![]() The Buddha is constantly seen in the suttas encouraging his disciples to develop jhana. Just before his passing away the Buddha entered the jhanas in direct and reverse order, and the passing away itself took place directly from the fourth jhana. His understanding of the corruption, purification, and emergence in the jhanas and other meditative attainments is one of the Tathagata’s (literally “thus-gone one,” a name for the Buddha) ten powers that enable him to turn the matchless wheel of the dhamma. Throughout his active career the four jhanas remained his heavenly dwelling to which he resorted in order to live happily here and now. After taking his seat beneath the Bodhi tree, the Buddha entered the four jhanas immediately before directing his mind to the threefold knowledge that issued in his enlightenment. It was the memory of this childhood incident, many years later after his futile pursuit of austerities, that revealed to him the way to enlightenment during his period of deepest despondency. In his childhood, while attending an annual plowing festival, the future Buddha spontaneously entered the first jhana. ![]() The jhanas figure prominently both in the Buddha’s own experience and in his exhortation to disciples. The importance of the jhanas in the Buddhist path can readily be gauged from the frequency with which they are mentioned throughout the suttas. In the suttas the four repeatedly appear, each described by a standard formula. The early suttas speak of four jhanas, named simply after their numerical position in the series: the first jhana, the second jhana, the third jhana, and the fourth jhana. From these it is clear that the jhanas are states of deep mental unification that result from the centering of the mind upon a single object with such power of attention that a total immersion in the object takes place. ![]() Though translators have offered various renderings of this word, ranging from the feeble “musing” to the misleading “trance” and the ambiguous “meditation,” we prefer to leave the word untranslated and to let its meaning emerge from its contextual usage. ![]() Pivotal to both systems of meditation, though belonging inherently to the side of serenity, is a set of meditative attainments called the jhanas. With his mind unified by means of the development of serenity, made sharp and bright by the development of insight, the meditator can proceed unobstructed to reach the end of suffering, nibbana. Together the two types of meditation work to make the mind a fit instrument for enlightenment. However, because the growth of insight presupposes a certain degree of concentration, and serenity meditation helps to achieve this, the development of serenity also claims an incontestable place in the Buddhist meditative process. Whereas serenity meditation is recognized as common to both Buddhist and non-Buddhist contemplative disciplines, insight meditation is held to be the unique discovery of the Buddha and an unparalleled feature of his path. Of the two, the development of insight is regarded by Buddhism as the essential key to liberation, the direct antidote to the ignorance underlying bondage and suffering. The practice of insight meditation aims at gaining a direct understanding of the real nature of phenomena. The practice of serenity meditation aims at developing a calm, concentrated, unified mind as a means of experiencing inner peace and as a basis for wisdom. The former also goes under the name of the development of concentration ( samadhi-bhavana), the latter the development of wisdom ( panna-bhavana). One is called the development of serenity ( shamatha-bhavana), the other the development of insight ( vipassana-bhavana). The various subjects and methods of meditation expounded in the Theravada Buddhist scriptures-the Pali canon and its commentaries-divide into two interrelated systems. They are designed to re-create in the disciple who practices them the same essential enlightenment that the Buddha himself attained when he sat beneath the Bodhi tree, the awakening to the Four Noble Truths. The methods of meditation taught in the Theravada Buddhist tradition are based on the Buddha’s own experience, forged by him in the course of his own quest for enlightenment. In the process leading to deliverance from suffering, meditation is the means of generating the inner awakening required for liberation. The taste of freedom that pervades the Buddha’s teaching is the taste of spiritual freedom, which from the Buddhist perspective means freedom from suffering. The Buddha says that just as in the great ocean there is but one taste, the taste of salt, so in his doctrine and discipline there is but one taste, the taste of freedom. The Buddha, Dhammapada 372, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |