Dhyana/Jhana

Buddhaghosa’s Definition of Jhāna

Jhāna is so called because it thinks closely of an object or because it burns those averse things (hindrances—nīvaraṇas) 
Concentrating one’s mind on an object and reflecting on it is called meditation. Its Pali equivalent is jhāna and Sanskrit equivalent is dhyāna. “Jhāna” is derived from “jhāyati” , which has two meanings. The first meaning is to concentrate one’s mind on an object and to think deeply and carefully (jhāyati, dhyāyati) about it. The second meaning is to burn up (jhāyati, kṣāyati) all which act as enemies to proper reflection and concentration on it.
Jhāna can be translated into English as absorption, trance, and meditation.
For concentrating one’s mind to practice meditation, what is necessary is to get rid of five hindrances such as kāmacchanda (sensuous desire), vyāpāda (ill will), thīnamiddha (sloth and torpor), uddhaccakukkucca (restlessness and scruples), and vicikicchā (doubt). They are all defilements of mind and unless the mind is free from them it cannot attain concentration .
But it does not mean that the mind has to be made completely free from all of them before one can be able to practice meditation. What it means is that one can concentrate one’s mind only when it is free from them. Even if they are suspended temporarily, one can practice meditation. Temporary suspension is called vikkhambhana pahāna  (overcoming through repression). The degree of the concentration of the mind achieved is directly proportional to the abandoning of hindrances.
What does temporary suspension of hindrances mean? It means that one has abandoned sensual desire and is free from it for the time being. Similarly he abandons other four hindrances and is free from them temporarily. So long as he is free from them, he enters into the first rūpāvacara jhāna (the first stage of fine material sphere).

Types of Rūpāvacara Jhāna

There are four types of rūpāvacara jhāna according to the Sutta Piṭaka  and five types according to the Abhidhamma Piṭaka .

Five Factors of Rūpāvacara Jhāna

There are five factors of rūpāvacara jhāna. They are vitakka (a thought arises in one’s mind), vicāra (he begins to think about it), pīti (thinking about it he feels rapture), sukha (rapture leads to happiness and joy), and ekaggatā (and then his mind is concentrated) .
According to the Sutta Piṭaka, there are four stages of rūpavacara (fine material sphere) jhāna. When one progresses from the first stage to the second, the first two factors of jhāna are dropped. According to the Abhidhamma these two factors are not dropped at a time but in two stages. Therefore there are five stages of rūpāvacara jhāna according to it. In this stage he practices meditation filled with pīti (rapture) and sukha (joy). The difference between pīti and sukha is that the first is mental and the second is physical.
When one enters into the 3rd jhāna, rapture fades, sukha is replaced by equanimity, and he is mindful and conscious. In this stage of jhāna, he experiences in his person that feeling about which the noble ones (ariyā) say, “Happy lives the man of equanimity and attentive mind” [8].
In the 4th stage of jhāna, he transcends pleasure and pain and develops upekkhā (equanimity) and ekaggatā (mindfulness, one-pointedness of mind). This is the highest stage of rūpāvacara jhāna.
Practicing rūpāvacara jhāna his mind becomes very subtle. He overcomes perceptions of matter and enters into the immaterial sphere to practice jhāna. He reaches the boundless space (ākāsānañcāyatana) and abides in it. He progresses further, his mind becomes subtler, and in the second stage of arūpāvacara jhāna, he reaches the sphere of boundless consciousness (viññāṇañcāyatana) and abides in it. He transcends it also and reaches the sphere of nothingness (ākiñcaññāyatana) and abides in it. The last stage of arūpāvacara jhāna is the stage of “neither perception nor non-perception” called “nevasaññān’āsaññāyatana” and abides there [9].
When his mind becomes very subtle, then it becomes fit for practicing vipassana.
From what has been said above, let no one get the impression that vipassana can be practiced only after passing through all the stages described above. It is not so. There are moments while practicing jhāna when one attains samādhi (concentration). At that time he can practice vipassana; otherwise, his whole life may be wasted in the hope to attain such concentration of the mind from where he will never fall.
Just as sīla, samādhi, and paññā can be practiced together, in the same way attainment of samādhi and practice of vipassana can go hand in hand and can go together.
From what has been shown above, it is clear that the arūpāvacara jhāna is subtler than the rūpāvacara jhāna. There is another difference. In the rūpāvacara jhāna when one moves from the first to the last stage, factors of jhāna are dropped. In the last stage of the rūpāvacara jhāna, only two factors upekkhā and ekaggatā remain.

Arūpāvacara Jhāna

In the arūpāvacara jhāna, the factors of jhāna, i.e., upekkhā and ekaggatā, are the same, but the subject of meditation changes.

40 Subjects of Meditation

In the Visuddhimaggo it has been explained how full concentration and absorption can be achieved by means of the 40 subjects of meditation.
Out of forty subjects of meditation, ten are called kasiṇas. A kasiṇa is a purely external device to attain concentration. There are 10 kasiṇas such as earth kasiṇas, water kasiṇas, fire kasiṇas, wind kasiṇas, blue kasiṇas, yellow kasiṇas, red kasiṇas, white kasiṇas, space kasiṇas, and consciousness kasiṇas.
These kasiṇas are a great help in producing four absorptions. Besides there are 30 more subjects of meditation suitable for different types of people [10].
There are ten loathsome subjects called asubha, most suitable for people who are of passionate character (rāga carita).
There are ten anussatis (recollections like buddhānussati, dhammānussati, etc.), most suitable subjects of meditation for those who are faithful.
There are four brahmavihāras such as mettā (loving kindness), karuṇā (compassion), muditā (sympathetic joy), and upekkhā (equanimity).
Four (4) immaterial spheres also form subjects of meditation.
Apart from them, there are two more: (1) āhāre paṭikūla saññā (perception of loathsomeness of food) and (2) catudhātu vavatthāna (analysis of four elements) [11].
All these jhānas come under samatha, the purpose of which is to attain concentration of the mind.
With such concentrated mind, one can practice vipassana and realize the three characteristics of all things of the world and develop nonattachment. The three characteristics are anicca (impermanent), dukkha (suffering), and anattā (not self or substanceless, impersonality) kasiṇas.

Ārammaṇūpanijjhāna and Lakkhaṇūpanijjhāna

Dhyāna or jhāna is of two types, one in which one concentrates one’s mind on different kasiṇas and the other in which one reflects on the three characteristics of things such as anicca, dukkha, and anatta. The first is called ārammaṇūpanijjhāna and the second is called lakkhaṇūpanijjhāna 

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