Jhana
How many jhanas are there in the end??
The First Jhana: Pleasant Sensations
The concentration begins with one-pointedness concentration and then when the concentration becomes strong you enter a sustained concentration which is a continuous concentration with no interruptions. You start to enter the remaining jhanic factors of aiming, happiness, and joy or rapture. You shift your attention from the meditation subject to the joy associated with your concentration. You do not cling to the sensations, but just watch them. The experience can include some very pleasant physical sensations such as goose bumps on the body and the hair standing up to more intense pleasures which grow in intensity and explode into a state of ecstasy. If you have pain in your legs, knees, or other part of the body during meditation, the pain will actually disappear while you are in the jhanas. The pleasant sensations can be so strong to eliminate your painful sensations. You enter the jhanas from the pleasant experiences exploding into a state of ecstasy where you no longer “feel” any of your senses; or alternatively according to some teachers, the first jhana can include the pleasant physical sensations and contact remains with senses (or at least a subtle form in the background) through the third or fourth jhanas (see Unique Experiences below and the references for more information).
The Second Jhana: Joy
You proceed from the first jhana to the second by keeping a balanced mind with no clinging to the pleasant nature of the first jhana. Then you shift your attention from the physical pleasure to emotional pleasure. The pleasurable sensations, if any, get put to the background and calm the mind further. You feel a great joy in your meditation and keep one-pointedness of mind.
The Third Jhana: Contentment
You let go of the pleasant peaceful nature of the second jhana which changes the emotional pleasure from joy to contentment. You experience a more motionless, quiet contentment.
The Fourth Jhana: Utter Peacefulness
The fourth jhana is entered when the mind remains equanimous to the third jhana of contentment long enough that you are ready to let go further. There is no positive or negative feeling in the mind or body. Then there is an all pervading, deep peacefulness, with one-pointedness of mind.
The Fifth Jhana: Infinity of Space
The fifth through the eighth jhanas are the “absorptions without form.” This is because they refer to states of consciousness where there is no perception of a form or body. They correspond to heavenly realms which also have no form or body. That is, beings re-born to the formless realms, which are some of the heavenly planes, do not have a body, but do have pleasant existences.
You enter the fifth jhana by remaining in the utter peacefulness state and then shift your attention to the boundaries of your being. You focus your attention outward as if you are watching yourself from above. You may feel like you are floating above your body at first. You put your attention on your body so that it feels like you are filling the room. This is expanded further and further so that you fill your whole neighborhood, city, country, continent, and then to space itself. You find yourself in this huge expanse of empty space.
The Sixth Jhana: Infinity of Consciousness
You enter the sixth jhana by realizing that the infinite space you occupy includes your consciousness. So you shift your attention to infinite consciousness instead of infinite space. You may feel “at one” with all nature and existence, but do not be fooled, this is not full enlightenment. Concentration is further increased and there is still one-pointedness of mind.
The Seventh Jhana: No-thingness
The seventh jhana is entered by realizing that the content of the infinite consciousness is basically empty of any permanent nature. We also realize that there is no “thingeither. There is nothing in the universe that has any permanent essence to it. We realize that everything is in constant flux.
The Eighth Jhana: Neither perception nor non-perception
The eight and ninth jhanas are difficult to discuss because they are so hard to describe in much the same way nibbana is hard to describe. This is because they are such heightened levels of concentration and of the Path itself, that they must be experienced. There is also very little to discuss with the eighth and ninth jhanas, since the perception levels have become so fine and so subtle. You enter the eighth jhana by letting go of the sense of no-thingness and enter a very natural, calm place. In the eighth jhana there is very little recognition of what is happening, but you are also not totally unaware of what is happening. There is such a peaceful state and you have gone beyond the duality of perception nor non-perception that it is easy to be fooled that you have experienced full enlightenment. But there is still more to do.
The Ninth Jhana: Cessation
When you reach the limits of perception, you realize that lesser mental activity is better for your calm and peaceful state. You enter a state of “cessation” of consciousness where there is only a very sublte form of perception. The meditator may appear to be unconscious. There have been reports of meditators having heart beats as low as 20 to 40 beats per minute at this jhanic level. The nearest way to describe this state is something like a very deep sleep. The eight and ninth jhanas are not full enlightenment, but very close stepping stones to full awakening. Only those who are very close to being fully enlightened can enter the eighth and especially, the ninth jhana.