Jhanas: the happiness of heart and heaven
The first 4 jhanas are experienced in the body and are called form jhanas. The last 4 are experienced purely in the mind and are called formless jhanas. Technically, there are only 4 jhanas mentioned in the suttas, the last 4 are known as the immaterial attainments.
The purpose of Jhanas
The purpose of jhana is essential in the journey towards enlightenment. If we look at the whole picture of the 8-folds path, meditation(samadhi) is the 7th criterion. The translation of samadhi is “to come to a point”. The common English translation, done by a British scholar means “concentration”. If we study the Pali Canon, we can see that the Buddha repeatedly mentioned jhana whenever he told a monk to go off and meditate. The culmination of jhana in the 4th stage gathers focus down to a point and that’s why the translation of samadhi is “to come to a point”.
To walk the path well, we need to unpack the layers of identities, remove obstacles and penetrate deep into the knowledge of existence. For this to be possible, we need insights and wisdom, a strong, focused, stable, malleable and bright mind. For a body to work efficiently and productively, it requires the right balanced nutrients and exercise. Similarly, for the mind to be directed and sustained to the knowledge of realities, it needs to be fed with wholesome food and disciplined. Jhanas is the food and the 4 frames of mindfulness is the exercise.
Weaning from addictions
We have traversed this existence in countless of lives, only being fed on the happiness of the senses and dependence on others. That’s equivalent to begging for crumbs, always unsatisfied, leaving us empty and wanting more. This result in our mind being malnourished, unfocused and chaotic. The bliss and happiness of jhanas are internal, independent of the senses and wholesome. But first we need to recondition ourselves to know what to look for in meditation and zoom into it.
Can you feel the caress of the wind, can you be ecstatic with the perfume of the orange flower or sense the love of the earth? Many people are oblivious to these simple pleasures, because they overstimulate their senses. To support the development of jhana, what we do in our daily activities is important. If we’re not alert and mindful, we might spend meditation time just cleaning our mind from daily pollution.
Supporting jhana in daily life
- Present moment awareness or mindfulness is crucial.
- Take pleasures in simplicities, in nature and heart quality actions.
- Learn to make an experience big.
- Familiarize the bliss of jhana so the mind inclines toward them.
Jhanas are the bliss of the heart. What can you do to open your heart and facilitate this?
Link to guided meditation
Jhana 1: rapture
The purpose
The first jhana’s energy movement up the spine purifies and cleanses our energy system: the chakras. There are many analogies to compare first jhana to:
- It is like the first rain washing and clearing the creeks, brooks and the rivers as they make their way to the lake.
- The shower of goosebumps all over the body, like water seeping into all parts of the dough.
- It is also like the excitement of a man lost in the desert of samsara thirsty and hungry when he saw a well of water in the oasis.
- In the scripture it is also compared to the purifying and extracting gold from soil.
The description
5 factors of the first jhana:
- The absence of the 5 hindrances (restlessness, doubt, drowsiness, ill-will and sense-desires) and unskilful mental states.
- The presence of 3 qualities: directed attention, sustained attained, pleasure of rapture.
When rapture began to stir, the range can be wide.
- There is a distinct cool energy movement up the spine to the crown, resulting in waves and waves of showering goose pumps of ecstatic pleasure. Don’t mistake this for kundalini which is hot, unpleasant and circular movement.
- It is also accompanied with a tickling sensation on top of the head, like ants crawling.
- Other times it may be like a sudden bolt of electric current running up and straighten the spine erect; also resulting in goose pumps.
- Waves would continue into daily movements but weaker.
Jhana is easy only when we practice to relinquish our control. To do that we enjoy it to the max and absorb into the experience. Meaning we bliss out on it until there is only the experience. Even though rapture is ecstatic, it’s still raw and sometimes a downright disturbance to the calmness or tranquillity of the mind.
Insights
- To see what have ceased: the 5 hindrances and unskilful mental states
- To see what is present: directed attention, sustained attention and pleasant feelings.
- To study well the landscape of bodily feelings.
- To realised how rapture disturbed the mind
- To see how the mind inclines toward finer happiness.
Integration
First jhana may or may not trigger other accompanied phenomena such as spinning in meditation or disorientation. This is because when we first cleaning our energy system, unprocessed complexes in our unconscious are being released. Every experience we are going through are phases; they will pass as the process progress. Integrating and adapting our life means, have a plan of safety actions in place. Most of all, communicate with supportive people around us, so they’re in the loops.
Finding the path back
With all jhanas, to find our way back in, requires that we have studied and memorized well the landscape. First jhana can be aroused by bringing up the sensations and feeling of how the energy runs up the spine.