Is jhana redundant?

[Optimus Prime]

The Pre-requisites for Enlightenment according to the Buddha
If the Buddha wasn't already clear enough, he repeats the same message in Anguttara Nikaya 9.36, the Jhana Sutta:

"I tell you, the ending of the mental fermentations depends on the first jhana... the second jhana... the third... the fourth... the dimension of the infinitude of space... the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness... the dimension of nothingness. I tell you, the ending of the mental fermentations depends on the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception.

"'I tell you, the ending of the mental fermentations depends on the first jhana.' Thus it has been said. In reference to what was it said? There is the case where a monk, secluded from sensuality, secluded from unskillful qualities, enters & remains in the first jhana: rapture & pleasure born of seclusion, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation. He regards whatever phenomena there that are connected with form, feeling, perception, fabrications, & consciousness, as inconstant, stressful, a disease, a cancer, an arrow, painful, an affliction, alien, a disintegration, an emptiness, not-self. He turns his mind away from those phenomena, and having done so, inclines his mind to the property of deathlessness: 'This is peace, this is exquisite — the resolution of all fabrications; the relinquishment of all acquisitions; the ending of craving; dispassion; cessation; Unbinding.'
Source:  "Jhana Sutta: Mental Absorption" (AN 9.36), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight, 4 July 2010, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an09/an09.036.than.html . Retrieved on 27 October 2011.

The "ending of mental fermentations" means enlightenment.  Similarly, "abandoning the 5 lower fetters" is enables you to reach a certain level of enlightenment.

Basic explanation of the often repeated formula on how to enter the Jhanas
As for practical application of these instructions on how to enter the 1st Jhana, notice, the Buddha often repeats this formula, which is the stock, standard formula for entering into the Jhanas.  Here is each line of this formula for entering in the Jhanas explained:
1.  Withdrawn/secluded from sensuality (which means withdrawing from experiencing the world through the 5 senses)
2.  Withdrawn/secluded from unwholesome states/unskillful qualities (which means abandoning the 5 hindrances)
3.  Enter the first Jhana
4.  Accompanied by vitakka and vicara, i.e., placing the mind on the meditation object and keeping the mind on the meditation object (often translated as directed thought and evaluation or applied and sustained thought)

[Optimus Prime]

Now let's also get back to basics.  Fundamentals shouldn't be glossed over because you can be arguing all these high and lofty theories, sounding all smart and all but if your fundamentals are weak, your base can be easily taken away from you.  If our fundamentals are strong, then everything else that was built upon those fundamentals will be that much stronger for it.

So one of the fundamentals in the Dharma is "The Way Leading to the End of Suffering", i.e., The 4th Noble Truth, which is also called the Noble Eightfold Path.  For this path to be successful to end suffering, one must develop ALL 8 factors.  If only 7 or 6 factors or 3 or only 1 factor was needed for the end of suffering, then the Buddha would've spoken about the Noble seven-fold or 6-fold or 3-fold path - but he doesn't.  He speaks about the Noble 8-fold path.

And what is the last factor of the Noble eightfold path?  It is samma-samadhi - often translated as right concentration but I prefer to see it as right stillness, proper stillness, perfect stillness.  Here, the Buddha explains what samma-samadhi means:

"And what, monks, is right concentration? (i) There is the case where a monk — quite withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful (mental) qualities — enters & remains in the first jhana: rapture & pleasure born from withdrawal, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation. (ii) With the stilling of directed thoughts & evaluations, he enters & remains in the second jhana: rapture & pleasure born of concentration, unification of awareness free from directed thought & evaluation — internal assurance. (iii) With the fading of rapture, he remains equanimous, mindful, & alert, and senses pleasure with the body. He enters & remains in the third jhana, of which the Noble Ones declare, 'Equanimous & mindful, he has a pleasant abiding.' (iv) With the abandoning of pleasure & pain — as with the earlier disappearance of elation & distress — he enters & remains in the fourth jhana: purity of equanimity & mindfulness, neither pleasure nor pain. This, monks, is called right concentration."

That is what the Blessed One said. Gratified, the monks delighted at his words.
Source:  "Magga-vibhanga Sutta: An Analysis of the Path" (SN 45.8), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight, 1 July 2010, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn45/sn45.008.than.html . Retrieved on 27 October 2011.

In other words, what is right stillness?  It is the 4 Jhanas.  Therefore, the Jhanas are an essential component of the Noble eightfold path.

[ground]

In other words, what is right stillness?  It is the 4 Jhanas.  Therefore, the Jhanas are an essential component of the Noble eightfold path.

All searching, seeking, striving never will entail the finding of any "essence" that's other than mere thought.

"Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation."


Kind regards

[ground]

Basic explanation of the often repeated formula on how to enter the Jhanas
As for practical application of these instructions on how to enter the 1st Jhana, notice, the Buddha often repeats this formula, which is the stock, standard formula for entering into the Jhanas.  Here is each line of this formula for entering in the Jhanas explained:
1.  Withdrawn/secluded from sensuality (which means withdrawing from experiencing the world through the 5 senses)
2.  Withdrawn/secluded from unwholesome states/unskillful qualities (which means abandoning the 5 hindrances)
3.  Enter the first Jhana
4.  Accompanied by vitakka and vicara, i.e., placing the mind on the meditation object and keeping the mind on the meditation object (often translated as directed thought and evaluation or applied and sustained thought)

I would like to add the basic explanation of how to get rid of jhana obsession:

"Monks, the All is aflame. What All is aflame? The eye is aflame. Forms are aflame. Consciousness at the eye is aflame. Contact at the eye is aflame. And whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at the eye — experienced as pleasure, pain or neither-pleasure-nor-pain — that too is aflame. Aflame with what? Aflame with the fire of passion, the fire of aversion, the fire of delusion. Aflame, I tell you, with birth, aging & death, with sorrows, lamentations, pains, distresses, & despairs.

"The ear is aflame. Sounds are aflame...

"The nose is aflame. Aromas are aflame...

"The tongue is aflame. Flavors are aflame...

"The body is aflame. Tactile sensations are aflame...

"The intellect is aflame. Ideas are aflame. Consciousness at the intellect is aflame. Contact at the intellect is aflame. And whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at the intellect — experienced as pleasure, pain or neither-pleasure-nor-pain — that too is aflame. Aflame with what? Aflame with the fire of passion, the fire of aversion, the fire of delusion. Aflame, I say, with birth, aging & death, with sorrows, lamentations, pains, distresses, & despairs.

"Seeing thus, the well-instructed disciple of the noble ones grows disenchanted with the eye, disenchanted with forms, disenchanted with consciousness at the eye, disenchanted with contact at the eye. And whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at the eye, experienced as pleasure, pain or neither-pleasure-nor-pain: With that, too, he grows disenchanted.

"He grows disenchanted with the ear...

"He grows disenchanted with the nose...

"He grows disenchanted with the tongue...

"He grows disenchanted with the body...

"He grows disenchanted with the intellect, disenchanted with ideas, disenchanted with consciousness at the intellect, disenchanted with contact at the intellect. And whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at the intellect, experienced as pleasure, pain or neither-pleasure-nor-pain: He grows disenchanted with that too. Disenchanted, he becomes dispassionate. Through dispassion, he is fully released. With full release, there is the knowledge, 'Fully released.' He discerns that 'Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, the task done. There is nothing further for this world.'"

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn35/sn35.028.than.html

which may be sort of "summarized" thus: "Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation."


Kind regards

[Spiny le Norman]

I would like to add the basic explanation of how to get rid of jhana obsession:

Arguing that the jhanas are an essential aspect of practice isn't being obsessed with them. 

Spiny

[Optimus Prime]

I would like to add the basic explanation of how to get rid of jhana obsession:

Arguing that the jhanas are an essential aspect of practice isn't being obsessed with them. 

Spiny

Right on.

[Optimus Prime]

The Fire Sermon doesn't say that the Jhana's are unessential at all.

On the contrary, it is actually encouraging the first step into entering the Jhanas - the step of withdrawing from/secluding yourself from the senses.  As the Buddha often said, "There is the case where a monk, secluded from sensuality..." enters the Jhanas.  So this is what the Fire Sermon does - tells us to withdraw from the senses, quieten them down whilst sitting in meditation.

Sit in meditation in a still place so that the you hear no sound so that the no exciting sounds attract your attention outwards.  Close your eyes so that you're not seeing anything - the eyes become quiet.  Stay away from smells - so your sense of smell doesn't get drawn out into smells.  Have your sense of taste quiescent too.  And your thoughts - allow them to be still too.

And if there is something around to distract the senses, let it go, abandon it, become disenchanted with them.  So this disenchantment with the sense desires is the first step in entering Jhana because it's secluding/withdrawing yourself from sense desires.

And with the complete destruction of craving (i.e., "no clinging"), then you are enlightened - this is what the last passage of the Fire Sermon means.  But how do you completely destroy craving?  Back to basics again - the Noble Eightfold Path, of which samma samadhi, right stillness is an essential component.

[Optimus Prime]

Why the Jhanas are Important?
Now why is it that it's important to enter the Jhanas first and THEN turn away from it and direct it towards the deathless element (i.e., Nirvana, the unconditioned, the uncreated, the unformed)?  It is a process of refining the mind down to it's subtlest level (as opposed to using the gross mind).

And why is a subtle mind required to see the deathless?

Analogy of the Ruler
Take for example, you want to see and measure the smallest details in something.  Would you use a 1 meter ruler to measure these details? 
- No, because the ruler is too gross and big for the job. 
- Instead, you would use a ruler that had 1 mm gradations or smaller because this is more refined and subtle. 
- To see even smaller things, you'd need to have a microscope and have the microscope be very still.

In the same way, the Buddha outlines first entering the Jhanas and the first 3 arupa states in order to refine the mind down to subtler and subtler levels and have it be very still - this way you can see in the finest details that the 5 skandhas are anicca, dukkha, anatta.  And THEN turn the mind away from the Jhanas and first 3 arupa states towards the deathless.

Analogy of the Cup of Water and Microscope
How can we see how clear a cup of water is?  Because if we just look at a cup of water with the naked eye, it may seem clear but is actually full of impurities and micro-organisms.

What we have to do is the refine our vision down, because our normal vision is too coarse/gross to be able to see these impurities.  We can see big things, but we can't see microscopic things.  So we have to keep the observer still and refine our vision down with a microscope.  If the observer is moving too much, we won't be able to see the impurities.  Once the observer and microscope is still, then we can see the impurities in the water - all the dirt and bacteria in there.  We will also be able to see what pure, clean water really is with the refined vision of the microscope.

So let's say we have a cup of water with microbes vs a distilled cup of water.  On the surface, they may look the same:
-  With our normal vision - we may not be able to tell.
-  With our refined down, vision through the microscope - we can easily tell which cup has bacteria and which cup is pure.

In the same way, meditation is a process of refining the mind to its subtlest levels so that it approaches the deathless.  So you first withdraw from our normal everyday experience of the senses - sit still, quieten the senses down.  Go to a quiet place so that you're not hearing anything - the sense of hearing switches off.  Close your eyes so that you're not seeing anything - so the sense of sight switches off.  Sit still so that the sense of touch switches off.  So all the 5 senses switch off when sitting still enough in meditation.

Once all 5 senses are quiescent and switched off, and the 5 hindrances are abandoned, then you're left with the radiance of the mind - the nimitta (a reflection of the mind), which you use to access the Jhanas.  We use the super powered mindfulness from the Jhanas, the data that we get from the Jhanas to reflect using anicca, dukkha and anatta (i.e., vipashyana).
-  With normal mindfulness, we not be able to see the subtlest forms of anicca, dukkha and anatta within our minds
-  With the super mindfulness of the Jhanas - where the mind is extremely still, we can see even the slightest movements, the slightest blips in our mind, the tiniest of impurities within our mind and examine them with insight using anicca, dukkha and anatta.  Then turn towards the deathless.

So the Buddha's instructions were clear.  He did not say that Jhana's are not important.  He did not say that insight alone or bare insight is enough - this idea of insight only or bare insight is from the commentaries.  The Buddha said that you needed BOTH Shamatha and Vipashyana.  You need shamatha (the stillness of the Jhanas) as a basis, from which you could launch vipashyana (investigation of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and not-self).  Still the mind with the Jhanas, then contemplate with Vipashyana within them for insight, then turn your mind towards the deathless, the unconditioned, Nirvana.

[ground]

I would like to add the basic explanation of how to get rid of jhana obsession:

Arguing that the jhanas are an essential aspect of practice isn't being obsessed with them. 

Spiny

Yes. And I did not say that arguing that the jhanas are an essential aspect of practice is being obsessed with them. 

However I questioned "essential aspect". Why? Because all limbs of the 8fold path are equally important and an "essence" cannot be found anywhere. "Essence" or "essential aspect" is just a thought often expressing just one's preference due to liking at the expense of other aspects.


And I added a basic explanation of how to get rid of jhana obsession.

Kind regards

[ground]

But just to be sure: I am asserting that the Buddha taught right concentration as one of the 8 limbs of the eightfold path. Evidence can be found in the suttas.

However I do not assert that jhana is a mandatory prerequisite for liberation. Evidence for this can also be found in the suttas. E.g. some attained arhatship upon just hearing a teaching of the Buddha.

Kind regards

[ground]

The Fire Sermon doesn't say that the Jhana's are unessential at all.

Yes. I agree and did not assert this.

On the contrary, it is actually encouraging the first step into entering the Jhanas - the step of withdrawing from/secluding yourself from the senses. 

It is encouraging to get rid of obsessions with jhana too. Why? Because jhana experience is just intentionally produced and subject to cessation.

B. Bodhi's translation is more appropriate for the context of jhana:

The mind is burning ... mind objects are burning ... mind consciousness is burning, mind contact is burning and whatever feeling arises with mind contact as condition - whether pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant - that too is burning ...
Seeing thus the instructed noble bhikkhu experiences revulsion towards the mind, towards mind objects, towards mind-consciousness, towards mind contact, towards whatever feeling arises wiht mind contact  as condition - whether pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant ... Experiencing revulsion he becomes dispassionate. Through dispassion liberated ...

What is jhana other than arisings from mind consciousness and mind contact?

And with the complete destruction of craving (i.e., "no clinging"), then you are enlightened - this is what the last passage of the Fire Sermon means.  But how do you completely destroy craving? 

Certainly not through craving jhana stillness and rapture.

Kind regards

[francis]

Samatha and vipassana should be developed together.

One Tool Among Many The Place of Vipassana in Buddhist Practice by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

What exactly is vipassana?

Almost any book on early Buddhist meditation will tell you that the Buddha taught two types of meditation: samatha and vipassana. Samatha, which means tranquillity, is said to be a method fostering strong states of mental absorption, called jhana. Vipassana — literally "clear-seeing," but more often translated as insight meditation — is said to be a method using a modicum of tranquillity to foster moment-to-moment mindfulness of the inconstancy of events as they are directly experienced in the present. This mindfulness creates a sense of dispassion toward all events, thus leading the mind to release from suffering. These two methods are quite separate, we're told, and of the two, vipassana is the distinctive Buddhist contribution to meditative science. Other systems of practice pre-dating the Buddha also taught samatha, but the Buddha was the first to discover and teach vipassana. Although some Buddhist meditators may practice samatha meditation before turning to vipassana, samatha practice is not really necessary for the pursuit of Awakening. As a meditative tool, the vipassana method is sufficient for attaining the goal. Or so we're told.

But if you look directly at the Pali discourses — the earliest extant sources for our knowledge of the Buddha's teachings — you'll find that although they do use the word samatha to mean tranquillity, and vipassana to mean clear-seeing, they otherwise confirm none of the received wisdom about these terms. Only rarely do they make use of the word vipassana — a sharp contrast to their frequent use of the word jhana. When they depict the Buddha telling his disciples to go meditate, they never quote him as saying "go do vipassana," but always "go do jhana." And they never equate the word vipassana with any mindfulness techniques. In the few instances where they do mention vipassana, they almost always pair it with samatha — not as two alternative methods, but as two qualities of mind that a person may "gain" or "be endowed with," and that should be developed together.   â€¦(snip) ..

So, to answer the question with which we began: Vipassana is not a meditation technique. It's a quality of mind — the ability to see events clearly in the present moment. Although mindfulness is helpful in fostering vipassana, it's not enough for developing vipassana to the point of total release. Other techniques and approaches are needed as well. In particular, vipassana needs to be teamed with samatha — the ability to settle the mind comfortably in the present — so as to master the attainment of strong states of absorption, or jhana. Based on this mastery, samatha and vipassana are then applied to a skillful program of questioning, called appropriate attention, directed at all experience: exploring events not in terms of me/not me, or being/not being, but in terms of the four noble truths. The meditator pursues this program until it leads to a fivefold understanding of all events: in terms of their arising, their passing away, their drawbacks, their allure, and the escape from them. Only then can the mind taste release.

[ground]

The path is a path of losing, not a path of gaining.

What has to be lost on the path?


sense desire has to be lost
ill will has to be lost
doubt has to be lost
restlessness and worry have to be lost
sloth and topor have to be lost
thought has to be lost
rapture has to be lost
happiness has to be lost
attachment to any experience of the six senses has to be lost
concentration - even if signless - has to be lost

In short the mental aggregates have to be lost. The form aggregate will be naturally lost at the time of death.

In order for that losing being final the decisive insight is:

He discerns that 'This [form or formless or] theme-less concentration of awareness is fabricated & mentally fashioned.' And he discerns that 'Whatever is fabricated & mentally fashioned is inconstant & subject to cessation.' For him — thus knowing, thus seeing — the mind is released from the effluent of sensuality, the effluent of becoming, the effluent of ignorance.
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.121.than.html

In the Atthakanagara Sutta we find this same formula being applied to all of the jhanas

'This first [second, etc] jhana is fabricated & intended. Now whatever is fabricated & intended is inconstant & subject to cessation.' Staying right there, he reaches the ending of the mental fermentations.
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.052.than.html

So we can conclude that an insight leap may occur on the basis of any of the concentrations.
Considering that suttas state that some attained liberation through only hearing one of the teachings we can conclude that such an insight leap is possible even without any concentration having experientially manifested.

Conclusion: The jhanas do provide a basis for potentially decisive insight. The jhanas do however neither necessarily lead to decisive insights nor are they indispensable for decisive insight.

However what is definitely indispensable for liberation is just one thing:
Being taught.


Kind regards

[Hanzze]

I guess its more a path of just changing, so no loose and no gain. *smile* Well, some start on the foot of gaining (compassion), some on the foot of losing (wisdom). As longs as we hobble we miss a thing and easily join a eternal or nihilism way.

On one foot we might turn in circles. *smile* Even its a line, its not straight yet but of causes redundant.