The Jhānas (Concentration States)
The Jhānas are eight altered states of consciousness which can arise during periods
of strong concentration. The Jhānas are naturally occurring states of mind, but
learning how to enter them at will and how to stay in them takes practice. Their
principle use in Buddhist meditation is to generate ever increasing levels of
concentration so that later when the meditative mind is turned to a practice that
tends towards wisdom, it can do that practice with far less distraction.
Below are links to several places on the 'net where the Jhānas are discussed. Some
of these pages are mine; some are at other sites I've found.
The Access to Insight website's Jhāna Page
The Jhānas are defined by the Buddha as Right Concentration. His declaration of this - here in
both Pali and English - can be found found in many discourses including DN 22, MN 141 and
SN 45:8.
Right Concentration: A Practical Guide to the Jhānas ~ Leigh Brasington, Shambhala, 13
October, 2015, ISBN: 1611802695
A Practical, Accessible and Demystifying Look at the Jhānas as Described in the Suttas of the
Pali Canon. This book is my "brain dump" of everything I knew about the jhānas when I
wrote it in the mid twenty-teens. What's in the book supercedes much of what I've written
below. The printed book and the eBook are available from Shambhala Publications and from your local
bookstore/web bookstore. A free Suplement is also available as HTML pages and as an eBook.
Entering the Jhanas is an excerpt from my book Right Concentration on the Lion's Roar website - the
website of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly where the excerpt appears in print. Este
artículo también está disponible en español: Entrar en los jhanas.
Sharpening Manjushri's Sword The Jhānas in Theravadan Buddhist Meditation ~ Leigh Brasington
This is revised edition of a paper I presented to the American Academy of Religion/Western Regional
meeting on 25 Mar '97. It contains a bibliography and links to other sites that discuss the Jhānas.
Instruction for Entering Jhāna ~ Leigh Brasington
This is a reprint of an article that first appeared in Insight Journal, Fall 2002. It is a transcription of a
talk I gave at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in April of 2002.
The Neurological Correlates of the Jhānas ~ Leigh Brasington
Inspired by Emily Yoffe's article at Slate Magazine on Wanting and Liking and discussions with
several students & neuroscientists, I propose a tentative hypothesis.
Jhānas at the Forest Refuge Part I ~ Leigh Brasington
I spent the month of May 2006 on retreat at the Forest Refuge with Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw. This details
some extra curricular exploration of the jhanas while more deeply concentrated than described in the
papers above.
Jhānas at the Forest Refuge Part II ~ Leigh Brasington
I spent 9 1/2 months in 2011/2012 on retreat at the Forest Refuge. Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw was again
teaching jhanas for 4 months of that time and I got to explore more of his teachings.
Five Factors for the First Jhāna - NOT!. ~ Leigh Brasington
As described in the suttas, the first jhana has only four factors, not five.
Interpretations of the Jhānas. ~ Leigh Brasington
There is no real agreement among Jhāna teachers as to what exactly the Jhanic state are! This paper
outlines the various methods that I have heard about.
In a recent retreat I taught, someone asked "Why are the Jhanas dismissed or even discouraged in some
Buddhist traditions?" This is my speculative answer. ~ Leigh Brasington
Toward a Unified Account of Advanced Concentrative Absorption Meditation: A Systematic Definition
and Classification of Jhāna delves even more deeply into the various interpretations of the jhānas ~
Terje Sparby and Matthew D. Sacchet.
How Many Jhānas Are There? ~ Leigh Brasington
My personal research has turned up no less than 25 different states that are identified by the word Jhāna
in ancient Pali literature - and even more uses of jhāna in modern times.
Slides from a presentation on the Jhānas at the Secular Buddhism Conference at The Barre Center for
Buddhist Studies, 26 March, 2013: Practical Jhānas: Right Concentration and the Suttas ~ Leigh
Brasington.
Arguments for the Importance of the Jhānas in the Suttas ~ Leigh Brasington
A paper I wrote back in 1996 discussing the importance of the Jhānas in the Pali Cannon.
3 handouts on the jhana factors for a day-long course I taught at the Sati Center. ~ Leigh Brasington
Stephanie Nash interviews Leigh Brasington about the Jhānas
Several short YouTube videos on what jhanas are, and how one works with them in one's practice.
The Jhānas in Theravadan Buddhist Meditation ~ Maháthera Henepola Gunaratana
This classic book on the jhanas is now available on the 'net.
The Buddha’s Radical Path Of Jhāna by Bodhipaksa is a good study of the role of jhāna in the
Buddha's teachings. It also points out that the so-called arupa jhānas are not considered jhānas in the
suttas. I added a comment at the end - scroll down.
Ajahn Brahmavamso is a Theravaden Buddhist monk who lives in Western Australia. He studied
extensively with Ajahn Chah in Thailand as well as in other places before returning to Australia. His
definition of exactly what constituted a Jhāna seems to imply Much stronger absorption than my own
definition - or that of other Westerners I have discussed the Jhānas with (such as Ayya Khema,
Thanissaro Bhikkhu and others). He has given several talks on the Jhānas which have been transcribed
and now appear on the 'net (but their URLs keep getting changed, so the links below search for them):
The Basic Method of Meditation
Travelogue to the four Jhanas
Both of these come from talks given during a 9-day retreat in North Perth, Western Australia,
December 1997
Other of his writings can be found at The Buddhist Society of Western Australia Publications
Practical Advice for Meditators ~ Bhikkhu Khantipalo
The Jhānas: Meditative Absorptions ~ Jay Michaelson
Jhāna: The Spice Your Meditation Has Been Missing ~ Jay Michaelson
Here's a good overview of the jhanas from the perspective of multiple teachers: The Jhanas ~ Richard
Bukowski
"Nimitta, nimitta, who's got a nimitta?" Ever wonder why the suttas don't mention "nimitta" but that
"nimitta" is so important in the Visuddhimagga? Definitely read The Mystery of the Breath Nimitta ~
Bhikkhu Sona.
And for an explanation of what's going on in the brain when a nimitta appears, see Near-Death
Experiences: In or out of the body? - scroll down to "The Physiology of the Tunnel" for the details ~
Susan Blackmore (author of The Meme Machine and a number of other very interesting books)
Joy and Jhanas - A retreat with Leigh Brasington by Susan Blackmore is a retreat report by a student
at a retreat I taught at Gaia House in England in 2013. Another version of this account of the
relationship between Jhana practice and Joy is From Jhanas to Joy which is at the Psychology Today
website where you can join the discussion in the comments.
Reinterpreting the Jhānas by Roderick S. Bucknell is an excellent discussion of the difference
between the Sutta Style Jhānas and the later Visuddhimagga Style Jhānas.
A Brief History of Buddhist Absorption by Bhikkhu Anālayo is a very interesting paper on the history
of the jhānas in Buddhism, and well worth reading. [He still does not explicate my position on the
"sutta jhānas" entirely accurately - to get a more accurate picture of my understanding, read my essay
Jhānas at the Forest Refuge Part I (above) which describes my personal experience of jhānas much
deeper than my usual experience, yet far different from the "Visuddhimagga jhānas."]
Two articles by Biswadeb Mukherjee on the pre-Buddhist history of the jhanas discuss A Pre-
Buddhist meditation system and Early Modificatios by Gotama the Bodhisattva.
The Winter 2004 issue of Tricycle magazine has a special section on Jhānas.
Lloyd Burton has written a paper entitled The Jhānas and the Brahma Viharas which discusses
Brahma Vihara practice in relation to the Jhānas.
The first Western conference on Jhāna practice in Theravada Buddhism was held near Santa Fe, New
Mexico, USA, in June, 2001. See Lloyd Burton's report Gathering Fruit and Planting Seeds for the
details.
My Week at the Buzzy Meditation Retreat That Promises Bliss on Demand ~ Naina Bajekal is a Time
magazine article about a Silicon Valley startup that teaches Jhānas as a self help method for achieving
greater happiness.
Jay Michaelson has an excellent followup to the Time magazine article above: What is Meditation
For? Thoughts on the small surge of interest in jhana meditation
Resources on Jhānas in medieval Christianity: Christian Mystics and Jhānas
A paper from the journal Neural Plasticity on neurological findings about Jhānas: Case Study of
Ecstatic Meditation: fMRI and EEG Evidence of Self-Stimulating a Reward System (PDF version
here) which includes an interesting picture of Leigh Brasington's brain on Jhāna. The picture is a
"difference" picture - the difference is between my brain in a state of "rest" and my brain in 2nd Jhāna.
The blue areas got quieter; the red areas got more active.
An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2008 Mind and Life Conference: EEG Power and
Coherence Analysis of an Expert Meditator in the Eight Jhanas (MS-Word file).
Brain Basis of Samadhi: The Neuroscience of Meditative Absorption
And finally, I've compiled a one page Lists of Things To Do that are helpful for entering the Jhānas ~
Leigh Brasington
For further reading on the Jhānas, see the books on my Buddhist Reading List that are marked with an
asterisk.
Tho not specifically about the Jhānas, this article from Newsweek on meditation is interesting as well.
New Scientist reports that self-awareness is switched off when the brain needs to concentrate hard.
Time magazine has an interesting article on consciousness (and not-self): The Brain: The Mystery of
Consciousness
Dhyana in Buddhism - from Wikipedia has a good write up, tho I disagree with some of the statements there.
Jhana: The Spice Your Meditation Has Been Missing
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