Jhana according to the Pali sources

Jhana clearly played a major part in the theory and practice of ancient Buddhism. The word itself occurs extremely often in the suttas both in frequently repeated phrases and in more detailed treatment . It becomes a fundamental category of abhidhamma. Nor does its importance diminish later ; most of the first half of the Visuddhi-magga of  Buddhaghosa (c . 430 A.D .) is concerned in one way or another with the practice of jhana . Not surprisingly it has been the subject of scholarly investigation on a number of occasions.  Nevertheless the topic is difficult and much remains to be understood .

. The time seems ripe for an attempt to develop a clearer picture of the traditional viewpoint of the Theravada school as expressed in the latest books of the Pali Canon and more particularly in the commentarial interpretations and expansions of the canonical material . In what follows no attempt will therefore be made to differentiate earlier or `original' meanings of technical terms but rather the commentarial explanations will normally be followed without further discussion .

My principal sources are then the works incorporated in the Pali Canon and the commentarial literature . This latter appears to have been put into writing in Ceylon in Sinhalese Prakrit over a period of some centuries, but very few additions appear to have been made after the first century A.D .  Although the Sinhalese originals are lost, we possess numerous recensions of this material in Pali translation . These are the commentaries (attha-katha) and sub-commentaries (tika) of later date . Some use will be made also of the Abhidharma-kosa of Vasubandhu which summarizes the views of the Northern Sarvastivada and Sautrantika schools, since this often highlights distinctive features of the Theravadin position and sometimes clarifies difficulties of interpretation . In Childers's Dictionary of the Pali Language (p . 16g) we read under the heading Jhana :

  Meditation, contemplation ; religious meditation or abstraction of the mind, mystic or abstract meditation, ecstasy, trance . . . Jhana is a religious exercise productive of the highest spiritual advantage, leading after death to re-birth in one of the Brahma heavens, and forming the principal means of entrance into the four Paths . The four Jhanas are four stages of mystic meditation, whereby the believer's mind is purged from all earthly emotions, and detached as it were from the body, which remains plunged in a profound trance

Since Childers wrote this in 1875, the majority of translators have employed one of the terms used by him .  No doubt the most literal rendering is `meditation' but this too easily creates the impression that jhana is merely systematic thinking . Technical terms of Christian mysticism, often with theistic implications, such as `contemplation', `mystic meditation', also `recollection', `rapture', are surely out of place in a Buddhist setting . `Ecstasy' and `trance', even if correct descriptively, are too general . Jhana applies in Pali usage to a very specific type of `trance' and is, as we shall see, only relatively rarely employed with a wider application . Possibly the least misleading translation, if one is needed at all, would be `absorption', but I would prefer to retain this as the rendering of appand and leave jhana untranslated . The first necessity is to place jhana in its religious context . The great Belgian scholar, Louis de La Vallee Poussin, drew particular attention to the existence in 'les sources bouddhiques, anciennes ou scholastiques' of two distinct theories : `la theorie qui fait du salut une oeuvre purement ou surtout intellectuelle ; la theorie qui met le salut au bout des disciplines ascetiques et extatiques' . B In terms of the Theravadin literature this is the distinction between the vehicle of calm (samathayana) and the vehicle of insight (vipassanayana), based on that between concentration (samadhi) and wisdom (panna)-two of the fundamental concepts of Buddhism from the earliest period . Naturally both are viewed as necessary, the differences being in part a matter of degree and in part a question of the order of development . In practice these terms have come to refer specifically to the presence or absence of the jhanas . One whose vehicle is calm develops proficiency in the four jhanas and optionally also the four formless attainments (arupasamapattis) or the various kinds of psychic power (iddhi) . He then embarks upon the development of insight . One whose vehicle is insight requires only a stage of concentration less than that needed for the attainment of jhana and may never develop it at all . The texts allow also various intermediate possibilities .  It should be noted that insight practice is no more optional in the Theravadin conception than in the Sarvastivadin as described by La Vallee Poussin . The development of insight lies largely outside the scope of the present investigation . It involves systematic investigation of the content of consciousness leading to flashes of insight and later to states with names such as `the signless', `the void' and so on . Ultimately the stages of sanctity (magga and phala) arise. It is important to note that it is not by any means simply `rationalisme' or 'connaissance speculative', as La Vallee Poussin would have us believe . We are far closer here than has usually been appreciated to `intuitive wisdom' and `direct understanding' of the kind made known in relation to Zen Buddhism by D . T . Suzuki

La Vallee Poussin also drew attention to the tension which seems to have existed between the two approaches .  This is particularly evinced in the Anguttara-nikaya where the younger brother of Sariputtaa is recorded as admonishing the two parties not to criticise one another, but rather to speak praise of one another. `For wonderful, friends, are these individuals and hard to find in the world-these who have made direct contact (kayena phusitva) with the deathless element and remain there . . . For wonderful, friends, are these individuals and hard to find in the world-these who have pierced words of subtle meaning by means of wisdom and see [directly] . '  Nor should it be forgotten that the distinction of the two schools survives to some extent today in the Theravadin countries . They frequently have separate meditation centres and it is possible to meet with individuals who belittle one or the other practice . In the present context only the first of these approaches elicits our interest . So the first enquiry must be as to the aim of jhana practice . `This mind is, o bhikkhus, radiant but it is stained by stains which arrive ." This passage from the Ai guttara-nikaya is frequently referred to in the commentaries .  They understand it to mean that the natural state of the mind (pakati-mano) is pure and peaceful, free from all impurities and immoral states . (One is almost tempted to refer to this as `the Doctrine of Original Sinlessness' .) The stains are in fact seen as arriving spontaneously or superimposed . For Theravada this natural state of mind is bhavanga-citta, the state of the mind in deep, dreamless sleep.  The purpose of concentration in this context is aptly stated by Vajirnana `The mind which is wholly given to a single perception of a salutary kind becomes purely radiant and illuminant in its original state' .  This is appropriately shown by the simile for the fourth jhana : Monks, as a monk might be sitting down who has clothed himself including his head with a white cloth, no part of his whole body would not be suffused with the white cloth . Even so, monks, a monk, having suffused this very body with a mind that is utterly pure, utterly clean, comes to be sitting down ; there is no part of his whole body that is not suffused by a mind that is utterly pure, utterly clean . We find already in the Niddesa  the formal distinction of the commentaries between the non-lasting suppression (vikkhambhana) achieved by the jhanas and the final extirpation (samuccheda) of all immoral tendencies caused by the paths and fruits . The concept is no doubt already implicit in the nikayas even for the formless attainments . At AN 111 394-7 we find the impermanence of the four rupa jhdna firmly stressed and numerous other examples could no doubt be cited . Jhana practice is, then, intended only as a means to prepare the mind for understanding . It is not a goal in itself in the Buddhist context . A considerable moral preparation is in many cases stressed in the suttas. The Samannia phala-sutta gives the following preliminaries : the bhikkhu must observe the moral precepts (sila-sampanno) ; he must guard the sensedoors (indriyesu gutta-dvaro), he must possess mindfulness and clear comprehension, he must be content (santuttho) and he must dwell in a suitably secluded place . He then suppresses the five hindrances (nivarana) and acquires the opposing qualities . More often these preliminaries seem to be taken for granted and only the hindrances are mentioned . The commentaries in fact hold that they alone are specifically opposed to the attainment of jhana. These five hindrances may be looked at in more detail . The first is abhijjha, `longing for things', or more frequently kama-cchanda, `desire for objects of the five senses' . The second is oydpada padosa, `the corruption of ill-will' . According to the commentary this is synonymous with anger (kodha) .  The third is thina-m-iddha, which may originally have meant `increase of sleepiness', but at a very early date came to be understood as a dvandva, `sloth and torpor' . The fourth uddhacca-kukkucca, `excitement and remorse', seems to refer to states of a mildly manic-depressive nature . The last, vicikiccha, is literally `desire to discern', but has the sense of `incapacitating doubt' . The simile is given of the traveller in a desert who out of fear of imaginary robbers stops his journey or even turns back . Fear of the unknown is perhaps partly also implied . Clearly the removal of these obstacles is no mean task in itself and nor is a merely negative removal intended . In the sutta itself the removal of ill-will involves also `sympathy for the good of all beings' (sabba papa-bhuta-hitanukampi) and similar changes are required in the other cases .  In one case the five hindrances are directly equated to the stains (upakkilesa) mentioned previously . They are elsewhere likened to canals about a mountain stream which have to be shut off if the stream of the mind is to lose its turbulence .  The removal of `sloth and torpor' is of particular interest . The phrase used is : `perceiving light, mindful, clearly conscious he purifies the mind from sloth and torpor' . The Vibhanga does not seem to consider this as more than a metaphor for clarity of thought . The commentary to the Dighanikaya explains more literally : `endowed with pure perception free from the hindrances capable of perceiving light which is seen by night as by day'.  Light phenomena of various different kinds are characteristic of mysticism as indeed of many unusual states of mind .  One cause of these seems likely to be liberation of energy experienced as light through sensory translation .  This may be appropriate in the present case . In the commentarial literature the abandoning of the five hindrances is regarded as synonymous with the attainment of the first stage of concentration (samadhi) known as access (upacara) . The expression accessjhana is also occasionally employed, but more often the term jhana is reserved for full absorption (appana) which we shall consider later . The concept of access is not known to the Pali Canon, although it does seem to be implied in the Katha-vatthu . A very similar idea but employing different terminology is found in Sarvastivadin literature .  This would seem to imply either that it is older than the literary evidence would suggest or that it is implicit in the sutta formulation. The actual techniques employed to attain jhana are largely outside the scope of this enquiry and are in any case well-known . Of more immediate interest is the concept of the nimitta .  This in the older literature seems to denote the object of meditation, of whatever kind .  In the commentarial literature we find an important distinction into three types of nimitta : the preparatory (parikamma-) nimitta is the initial object-a prepared disc, a part of the body, the breath and so on . In modern times objects such as a candle, a bowl of flowers, a Buddha image are also used. Eventually it becomes possible to retain a visual or other representation of the preparatory object . This is the acquired (uggaha-) nimitta, which accord ing to the commentarial literature is visible whether the eyes are open or closed and is perceived `through the mind door as if seeing with the eye' .  Thirdly there arises the semblance (patibhaga-)nimitta . This is in a more abstract form which lacks irrelevant detail still present in the acquired nimitta . It is described as soft and delicate, much purer than the previous one.  It is a pure concept lacking physical reality and deriving from ideation (san"na ja) .  If then the object of concentration is, for example, the idea of blueness (nila-kasina), the semblance nimitta arises as soon as this idea is brought to mind in the same way as the reflection of the face appears immediately upon glancing at a mirror . These three nimittas are not found as such in the suttas. The commentaries, however, understand the term rupa in the canonical list of the eight spheres of mastery (abhibhayatana) to refer to the preparatory object and the acquired nimitta-and some of the specific objects are mentioned occasionally. The Katha-vatthu states that `concentration arises in one enjoying mental objects as such' and was certainly understood later as referring to the semblance nimitta . 38 The Sautrantika in the Abhidharma-kosa attributes to the meditation masters (yogacara) the teaching that : `through the power of concentration there arises for the practitioner of dhyana a rupa which is the object of concentration and which cannot be located because it is not an object of the sense of sight nor does it impose resistance [to the touch] because it is non-spatial .'  Clearly this is based upon some similar experience. Nevertheless the most striking evidence for the antiquity of the concept is to be found in the Upakkilesa-sutta .  Here emphasis is laid on the necessity of perceiving both a shining light (obhasa) and the appearance of rupas .  This perception is hindered by a series of stains (upakkilesa) : doubt, lack of attention, sloth and torpor, terror (chambhitattam), elation, depression (dutthulla), too much or too little energy, desire, various perceptions, too much thinking about rupas . The commentary understands this list as a continuing process in ordered succession . Interestingly the doubt is attributed to seeing varying forms, the terror to seeing (demoniac) ddnavas, rakkhasas, snakes and the like, while the desire is attributed to seeing a company of devas. These experiences are ascribed to increasing the light (alokam vaddhetva) . Some of Spiro's contemporary Burmese informants reported visionary occurrences.  In sum it may then be assumed that although the terminology is late, the substance which it describes is much earlier in date . Whether this is so or not, for these exercises the arrival of the third kind of nimitta is synonymous with reaching the stage of access jhana. It should be noted that those forms of meditative exercise which involve the repetition of formulae and those which develop particular emotional states are envisaged as taking rather divergent courses from those which have a material object . The Visuddhi-magga takes these latter as the basis for its normative description and it is convenient to follow it in this . Returning now to the Samanna phala-sutta, we find next a description of the process leading to concentration-a description occurring very widely in early Buddhist canonical literature . `When he sees that these five hindrances have been abandoned in himself, gladness (pamujja) arises ; to one who is glad, joy (piti) arises ; the body of one whose mind is joyful becomes calm ; one whose body has become calm experiences happiness (sukha) ; the mind of one who is happy becomes concentrated (samadhiyati) .' The concept ofpiti, translated above as joy, is perhaps central to the understanding of early Buddhism . Although a most frequently employed technical term in a number of differing contexts, its importance has often been overlooked. This has the result that early Buddhism comes to seem a somewhat dry and unemotional form of religion, even perhaps desiccated and intellectual . At DN III 241 we find five alternatives, each setting in motion the process described above : hearing a sermon, teaching dhamma, reciting dhamma, studying dhamma. Only the fifth, samadhi-nimitta, is a subject of meditation as such . To these others can easily be added-worship of relics, recollecting the qualities of the Triple Gem, and in later times the cult of the image . From these ingredients derives the not to be underestimated ceremonial and devotional side of Theravada Buddhism .  How then do the commentaries interpret the experience of piti ? The description given in the Visuddhi-magga is worth careful consideration . Here five kinds of piti are enumerated in ascending order . Minor (khuddika) piti is able to excite the hairs on the body . In fact according to the subcommentary it does so lightly and subsides, not to reappear .  Momentary (khanika) piti is like flashes of lightning from time to time . Descending (okkantika) piti descends again and again upon the body, as a wave descends upon the sea-shore, and subsides . Transporting (ubbega) piti (or one might translate frightening piti) is powerful . It makes the body buoyant and reaches the degree of causing it to jump in the air . The commentaries cite two examples of this levitation, both examples of strong religious devotion . The last kind, pervading (pharana) piti, pervades all through the whole body so that it is like a bag filled by blowing or like a rock-cave flooded by a great mass of water . According to the sub-commentary : `Pervading [piti] is much more excellent than transporting [piti] due to absence of motion and longlastingness .' It is the fifth kind which leads to full jhana .  The modern literature in Thailand apparently contains much more detail as to the physical and visionary side-effects of piti. In any case the intensity of the experience is already made clear in the frequent canonical similies which stress the superiority both in degree and in quality of the pleasure arising from jhana to any pleasure deriving from the senses .

Reference is probably intended here particularly though not exclusively to sexual pleasure . A translation of the term piti merely as `pleasurable interest' or as `zest' or `exuberance' is then inadequate from the point of view of conveying the intensity of the later stages of piti. The commentaries interpret the word pamujja which precedes piti in the canonical description given above as immature piti (taruna piti) . This would seem to require a fairly strong translation . In some ways the most suitable English word for the sutta usage would be `love', a term of suitably wide connotation in English, but if this is felt to be now too debased in usage, no doubt the best alternative where translation is required is the more usual `joy' .  Particularly important here is the common Indian use of priti to refer to the joyful and blissful aspects of family and marital love . In Pali likewise a distinction is found between piti associated with sensual passions (samisa) and dissociated from sensual passions (niramisa) . Piti is also explained by the term ananda ;  in fact this is the substitute adopted in the Yoga-sutra as a factor of concentration (samadhi) . It is interesting to compare the description of his experience of meditation given by one of Spiro's Burmese informants : `There is a tingling sensation in every part of the body, much more pleasurable than any sexual experience, including orgasm . In orgasm, the pleasure is restricted to one organ whereas this meditation pleasure suffuses the entire body ; it is felt in all of one's organs' .  A few more of the commentarial glosses seem worth noting . In the Vimutti-magga it is explained as a sixfold satisfying (pinana) of the mind produced through sense-desire, through faith, through absence of depression (akukkucca), through a secluded state (viveka),through concentration (samadhi) or through the factor of awakening (bojjhanga) . This is not taken up in later works, where piti is usually explained as having two senses ; the sense of causing delight (tapped i .e . < pri) and the sense of increasing (vaddheti i.e . < pi) . It has the characteristic mark of great fondness, the property of strengthening mind and body or the property of suffusing, and the manifestation of a state of elation .  `The property of suffusing' is understood in the sub-commentaries as meaning `the property of pervading the body with subtle forms (panitehi rupehi)' . Another definition is `satisfaction of the heart' .  According to the Digha-nikaya commentary piti arises `causing the whole body to shake', but the sub-commentary understands this to refer specifically to the stage of descending piti .  An udana is also explained as an utterance produced spontaneously under the influence of piti.  Again piti accompanied by greed brings excitement and is an obstacle to jhana in contrast to piti without greed. It is clear that piti refers to all the stages of joy between a mildly pleasurable interest and an ecstatic transport of delight. The English word which historically conveyed this range of meaning (mild interest, sexual pleasure, mystical love) is love, although piti refers rather to a state or experience than to a feeling directed towards an object . Indeed the commonplace contrast ofmysticism between carnal love and mystical love bears a family resemblance to the various uses of piti . Piti is, however, too central and fundamental a concept in early Buddhism for any portmanteau translation to be generally acceptable and it must surely take its place in the list of terms best retained untranslated. In the present context the particular importance of piti lies in its inclusion in descriptions of the first jhana . This is described in the Majjhimanikaya as `abandoning five factors, possessing five factors' .  Not surprisingly the former are the five hindrances, while the latter five factors given here constitute the standard list offactors of jhana as repeated in later texts . It may be noted that we do not find here or elsewhere in the Pali Canon the one for one correspondence of the two lists cited in the commentaries ` . . . it is said in the Petaka that concentration is the enemy of desire for objects of sense, piti of ill-will, initial thought (vitakka) of sloth and torpor, happiness (sukha) of excitement and remorse, sustained thought (vicdra) of incapacitating doubt . . .'  . This passage appears to have been lost from our text of the semi-canonical Petakopadesa .  The first two of these factors of jhana are vitakka and vicara, translated above as initial thought and sustained thought . Historically these are little more than two synonyms for `thinking', but in Buddhist usage they are given a distinct meaning which is followed also by the Yoga-sutra .The first denotes the directing of the mind to an object of thought or imagination while the second indicates rather the discipline which keeps it there." They are also described as the requisites for speech (vaci-sankhara) .  The next two factors of jhana are piti and sukha . In the technical sense with which we are again concerned, the former is differentiated as `delight through obtaining sight ofthe thing desired' as opposed to sukha which is `experiencing the flavour of what has been obtained' .  The difference intended appears to be between a relatively excited state (cetaso ubbilavita) and a more calm and peaceful type of happiness . The remaining factor cittass' ek'-aggata, literally 'one-pointedness of mind', is considered to be synonymous with concentration as a jhana factor. It refers specifically to a state in which the mind is absorbed in a single object . In the present context it is the ability to keep the attention, without wavering or trembling, aware only of the object of meditation. It should be noticed that this fifth factor, although absent from the ancient formula of the first jhana, is clearly implied by the epithet born of concentration (samadhija) applied to the second jhana . Fully developed, these five factors constitute jhana, but it is important to note that they may already be present in a weaker form in normal consciousness. So we read in the Visuddhi-magga : ` But although these five factors are also [present] at the moment of access and moreover are stronger in access than in normal consciousness, they are even stronger here (i .e . in absorption) than in access and acquire the characteristics of the form sphere' .  How exactly are we to understand this distinction between access concentration (upacara-samadhi) and absorption concentration (appana-samadhi) ?
The description of the commentaries is precise : `In access the factors have not become strong . Just as a baby boy lifts himself up and stands but again and again falls to the ground because his limbs (anga) have not become strong, even so, when access has arisen, because the factors (anga) have not become strong, the mind at one moment makes the nimitta its object and at another moment descends into bhav'-anga' .  So the process of developing concentration has reached a point at which there is a tendency towards loss of consciousness . But when full absorption is reached, ` . . Just as a strongman might rise from his seat and stand even for a whole day, even so, when absorption concentration has arisen, the mind breaks the flow of bhav'-anga at a single attempt and stands for a whole night and day, carrying on by means of a succession of wholesome javanas' . Stripped of the technical terminology of Theravadin psychology, this is to say that the state of jhana is not merely conscious, it is much more conscious than the normal state of mind . This requires some elaboration . According to the Theravadin explanation of the process of consciousness (citta-vithi), the series of thought moments which produces the illusion of a continuous entity occurs in a complex manner, which may be approximately described as two principal modes together with a number of transitional modes .  The two most frequent modes are bhav'-anga and javana . The former is the type of consciousness met with in an unmixed form in deep dreamless sleep . Javana or swift-moving consciousness is the kind with which good or bad mental acts are normally performed. Ordinary consciousness consists of a complex admixture of the two principal modes together with the transitional modes. In this way the varying phenomena of perception can be ingeniously accounted for ; for example very clear perceptions involve a higher proportion of javana moments, while less clear perceptions (as in dreams or at the margins of attention) involve a lower proportion .s v In effect normal consciousness consists ofa constant flickering between bhav'-anga and javana . In the jhana state this flickering is brought to a stop and a form of javana consciousness alone continues . This is considered to be a higher consciousness (mahaggata-citta ; adhicitta), particularly in comparison with the normal state in which less than half of the thought moments are consciously experienced . The bulk of the normal waking mental process is conceived of as below the threshold of awareness . Before finally taking leave of access concentration it is perhaps desirable to note that from the arising of this stage direct knowledge (abhinna) occurs. It is therefore here that the first parting of the ways arises . From this point it is possible to embark upon insight practice without entering jhdna. If jhdna practice is undertaken, it will be necessary to return therefrom in order to develop insight . It is perhaps now clear why it was felt necessary to reject La Vallee Poussin's understanding of insight as 'connaissance speculative' . We have already passed beyond the realm of the normal rational process . The clear distinction given above by the commentaries needs however some qualification. It would appear that for the beginner absorption is only  achieved for a very brief period .  The length of time depends at first upon the quality and length of the preliminary exercises but ultimately upon the skill acquired in the exercise of the five masteries (vasita) . These are first recorded as a list in the Patisambhida-magga, but they have a much greater antiquity.  The intention appears to be to habituate the process of entry into (trance-like) absorption and to bring it completely under voluntary control. The first of these, adverting (avajjana), appears to be the ability to bring the jhana factors into consciousness at speed . In other words the ability to reach a stage close to access at will . The second, attaining (samapajjand), is the ability to enter into `trance' as desired . This would however naturally last a period of time corresponding to the preliminary work . So the third is will (adhitthana) by which the meditator predetermines the period which the jhdna will last . Then comes emerging (vutthana), which refers to speed in the actual process of withdrawal from `trance' . The last is recollection (paccavekkhana) which is apparently the ability to maintain the jhana factors in consciousness continuously. According to the commentary this process of withdrawal can be compared to waking from sleep. 70 Indeed the whole in its developed form is reminiscent of the ability of some individuals to go to sleep at will or for a predetermined duration . The final result is apparently that the individual can enter and leave jhana within seconds . The meditator may then attempt to achieve the higher jhdnas. This is a process of gradual simplification by eliminating the factors until only onepointedness of mind is left . In the very frequent old formula cited hitherto, initial and sustained thought are eliminated to attain the second jhana, piti is eliminated to attain the third, and happiness to attain the fourth and l ast .  A variant list is found occasionally in the nikayas, which divides the first into two and combines the third and fourth into one .  Sometimes we find another list in three sections I . samadhi with both initial and sustained thought, with only the latter, with neither ; 2 . samadhi with or without piti ; 3 . samadhi with delight (suka) or with equanimity (upekkha) .  The Theravadin abhidhamma organizes this into an alternative list of five jhdnas . The Sarvastivada preferred to interpose a kind of half-way stage (dhyanantara) between the first and second jhanas .  In any case the difference seems to be mainly terminological, as so often with the disputes of the early schools . Both were clearly based upon the same material which must therefore be assumed to be of some antiquity . We should not however make the mistake of supposing that the list of jhana factors represents the totality of the qualities experienced therein . The old formula itself adds a number of others at different stages . In particular we may note internal repose (ajjhattam sampajada) for the second jhdna, mindfulness (sati) and clear comprehension (sampajana) for the third and purification of mindfulness by means of equanimity for the fourth . According to the commentaries, however, these qualities are present also in the firstjhana in lesser degree . In the case of mindfulness the commentary lays some stress on the point . `For even mere access does not succeed for one of confused mindfulness without clear comprehension, let alone absorption.'  In this the commentaries are clearly following an old tradition . In the Majjhima-nikaya we find a list of dhammas present in the first jhana which includes among others energy (viriya), mindfulness, equanimity and attention (manasi-kara) . The Dhamma-sangani gives a much longer list, which is identical with the list given for consciousness, defined as normal, happy and wholesome .  So rather surprisingly the abhidhamma does not reckon that jhana consciousness is strongly distinct in make-up from the better kinds of normal consciousness, as far as the accompanying factors (cetasika) are concerned . Good qualities are no doubt to be understood as much more powerful, and purer, through being unmixed subliminally with opposite qualities . Hatred in any form is totally absent. Moreover physical pain is not felt . In fact by the time the fourth jhana is reached, physical pleasure, as well as both pleasant and unpleasant emotion, have been gradually eliminated.  At this point it seems worthwhile to digress slightly and consider the exact definition of the term `trance' . The Concise O.E .D. gives the medical sense of the term as : `state of insensibility to external surroundings with partial suspension of vital functions, catalepsy, also hypnotic state' . Under `catalepsy' it gives : `suspension of sensation and consciousness accompanied by rigidity of the body' . It does not appear that any single usage commands general agreement in the literature of experimental psychology . For the sake of clarity it is then necessary to define the usage here followed . In the first instance the term `trance' is understood to be applicable through the varying degrees from light trance to deep trance, comprising such phenomena as increased suggestibility, anaesthesia, hallucinations of various kinds and ultimately catalepsy . Secondly the term is understood as being independent of the occurrence of partial or complete amnesia . In other words a lucid trance is also possible in the cases of both light and deep trance . It is also assumed that the capacity to experience trance is a normal function not necessarily pathological . As far as jhana is concerned it is by now amply clear that we are not dealing with an unconscious state . If we are to understand jhana as being a trance state, it must be as a lucid trance . It is equally clear that it possesses many of the characteristics of trance . The mind does not perceive through the five senses and is incapable of speech from the first jhana .  By the fourth all bodily activities have ceased .  The movement of the breath is explicitly mentioned and the heart-beat doubtless implied .  A form of catalepsy of the body is the rule in jhana . Later texts elevate this to the status of a proposition : `The javana of absorption control even posture (iriyapatha)' .  The allied concept of mind-produced (citta-samutthana) matter is used as the theoretical justification for such commonplaces of mysticism as survival without eating food, passing through the air, walking on water and the like .
Many also of the phenomena ancillary to visionary states can be recorded . Shaking of the body,  several different kinds of light, the acquiring of a mental body,  a special type of breathing distinct from the normal,  are all mentioned. Some too of the miraculous occurrences, conversations with deities and the like so frequent in the Pali Canon, are surely to be considered as genuine accounts of visionary experiences . To these one should perhaps add (in the development of insight) a relatively early stage at which the meditator thinks he is already enlightened .  All these phenomena are more or less normal to visionary states the world over . Nowadays one would of course add hypnotic states, drug-induced states and experiences resulting from sensory deprivation to the list .  The question then arises as to whether jhana is simply a normal trance state, no different from those occurring in auto-hypnosis or under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs . Unfortunately the question only has to be raised to realize the difficulties involved in answering it . Most of these are doubtless the province of psychologists or medical researchers as much as of students of religion . What is, however, of interest here are the distinctions which have been made in this matter within Buddhism itself . At least in modern writings the position is clear If the meditator notices that his meditation sessions are improving dramatically-he is attaining trance-like states of concentration-and yet there is no change in his daily life itself, he should be very wary and examine carefully the content and quality of his meditation sessions . It may well be that what he has been calling tranquillity and concentration is, in fact, a state of self-induced hypnotism .The latter, though interesting as a mental phenomenon, has no place in the context of Buddhist meditation . . .  But is any clear distinction to be found in earlier Buddhist thought between a lucid mediumistic or orgiastic trance and jhana ? The answer is, I think, that there is ; to my mind the clearest statement is given in the Abhidharma-kosa . In this non-Theravadin text we find a list of the four defiled (klesa) dhyanas.  In these the qualities of priti, happiness, repose, mindfulness, clear comprehension and purification are absent . With this may be compared a sutta in which Ananda distinguishes jhana praised by the Lord from that not praised by the Lord, which is accompanied by the five hindrances . Also the use of the term jhana in the Abhidhamma pitaka seems very close to the view here expressed in the Kosa.  One could add also the frequent emphasis upon right concentration (as opposed to wrong) in the suttas and commentaries. Presumably then if the Theravada did not use the term defiled jhana, it was because it was wished to emphasize the difference of Buddhist jhana from any ordinary trance state . This is the argument of the objector in the Kosa . On this basis we should understand the difference to lie in three directions firstly, in the presence in jhana of mindfulness and clear comprehension, i .e .a total absence of amnesia . Mindfulness is in fact sometimes described as the enemy of wrong concentration .  Secondly we might add the presence of piti and happiness in the first two jhanas-necessary to dispel the hindrances of anger on the one hand and excitement and remorse on the other . Thirdly the distinction between rupavacara consciousness and kamavacara consciousness lays stress on the sharp differentiation in kind between jhana consciousness and any normal consciousness even if wholesome and accompanied by the five factors as in the case of access concentration . After wandering afield into states which are, in the Buddhist conception, far from jhana, perhaps we should return and remind ourselves of the positive importance ascribed to the experience . Possibly we can accord some evidential value to the words of the Burmese Buddhist S . Z . Aung, written at the beginning of this century
. . . attainment in jhana is a very important psychological moment, marking an epoch in his mental experience for the person who succeeds in commanding it . He has for the first time in his life tasted something unlike anything he has ever experienced before . The feeling is simply indescribable. He felt an entirely changed person, purged from the Hindrances. He was living a new, higher life, the life of a god of the heavens called Rupa; experiencing the consciousness believed to be habitual to those dwelling there.
Space does not permit any consideration of the experiences of the four arupa-samapatti and the psychic powers (iddhi) . We may, however, note that the technique of attainment of jhana is informative as to its general role in Buddhist practice . It is apparently not possible to go directly from a lower jhana to a higher ."' In each case it is necessary to return to a more normal state of consciousness . The interpretation of this seems clear . Jhana is conceived of as calming and purifying the normal consciousness . This achieved, a higher jhana becomes possible, which in turn further purifies the normal state . The process obviously continues some way, but, although it could no doubt be quite long-lasting, it cannot achieve a permanent improvement. To that extent it might seem valueless . However the improved normal state of consciousness is itself of use in the process of increasing awareness by means of the vehicle of insight which constitutes the proper aim of Buddhist practice. To sum up, jhana practice involves the systematic induction of a very specific type of `trance' state under controlled conditions which necessarily require a previous clarity of consciousness and a well-balanced, happy frame of mind. It is clear that the use of the term `trance' in this context is only satisfactory if it is understood in a strictly medical sense as referring to specific physiological phenomena . Jhana is certainly not trance in the sense of a dull stupor nor does it involve catalepsy in the sense of `suspension of consciousness'. Even a lucid trance, if it was accompanied by the five hindrances, would be considered quite distinct from jhana as an aspect of Buddhist practice .