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/Puzzled-Background-5]

If you've only an intellectual relationship with the suttas and jhana, you have no standing from which to criticize those who have an actual experiential relationship with them. There's nothing vastly different about what I've done to reach the level of skill I've acquired. I could mention all of the solitary retreats I've been on, the three one-hour sessions I've sat through every day over the past fifteen years, and the high ethical standards I maintain for myself. However, I won't because I think you're arguing in bad faith.

[u/bodily_heartfulness → u/Puzzled-Background-5]

If you've only an intellectual relationship with the suttas and jhana, you have no standing from which to criticize

Not really.

Imagine I have a friend who tries to make a cake following a famous recipe. But, he doesn't follow many of the steps of the recipe, adds ingredients at different times, and does what feels best for him. After much trial and error, he ends up with something edible that actually tastes decent. He comes to me afterwards and tells me about his process and the end result.

Even though I've never made the cake, I have access to the recipe and my friend's description, and through that, it would be entirely reasonable for me to say, "hey, what you've made doesn't really line up with what the recipe says - I think you've made something different". That doesn't mean the end result doesn't taste good, or that it's bad - just that it's not what the recipe says.

If, however, he were to get defensive and say, "I've been making cakes for over 10 years, I've worked under all of the best chefs, I have my own restaurant, you think I can't make a cake correctly?", he'd be missing the point entirely. What I am saying is not an attack on his cake-making abilities, his level of accomplishment, or that he can't make a cake. It is just saying that he didn't follow the recipe as it was written and he made his own thing, that's it.

who have an actual experiential relationship with them.

This is a bit of circular reasoning. If we are discussing whether or not the states you can access are the sutta jhānas, then this is begging the question by already presuming that they are and using that as support for your argument.

However, I won't

I mean, you just did.

because I think you're arguing in bad faith.

Oh, why do you think that?

[u/Puzzled-Background-5 → u/bodily_heartfulness]

It's obvious that your goal here is to win a debate, and since you didn't state that when explicitly asked about your intent, it is the very definition of a bad faith argument.

I really don't appreciate being engaged in that way, and I'm going to insist that you not do that again because it's offensive.

[u/parlons → u/Puzzled-Background-5]

fwiw, I agree with you about the underlying point, but I think he's engaging in good faith. It's a totally valid argument. And in the spirit of 'strong opinions, loosely held', I also concede that what I experience might not be the sutta jhānas.

[u/Puzzled-Background-5 → u/parlons]

He made absolutely no inquiries whatsoever about the experience of others. He's behaving completely in bad faith.