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| − | The [[Jhanas]] in [[Theravada]] [[Buddhist Meditation]]
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| − | by [[Bhikkhu]] Henepola Gunaratana | |
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| − | Chapter 5
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| − | [[Jhana]] and The {{Wiki|Supramundane}}
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| − | The Way of [[Wisdom]]
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| − | The goal of the [[Buddhist path]], complete and permanent [[liberation]] from [[suffering]], is to be achieved by practicing the full threefold [[discipline]] of [[morality]] ([[sila]]), [[concentration]] ([[samadhi]]), and [[wisdom]] ([[panna]]). The [[mundane]] [[jhanas]], comprising the four fine-material [[jhanas]] and the four immaterial [[jhanas]], pertain to the stage of [[concentration]], which they fulfill to an eminent degree. However, taken by themselves, these states do not ensure complete [[deliverance]], for they are incapable of cutting off the [[roots]] of [[suffering]]. The [[Buddha]] teaches that the [[cause of suffering]], the driving [[power]] behind the cycle of [[rebirths]], is the [[defilements]] with their [[three unwholesome roots]] -- [[greed]], [[hatred]] and [[delusion]]. [[Concentration]] of the absorption level, no matter to what heights it is pursued, only suppresses the [[defilements]], but cannot destroy their latent seeds. Thence bare [[mundane]] [[jhana]], even when sustained, cannot by itself terminate the cycle of [[rebirths]]. To the contrary, it may even perpetuate the round. For if any fine-material or immaterial [[jhana]] is held to with [[clinging]], it will bring about a [[rebirth]] in that particular [[plane of existence]] corresponding to its own [[kammic]] potency, which can then be followed by [[rebirth]] in some lower [[realm]].
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| − | What is required to achieve complete [[deliverance]] from the cycle of [[rebirths]] is the eradication of the [[defilements]]. Since the most basic [[defilement]] is [[ignorance]] ([[avijja]]), the key to [[liberation]] lies in developing its direct opposite, namely [[wisdom]] ([[panna]]).
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| − | Since [[wisdom]] presupposes a certain proficiency in [[concentration]] it is inevitable that [[jhana]] comes to claim a place in its development. This place, however, is not fixed and invariable, but as we will see allows for differences depending on the {{Wiki|individual}} mediator's disposition.
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| − | Fundamental to the [[discussion]] in this chapter is a distinction between two terms crucial to [[Theravada]] [[philosophical]] exposition, "[[mundane]]" ([[lokiya]]) and "supramundane" ([[lokuttara]]). The term "[[mundane]]" applies to all [[phenomena]] comprised in the [[world]] ([[loka]]) -- to subtle states of [[consciousness]] as well as matter, to [[virtue]] as well as [[evil]], to [[meditative]] attainments as well as sensual engrossments. The term "supramundane," in contrast, applies exclusively to that which transcends the [[world]], that is the nine supramundane states: [[Nibbana]], the four [[noble]] [[paths]] ([[magga]]) leading to [[Nibbana]], and their corresponding fruits ([[phala]]) which [[experience]] the [[bliss]] of [[Nibbana]].
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| − | [[Wisdom]] has the specific characteristic of penetrating the true nature of [[phenomena]]. It penetrates the particular and general features of things through direct {{Wiki|cognition}} rather than discursive [[thought]]. Its function is "to abolish the darkness of [[delusion]] which conceals the {{Wiki|individual}} essences of states" and its manifestation is "[[non-delusion]]." Since the [[Buddha]] says that one whose [[mind]] is [[concentrated]] knows and sees things as they are, the proximate [[cause]] of [[wisdom]] is [[concentration]] (Vism. 438; PP.481).
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| − | The [[wisdom]] instrumental in attaining [[liberation]] is divided into two principal types: [[insight]] [[knowledge]] ([[vipassananana]]) and the [[knowledge]] pertaining to the supramundane [[paths]] (magganana). The first is the direct [[penetration]] of the three characteristics of conditioned [[phenomena]] -- [[impermanence]], [[suffering]] and [[non-self]]. [1] It takes as its objective [[sphere]] the [[five aggregates]] ([[pancakkhandha]]) -- material [[form]], [[feeling]] [[perception]], [[mental formations]] and [[consciousness]]. Because [[insight]] [[knowledge]] takes the [[world]] of conditioned formations as its [[object]], it is regarded as a [[mundane]] [[form]] of [[wisdom]]. [[Insight]] [[knowledge]] does not itself directly eradicate the [[defilements]], but serves to prepare the way for the second type of [[wisdom]], the [[wisdom]] of the supramundane [[paths]], which emerges when [[insight]] has been brought to its climax. The [[wisdom]] of the [[path]], occurring in four distinct stages ( to be discussed below ), simultaneously realizes [[Nibbana]], fathoms the [[Four Noble Truths]], and cuts off the [[defilements]]. This [[wisdom]] is called "supramundane" because it rises up from the [[world]] of the [[five aggregates]] to realize the state [[transcendent]] to the [[world]], [[Nibbana]].
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| − | The [[Buddhist]] [[disciple]], striving for [[deliverance]], begins the development of [[wisdom]] by first securely establishing its [[roots]] -- purified [[moral]] [[discipline]] and [[concentration]]. He then learns and [[masters]] the basic material upon which [[wisdom]] is to work -- the [[aggregates]], [[elements]], [[sense]] bases, [[dependent arising]], the [[Four Noble Truths]], etc. He commences the actual practice of [[wisdom]] by cultivating [[insight]] into the [[impermanence]], [[suffering]] and [[non-self]] aspect of the [[five aggregates]]. When this [[insight]] reaches its apex it issues in supramundane [[wisdom]], the [[right view]] factor of the [[Noble Eightfold Path]], which turns from conditioned formations to the unconditioned [[Nibbana]] and thereby eradicates the [[defilements]].
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| − | The Two Vehicles
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| − | The [[Theravada]] [[tradition]] recognizes two alternative approaches to the development of [[wisdom]], between which practitioners are free to choose according to their aptitude and propensity. These two approaches are the vehicle of [[serenity]] ([[samathayana]]) and the vehicle of [[insight]] ([[vipassanayana]]). The [[meditators]] who follow them are called, respectively, the [[samathayanika]]," one who makes [[serenity]] his vehicle," and the [[vipassanayanika]], "one who makes [[insight]] his vehicle, " Since both vehicles, despite their names, are approaches to developing [[insight]], to prevent misunderstanding the latter type of [[meditator]] is sometimes called a [[suddhavipassanayanika]], "one who makes bare [[insight]] his vehicle," or a [[sukkhavipassaka]], "a dry-[[insight]] worker."
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| − | Though all three terms appear initially in the commentaries rather than in the [[suttas]], the [[recognition]] of the two vehicles seems implicit in a number of {{Wiki|canonical}} passages.
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| − | The [[samathayanika]] is a [[meditator]] who first attains access [[concentration]] or one of the eight [[mundane]] [[jhanas]], then emerges and uses his attainment as a basis for cultivating [[insight]] until he arrives at the supramundane [[path]]. In contrast, the [[vipassanayanika]] does not attain [[mundane]] [[jhana]] prior to practicing [[insight]] {{Wiki|contemplation}}, or if he does, does not use it as an instrument for cultivating [[insight]]. Instead, without entering and emerging from [[jhana]], he proceeds directly to [[insight]] {{Wiki|contemplation}} on [[mental]] and material [[phenomena]] and by means of this bare [[insight]] he reaches the [[noble path]]. For both kinds of [[meditator]] the [[experience]] of the [[path]] in any of its four stages always occurs at a level of [[jhanic]] intensity and thus necessarily includes supramundane [[jhana]] under the heading of [[right concentration]] ([[samma samadhi]]), the eighth factor of the [[Noble Eightfold Path]].
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| − | The classical source for the distinction between the two vehicles of [[serenity]] and [[insight]] is the [[Visuddhimagga]] where it is explained that when a [[meditator]] begins the development of [[wisdom]] "if firstly, his vehicle is [[serenity]], [he] should emerge from any fine-material or immaterial [[jhana]] except the base consisting of [[neither-perception-nor-non-perception]], and he should discern, according to characteristic, function, etc. the [[jhana]] factors consisting of applied [[thought]], etc. and the states associated with them" (Vism. 557; PP679-80). Other commentarial passages allow access [[concentration]] to suffice for the vehicle of [[serenity]], but the last immaterial [[jhana]] is excluded because its factors are too subtle to be discerned. The [[meditator]] whose vehicle is pure [[insight]], on the other hand, is advised to start directly by discerning material and [[mental phenomena]], beginning with the four [[elements]], without utilizing a [[jhana]] for this purpose (Vism. 558; PP.680). Thus the [[samathayanika]] first attains access [[concentration]] or [[mundane]] [[jhana]] and then develops [[insight]] [[knowledge]], by means of which he reaches the supramundane [[path]] containing [[wisdom]] under the heading of [[right view]], and supramundane [[jhana]] under the heading of [[right concentration]]. The [[vipassanayanika]], in contrast, skips over [[mundane]] [[jhana]] and goes directly into [[insight]] {{Wiki|contemplation}}. When he reaches the end of the progression of [[insight]] [[knowledge]] he arrives at the supramundane [[path]] which, as in the previous case, brings together [[wisdom]] with supramundane [[jhana]]. This [[jhana]] counts as his [[accomplishment]] of [[serenity]].
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| − | For a [[meditator]] following the vehicle of [[serenity]] the attainment of [[jhana]] fulfills two functions: first, it produces a basis of [[mental]] purity and inner collectedness needed for undertaking the work of [[insight]] {{Wiki|contemplation}}; and second, it serves as an [[object]] to be examined with [[insight]] in order to discern the three characteristics of [[impermanence]], [[suffering]] and [[non-self]]. [[Jhana]] accomplishes the first function by providing a powerful instrument for [[overcoming]] the [[five hindrances]]. As we have seen, for [[wisdom]] to arise the [[mind]] must first be [[concentrated]] well, and to be [[concentrated]] well it must be freed from the [[hindrances]], a task accomplished pre-eminently by the attainment of [[jhana]]. Though access [[concentration]] will keep the [[hindrances]] at bay, [[jhana]] will ensure that they are removed to a much safer distance.
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| − | In their capacity for producing [[concentration]] the [[jhanas]] are called the basis (pada) for [[insight]], and that particular [[jhana]] a [[meditator]] enters and emerges from before commencing his practice of [[insight]] is designated his [[padakajjhana]], the basic or foundational [[jhana]]. [[Insight]] cannot be practiced while absorbed in [[jhana]], since [[insight]] [[meditation]] requires investigation and observation, which are impossible when the [[mind]] is immersed in one-pointed absorption. But after emerging [[form]] the [[jhana]] the [[mind]] is cleared of the [[hindrances]], and the stillness and clarity that then result conduce to precise, penetrating [[insight]].
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| − | The [[jhanas]] also enter into the [[samathayanika]]'s practice in second capacity, that is, as [[objects]] for scrutinization by [[insight]]. The practice of [[insight]] consists essentially in the examination of [[mental]] and [[physical phenomena]] to discover their marks of [[impermanence]], [[suffering]] and [[non-self]]. The [[jhanas]] a [[meditator]] attains provide him with a readily available and strikingly clear [[object]] in which to seek out the three characteristics. After emerging from a [[jhana]] the [[meditator]] will proceed to examine the [[jhanic]] [[consciousness]] and to discern the way it exemplifies the three [[universal]] marks. This process is called [[sammasananana]], "[[comprehension]] [[knowledge]]," and the [[jhana]] [[subject]] to such treatment is termed [[sammasitajjhana]], "the comprehended [[jhana]]" (Vism. 607-11; PP.706-10). Though the basic [[jhana]] and the comprehended [[jhana]] will often be the same, the two do not necessarily coincide. A [[meditator]] cannot practice [[comprehension]] on a [[jhana]] higher than he is capable of attaining, but one who uses a higher [[jhana]] as his [[padakajjhana]] can still practice [[insight]] [[comprehension]] on a lower [[jhana]] which he has previously attained and mastered. The admitted [[difference]] between the [[padakajjhana]] and the [[sammasitajjhana]] leads to discrepant theories about the supramundane [[concentration]] of the [[noble path]], as we will see.
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| − | Whereas the sequence of training undertaken by the [[samathayanika]] [[meditator]] is unproblematic, the [[vipassanayanika]]'s approach presents the difficulty of accounting for the [[concentration]] he uses to provide a basis for [[insight]]. [[Concentration]] is needed in order to see and know things as they are, but without access [[concentration]] or [[jhana]], what [[concentration]] can he use? The solution to this problem is found in a type of [[concentration]] distinct from the access and absorption concentrations pertaining to the vehicle of [[serenity]], called "momentary [[concentration]]" ([[khanika]] [[samadhi]]). Despite its name, momentary [[concentration]] does not signify a single moment of [[concentration]] amidst a current of distracted [[thoughts]], but a dynamic [[concentration]] which flows from [[object]] to [[object]] in the ever-changing flux of [[phenomena]], retaining a constant degree of intensity and collectedness sufficient to purify the [[mind]] of the [[hindrances]]. Momentary [[concentration]] arises in the [[samathayanika]] simultaneously with his post-[[jhanic]] attainment of [[insight]], but for the [[vipassanayanika]] it develops naturally and spontaneously in the course of his [[insight]] practice without his having to fix the [[mind]] upon a single exclusive [[object]]. Thus the follower of the vehicle of [[insight]] does not omit [[concentration]] altogether from his training, but develops it in a different manner from the practitioner of [[serenity]]. Without gaining [[jhana]] he goes directly into {{Wiki|contemplation}} on the [[five aggregates]] and by observing them constantly from moment to moment acquires momentary [[concentration]] as an accompaniment of his investigations. This momentary [[concentration]] fulfills the same function as the basic [[jhana]] of the [[serenity]] vehicle, providing the foundation of [[mental]] clarity needed for [[insight]] to emerge.
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| − | Supramundane [[Jhana]]
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| − | The climax in the development of [[insight]] is the attainment of the supramundane [[paths]] and fruits. Each [[path]] is a momentary peak [[experience]] directly apprehending [[Nibbana]] and permanently cutting off certain [[defilements]]. These [[defilements]] are generally grouped into a set of ten "[[fetters]]" ([[samyojana]]) which keep beings chained to the round of [[rebirths]]. The first [[path]], called the [[path]] of [[stream-entry]] ([[sota]] [[patti]]) because it marks the entry into the stream of the [[Dhamma]], eradicates the first three [[fetters]] -- The false [[view]] of [[self]], [[doubt]], and [[clinging]] to [[rites]] and [[rituals]]. The [[disciple]] who has reached [[stream-entry]] has limited his future [[births]] to a maximum of seven in the [[happy]] [[realms]] of the [[human]] and [[heavenly]] [[worlds]], after which he will attain final [[deliverance]]. But an ardent [[disciple]] may progress to still higher stages in the same [[life]] in which he reaches [[stream-entry]], by making an [[aspiration]] for the next higher [[path]] and again undertaking the development of [[insight]] with the aim of reaching that [[path]].
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| − | The next supramundane [[path]] is that of the [[once-returner]] ([[sakadagami]]). This [[path]] does not eradicate any [[fetters]] completely, but it greatly attenuates sensual [[desire]] and ill will. The [[once-returner]] is so called because he is bound to make an end of [[suffering]] after returning to this [[world]] only one more time. The third [[path]], that of the [[non-returner]] ([[anagami]]) utterly destroys the sensual [[desire]] and ill will weakened by the preceding [[path]]. The [[non-returner]] is assured that he will never again take [[rebirth]] in the [[sense]]-[[sphere]]; if he does not penetrate higher he will be [[reborn]] spontaneously in the [[Pure Abodes]] and there reach final [[Nibbana]]. The highest [[path]], the [[path]] of [[arahatship]], eradicate the remaining five [[fetters]] -- [[desire]] for [[existence]] in the fine-material and immaterial spheres, [[conceit]], [[restlessness]] and [[ignorance]]. The [[arahat]] has completed the development of the entire [[path]] taught by the [[Buddha]]; he has reached the end of [[rebirths]] and can [[sound]] his "[[lion]]'s roar": "Destroyed is [[birth]], the holy [[life]] has been lived, what was to be done has been done, there is [[nothing]] further beyond this."
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| − | Each [[path]] is followed immediately by the supramundane [[experience]] of [[fruition]], which results from the [[path]], comes in the same four graded stages, and shares the [[path]]'s [[world]]-transcending character. But whereas the [[path]] performs the active function of cutting off [[defilements]], [[fruition]] simply enjoys the [[bliss]] and [[peace]] that result when the [[path]] has completed its task. Also, where the [[path]] is limited to a single moment of [[consciousness]], the [[fruition]] that follows immediately on the [[path]] endures for two or three moments. And while each of the four [[paths]] occurs only once and can never be repeated, [[fruition]] remains accessible to the [[noble]] [[disciple]] at he appropriate level. He can resort to it as a special [[meditative]] state called [[fruition]] attainment ([[phalasamapatti]]) for the purpose of experiencing nibbanic [[bliss]] here and now (Vism. 699-702; PP.819-24).
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| − | The supramundane [[paths]] and fruits always arise as states of [[jhanic]] [[consciousness]]. They occur as states of [[jhana]] because they contain within themselves the [[jhana]] factors elevated to an intensity corresponding to that of the [[jhana]] factors in the [[mundane]] [[jhanas]]. Since they possess the [[jhana]] factors these states are able to fix upon their [[object]] with the force of full absorption. Thence, taking the absorptive force of the [[jhana]] factors as the criterion, the [[paths]] and fruits may be reckoned as belonging to either the first, second, third or [[fourth jhana]] of the fourfold scheme, or to the first, second, third, fourth or [[fifth jhana]] of the fivefold scheme.
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| − | The basis for the [[recognition]] of a supramundane type of [[jhana]] goes back to the [[suttas]], especially to the section of "The Great {{Wiki|Discourse}} on the [[Foundations of Mindfulness]]" where the [[Buddha]] defines [[right concentration]] of the [[Noble Eightfold Path]] by the standard formula for the four [[jhanas]] (D.ii,313). However, it is in the [[Abhidhamma]] that the connection between the [[jhanas]], [[paths]] and fruits comes to be worked out with great intricacy of detail. The [[Dhammasangani]], in its section on states of [[consciousness]], expounds each of the [[path]] and [[fruition]] states of [[consciousness]] as occasions, first, of one or another of the four [[jhanas]] in the fourfold scheme, and then again as occasions of one or another of the five [[jhanas]] in the fivefold scheme (Dhs.74-86). Standard [[Abhidhammic]] exposition, as formalized in the synoptical manuals of [[Abhidhamma]], employs the fivefold scheme and brings each of the [[paths]] and fruits into connection with each of the five [[jhanas]]. In this way the eight types of supramundane [[consciousness]] -- the [[path]] and [[fruition]] [[consciousness]] of [[stream-entry]], the [[once-returner]], the [[non-returner]] and [[arahatship]] -- proliferate to forty types of supramundane [[consciousness]], since any [[path]] or fruit can occur at the level of any of the five [[jhanas]]. It should be noted, however, that there are no [[paths]] and fruits conjoined with the immaterial attainments, the [[reason]] being that supramundane [[jhana]] is presented solely from the standpoint of its factorial constitution, which for the immaterial attainment and the [[fifth jhana]] is identical -- [[equanimity]] and [[one-pointedness]].
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| − | The fullest treatment of the supramundane [[jhanas]] in the authoritative [[Pali literature]] can be found in the [[Dhammasangani]] read in conjunction with its commentary, the [[Atthasalini]]. The [[Dhammasangani]] opens its analysis of the first [[wholesome]] supramundane [[consciousness]] with the words:
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| − | On the occasion when one develops supramundane [[jhana]] which is emancipating, leading to the demolition (of [[existence]]), for the [[abandonment]] of [[views]], for reaching the first plane, secluded from [[sense]] [[pleasures]] ... one enters and dwells in the [[first jhana]]. (Dhs. 72)
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| − | The [[Atthasalini]] explains the word [[lokuttara]], which we have been translating "supramundane," as meaning "it crosses over the [[world]], it transcends the [[world]], it stands having surmounted and overcome the [[world]]." It glosses the phrase "one develops [[jhana]]" thus: "One develops, produces, cultivates absorption [[jhana]] lasting for a single [[thought]]-moment." This gloss shows us two things about the [[consciousness]] of the [[path]]: that it occurs as a [[jhana]] at the level of full absorption and that this absorption of the [[path]] lasts for only a single [[thought]]-moment. The word "emancipating" ([[niyyanika]]) is explained to mean that this [[jhana]] "goes out" from the [[world]], from the round of [[existence]], the phrase "leading to demolition" (apacayagami) that it demolishes and dismantles the process of [[rebirth]] (Dhs.A.259).
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| − | This last phrase points to a striking [[difference]] between [[mundane]] and supramundane [[jhana]]. The [[Dhammasangani]]'s exposition of the former begins: "On the occasion when one develops the [[path]] for [[rebirth]] in the fine-material [[sphere]] ... one enters and dwells in the [[first jhana]]" [my italics]. Thus, with this statement, [[mundane]] [[jhana]] is shown to sustain the round of [[rebirths]]; it is a [[wholesome]] [[kamma]] leading to renewed [[existence]]. But the supramundane [[jhana]] of the [[path]] does not promote the continuation of the round. To the contrary, it brings about the round's dismantling and demolition, as the [[Atthasalini]] shows with an illustrative simile:
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| − | The [[wholesome]] states of the three planes are said to lead to accumulation because they build up and increase [[death]] and [[rebirth]] in the round. But not this. Just as when one man has built up a wall eighteen feet high another might take a club and go along demolishing it, so this goes along demolishing and dismantling the [[deaths]] and [[rebirths]] built up by the [[wholesome]] kammas of the three planes by bringing about a deficiency in their [[conditions]]. Thus it leads to demolition. [2]
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| − | Supramundane [[jhana]] is said to be cultivated "for the [[abandoning]] of [[views]]." This phrase points to the function of the first [[path]], which is to eradicate the [[fetters]]. The supramundane [[jhana]] of the first [[path]] cuts off the [[fetter]] of [[personality view]] and all [[speculative views]] derived from it. The [[Atthasalini]] points out that here we should understand that it abandons not only [[wrong views]] but other [[unwholesome]] states as well, namely, [[doubt]], [[clinging]] to [[rites]] and [[rituals]], and [[greed]], [[hatred]] and [[delusion]] strong enough to lead to the plane of [[misery]]. The commentary explicates "for reaching the first plane" as meaning for attaining the fruit of [[stream-entry]].
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| − | Besides these, several other differences between [[mundane]] and supramundane [[jhana]] may be briefly noted. First, with regard to their [[object]], the [[mundane]] [[jhanas]] have as [[object]] a {{Wiki|conceptual}} entity such as the counterpart sign of the [[kasinas]] or, in the case of the divine abodes, [[sentient beings]]. In contrast, for the supramundane [[jhana]] of the [[paths]] and fruits the [[object]] is exclusively [[Nibbana]]. With regard to their predominant tone, in [[mundane]] [[jhana]] the element of [[serenity]] prevails, while the supramundane [[jhana]] of the [[paths]] and fruits brings [[serenity]] and [[insight]] into [[balance]]. [[Wisdom]] is present as [[right view]] and [[serenity]] as [[right concentration]], both function together in perfect [[harmony]], neither one exceeding the other.
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| − | This [[difference]] in prevailing tone leads into a [[difference]] in function or [[activity]] between the two kinds of [[jhana]]. Both the [[mundane]] and supramundane are [[jhanas]] in the [[sense]] of closely attending (upanijjhana), but in the case of [[mundane]] [[jhana]] this close [[attention]] issues merely in absorption into the [[object]], an absorption that can only suppress the [[defilement]] temporarily. In the supramundane [[jhana]], particularly of the four [[paths]], the coupling of close [[attention]] with [[wisdom]] brings the exercise of four functions at a single moment. These four functions each apply to one of the [[Four Noble Truths]]. The [[path]] penetrates the [[First Noble Truth]] by fully understanding [[suffering]]; it penetrates the [[Second Noble Truth]] by [[abandoning]] [[craving]], the origin of [[suffering]]; it penetrates the [[Third Noble Truth]] by [[realizing]] [[Nibbana]], the [[cessation of suffering]]; and it penetrates the fourth [[Noble Truth]] by developing the [[Noble Eightfold Path]] that leads to the end of [[suffering]]. [[Buddhaghosa]] illustrates this with the simile of a lamp, which also performs four tasks simultaneously: it burns the wick, dispels darkness, makes [[light]] appear, and consumes oil (Vism.690; PP.808).
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| − | The [[Jhanic]] Level of the [[Path]] and Fruit
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| − | When the [[paths]] and fruits are assigned to the level of the four or five [[jhanas]], the question arises as to what factor determines their particular level of [[jhanic]] intensity. In other words, why do the [[path]] and fruit arise for one [[meditator]] at the level of the [[first jhana]], for another at the level of the [[second jhana]], and so forth? The commentaries present three theories concerning the [[determination]] of the [[jhanic]] level of the [[path]], apparently deriving from the [[lineages]] of ancient [[teachers]] (Vism. 666-67; PP.778-80. Dhs.A.271-74). The first holds that it is the basic [[jhana]], i.e. the [[jhana]] used as a basis for the [[insight]] leading to emergence in immediate proximity to the [[path]], that governs the [[difference]] in the [[jhanic]] level of the [[path]]. A second theory says that the [[difference]] is governed by the [[aggregates]] made the [[objects]] of [[insight]] on the occasion of [[insight]] leading to emergence. A third theory holds that it is the personal inclination of the [[meditator]] that governs the [[difference]].
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| − | According to the first theory the [[path]] arisen in a dry-[[insight]] [[meditator]] who lacks [[jhana]], and the [[path]] arisen in one who possesses a [[jhana]] attainment but does not use it as a basis for [[insight]], and the [[path]] arisen by comprehending formations after emerging from the [[first jhana]], are all [[paths]] of the [[first jhana]] only. When the [[path]] is produced after emerging from the second, third, fourth and fifth [[jhanas]] (of the fivefold system) and using these as the basis for [[insight]], then the [[path]] pertains to the level of the [[jhana]] used as a basis -- the second, third, fourth of fifth. For a [[meditator]] using an immaterial [[jhana]] as basis the [[path]] will be a [[fifth jhana]] [[path]]. Thus in this first theory, when formations are comprehended by [[insight]] after emerging from a basic [[jhana]], then it is the [[jhana]] attainment emerged from at the point nearest to the [[path]], i.e. just before [[insight]] leading to emergence is reached, that makes the [[path]] similar in nature to itself.
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| − | According to the second theory the [[path]] that arises is similar in nature to the states which are being comprehended with [[insight]] at the time [[insight]] leading to emergence occurs. Thus if the [[meditator]], after emerging from a [[meditative]] attainment, is comprehending with [[insight]] [[sense]]-[[sphere]] [[phenomena]] or the constituents of the [[first jhana]], then the [[path]] produced will occur at the level of the [[first jhana]]. On this theory, then, it is the comprehended [[jhana]] (sammasitajjhana) that determines the [[jhanic]] quality of the [[path]]. The one qualification that must be added is that a [[meditator]] cannot [[contemplate]] with [[insight]] a [[jhana]] higher than he is capable of attaining.
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| − | According to the third theory, the [[path]] occurs at the level of whichever [[jhana]] the [[meditator]] wishes -- either at the level of the [[jhana]] he has used as the basis for [[insight]] or at the level of the [[jhana]] he has made the [[object]] of [[insight]] [[comprehension]]. In other words, the [[jhanic]] quality of the [[path]] accords with his personal inclination. However, mere wish alone is not sufficient. For the [[path]] to occur at the [[jhanic]] level wished for, the [[mundane]] [[jhana]] must have been either made the basis for [[insight]] or used as the [[object]] of [[insight]] [[comprehension]].
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| − | The [[difference]] between the three theories can be understood through a simple example. [3] If a [[meditator]] reaches the supramundane [[path]] by contemplating with [[insight]] the [[first jhana]] after emerging from the [[fifth jhana]], then according to the first theory his [[path]] will belong to the [[fifth jhana]], while according to the second theory it will belong to the [[first jhana]]. Thus these two theories are incompatible when a [[difference]] obtains between basic [[jhana]] and comprehended [[jhana]]. But according to the third theory, the [[path]] becomes of whichever [[jhana]] the [[meditator]] wishes, either the first or the fifth. Thus this [[doctrine]] does not necessarily clash with the other two.
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| − | [[Buddhaghosa]] himself does not make a decision among these three theories. He only points out that in all three [[doctrines]], beneath their disagreements, there is the [[recognition]] that the [[insight]] immediately preceding the supramundane [[path]] determines the [[jhanic]] character of the [[path]]. For this [[insight]] is the proximate and the principal [[cause]] for the arising of the [[path]], so whether it be the [[insight]] leading to emergence near the basic [[jhana]] or that occurring through the contemplated [[jhana]] or that fixed by the [[meditator]]'s wish, it is in all cases this final phase of [[insight]] that gives definition to the supramundane [[path]]. Since the [[fruition]] that occurs immediately after the [[path]] has an identical constitution to the [[path]], its own supramundane [[jhana]] is determined by the [[path]]. Thus a [[first jhana]] [[path]] produces a [[first jhana]] fruit, and so forth for the remaining [[jhanas]].
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| − | Notes:
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| − | [1] [[Anicca]], [[dukkha]], [[anatta]]
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| − | [2] Dhs.A.259.See Expositor, ii.289-90.
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| − | [3] Dhs.A.274. See Expositor, ii.310.
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| − | </poem>
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| − | {{R}}
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| − | [http://www.budsas.org/ebud/jhanas/jhanas05.htm www.budsas.org]
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| − | [[Category:The Jhanas in Theravada Buddhist Meditation]]
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| − | [[Category:Jhana's]]
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