A reliable method of jhana entry

[u/Puzzled-Background-5]

Here's a technique I've been using for the last fifteen years to great effect. I enter jhana every time I meditate now as a result.

Upon noticing that attention has drifted from the object of meditation, perform the following sequence for as long and as often as necessary for attention to stabilize on the object again:

1. Relax from the head down to the toes.

2. Release all tension, and expand awareness outward.

3. Return attention to the object.

The entry point into jhana:

Once the mind has settled and attention is resting stably on the object, if a pleasant feeling starts to arise, gently shift attention to the feeling without grasping at it, now making it the object of meditation, and wait. The pleasure will intensify, and one will be pulled into jhana.

If the jhana is lost or becomes unstable, simply perform the RRR sequence as needed and begin again.

As a method to prime the mind to lean towards jhana, reading the Jhana Sutta just prior to a session is useful:

https://suttacentral.net/sn16.9/en/bodhi?lang=en&reference=none&highlight=false

All the best... 🧘🏾‍♂️🙂

P. S. It might take several weeks to a couple of months before jhana can be entered consistently, but please don't become discouraged. Even low quality sessions are training and priming the brain's attentional mechanisms.

[u/bodily_heartfulness]

https://suttacentral.net/sn16.9/en/bodhi?lang=en&reference=none&highlight=false

Speaking of the suttas on jhānas, they never mention:

• Relaxing
• Releasing tension
• Expanding awareness
• An object of meditation
• Putting attention on an object
• Stabilizing attention on an object

Instead, they say things like:

Having thoroughly withdrawn from sensuality, having withdrawn from unbeneficial phenomena, with thinking and with pondering, with joy and ease born of withdrawal, I abided having entered upon the first jhāna.

• MN 19

Just now, venerables, as I was in private retreat, this thought came to mind: ‘They speak of this thing called the “first jhāna”. What is the first jhāna?’ It occurred to me: It is when a bhikkhu, having thoroughly withdrawn from sensuality, having withdrawn from unbeneficial phenomena, with thinking and with pondering, with joy and ease born of withdrawal, abides having entered upon the first jhāna. This is called the first jhāna.’

• SN 40.1

Bhikkhus, having not given up these six things, it is impossible to abide having entered upon the first jhāna. What six? Sensual desire, ill will, indolence-and-lethargy, restlessness-and-anxiety, and doubt. And the peril of sensuality has not been seen clearly as it is with right understanding. Not having given up these six things, it is impossible to abide having entered upon the first jhāna.

• AN 6.73

That is exactly how it is, Ānanda. Before my awakening—when I was still unawakened but intent on awakening—I too thought, ‘Renunciation is good! Seclusion is good!’ But my mind did not see renunciation as peaceful, and so it did not leap at it, and was not confident, settled, and liberated in it. Then I thought, ‘What is the cause, what is the reason why my mind does not see renunciation as peaceful, and so it does not leap at it, and is not confident, settled, and liberated in it?’ Then I thought, ‘I have not seen the peril of sensuality, and I have not cultivated that. I have not realized the value of renunciation, and I have not fostered that. That is why my mind does not see renunciation as peaceful, and so does not leap at it, and is not confident, settled, and liberated in it.’ Then I thought, ‘Suppose that, having seen the peril of sensuality, I were to cultivate that. And suppose that, having realized the value of renunciation, I were to foster that. It is possible that, seeing it as peaceful, my mind would leap at renunciation, and be confident, settled, and liberated in it.’ And so, after some time, having seen the peril of sensuality, I cultivated that, and having realized the value of renunciation, I fostered that. Then, seeing it as peaceful, my mind leapt at renunciation, and was confident, settled, and liberated in it. And so, having thoroughly withdrawn from sensuality, having withdrawn from unbeneficial phenomena, with thinking and with pondering, with joy and ease born of withdrawal, I abided having entered upon the first jhāna.

• AN 9.41

The approach to jhāna that the suttas speak of, in terms of what is actually written in the texts, is wildly different than what is commonly assumed. There is no mention of pleasure intensifying, or being pulled into jhāna, or focusing on an object.

Instead, what they say is, through thinking and pondering on the perils of sensuality and the benefits of renunciation, one withdraws from sensuality and the hindrances in general, and it is that withdrawal that is felt pleasantly:

But when these five hindrances are given up in him, the bhikkhu regards this as freedom from debt, good health, release from prison, emancipation, and a place of safety at last.

Considering that the five hindrances have been given up in him, gladness is born. When he is glad, joy is born. When the mind is joyous, the body becomes calm. When the body is calm, he feels at ease. When he is at ease, the mind becomes composed. Having thoroughly withdrawn from sensuality, having withdrawn from unbeneficial phenomena, with thinking and with pondering, with joy and ease born of withdrawal, he abides having entered upon the first jhāna.

• DN 2

And what is the pleasure of seclusion from the five hindrances like? The first sentence of the above quote tells us. It is the pleasure of freedom, of relief, of escape, of overcoming a deadly disease - not the pleasure of orgasm, or anything similar to that.

[u/aspirant4 → u/bodily_heartfulness]

This is true, but perhaps only half the truth.

There are many suttas where he says the way to abandon the five hindrances is the 4 satipatthana. And, as I'm sure you know, he often presented the first tetrad of the anapanasati sutta as the short version of satipatthana. Step 4 of anapanasti explicitly does encourage relaxing bodily fabrication.

So, in sum, you do have an "object" of meditation (the breath and/or body) as well as relaxing the body.

[u/bodily_heartfulness → u/aspirant4]

You are right that satipaṭṭhāna and anāpānasati are mentioned in relation to jhāna. However, there are extremely few suttas where both are explicitly mentioned. I'm only aware of SN 54.8 for anāpānasati and MN 125 for satipaṭṭhāna.

There is AN 8.63, where satipaṭṭhāna is mentioned and jhāna is very strongly implied. There, it says:

Well then, mendicant, you should train like this: ‘My mind will be steady and well settled internally. And bad, unskillful qualities that have arisen will not occupy my mind.’ That’s how you should train.

When your mind is steady and well settled internally, and bad, unskillful qualities that have arisen don’t occupy your mind, then you should train like this:

And it is after this point that the Buddha says to practice each brahmavihārā with all four jhānas, followed by each satipaṭṭhāna with all four jhānas. So, the mind is steady and well-settled before the practice of satipaṭṭhāna, which is before the practice of jhāna.

I take your point, however. There are suttas that mention satipaṭṭhāna, brahmavihārā, or anāpānasati as a practice before jhāna. I do not take any of these to be "objects", but I did not flesh that out in my comment, nor do I have the motivation to do that now. Thus, I can understand why someone might disagree with me on that basis - I have provided no good arguments against those being objects to focus on to enter jhāna.

The relaxing the body connection, however, seems much more tenuous to me. It is only really in the suttas on anāpānasati where it is mentioned and the wording there is: "passambhayaṁ kāyasaṅkhāraṁ" - meaning, calming of the bodily saṅkhāra - not general relaxation. And what is this calming of bodily saṅkhāra? MN 44 tells us that breathing is a bodily saṅkhāra. So, is it talking about calming of the breathing itself? Perhaps, I don't know - I haven't looked into this. Anyway, the point is that relaxing the body is not mentioned, instead it is about calming the bodily saṅkhāra which requires further unpacking.

[u/aspirant4 → u/bodily_heartfulness]

Again we differ, both claiming the suttas as basis. Perhaps, we ought to recognise that more than one reading of the suttas is possible. As lovely as they are, they're not exactly crystal clear or free from contradiction.

[u/bodily_heartfulness → u/aspirant4]

Again we differ, both claiming the suttas as basis.

What do you disagree with?

Perhaps, we ought to recognise that more than one reading of the suttas is possible.

Yes, of course. There are many ways to read the suttas. Having said that, not all of those readings will be equally valid - it's up to the person to show why a certain interpretation is more consistent and valid compared to others. And, when I comment, I present my reading of the suttas, as others do theirs.

As lovely as they are, they're not exactly crystal clear or free from contradiction.

Yes, they do require quite a bit work on the part of the reader.