The Four Jhānas
(from the dialogue with Sandaka)
[309] Sandaka, the Tathāgata appears in the world as an Arahant, Fully Self-Awakened, perfect in knowledge and conduct, well-gone, knower of the world, unsurpassed trainer of those who can be trained, teacher of devas and humans, the Enlightened One, the Blessed One.
With His unsurpassed wisdom He makes this world — with its gods, Māras, and Brahmās — fully known, and then teaches beings, together with contemplatives, brahmins, devas and humans, the Dhamma: beautiful in the beginning, beautiful in the middle, beautiful in the end. He proclaims the holy life in both meaning and expression — perfectly pure.
A householder, or the son of a householder, or anyone of any clan, hears this Dhamma. On hearing it, faith in the Tathāgata arises. With such faith he reflects:
“The household life is cramped, a path of dust. The life gone forth is wide open. It is not easy to live the holy life perfectly and purely in the midst of a household. Let me shave hair and beard, put on the ochre robe, and go forth.”
In time, he abandons great and small possessions, leaves behind great and small relations, shaves hair and beard, puts on the robe, and goes forth.
Having gone forth, he dwells fulfilled in the training and livelihood of bhikkhus: refraining from killing living beings, from stealing, from sexual intercourse, from false speech, from divisive speech, from harsh speech, from idle chatter.
He abstains from wrong livelihood, from accepting gold and silver, uncooked grain, raw meat, women and girls, slaves, livestock, land and fields; refrains from trade, from fraud, from deceit, from buying and selling, from violence, robbery, and coercion.
Content with robe-cloth and almsfood, like a bird that flies with only its wings, so the bhikkhu travels with only these essentials.
Seeing forms with the eye, he does not grasp signs or details; thus he guards the eye-faculty. Likewise for the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.
Possessing noble restraint of the faculties, purified mindfulness and clear comprehension, contentment, and dwelling in solitude — forest, root of a tree, mountain, ravine, cave, charnel ground, open space, or heap of straw — after the meal he sits down cross-legged, holds the body straight, and establishes mindfulness before him.
He abandons sensual desire; his mind is free from it. He abandons ill will, cruelty, sloth-and-torpor, restlessness-and-worry, and doubt — purifying the mind from each of the five hindrances.
The First Jhāna
Quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, he enters and abides in the first jhāna, with vitakka and vicāra, with rapture and pleasure born of seclusion.
Wherever disciples attain such lofty qualities, there a wise person lives the holy life purely and brings the wholesome to fulfilment.
The Second Jhāna
With the quieting of vitakka and vicāra, the mind becomes inwardly unified, free from directed and sustained thought; filled with rapture and pleasure born of concentration, the bhikkhu enters and abides in the second jhāna.
The Third Jhāna
With the fading of rapture, he abides in equanimity, mindful and clearly comprehending, experiencing pleasure with the body. Thus he enters and abides in the third jhāna, which the noble ones praise: “Equanimous and mindful, he dwells in happiness.”
The Fourth Jhāna
With the abandoning of pleasure and pain, with the earlier disappearance of joy and grief, he enters and abides in the fourth jhāna, purity of mindfulness established by equanimity.
Wherever disciples realize such excellent attainments, there the wise live the holy life fully, bringing to completion the path that leads out of suffering.
End of the section on the Four Jhānas
Short Pāli Glossary (concise · intensive)
Tathāgata — the Thus-Gone One; epithet of the Buddha Arahant — one whose āsavas are ended; fully liberated sikkhā — training (sīla, samādhi, paññā) samaṇa — contemplative; renunciant sammā-ājīva — right livelihood nīvaraṇa — five hindrances: kāmacchanda, byāpāda, thīna-middha, uddhacca-kukkucca, vicikicchā vitakka / vicāra — initial and sustained application of mind pīti — rapture; uplifting joy sukha — pleasure; ease upekkhā — equanimity ekaggatā — one-pointedness jhāna — meditative absorption saṃyojana — fetter sati-sampajañña — mindfulness and clear comprehension indriya-saṃvara — restraint of the sense faculties viveka — seclusion (kāya-viveka, citta-viveka) brahmacariya — the holy life; purity in conduct āloka-saññā — perception of light (as antidote to sloth) upasama — pacification; calm bhāvanā — cultivation (mental development)