Jhāna, a series of meditative absorption states, is a surprisingly contentious subject in Buddhism. This is curious because the Buddhist scriptures place significant importance on jhāna, particularly in the Eightfold Path’s Right Concentration, which is defined by the four jhānas. Statements from the Buddha, such as “There is no jhāna for him who lacks insight, and no insight for him who lacks jhāna,” reinforce this crucial role. Additionally, jhānas are repeatedly mentioned in the Pāli texts and implicitly referred to in various teachings.
However, some teachers, including Thich Nhat Hanh, contend that the Buddha rejected jhāna, suggesting it was wrongly incorporated into the suttas after his death. Nhat Hanh argues that while the Buddha practiced the Four Form and Four Formless Jhānas, he found them inadequate for liberation from suffering. He believes these states mask reality, thus shouldn’t be considered Right Concentration.
There’s a misunderstanding here that needs addressing. The relationship between the “formless jhānas” (better termed as “formless spheres”) and the “jhānas of form” in the Buddha’s teachings suggests a different interpretation. Notably, the Buddha learned advanced meditation states from Ālāra Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta — the “sphere of nothingness” and the “sphere of neither perception nor non-perception,” respectively. Importantly, these are not referred to as jhānas but as “āyatanas” or “spheres.”
It’s noteworthy that many meditative practitioners, including myself, have experienced these spheres without progressing through the jhānas. Various forms of meditation can lead directly to these states, as reflected in suttas discussing the six-element practice and divine abidings.
The Buddha’s childhood memory under the rose-apple tree, where he spontaneously entered the first jhāna, was a pivotal moment. It suggests that jhāna is integral to Awakening. This contradicts views that he learned jhāna from Ālāra and Uddaka, since he likely explored the formless spheres separately. The experience from this memory was pure and untainted by other teachers’ influences, confirming jhāna’s importance.
Jhāna involves focusing increasingly on less, leading to deep states of absorption where thinking, bodily sensations, and joy are progressively tuned out, culminating in profound peace. In contrast, the āyatanas involve an all-inclusive awareness, abolishing the distinction between inner and outer experiences and seeing everything as a single field of awareness. Achieving āyatanas relies on broadening awareness after reaching equanimity, a common thread in several meditative practices.
Despite reaching the high states of the formless spheres, the Buddha’s enlightenment stemmed from jhāna. This might be because his teachers perceived these spheres as final goals, contrasting with the Buddha’s view. Jhāna facilitates minute examination of the nature of self, leading to profound insights about impermanence and non-self, crucial for liberation.
Even though the formless spheres didn’t directly lead to enlightenment, they provided valuable insights about the malleability of the self, prompting less attachment to a fixed identity. This is why jhāna and vipassanā (insight) are complementary and synergistic. The Buddha’s radical departure from cosmic speculation to a detailed examination of personal experience through jhāna was a revolutionary approach in spiritual exploration. Jhāna’s role is thus not to obscure reality but to sharpen awareness and reveal profound truths necessary for enlightenment.