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Exploring Samādhi and Jhāna in Buddhist Meditation (2 of 2) - Richard Shankman

The following talk was given by Richard Shankman at The Sati Center in Redwood City, CA on October 01, 2023. Please visit the website www.audiodharma.org for more information.

Exploring Samādhi and Jhāna in Buddhist Meditation (2 of 2)

Introduction and Recap

Good morning, everyone. Nice to be with you. Let me lay out what we'll do today. I'm guessing most people who are here were here last time, but there may be some joining who weren't. For those new to the group, hopefully, you received a copy of the notes. I'm going to take a couple of minutes to recap what we did last time, but we won't review it fully unless there are specific questions, so please refer to your notes for the details.

Last time, we took a brief look at the history of early Buddhism, and how Western insight meditation places like the Sati Center trace their roots back to Theravada Buddhism¹. We talked about how the teachings were originally preserved as an oral tradition in the Pali² language for several centuries before finally being written down. In the Sanskrit and Mahayana traditions, these teachings are called sutras, while in the Pali tradition, they are called suttas³.

We discussed how a vast body of commentarial work evolved over time as practitioners sincerely attempted to express their understanding. A pivotal treatise was written by the scholar Buddhaghosa⁴ about five to seven hundred years after the Buddha, titled the Visuddhimagga⁵ (The Path of Purification). As the Buddhist tradition has been preserved over millennia, we are left with these two distinct bodies of work: the earlier Suttas and the later Visuddhimagga.

Because there is so much disagreement, controversy, and confusion around the topic of Samādhi⁶ and Jhāna⁷, and how they fit in with insight meditation, our goal was to return to the source texts. Last week, we explored what the term Samādhi actually means—an undistracted mind. A crucial point we discussed is that an undistracted mind doesn't have to manifest in just one way. It can be a narrowly focused, one-pointed, exclusive concentration, or it can be a broad, open, and inclusive awareness. One is not inherently better than the other; they are simply different flavors of a settled mind.

We went through standard teaching lists like the Seven Factors of Enlightenment, the Eightfold Path, the Ānāpānasati Sutta⁸ (Mindfulness of Breathing), and the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta⁹ (Foundations of Mindfulness). We also covered Jhāna in the Pali texts in great detail.

Today, we are going to shift over to the Visuddhimagga. What does it say about Samādhi and Jhāna? We will look at some of the controversies surrounding Jhāna, compare the source texts, and explore this concept called "insight." Ultimately, I want to give us time to bring this information alive in our own practices, helping each of us find our unique pathway and doorway in.

Samādhi in the Visuddhimagga

Let's begin with Samādhi in the Visuddhimagga. Magga means pathway, so Visuddhimagga translates to "The Path of Purification." Buddhaghosa wrote it as a comprehensive treatise that brought the entire commentarial understanding of his time into one massive book.

In the Middle Length Discourses, there is a sutta called the Relay Chariots (Majjhima Nikāya 24). It compares the path of spiritual development to the Pony Express—riding one horse to a station, getting on another, and proceeding through a list of stages of development. However, the sutta doesn't provide any explanatory detail; it simply lists the stages. What the Visuddhimagga does is take that underlying structure and produce an entire, highly detailed system around it.

Most of the Visuddhimagga is devoted to developing Jhāna. They list forty different types of meditation objects to cultivate it. In this system, the path of meditation is strictly divided into two distinct tracks: tranquility (Samatha¹⁰) and insight (Vipassanā¹¹).

In the Visuddhimagga, the path of Samatha means you first aspire to and attain Jhāna, and only then do you switch to insight practices. Conversely, the path of Vipassanā does not aim to attain Jhāna; you go straight into insight practices. Many of you will recognize this Vipassanā-only approach from the Western insight meditation scene at places like the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) or Spirit Rock. It stems largely from a Burmese tradition led by the great master Mahasi Sayadaw¹², who emphasized that you only need a baseline level of Samādhi to steady the mind for insight, but you do not need Jhāna.

If you are following the Samatha path in the Visuddhimagga, you focus your attention on an object. They outline forty subjects, including kasinas¹³ (colored disks made of clay that you stare at), the breath, mettā (loving-kindness) practices, and contemplations on decomposing corpses. The text goes into great detail about which practices are best suited for specific temperaments—whether you have a faithful temperament, a skeptical temperament, or an intellectual temperament.

Once you pick your object, you cultivate a very specific type of Samādhi: a one-pointed, fixed, exclusive concentration. If you recall, in the Suttas, Jhāna is described using similes of being deeply immersed in body awareness. In the Visuddhimagga, it is different. You become so exclusively concentrated on your object that you literally stop noticing other things around you. It states explicitly that you will get to a point where you cannot feel your physical body anymore. You become completely absorbed in the object—like bliss or light—and all awareness of changing phenomena falls away.

In Vipassanā meditation, you focus your attention on changing experiences to gain insight into the Three Characteristics¹⁴: impermanence (Anicca), unsatisfactoriness (Dukkha), and non-self (Anattā). The goal is to deeply comprehend that phenomena are changing and insubstantial, allowing the mind to profoundly let go.

Levels and Signs of Concentration

In the Visuddhimagga, there are three defined levels of concentration:

1. Preparatory Concentration: The natural, baseline level of concentration you bring with you when you first start meditating.
2. Access (or Neighborhood) Concentration: A highly stable state where you are getting very close to Jhāna, but have not fully absorbed into it.
3. Fixed Concentration (Jhāna): Full, exclusive absorption where awareness of the body and changing experience drops away.

For insight meditation, the Visuddhimagga uses a term called "momentary concentration" (Khaṇika-samādhi¹⁵). This level of concentration is considered equal in strength to access concentration, but instead of being fixed on a single static object, your steady attention rides the flow of changing experiences. If you practice this way without ever attaining Jhāna, the Visuddhimagga refers to it as "dry insight"—meaning you have not been "wetted" by the moisture of Jhāna.

The Visuddhimagga also introduces three signs of concentration, using the term nimitta¹⁶. In the Pali Suttas, nimitta occasionally appears simply meaning a "theme," but never as a specific object of meditation. In the Visuddhimagga, it becomes central:

• First, the nimitta is simply your normal experience of the meditation object.
• As concentration grows, a "learning sign" arises. The Visuddhimagga is very clear that this manifests as a mental image. For example, if you are focusing on the breath, you might eventually see a round, bright light in your mind.
• When that mental image becomes completely unmoving, crystal clear, and steady, it becomes the "counterpart sign."

According to the Visuddhimagga, the arising of this steadfast counterpart sign is the strict definition of reaching access concentration. The image itself then becomes your new object of meditation, replacing the breath. You become absorbed into this light or bliss, and that is your doorway into Jhāna.

Question: Are all counterpart signs visual? While visual images (like light) are heavily emphasized, the Visuddhimagga does mention that nimittas can be tactile or auditory. However, the ultimate idea in this system is that you lose awareness of the physical body entirely, so the experience eventually shifts into a purely mental landscape.

Controversies and Differing Views

Because there are so many different opinions and teachings on what Jhāna is, we see a lot of disagreement. But the truth is, there are many meditative states that match the verbal descriptions in the Suttas. Different traditions can legitimately claim they are teaching Jhāna. We don't need to criticize one tradition over another; they are simply different systems. The most important question is: What is the best system for you?

Let's look at three main controversies that arise from the differences between the Suttas and the Visuddhimagga.

1. Is there body awareness in Jhāna? In the Sutta definitions and similes, Jhāna is explicitly described as an immersion in the body. Furthermore, the Kāyagatāsati Sutta¹⁷ (Mindfulness of the Body) directly links body awareness practices to the attainment of the four Jhānas. The presence of the body is inescapable in the Suttas.

How, then, does the Visuddhimagga justify losing physical body awareness? The Pali word for body is kāya, which can also mean a group, collection, or aggregate. The Visuddhimagga simply redefines kāya in the context of Jhāna to mean a metaphorical "mental body." By doing this, they can claim you lose awareness of the physical body and enter a purely mental realm. While they are free to create that system, it requires a significant leap to assume that an entire Sutta talking about the physical body suddenly shifts to meaning a "mental body" right at the climax of the practice without any explicit textual signal.

2. Are Samādhi and insight two paths or one? The Visuddhimagga distinctly separates them into Samatha and Vipassanā. This implies that if you are doing concentration practice, you are actively not doing insight practice, and you must switch tracks to gain liberation.

However, the Suttas never make such a clear distinction. In my own practice and experience, taking concentration as far as you can naturally supercharges your insight. When the mind is profoundly steady and present, you don't lose connection with what is going on; your mindfulness becomes exceptionally clear. You can readily perceive how the mind creates suffering and how to let it go. The Suttas tend to integrate tranquility and insight into one unified practice.

3. Is Jhāna necessary for liberating insight? In the Visuddhimagga model, the answer is no. You can achieve liberation through the path of "dry insight" using momentary concentration.

In the Suttas, however, there is a massive emphasis on Samādhi. "Right Samādhi" in the Eightfold Path is explicitly defined as the four Jhānas. The Buddha is quoted as saying that Jhāna "should not be avoided, it should not be feared." He actively encouraged its cultivation.

Question: Without doing specific insight practice, if we do mindfulness of breath, is there a danger of getting stuck in concentration practice and not gaining insight? This is a belief that comes directly from the Visuddhimagga model. In my experience, and in the experience of many strong Samādhi practitioners, nobody gets "stuck" in concentration and loses the ability to gain insight. If you sit and get deeply concentrated, insights naturally arise because you are deeply present. Even if you don't experience it as a specific "insight," the mind often enters a profound state of equanimity, non-clinging, and liberation.

Q&A: Navigating Practice Styles

Question: I've been on a retreat with Leigh Brasington¹⁸ where we shifted focus to pleasant sensations, but I lost my concentration. I also practiced in the Pa-Auk Sayadaw¹⁹ style which worked better for my concentration. However, I had the most powerful concentration on a mettā (loving-kindness) retreat. What do you think of mettā as a concentration object, and what should I do if I settle quickly into joy, but then fatigue sets in and I lose clarity?

First, your experience highlights exactly why trying different styles is so valuable. Mettā is an extremely powerful concentration object, and for many, it is the best possible doorway.

Mettā is often taught by repeating phrases (e.g., "May all beings be happy"). This functions similarly to a mantra. For people who respond well to mantras, the repetition alone builds deep concentration. But because the mettā phrases carry deep emotional meaning, it supercharges the concentration. As you repeat the phrases, a feeling of joy or love arises. At that point, you can either stay with the phrases, or you can drop the phrases and make the feeling of mettā itself your primary meditation object. That is full-blast Jhāna practice.

Regarding your fatigue, it's hard to diagnose specifically without a deeper conversation. However, you can experiment with combining the breath and mettā. You can use the breath as a stabilizing anchor in the background while holding the mettā feeling, eventually allowing them to blend into one unified "mettā-breath."

If Leigh Brasington's method of quickly dropping the breath to focus on the pleasant sensation causes you to lift out of concentration, stay with the breath longer. Let the pleasantness build in the background. Eventually, the breath and the bliss will merge, becoming a "Samādhi-breath." You don't have to follow a one-size-fits-all rule; you have to follow what works for your mind.

The Four Stages of Enlightenment and Models of Practice

In Theravada Buddhism, there is a well-known model for awakening called the Four Stages of Enlightenment²⁰. It maps progress based on the severing of ten mental fetters²¹ (such as ill will, restless desire, and ignorance) that bind us to the cycle of suffering.

1. Stream-enterer: The first three fetters drop away. Tradition states you have a maximum of seven lifetimes remaining.
2. Once-returner: The lower fetters are significantly weakened.
3. Non-returner: The five lower fetters are fully severed.
4. Arhat: The fully liberated person who has destroyed all mental corruptions (asavas²²) and attained the "deathless" (Nirvana/Nibbana).

This is a beautiful, inspiring model. But I am going to say something that might sound controversial, though most experienced teachers will quietly agree: Nobody knows if this is how the universe actually works.

It is a model. If we hold the model with right view, it is a wonderful aspiration. The problem arises when people use the model to create suffering for themselves—judging their practice, agonizing over whether they have attained a specific stage, or engaging in "Dharma wars" over whose teacher has the true, authentic path.

In Jack Kornfield's²³ wonderful book Living Dharma, he interviewed many great Buddhist masters. He noted that they frequently disagreed with one another, sometimes teaching diametrically opposed styles, yet all claiming to teach the "true" way of the Buddha. Jack wisely pointed out that Buddhist teachings are a great mandala of skillful means. Any practice that cultivates mindfulness, wise effort, investigation, joy, concentration, calm, equanimity, and compassion will bring one to liberation.

The real freedom is not the freedom of clinging to what we believe is historically true. The real freedom is the freedom of letting go.

So, how do we apply this? Find the practice that brings you ease and relaxation. Don't fight your life circumstances. If you are having trouble finding time to practice, you are entirely normal. Just do the best you can without creating suffering around it. As your concentration deepens, pay attention to the balance of effort versus surrender. Early in practice, we have to do the work of repeatedly placing our attention. As Samādhi grows, the practice begins to "do you." Learning when to apply effort and when to simply let go and be carried by the stillness is a profound evolution in practice.

Closing Guided Reflections

To close, I'd like to offer four brief, guided reflections. If you find your awareness has drifted into concepts, I invite you to connect back into your body and your mind. See if these reflections hold value for you.

1. Intentions and Aspirations When you reflect on your life, what are your highest, deepest aspirations for how you want to live? Who do you want to be as a person? How do you want to show up? What do you really want your life to be about in the deepest sense? Allow yourself to feel that directly.

2. The Disconnect Look at how you are actually living your life right now. In what ways, or to what extent, is there a gap or a disconnect between those highest aspirations and how you are actually showing up day-to-day?

3. The Causes of the Gap To whatever degree there is a gap—which we all have—what causes it? What are the situations, habits, or things that pull you away? When you lose connection with your highest intentions, what is it that gets you caught?

4. Finding Support What will support you in closing that gap? What practices, situations, people, or choices will help you live more authentically in alignment with your deepest aspirations?

Thank you all for your practice, your questions, and your presence.