The Experience of Samadhi by Richard Shankman

Author:Richard Shankman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shambhala Publications

Table 3: Comparison of Jhāna in the Pāli Suttas and the Visuddhimagga

SUTTAS VISUDDHIMAGGA

The 4 absorptions Called the 4 jhānas Called the rūpa jhānas

The 4 formless attainments Called the āruppas Usually called the attainments āruppas; in a few cases called arūpa jhānas

Type of concentration Unification of mind One-pointed concentration fixed on a single object

Body awareness in jhāna Seems to suggest heightened experience of and insight into the physical body and changing phenomena No experience of the physical body and changing phenomena

Insight meditation practice Suggests that insight practice can occur within jhāna Insight must come while not in jhāna

Nimitta General term used in a variety of contexts for “sign,” “theme,” or “basis,” but not specifically as a visual concentration object to attain jhāna A visual image that arises in access concentration, used as the meditation object to attain jhāna

Preparatory, access, and fixed concentration Terms are not found Terms are used

Jhāna is clearly not required for any of the stages of enlightenment in the Visuddhimagga. The suttas are ambiguous about the necessity of jhāna for stream-entry, and the case becomes increasingly strong with each successive stage of enlightenment. The controversies over what is the “real” jhāna resolve when we realize that there are two distinct jhānas in the Pāli literature, each one true and correct within its own system: “sutta jhāna” and “Visuddhimagga jhāna.” These two jhāna systems are not the same. They comprise different meditative states, sharing some features in common, but with their own unique characteristics, potentials, and methods for realizing them. Each can be properly understood only within the overall context of the texts within which it appears.

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