the first jhâna

The jhânas in these two books are extremely intense jhânas, but extremely hard to have (you have to do retreats almost compulsorily).

There is also a lighter version of the jhanas promoted by Leigh Brasington. The jhanas taught by Leigh Brasington are intense and easier to have, but much less intense than those of Pa Auk. Leigh Brasington's book is called "Right Concentration". It is very educational.
Summary of the book: concentrate on the breath that goes through the tip of the nose, and train yourself to manage to stay 15 minutes in a row on the breath without your mind turning away from the breath, and once you manage to do that, then you stop concentrating on the breath that goes through the tip of the nose, and you start concentrating on a pleasant sensation that you feel (pleasure, joy, tranquility, happiness, etc.), and if you don't feel it, then you start concentrating on the breath that goes through the tip of the nose.), and if you don't find it, you can provoke it yourself by smiling (smiling produces pleasure); then, keep constantly focused on the pleasure, and if you don't do anything else, after a while, the jhâna will appear.

You'll notice that in the three books I mentioned, the only one who talks about "conceptual breathing" is Pannananda. Snyder and Brasington don't talk about it, so regarding these two, you have to understand the breath in the most obvious way possible, no need to break your head.

[blightmaster]

I think jhana correlates with citta.