Right-Concentration-by-Leigh-Brasington

Table of Contents Title page Copyright Contents Publisher’s Note Abbreviations Preface Introduction Part One: Practical Jhānas The Preliminaries Access Concentration Entering the Jhānas First Jhāna Second Jhāna Third Jhāna Fourth Jhāna Insight Practice The Immaterial Jhānas 10 With a Mind Thus Concentrated Part Two: Demystified Jhānas 11 Vitakka and Vicāra 12 First Jhāna 13 Second Jhāna 14 Third Jhāna 15 Fourth Jhāna 16 The Jhāna Summary 17 Insight Knowledge 18 The Immaterial States 19 The Cessation of Perception and Feeling 20 The Psychic Powers 21 Ending the Āsavas 22 Other Benefits of Jhāna Practice Afterword Appendix 1: Frequently Asked Questions Appendix 2: Helpful Things to Do at the Beginning and End of Each Meditation Period Appendix 3: Access Concentration Methods Appendix 4: In or Out: The Relationship between Jhāna Practice and Insight Practice Notes Glossary Bibliography Acknowledgments Index About the Author E-mail Sign-Up “For those interested in exploring jhāna, Leigh brings many years of skillful teaching to this accessible, clear, and helpful guide.” —Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart “Leigh Brasington presents a clear map of jhāna practice as he learned it from his teacher, Ayya Khema As with many aspects of the Buddha’s teachings, different traditions and lineages have different views on what constitutes these deeper states of concentration Leigh offers many examples from his own experience and from his reading of the Buddhist texts in providing a valuable guide to this particular way of understanding and practicing them.” —Joseph Goldstein, author of Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening ABOUT THE BOOK The jhānas are eight progressive altered states of consciousness that can be identified with the aspect of the Buddha’s Eightfold Path called Right Concentration Training in concentration leads to these states, each of which yields a deeper and subtler state of awareness than the previous one The jhānas are not in themselves awakening, but they are a skillful means for stilling the mind in a way that leads in that direction, and they are attainable by anyone who devotes the time and sincerity of practice necessary to realize them Leigh Brasington’s guide to navigating the jhāna path is deeply informed by the view of them transmitted to him by his teacher, Ven Ayya Khema, a view based on the Pali suttas LEIGH BRASINGTON studied the jhānas with the late Ven Ayya Khema, who authorized him to teach retreats on the jhānas He was also empowered to teach by Jack Kornfield He teaches numerous jhāna retreats throughout the year, at venues that include Cloud Mountain, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, Gaia House, Vallecitos, and Southern Dharma This is his first book Sign up to receive news and special offers from Shambhala Publications Or visit us online to sign up at shambhala.com/eshambhala Right CONCENTRATION A Practical Guide to the Jhānas Leigh Brasington SHAMBHALA Boston & London 2015 Shambhala Publications, Inc Horticultural Hall 300 Massachusetts Avenue Boston, Massachusetts 02115 www.shambhala.com ©2015 by Leigh Brasington Cover photos: iStock and Thinkstock Cover design by Gopa & Ted2, Inc All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Brasington, Leigh, author Right concentration: a practical guide to the jhanas / Leigh Brasington —First edition pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index eISBN 978-0-8348-0302-2 ISBN 978-1-61180-269-6 (paperback: alk paper) Meditation—Theravada Buddhism I Title BQ7280.B73 2015 294.3′4435—dc23 2014049333 For my (so-called) students, in deep appreciation for all they have taught me Contents Abbreviations Preface Introduction PART ONE Practical Jhānas 1.The Preliminaries 2.Access Concentration 3.Entering the Jhānas 4.First Jhāna 5.Second Jhāna 6.Third Jhāna 7.Fourth Jhāna 8.Insight Practice 9.The Immaterial Jhānas 10.With a Mind Thus Concentrated PART TWO Demystified Jhānas 11.Vitakka and Vicāra 12.First Jhāna 13.Second Jhāna 14.Third Jhāna 15.Fourth Jhāna 16.The Jhāna Summary 17.Insight Knowledge 18.The Immaterial States 19.The Cessation of Perception and Feeling 20.The Psychic Powers 21.Ending the Āsavas 22.Other Benefits of Jhāna Practice Afterword APPENDIX Frequently Asked Questions APPENDIX Helpful Things to Do at the Beginning and End of Each Meditation Period APPENDIX Access Concentration Methods APPENDIX In or Out: The Relationship between Jhāna Practice and Insight Practice Notes Glossary Bibliography Acknowledgments Index About the Author E-mail Sign-Up transitioning to Einstein, Albert ekaggata (one-pointedness) in first jhāna in fourth jhāna in second jhāna in third jhāna ekodi-bhavam See also mind, unification of emotional set point emotions concentration and jhānas and neutral in fourth jhāna scientific research on seat of upon entering jhānas empathy emptiness enlightenment See also awakening equanimity as factor of awakening purifying fourth jhāna of third jhāna ethical behavior See also sīla (ethical conduct) expectations extrasensory perception (ESP) factors, definition of fear brain structure and reducing in seventh jhāna upon entering jhānas fifth jhāna experience of space possible problems with remaining in, length of time and sixth, differences between transitioning to first jhāna bypassing in commentaries energy of entering and fifth, compared number of factors differences in possible problems as preliminary to mettā qualities of redefinition of remaining in, length of time simile for stabilizing transitioning to See also under suttas five aggregates focused attention (FA) foreground-background shift Forest Refuge (retreat center) formless states, four See immaterial jhānas four noble truths fourth jhāna emotions in energy level of insight practice and in jhāna summary possible problems in qualities of remaining in, length of time restfulness of stabilizing transitioning to See also under suttas fruit of the holy life Gaṇakamoggallāna gasp, unexpected Goenka, S N gradual training four jhānas and insight in jhāna summary in last step psychic powers in in Tevijja Sutta gratitude practice hands, pleasant sensations in happiness See also sukha (happiness, joy) headaches heart center hindrances, five Hindu tradition human being, becoming idealism ignorance immaterial jhānas ontological existence of possible problems with Sphere of Infinite Consciousness Sphere of Infinite Space Sphere of Neither-Perception-Nor-Non-Perception Sphere of No-Thingness impatience impermanence inner tranquility Insight Meditation Society insight practice author’s experience of defining insight jhānas, relationship to transitioning to types of insights, reflection on interdependence interrelatedness isolation Jain tradition jhāna factors “Jhāna Lite” jhānas addiction to awakening and benefits of bodily locus of craving for descriptions in suttas (See also under suttas) gradual training, relationship to historical redefinition of identifying one’s experience individual instruction, importance of individuality of experience lay practitioners and material and immaterial, distinctions meaning of term moving among naturalness of order of arising possible problems entering presentation in this work purpose of relaxed diligence and remaining in, length of time seldom taught sense of descending source of summary in commentaries See also under insight practice joy See also sukha (happiness, joy) Kalahavivāda Sutta Kāmābhū, Venerable Kaṇṭaka Sutta kasiṇa kāya, meanings of Kevaddha Sutta Kolvig, Eric Kumbh Mela kundalini yoga labeling thoughts laity liberation See also awakening lights, visions of livelihood love, unconditional loving-kindness See mettā practice lucid dreaming Madhyama Āgama Mahāmāluṅkya sutta Mahāmoggallāna Mahānāma Sutta Mahānāma the Sakyan Mahāparinibbāna Sutta Mahāsudassana Sutta Mahātaṇhāsaṅkhya Sutta Mahāvedalla Sutta Mahayana Majjhima Nikāya on bliss of jhānas on destruction of craving on gradual training jhānas in viññāna in vitakka in Mañjuśrī mantra Matara Sri Ñanarama Mahathera, Venerable meditation beginning a session ending a session insight practice of pre-Buddhist relationship among Pali terms scientific research on variety of meditation object in access concentration in first jhāna subtlety of in third jhāna when to let go of See also object of attention memory mental disorders mental exhilaration mettā practice as antidote to generate access concentration and jhānas, relationship between pleasant sensations in mind investigating negative states of power of speed of unification of wandering wobbling See also pure bright mind mind and body (nāma-rūpa) mind reading mindfulness (sati) of body in sitting posture equanimity purified by as factor of awakening in fourth jhāna habitual in third jhāna See also breathing, mindfulness of mind-made body miracles See also psychic powers Moggallāna Saṃyutta monastic order motivation muditā (appreciative joy) practice nada sound practice Naḷakapāna Sutta neural plasticity nibbāna nirodha, contexts for noble, translating noble eightfold path See eightfold path noble silence non-identification nonreturners nostrils, attention at object of attention in eighth jhāna in fourth jhāna space as subtlety of observer (immaterial jhānas) one-pointedness See ekaggata (one-pointedness) oral tradition “Origin of Buddhist Meditation, The” (Wynne) ornithology Pa Auk Sayadaw, Venerable Pali canon See also suttas Pali-English Dictionary (Davids and Stede) pāmojja (gladness, worldly joy) pañña (wisdom) See also wisdom pārisuddhi (purity) passaddhasāya (bodily tranquility) patience perception of diversity in eighth jhāna See also cessation of perception and feeling pericopes pīti (glee, rapture) all-pervasive author’s experience of brain activity during in first jhāna “grades” of “gross” initial experiences of in jhāna summary in jhāna transitions letting go of mastering intensity of in mindfulness of breathing in second jhāna “stuck” sustaining in suttas “tender” in third jhāna pleasant sensations in body scanning increasing pīti and pleasantness of problems associated with shifting attention to pleasure and pain, abandoning See also adukkha and asukha positive feedback loop posture Poṭṭhapāda Sutta cessation in consciousness in eighth jhāna not in fifth jhāna in first jhāna in fourth jhāna in second jhāna in seventh jhāna in sixth jhāna in third jhāna in precepts preliminary practices, four psychic powers descriptions futility of insight from as later textual insertion as lucid dreams psychological issues pure bright mind quiet stillness rapture See also pīti (glee, rapture) reality dreamlike quality of investigating realms of existence rebirth/reincarnation recapitulation “Reinterpreting the Jhānas” (Bucknell) relaxed diligence retreats developing concentration on immaterial jhānas on learning jhāna practice on thinking subsiding on right concentration saddhā See also confidence saliva, problems with samādhi samatha and vipassanā sampajañña (clear comprehension) saṃsāra Saṃyutta Nikāya Saṅgārava saṅgha, early monastic sañña, translations of saññāvedayitanirodha See cessation of perception and feeling Sappurisa Sutta Sāriputta Sarvastivadins sati See mindfulness (sati) Sati Satipaṭṭhāna Suttas schizophrenia search image seclusion from five hindrances role of second jhāna noble silence in possible problems qualities of transitioning to vitakka and vicāra not in seizures self See ego senses/sense faculties See also seclusion sensual pleasures/desires seventh jhāna no-thingness of remaining in, length of time simile for sustaining transitioning to See also under suttas Short Cut to Nirvana sīla (ethical conduct) similes for first jhāna for four form jhānas for fourth jhāna for insight for mind-made body for second jhāna for third jhāna sitting posture sixth jhāna and fifth, differences between remaining in, length of time transitioning to sleeping smiling soap flakes simile somanassa, variances in meaning sound sound of silence Sound of Silence (Sumedho) space spiritual path goals of individual talents on letting go on pleasure on with union with high self Sthaviravādans stream-entry stress Suan Mokkhabalarama (Wat Suan Mokkh) sukha (happiness, joy) brain activity during ebbing-and-flowing in first jhāna in jhāna summary in jhāna transitions in mettā practice in mindfulness of breathing pīti and in second jhāna subtlety of sustaining in suttas in third jhāna variances in meaning sukha kāyena (bodily happiness) Sunakkhatta supernormal powers See psychic powers suspended animation suttas āsavas in “catechism” type cessation in on concentration needed for jhānas consciousness in first jhāna in fourth jhāna in immaterial states in inconsistencies in insight in lack of detailed jhāna instructions in mettā meditation and jhānas in psychic powers in second jhāna in style and rhetoric in summary of jhānic experience in third jhāna in vitakka and vicāra in See also similes sweeping sword of wisdom synonymous parallelism teachers, role of Tevijja Sutta Thai New Year’s Festival Theravada Buddhism Thich Nhat Hanh third jhāna in jhāna summary possible problems in qualities of remaining in, length of time simile for transitioning to See also under suttas thorns to first jhāna to fourth jhāna to second jhāna ten to third jhāna thoughts during access concentrations during contemplations one-pointedness and in second jhāna See also vitakka (thinking) three true knowledges Tibetan tradition Tinbergen, Luuk tranquility tummo Two Traditions (Bronkhorst) U Ba Khin understood experiences unsatisfactoriness See also dukkha Upanisā Sutta upekkha (equanimity) See also equanimity upekkha-sati-pārisuddhim See also mindfulness, equanimity purified by vedanā vicāra (examining) insight, role of in meanings of mettā practice and in second jhāna sutta understanding of visual experiences visualization practices Visuddhimagga (Buddhaghosa) access concentration methods in cessation in depth of concentration in first jhāna in on material jhānas nonperception in first jhāna in redefinition of jhānas in vitakka (thinking) insight, role of in meanings of mettā practice and in second jhāna sutta understanding of waking up, difficulty of walking meditation Walshe, Maurice wanting See also craving Wat Suan Mokkh See Suan Mokkhabalarama Way It Is, The (Sumedho) WILD technique wisdom wishlessness About the Author LEIGH BRASINGTON was born and raised in Mississippi In he graduated from Rhodes College in Memphis with a BA in mathematics with honors, Phi Beta Kappa He then began a more than 35-year career of “playing with computers for money.” After he moved to San Francisco in 1974, he began taking extended time to travel: three years around the world in 1979–81, a year traveling in Australia and Asia in 1988, six months around the world in 1988, plus numerous shorter trips overseas as well He began meditating in 1985 and eventually became the senior North American student of Venerable Ayya Khema She authorized him to teach, and he began leading residential retreats in 1997 He has taught jhānas and insight practices in over one hundred residential retreats Near the end of 2008, he retired from software engineering, and over the next three years, he spent 20 months in retreat at the Insight Meditation Society’s Forest Refuge It was during these half dozen long retreats that, among other investigations, he began closely examining his experiences of the jhānas and the descriptions of the jhānas found in the suttas This book is the result of that study, coupled with many years of practicing and teaching the jhānas Sign up to receive news and special offers from Shambhala Publications Or visit us online to sign up at shambhala.com/eshambhala