Right Concentration by Leigh Brasington

Author:Leigh Brasington [Brasington, Leigh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shambhala
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

seclusion,

vitakka and vicāra,

pīti,

sukha,

consciousness of pīti and sukha.

The standard description of the first jhāna goes on to say that once the pīti and sukha are established, they should be spread throughout your body. Again we have textual evidence that the later understanding expressed in the commentaries is simply wrong. As mentioned above, the commentaries describe the first jhāna as having concentration so deep as to generate a state of complete absorption5—one where you don’t hear sounds or experience any tactile sensations or even are aware of the passage of time. But if there is no body awareness at all, how on earth could you “drench, steep, saturate, and suffuse your body with this pīti and sukha born of seclusion, so that there is no part of your entire body which is not suffused by this pīti and sukha”?

Now, the usual retort from those who understand jhānas based on the commentaries is to point out that the word translated as “body” is kāya, which means “group, heap, collection,” rather than rūpa, which means “materiality.” Hence, they say, in English we should read something like “being,” and it refers to one’s mental being. There is some truth to this in that kāya could include one’s mental being. But the passage on insight knowledge, which often follows the description of the fourth jhāna, makes it very clear from the context there that kāya is being used to refer to the physical body.g The heart of the matter is that the all-pervasive pīti and sukha should be completely encompassing, both mentally and physically. It’s quite clear from the sutta description of the first jhāna that not only is its concentration level not deep enough to shut off all thinking, but it also is not deep enough to block tactile awareness.

A final defense of the first jhāna being a state of complete absorption is made by those who favor the interpretation of the jhānas found in the commentaries by quoting from Anguttara-Nikāya 10.72 (Kaṇṭaka Sutta): “Noise is a thorn to the first jhāna.” This is interpreted to mean that you can’t hear anything when properly in the first jhāna. But take a look at the complete list of ten thorns:

(1) Delight in company is a thorn to one who delights in solitude. (2) Pursuit of an attractive object is a thorn to one intent on meditation on the mark of the unattractive. (3) An unsuitable show is a thorn to one guarding the doors of the sense faculties. (4) Keeping company with women is a thorn to the celibate life. (5) Noise is a thorn to the first jhāna. (6) Thinking and examining are a thorn to the second jhāna. (7) Rapture is a thorn to the third jhāna. (8) In-and-out breathing is a thorn to the fourth jhāna. (9) Perception and feeling are a thorn to the attainment of the cessation of perception and feeling. (10) Lust is a thorn, hatred is a thorn, and delusion is a thorn.

Each thorn is something that, if attention is given to it, makes it difficult—even impossible—to do something you intend to do.

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