JHĀNA

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


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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)
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Second jhāna .
- Vitakka
- (near total cessation - [व्युपशम vy-upa-śama])
- Vicara
- (near total cessation - [व्युपशम 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.
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Third jhāna .
- Pīti
- indifference (abscence of raga) towards propitiatory pleasure.

ENTER THIRD JHĀNA

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

  • Abandonment, relinquishment, (as in contempt). (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
(Thoughtful upon - mindful)

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)
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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 mindfulness (sati) due to upekkha)

Does not follow pain, or pleasure.
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Arūpa


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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 sense 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 revealing the nāmarūpa of the nāmarūpa nidāna - that is to say the rūpa loka.)
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Sixth attainment .
- ākāsānañcāyatanaṃ samatikkamma
- (completly transcending the field of the not- bending space )
- anantaṃ viññāṇanti
- (aware that consciousness is not-internal (and infinite) — viz. no more sense-consciousness).

ENTER THE FIELD OF THE NOT-BENDING (INFINITE) CONSCIOUSNESS
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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).
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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)).
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Ninth attainment .
nevasaññānāsaññāyatanaṃ samatikkamma
- (complete transcending the field of neither-aquiescence-nor-non-aquiescence)

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

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Pub: 02 Jul 2020 09:46 UTC
Edit: 30 Nov 2022 02:05 UTC
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