Dhyna in Buddhism

See also: Samadhi, Samatha, Vipassan, and Dhyana in in Upanishadic texts that predate the origins of BudHinduism
dhism.* [10]* [note 1]
Dhyna (Sanskrit) or Jhna (Pali) means meditation
in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. In Buddhism, it
is a series of cultivated states of mind, which lead to
state of perfect equanimity and awareness (upekkhii-satipiirisuddhl).* [1]

1.1.2 Discovery of dhyana

The Mahasaccaka Sutta, Majjhima Nikaya 36, narrates

the story of the Buddha's awakening. According to this
story, he learned two kinds of meditation, which did not
Dhyana may have been the core practice of pre-sectarian lead to enlightenment. He then underwent harsh ascetic
Buddhism, but became appended with other forms of practices with which he eventually also became disillusioned. The Buddha then recalled a meditative state he
meditation throughout its development.* [2]* [3]
entered by chance as a child:* [3]

I thought: 'I recall once, when my father

the Sakyan was working, and I was sitting in the
cool shade of a rose-apple tree, then quite secluded from sensuality, secluded from unskillful mental qualities I entered & remained in
the rst jhana: rapture & pleasure born from
seclusion, accompanied by directed thought &
evaluation. Could that be the path to Awakening?' Then following on that memory came
the realization: 'That is the path to Awakening.'* [12]

Origins

The time of the Buddha saw the rise of the ramaa

movement, ascetic practitioners with a body of shared
teachings and practices.* [4] The strict delineation of
this movement into Jainism, Buddhism and brahmanical/Upanishadic traditions is a later development.* [4]

1.1
1.1.1

Buddhist origins
Invention or incorporation

1.1.3

According to Bronkhorst, the practice of the four dhyanas

may have been an original contribution by Gautama Buddha to the religious practices of ancient India in response to the ascetic practices of the Jains.* [5] According to Wynne, the attainment of the formless meditative absorption was incorporated from Brahmanical practices,* [6] These practices were paired to mindfulness and
insight, and given a new interpretation.* [6] The stratication of particular samdhi experiences into the four jhnas seems to be a Buddhist innovation.* [6] It was then
borrowed and presented in an incomplete form in the
Mokadharma, a part of the Mahbhrata.* [7] Kalupahana argues that the Buddha reverted to the meditational practiceshe had learned from ra Klma and
Uddaka Rmaputta.* [8]

Liberating insight

In the Mahasaccaka Sutta, dhyana is followed by insight

into the four truths. The mention of the four noble truths
as constituting liberating insightis probably a later
addition.* [13]* [14]* [3] Originally the practice of dhyana
itself may have constituted the core liberating practice of
early Buddhism, since in this state allpleasure and pain
had waned.* [2] According to Vetter,
[P]robably the word immortality(amata) was used by the Buddha for the rst interpretation of this experience and not the term
cessation of suering that belongs to the four
noble truths [...] the Buddha did not achieve
the experience of salvation by discerning the
four noble truths and/ or other data. But his experience must have been of such a nature that
it could bear the interpretationachieving immortality.* [15]

Thomas William Rhys Davids and Maurice Walshe

agreed that the term samadhi is not found in any prebuddhist text. Samadhi was rst found in the Tipiaka
and not in any pre-Buddhist text. It was later incorporated into later texts such as the Maitrayaniya Up- Discriminating insight into transiency as a separate path
anishad.* [9] But according to Matsumoto, the terms to liberation was a later development,* [16]* [17] under
dhyana and samahita (entering samadhi) appear already pressure of developments in Indian religious thinking,
1

2 QUALITIES OF THE JHNAS

which sawliberating insightas quintessential to liberation.* [2] This may also have been to due an over-literal
interpretation by later scholastics of the terminology used
by the Buddha,* [18] and to the problems involved with
the practice of dhyana, and the need to develop an easier
method.* [19]

1.2

In Brahmanical thought, the meditative states of consciousness were thought to be identical to the subtle strata
of the cosmos.* [29] There is no similar theoretical background to element meditation in the early Buddhist texts,
where the elements appear simply as suitable objects of
meditation.* [30] It is likely that the Brahmanic practices
of element-meditation were borrowed and adapted by
early Buddhists, with the original Brahmanic ideology of
Alex Wynne - Non-Buddhist inuences the practices being discarded in the process.* [31]

Alexander Wynne attempted to nd parallels in Brahmanical texts to the meditative goals the two teachers
claimed to have taught, drawing especially on some of the
Upanishads and the Mokshadharma chapter of the Mahabharata.* [6]
1.2.1

Uddaka Ramaputta and Alara Kalama

Alex Wynne suggests that Uddaka Ramaputta belonged

to the pre-Buddhist tradition portrayed by the Buddhist
and Brahmanic sources, in which the philosophical formulations of the early Upanishads were accepted and
the meditative state of neither perception nor nonperceptionwas equated with the self.* [20] Furthermore,
he suggested that the goal of Alara Kalama was a Brahminical concept. Evidence in the Chandogya Upanishad
and the Taittiriya Upanishad suggests that a dierent
early Brahminic philosophical tradition held the view that
the unmanifest state of Brahman was a form of nonexistence.* [21] According to Wynne it thus seems likely
that both element and formless meditation was learned by
the Buddha from his two teachers and adapted by him to
his own system.* [22]* [note 2]

Investigation of self On this point, it is thought that

the uses of the elements in early Buddhist literature have
in general very little connection to Brahmanical thought;
in most places they occur in teachings where they form
the objects of a detailed contemplation of the human being. The aim of these contemplations seems to have been
to bring about the correct understanding that the various
perceived aspects of a human being, when taken together,
nevertheless do not comprise a 'self'.* [32] Moreover, the
self is conceptualized in terms similar to both nothingnessand neither perception nor non-perceptionat
dierent places in early Upanishadic literature.* [29]

The latter corresponds to Yajnavalkyas denition of

the self in his famous dialogue with Maitreyi in the
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad and the denition given
in the post-Buddhist Mandukya Upanishad. This is
mentioned as a claim of non-Buddhist ascetics and
Brahmins in the Pacattaya Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya
102.2).* [33]* [34] In the same dialogue in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Yajnavalkya draws the conclusions that the self that is neither perceptive nor nonperceptive is a state of consciousness without object. The
early Buddhist evidence suggests much the same thing
for the state of neither perception nor non-perception
.* [34] It is a state without an object of awareness, that
1.2.2 Brahmanical practices
is not devoid of awareness.* [35] The state following it in
the Buddhist scheme, the cessation of perception and
Formless spheres It appears that in early Brahminic
sensation, is devoid not only of objectivity, but of subyoga, the formless spheres were attained following elejectivity as well.* [36]
ment meditation.* [24] This is also taught as an option
in the early Buddhist texts.* [25] The primary method
taught to achieve the formless attainment in early Bud- Criticism of Wynne The Brahmanical texts cited by
dhist scriptures, on the other hand, is to proceed to the Wynne assumed their nal form long after the Buddhas
sphere of innite space following the fourth jhna.* [26] lifetime. The Mokshadharma postdates him.* [23]
Reversal of the creation of the world Wynne claimed
that Brahminic passages on meditation suggest that the
most basic presupposition of early Brahmanical yoga is
that the creation of the world must be reversed, through
a series of meditative states, by the yogin who seeks the
realization of the self.* [27] These states were given doctrinal background in early Brahminic cosmologies, which
classied the world into successively coarser strata. One
such stratication is found at TU II.1 and Mbh XII.195,
and proceeds as follows: self, space, wind, re, water,
earth. Mbh XII.224 gives alternatively: Brahman, mind,
space, wind, re, water, earth.* [28]

2 Qualities of the jhnas

The Pli canon describes eight progressive states of
jhna. Four are called meditations of form (rpa jhna),
and four are formless meditations (arpa jhna).

2.1 The Rupa Jhnas

There are four stages of deep collectedness which are
called the Rupa Jhna (Fine-material Jhna).

2.2
2.1.1

The Arupa Jhnas

Jhana and samadhi

According to Henepola Gunaratana the termjhanais

closely connected with samadhi, which is generally
rendered as concentration.The word samadhiis
almost interchangeable with the wordsamatha,serenity.* [37]
In the suttas samadhi is dened as mental onepointedness.* [37] Buddhaghosa explains samadhi etymologically as
... the centering of consciousness and consciousness concomitants evenly and rightly on a
single object... the state in virtue of which consciousness and its concomitants remain evenly
and rightly on a single object, undistracted and
unscattered (Vism.84-85; PP.85).* [37]
In the widest sense the word samadhi is being used for the
practices which lead to the development of serenity. In
this sense, samadhi and jhana are close in meaning. Nevertheless, they are not exactly identical. Samadhi signies
only one mental factor, namely one-pointedness, while
the word jhanaencompasses the whole state of consciousness.* [37]
Samadhi also covers another type of concentration,
namelymomentary concentration(khanikasamadhi),
the mobile mental stabilization produced in the course
of insight contemplation of the passing ow of phenomena.* [37]
2.1.2

Rupa Jhana related factors

3
1. First Jhna the ve hindrances have completely
disappeared and intense unied bliss remains. Only
the subtlest of mental movement remains, perceivable in its absence by those who have entered
the second jhna. The ability to form unwholesome intentions ceases. The remaining qualities
are: "directed thought, evaluation, rapture, pleasure,
unication of mind, contact, feeling, perception, intention, consciousness, desire, decision, persistence,
mindfulness, equanimity & attention
2. Second Jhna all mental movement utterly ceases.
There is only bliss. The ability to form wholesome
intentions ceases as well. The remaining qualities
are: internal assurance, rapture, pleasure, unication of mind, contact, feeling, perception, intention,
consciousness, desire, decision, persistence, mindfulness, equanimity, & attention
3. Third Jhna one-half of bliss (joy) disappears.
The remaining qualities are:equanimity-pleasure,
unication of mind, contact, feeling, perception, intention, consciousness, desire, decision, persistence,
mindfulness, equanimity & attention
4. Fourth Jhna The other half of bliss (happiness)
disappears, leading to a state with neither pleasure
nor pain, which the Buddha said is actually a subtle form of happiness (more sublime than pti and
sukha). The breath is said to cease temporarily in
this state. The remaining qualities are: a feeling of equanimity, neither pleasure nor pain; an unconcern due to serenity of awareness; unication of
mind, contact, feeling, perception, intention, consciousness, desire, decision, persistence, mindfulness, equanimity & attention.* [38]

The rupa-jhnas are described according to the nature of

the mental factors which are present in these states:
2.1.4 Psychic powers
1. Movement of the mind onto the object (vitakka; Traditionally, the fourth jhna is seen as the beginning of
attaining psychic powers (abhij).* [note 4]
Sanskrit: vitarka)
2. Retention of the mind on the object (vicra)

2.2 The Arupa Jhnas

3. Joy (pti; Sanskrit: prti)

4. Happiness (sukha)

See also: Arpajhna and Formless Realm

Beyond the four jhnas lie four attainments, referred to

in the early texts as aruppas. These are also referred
6. One-pointedness (ekaggat; Sanskrit:
ek- to in commentarial literature as immaterial/the formgrat)* [note 3]
less jhnas (arpajhnas), also translated as The Formless Dimensions, in distinction from the rst four jhnas
(rpa jhnas). In the Buddhist canonical texts, the word
2.1.3 Qualities of the Four Rupa Jhanas
"jhna" is never explicitly used to denote them, they are
instead referred to as yatana. However, they are someMain article: Rupajhana
times mentioned in sequence after the rst four jhnas
(other texts. e.g. MN 121 treat them as a distinct set
For each Jhna are given a set of qualities which are of attainments) and thus came to be treated by later expresent in that jhana:* [38]
egetes as jhnas. The immaterial attainments have more
5. Equanimity (upekkh; Sanskrit: upek)

3 MASTERING THE JHANAS

to do with expanding, while the Jhanas (1-4) focus on 3.1 Gradual development
concentration. The enlightenment of complete dwelling
in emptiness is reached when the eighth jhna is tran- The scriptures state that one should not seek to attain ever
higher jhnas but master one rst, then move on to the
scended.
next. Mastery of jhna involves being able to enter a
The four formless jhanas are:
jhna at will, stay as long as one likes, leave at will and
experience each of the jhna factors as required. They
1. Dimension of Innite Space - In this dimension the also seem to suggest that lower jhna factors may manfollowing qualities areferreted out":* [38]the per- ifest themselves in higher jhna, if the jhnas have not
ception of the dimension of the innitude of space, been properly developed. The Buddha is seen to advise
singleness of mind, contact, feeling, perception, in- his disciples to concentrate and steady the jhna further.
tention, consciousness, desire, decision, persistence,
The early suttas state thatthe most exquisite of recluses
mindfulness, equanimity, & attention.* [38]
is able to attain any of the jhnas and abide in them
2. Dimension of Innite Consciousness - In this dimen- without diculty. This particular arahant is libersion the following quailities areferreted out":* [38] ated in both ways:" he is uent in attaining the jhnas
the perception of the dimension of the innitude and is also aware of their ultimate unsatisfactoriness. If
of consciousness, unication of mind, contact, feel- he were not, he would fall into the same problem as the
ing, perception, intention, consciousness, desire, de- teachers from whom the Buddha learned the spheres of
cision, persistence, mindfulness, equanimity, & at- nothingness and neither perception nor non-perception,
in seeing these meditative attainments as something tention.* [38]
nal. Their problem lay in seeing permanence where there
*
3. Dimension of Nothingness - In this dimension the is impermanence. [41]
following qualities are ferreted out":* [38] the
perception of the dimension of nothingness, singleness of mind, contact, feeling, perception, intention, 3.2 Aspects of jhana mastery
consciousness, desire, decision, persistence, mindA meditator should rst master the lower jhnas, before
fulness, equanimity, & attention
they can go into the higher jhnas. There are ve aspects
4. Dimension of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception of jhna mastery:
No qualities to be ferreted outare being mentioned for this dimension.* [38]
Although theDimension of Nothingnessand theDimension of Neither Perception nor Non-Perceptionare
included in the list of nine Jhanas taught by the Buddha,
they are not included in the Noble Eightfold Path. Noble
Path number eight is Samma Samadhi(Right Concentration), and only the rst four Jhanas are considered
Right Concentration. If he takes a disciple through all
the Jhanas, the emphasis is on the Cessation of Feelings and Perceptionsrather than stopping short at the
Dimension of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception
.

2.3

2. Mastery in attaining: the ability to enter upon jhna

quickly.
3. Mastery in resolving: the ability to remain in the
jhna for exactly the pre-determined length of time.
4. Mastery in emerging: the ability to emerge from
jhna quickly without diculty.
5. Mastery in reviewing: the ability to review the jhna
and its factors with retrospective knowledge immediately after adverting to them.

Nirodha-Samapatti

The Buddha also rediscovered an attainment beyond the dimension of neither perception nor nonperception, Nirodha-Samapatti, the cessation of feelings and perceptions.* [38] This is sometimes called
the ninth jhna" in commentarial and scholarly literature.* [39]* [40]

1. Mastery in adverting: the ability to advert to the

jhna factors one by one after emerging from the
jhna, wherever he wants, whenever he wants, and
for as long as he wants.

Mastering the jhanas

3.3 Access concentration

According to the Pli canon commentary, access/neighbourhood concentration (upacra-samdhi)
is a stage of meditation that the meditator reaches
before entering into jhna. The overcoming of the
ve hindrances* [note 5] mark the entry into access
concentration. Access concentration is not mentioned
in the discourses of the Buddha, but there are several
suttas where a person gains insight into the Dhamma on
hearing a teaching from the Buddha.* [note 6]* [note 7]

4.2

Jhana itself is liberating

According to Tse-fu Kuan, at the state of access concen4. The four Rupa Jhanas themselves constituted the
tration, some meditators may experience vivid mental imcore liberating practice of early Buddhism, c.q. the
agery,* [note 8] which is similar to a vivid dream. They
Buddha.* [50]
are as vividly as if seen by the eye, but in this case the
meditator is fully aware and conscious that they are seeing mental images. According to Tse-fu Kuan, this is dis- 4.2 Jhana itself is liberating
cussed in the early texts, and expanded upon in Theravda
Both Schmithausen and Bronkhorst note that the atcommentaries.* [43]
tainment of insight, which is a cognitive activity, can't
According to Venerable Sujivo, as the concentration be- be possible in a state wherein all cognitive acitivy has
comes stronger, the feelings of breathing and of having ceased.* [3] According to Vetter, the practice of Rupa
a physical body will completely disappear, leaving only Jhana itself may have constituted the core practice of
pure awareness. At this stage inexperienced meditators early Buddhism, with practices such as sila and mindfulmay become afraid, thinking that they are going to die ness aiding to its development.* [50] It is the middle
if they continue the concentration, because the feeling of waybetween self-mortication, ascribed by Bronkhorst
breathing and the feeling of having a physical body has to Jainism,* [3] and indulgence in sensual pleasure.* [51]
completely disappeared. They should not be so afraid and Vetter emphasizes that dhyana is a form of non-sensual
should continue their concentration in order to reachfull happiness.* [52] The eightfold path can be seen as a path
concentration(jhna).* [44]
of preparation which leads to the practice of samadi.* [53]

Jhana and liberation

4.3 Liberation in Nirodha-Samapatti

According to some texts, after progressing through the

eight jhanas and the stage of Nirodha-Samapatti, a
person is liberated.* [38] According to some traditions
The Buddhist tradition has incorporated two traditions someone attaining the state of Nirodha-Samapatti is an
regarding the use of jhana.* [3] There is a tradition anagami or an arahant.* [54] In the Anupadda sutra, the
that stresses attaining insight (bodhi, prajna, kensho) as Buddha narrates that Sariputta became an arahant upon
the means to awakening and liberation. According to reaching it.* [55]
the Theravada tradition dhyana must be combined with
vipassana,* [45] which gives insight into the three marks
of existence and leads to detachment and the manifes- 4.4 Jhana as an aid to attaining insight
tation of the path.* [46]
Main articles: Vipassana and Sampajaa
But the Buddhist tradition has also incorporated the yogic tradition, as reected in the use of jhana, which is rejected in other sutras as not resulting in the nal result of
liberation. One solution to this contradiction is the con- 4.4.1 Dhyana and insight
junctive use of vipassana and samatha.* [47] In Zen Buddhism, this problem has appeared over the centuries in the According to Alexander Wynne, the ultimate aim of
disputes over sudden versus gradual enlightenment.* [48] dhyana was the attainment of insight,* [56] and the application of the meditative state to the practice of mindfulness.* [56] According to Frauwallner, mindfulness was
4.1 Various possibilities for liberation
a means to prevent the arising of craving, which resulted
simply from contact between the senses and their objects.
Schmithausen notes that the mention of the four noble According to Frauwallner, this may have been the Budtruths as constituting liberating insight, which is at- dhas original idea.* [57] According to Wynne, this stress
tained after mastering the Rupa Jhanas, is a later addi- on mindfulness may have led to the intellectualism which
tion to texts such as Majjhima Nikaya 36.* [13]* [3]* [2] favoured insight over the practice of dhyana.* [58]
Schmithausen discerns three possible roads to liberation
as described in the suttas, to which Vetter adds a fourth
possibility:* [49]
4.4.2 Two kinds of dhyana
Main articles: Enlightenment in Buddhism and Nirvana

1. Mastering the four Rupa Jhanas, where-after lib- According to Richard Gombrich, the sequence of the four
erating insightis attained;
rupa-jhanas describes two dierent cognitive states:
2. Mastering the four Rupa Jhanas and the four Arupa
Jhanas, where-afterliberating insightis attained;
3. Liberating insight itself suces;

I know this is controversial, but it seems

to me that the third and fourth jhanas are thus
quite unlike the second.* [59]* [note 9]

5 IN MAHYNA TRADITIONS

Alexander Wynne further explains that the dhyanascheme is poorly understood.* [58] According to Wynne,
words expressing the inculcation of awareness, such as
sati, sampajno, and upekkh, are mistranslated or understood as particular factors of meditative states,* [58]
whereas they refer to a particular way of perceiving the
sense objects:* [58]

Thus the expression sato sampajno in the

third jhna must denote a state of awareness
dierent from the meditative absorption of the
second jhna (cetaso ekodibhva). It suggests
that the subject is doing something dierent
from remaining in a meditative state, i.e. that
he has come out of his absorption and is now
once again aware of objects. The same is
true of the word upek(k)h: it does not denote
an abstract 'equanimity', [but] it means to be
aware of something and indierent to it [...]
The third and fourth jhna-s, as it seems to me,
describe the process of directing states of meditative absorption towards the mindful awareness of objects.* [60]* [note 10]

4.4.3

4.5 Insight alone suces

The emphasis on liberating insightalone seems to be
a later development, in response to developments in Indian religious thought.* [3]* [50] Vetter notes that such insight is not possible in a state of dhyana, since discursive
thinking is eliminated in such a state.* [63] He also notes
that the emphasis onliberating insightdeveloped only
after the four noble truths were introduced as an expression of what this liberating insightconstituted.* [64]
In time, other expressions took over these function, such
as prattyasamutpda and the emptiness of the self.* [65]

5 In Mahyna traditions

Theravada-tradition

According to the Theravada-tradition, the meditator uses

the jhna state to bring the mind to rest, and to strengthen
and sharpen the mind, in order to investigate the true nature of phenomena (dhamma) and to gain insight into impermanence, suering and not-self.
According to the sutta descriptions of jhna practice, the
meditator does not emerge from jhna to practice vipassana but rather the work of insight is done whilst in jhna
itself. In particular the meditator is instructed to enter and remain in the fourth jhna" before commencing
the work of insight in order to uproot the mental delements.* [61]* [note 11]
Bodhisattva seated in meditation. Afghanistan, 2nd century CE
According to the later Theravda commentorial tradition
as outlined by Buddhagoa in his Visuddhimagga, after
coming out of the state of jhna the meditator will be
in the state of post-jhna access concentration. In this
state the investigation and analysis of the true nature of
phenomena begins, which leads to insight into the characteristics of impermanence, suering and not-self arises.

Mahyna Buddhism includes numerous schools of practice. Each draw upon various Buddhist stras, philosophical treatises, and commentaries, and each has its own emphasis, mode of expression, and philosophical outlook.
Accordingly, each school has its own meditation methods for the purpose of developing samdhi and praj,
with the goal of ultimately attaining enlightenment.

According to the contemporary Vipassana-movement,

the jhna state cannot by itself lead to enlightenment as it
only suppresses the delements. Meditators must use the 5.1 Dhyna in Chan Buddhism
jhna state as an instrument for developing wisdom by
cultivating insight, and use it to penetrate the true nature See also: Zen, Chan Buddhism, Zazen, Korean Seon,
of phenomena through direct cognition, which will lead and Zen in the United States
to cutting o the delements and nibbana.

6.2

Parallels with Patanjali's Ashtanga Yoga

In China, the word dhyna was originally transliterated

with Chinese: ; pinyin: chnn and shortened to just
pinyin: chn in common usage. In Chinese Buddhism
dhyna may refer to all kinds of meditation techniques
and their preparatory practices which can be used to attain
samadhi.* [66] The word chn became the designation for
Chan Buddhism (Korean Seon, Zen). The word and the
practice of meditation entered into Chinese through the
translations of An Shigao (. c. 148-180 CE), mainly
the Dhyna sutras, which were inuential early meditation
texts.

6.2 Parallels with Patanjali's Ashtanga

Yoga
See also: Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Buddhism
There are parallels with the fourth to eighth stages of
Patanjali's Ashtanga Yoga, as mentioned in his classical
work, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali,* [73] which were compiled around 400 CE by, taking materials about yoga from
older traditions.* [74]* [75]* [76]

Patanjali discerns bahiranga (external) aspects of yoga

Dhyna is a central aspect of Buddhist practice in Chan.
namely, yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, and the anNan Huai-Chin:
taranga (internal) yoga. Having actualized the pratyahara stage, a practitioner is able to eectively engage into
Intellectual reasoning is just another spinthe practice of Samyama. At the stage of pratyahara, the
ning of the sixth consciousness, whereas the
consciousness of the individual is internalized in order
practice of meditation is the true entry into the
*
that the sensations from the senses of taste, touch, sight,
Dharma. [67]
hearing and smell don't reach their respective centers in
According to Sheng Yen, meditative concentration is nec- the brain and takes the sadhaka (practitioner) to next
essary, calling samdhi one of the requisite factors for stages of Yoga, namely Dharana (concentration), Dhyana
(meditation), and Samadhi (mystical absorption), being
progress on the path toward enlightenment.* [68]
the aim of all Yogic practices.* [77]

5.2

Vajrayna

B. Alan Wallace holds that modern Tibetan Buddhism

lacks emphasis on achieving levels of concentration
higher than access concentration.* [69]* [70] According to
Wallace, one possible explanation for this situation is that
virtually all Tibetan Buddhist meditators seek to become
enlightened through the use of tantric practices. These
require the presence of sense desire and passion in one's
consciousness, but jhna eectively inhibits these phenomena.* [69]

The Eight Limbs of the yoga sutras show Samadhi as one

of its limbs. The Eight limbs of the Yoga Sutra was inuenced by Buddhism.* [78]* [79] Vyasa's Yogabhashya,
the commentary to the Yogasutras, and Vacaspati Misra's
subcommentary state directly that the samadhi techniques
are directly borrowed from the Buddhists' Jhana, with
the addition of the mystical and divine interpretations of
mental absorption.* [80] However, it is also to be noted
that the Yoga Sutra, especially the fourth segment of
Kaivalya Pada, contains several polemical verses critical
of Buddhism, particularly the Vijnavda school of Vasubandhu.* [81]

While few Tibetan Buddhists, either inside or outside Tibet, devote themselves to the practice of concentration,
Tibetan Buddhist literature does provide extensive instructions on it, and great Tibetan meditators of earlier
times stressed its importance.* [71]

The suttas show that during the time of the Buddha, Nigantha Nataputta, the Jain leader, did not even believe
that it is possible to enter a state where the thoughts and
examination stop.* [82]

7 Scientic studies

Inuence on Indian religions

There has been little scientic study of these mental

states. In 2008, an EEG study found strong, signicant, and consistent dierences in specic brain regions
Hindu texts later used that term to indicate the state of
when the meditator is in a jhana state compared to norliberation. According to Walshe, citing Rhys Davids, this
mal resting consciousness.* [83] Tentative hypotheses
*
is not in conformity with Buddhist usage: [72]
on the neurological correlates have been proposed, but
lack supporting evidence.* [84]
its subsequent use in Hindu texts to denote
the state of enlightenment is not in conformity
with Buddhist usage, where the basic meaning
8 See also
of concentration is expanded to cover meditationin general.* [9]
Research on meditation
But according to Vetter, the practice of dhyana may have
been the original liberating practice in Buddhism.* [2]
Neuroplasticity

6.1

Jhana as liberation

10
Altered state of consciousness
Arpajhna
Jna
Meditation
Rupajhana
Samdhi
Mindfulness
Vipassan
Satipatthana

REFERENCES

[6] According to Peter Harvey, access concentration is described at Digha Nikaya I, 110, among other places:The
situation at D I, 110, then, can be seen as one where the
hearer of a discourse enters a state which, while not an
actual jhana, could be bordering on it. As it is free from
hindrances, it could be seen as 'access' concentration with
a degree of wisdom.Peter Harvey, Consciousness Mysticism in the Discourses of the Buddha. In Karel Werner,
ed., The Yogi and the Mystic. Curzon Press 1989, page 95.
See also: Peter Harvey, The Seless Mind, page 170.
[7] The equivalent of upacra-samdhi used in Tibetan commentaries is nyer-bsdogs.* [42]
[8] Pli: nimitta

Samatha

[9] Original publication:

Gombrich, Richard (2007),
Religious Experience in Early Buddhism, OCHS Library

Notes

[10] According to Gombrich, the later tradition has falsied

the jhana by classifying them as the quintessence of the
concentrated, calming kind of meditation, ignoring the
other - and indeed higher - element.* [59]

[1] It is important to note that of the 200 or so Upanishads,

only the rst 10 or 12 are considered the oldest and
principal Upanishads. Among these 10 or 12 principal
Upanishads, the Taittiriya, Aitareya and Kausitaki show
Buddhist inuence.* [11] The Brihadaranyaka, JaiminiyaUpanisad-Brahmana and the Chandogya Upanishads were
composed during the pre-Buddhist era while the rest of
these 12 oldest Upanishads are dated to the last few centuries BCE.
[2] According to Bronkhorst, the account of the Buddha practicing under Uddaka Ramaputta and Alara Kalama is entirely ctitious, and meant to esh out the mentioning of
those names in the post-enlightenment narrative in Majjhima Nikaya 36.* [3]* [23] According to Bronkhorst, the
Buddha's teachings developed primarily in response to
Jain teachings, not Brahmanical teachings.* [3]
[3] In the Suttapitaka, right concentration is often referred to
as having ve factors, with one-pointedness (ekaggat) not
being explicitly identied as a factor of jhana attainment
(see, for instance, SN 28.1-4, AN 4.41, AN 5.28).
[4] For instance in AN 5.28, the Buddha states (Thanissaro,
1997.): When a monk has developed and pursued the
ve-factored noble right concentration in this way, then
whichever of the six higher knowledges he turns his mind
to know and realize, he can witness them for himself
whenever there is an opening....If he wants, he wields
manifold supranormal powers. Having been one he becomes many; having been many he becomes one. He appears. He vanishes. He goes unimpeded through walls,
ramparts, and mountains as if through space. He dives in
and out of the earth as if it were water. He walks on water
without sinking as if it were dry land. Sitting crosslegged
he ies through the air like a winged bird. With his hand
he touches and strokes even the sun and moon, so mighty
and powerful. He exercises inuence with his body even
as far as the Brahma worlds. He can witness this for himself whenever there is an opening ...
[5] Sensual desire, ill will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and
worry and doubt

[11] Samaaphala Sutta: With the abandoning of pleasure

and pain as with the earlier disappearance of elation
and distress he enters and remains in the fourth jhna:
purity of equanimity and mindfulness, neither-pleasure
nor pain...With his mind thus concentrated, puried, and
bright, unblemished, free from defects, pliant, malleable,
steady, and attained to imperturbability, the monk directs
and inclines it to the knowledge of the ending of the mental fermentations. He discerns, as it has come to be, that
'This is suering... This is the origination of suering...
This is the cessation of suering... This is the way leading
to the cessation of suering... These are mental fermentations... This is the origination of fermentations... This
is the cessation of fermentations... This is the way leading
to the cessation of fermentations.* [62]

10 References
[1] Vetter 1988, p. 5.
[2] Vetter 1988.
[3] Bronkhorst 1993.
[4] Samuel 2008.
[5] Bronkhorst 1993, p. 95;122-123.
[6] Wynne 2007.
[7] Wynne 2007, p. 29.
[8] Kalupahana 1994, p. 24.
[9] Walshe, Maurice (trans.) (1995). The Long Discourses of
the Buddha: A Translation of the Digha Nikaya. Boston:
Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-103-3.
[10] Matsumoto 1997, p. 242.
[11] King 1995, p. 52.

[12] Nanamoli 1995.

[13] Schmithausen 1981.
[14] Vetter 1988, p. 5-6.
[15] vetter 1988, p. 5-6.
[16] Vetter 1988, p. xxxiv-xxxvii.
[17] Gombrich 1997, p. 131.
[18] Gombrich 1997, p. 96-134.
[19] Vetter 1988, p. xxxv.
[20] Wynne 2007, p. 44, see also 45-49.
[21] Wynne 2007, p. 196.
[22] Wynne 2007, p. 50.
[23] Vishvapani (rev.) (1997). Review: Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Retrieved 2011-2-17 from Western
Buddhist Reviewat http://www.westernbuddhistreview.
com/vol5/the-origin-of-buddhist-meditation.html.

[42] B. Alan Wallace, The bridge of quiescence: experiencing

Tibetan Buddhist meditation. Carus Publishing Company,
1998, page 92. Wallace translates both asthe rst proximate meditative stabilization.
[43] Tse-fu Kuan, Mindfulness in Early Buddhism: New Approaches Through Psychology and Textual Analysis of
Pali, Chinese and Sanskrit Sources. Routledge, 2008,
pages 65-67.
[44] Venerable Sujivo, Access and Fixed Concentration. Vipassana Tribune, Vol 4 No 2, July 1996, Buddhist Wisdom
Centre, Malaysia. Available here.
[45] Wynne 2007, p. 73.
[46] King 1992, p. 90.
[47] Thanissaro Bhikkhu, One Tool Among Many. The Place
of Vipassana in Buddhist Practice
[48] Gregory 1991.
[49] Vetter 1988, p. xxi-xxii.
[50] Vetter & 1988 xxi-xxxvii.

[24] Wynne 2007, p. 56.

[51] Vetter 1988, p. xxviii.

[25] Wynne 2007, p. 29-31.

[52] Vetter & 1988 xxix.

[26] Henepola Gunaratana, The Jhanas in Theravada Buddhist

Meditation. .

[53] Vetter & 1988 xxx.

[27] Wynne 2007, p. 41, 56.

[54] Peter Harvey, An Introduction to Buddhism. Cambridge

University Press, 1990, page 252.

[28] Wynne 2007, p. 49.

[55] Thanissaro Bhikkhu's commentary on the Anuppada

Sutta, MN#111

[29] Wynne 2007, p. 42.

[56] Wynne 2007, p. 105.

[30] Wynne 2007, p. 39.

[57] Williams 2000, p. 45.

[31] Wynne 2007, p. 41.

[58] Wynne 2007, p. 106.

[32] Wynne 2007, p. 35.

[59] Wynne 2007, p. 140, note 58.

[33] M II.228.16 according to the PTS numbering.

[60] Wynne 2007, p. 106-107.

[34] Wynne 2007, p. 43.

[35] Wynne 2007, p. 44.

[61] Richard Shankman, The Experience of Samadhi - an in

depth Exploration of Buddhist Meditation, Shambala publications 2008

[36] Wynne 2007, p. 99.

[62] Samaaphala Sutta.

[37] Henepola Gunaratana, The Jhanas in Theravada Buddhist

Meditation

[63] Vetter & 1988 xxvii.

[38] as stated by Buddha Gotama in the Anuppada Sutta,

MN#111
[39] Steven Sutclie, Religion: Empirical Studies. Ashgate
Publishing, Ltd., 2004, page 135.
[40] Chandima Wijebandara, Early Buddhism, Its Religious
and Intellectual Milieu. Postgraduate Institute of Pali and
Buddhist Studies, University of Kelaniya, 1993, page 22..
[41] Nathan Katz, Buddhist Images of Human Perfection: The
Arahant of the Sutta Piaka Compared with the Bodhisattva
and the Mahsiddha. Motilal Banarsidass, 1990, page 78.

[64] Vetter & 1988 xxxi.

[65] Bronkhorst 1993, p. 100-101.
[66] Fischer-Schreiber 2008, p. 103.
[67] Nan, Huai-Chin. To Realize Enlightenment: Practice of
the Cultivation Path. 1994. p. 1
[68] Sheng Yen. Orthodox Chinese Buddhism. North Atlantic
Books. 2007. p. 122
[69] B. Alan Wallace, The bridge of quiescence: experiencing
Tibetan Buddhist meditation. Carus Publishing Company,
1998, pages 215-216.

10

11 SOURCES

[70] Study and Practice of Meditation: Tibetan Interpretations

of the Concentrations and Formless Absorptions by Leah
Zahler. Snow Lion Publications: 2009 pg 264-5

Feuerstein, George (1978), Handboek voor Yoga

(Dutch translation; English titleTextbook of Yoga
), Ankh-Hermes

[71] B. Alan Wallace, The Attention Revolution: Unlocking the

Power of the Focused Mind. Wisdom Publications, 2006,
page xii.

Fischer-Schreiber, Ingrid; Ehrhard, Franz-Karl; Diener, Michael S. (2008), Lexicon Boeddhisme. Wijsbegeerte, religie, psychologie, mystiek, cultuur en literatuur, Asoka

[72] Maurice Walsh, The Long Discourse of the Buddha: A

Translation of the Digha Nikay
[73] Yoga Sutras 2.54-2.55: - Pratyahara or Sense Withdrawal
Yoga Sutras, 2.54-2.55.
[74] Wujastyk 2011, p. 33.
[75] Feuerstein 1978, p. 108.
[76] Tola, Dragonetti & Prithipaul 1987, p. x.
[77] Moving Inward: The Journey from Asana to Pratyahara Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy.
Archived July 19, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
[78] Karel Werner, The Yogi and the Mystic. Routledge 1994,
page 27.
[79] Robert Thurman, The Central Philosophy of Tibet.
Princeton University Press, 1984, page 34.
[80] Woods, James Haughton, trans. (1914). The Yoga System
of Patanjali with commentary Yogabhashya attributed to
Veda Vyasa and Tattva Vaicharadi by Vacaspati Misra.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
[81] An outline of the religious literature of India, By John
Nicol Farquhar p.132
[82] Bodhi, Bhikkhu (trans.) (2000). The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the
Samyutta Nikaya. Boston: Wisdom Publications. ISBN
0-86171-331-1.
[83] Hagerty et al 2008,EEG Power and Coherence Analysis
of an Expert Meditator in the Eight Jhanas
[84] Leigh Brasington 2010 The Neurological Correlates of
the Jhanas. A Tentative Hypothesis

11
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Bronkhorst, Johannes (1993), The Two Traditions

Of Meditation In Ancient India, Motilal Banarsidass
Publ.
Cousins, L. S. (1996),The origins of insight meditation, in Skorupski, T., The Buddhist Forum
IV, seminar papers 19941996 (pp. 3558) (PDF),
London, UK: School of Oriental and African Studies line feed character in |title= at position 48 (help)
Dumoulin, Heinrich (2005), Zen Buddhism: A History. Volume 1: India and China, World Wisdom
Books, ISBN 978-0-941532-89-1

Gregory, Peter N. (1991), Sudden and Gradual.

Approaches to Enlightenment in Chinese Thought,
Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited
Kalupahana, David J. (1994), A history of Buddhist
philosophy, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers
Private Limited
King, Richard (1995), Early Advaita Vednta
and Buddhism: The Mahyna Context of the
Gauapdya-krik, SUNY Press
King, Winston L. (1992), Theravada Meditation.
The Buddhist Transformation of Yoga, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass
Matsumoto, Shir (1997), The Meaning of Zen
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The Storm Over Critical Buddhism (PDF), Honolulu:
University of Hawaii Press, pp. 242250, ISBN
082481908X
Nanamoli, Bhikkhu (trans.) (1995), The Middle
Length Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya, Wisdom Publications,
ISBN 0-86171-072-X
Samuel, Georey (2008). The Origins of Yoga
and Tantra: Indic Religions to the Thirteenth Century. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1139-47021-6.
Schmithausen, Lambert (1981), On some Aspects of
Descriptions or Theories of 'Liberating Insight' and
'Enlightenment' in Early Buddhism. In: Studien zum
Jainismus und Buddhismus (Gedenkschrift fr Ludwig Alsdorf), hrsg. von Klaus Bruhn und Albrecht
Wezler, Wiesbaden 1981, 199-250
Tola, Fernando; Dragonetti, Carmen; Prithipaul, K.
Dad (1987), The Yogastras of Patajali on concentration of mind, Motilal Banarsidass
Vetter, Tilmann (1988), The Ideas and Meditative
Practices of Early Buddhism, BRILL
Williams, Paul (2000), Buddhist Thought. A complete introduction to the Indian tradition, Routledge
Wujastyk, Dominik (2011), The Path to Liberation
through Yogic Mindfulness in Early Ayurveda. In:
David Gordon White (ed.), Yoga in practice,
Princeton University Press

11
Wynne, Alexander (2007), The Origin of Buddhist
Meditation, Routledge

11.2

12

Web-sources

External links

Ajahn Brahmavamso, Travelogue to the four Jhanas

Leigh Brasington, Interpretations of the Jhanas
Bhante Vimalaramsi Mahthera, MN 111 One by
One as They Occurred - Anupada Sutta. DhammaTalks on the Anupada-Sutta. This provides a highly
detailed account of the progression through the jhnas,
Ajahn Brahmavamso, The Jhanas
The Jhanas in Theravada Buddhist Meditation,
thesis by Ven. Henepola Gunaratana, published by
BPS as Wheel 351/353 (1988). (See also ATI version.)
Jhana(2005), descriptions and similes from the
Pali Canon's Anguttara Nikaya and Dhammapada,
by John T. Bullitt.
Jhanas Advice: Information about the Jhanas
from Tina Rasmussen and Stephen Snyder, authors
of Practicing The Jhanas: Traditional Concentration Meditation As Presented By The Venerable Pa
Auk Sayadaw by Snyder, Stephen; Rasmussen, Tina.
Shambhala: 2009. ISBN 978-1-59030-733-5
Jerey S, Brooks, The Fruits (Phala) of the Contemplative Life

12

13

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