“And what, bhikkhus, is right concentration? Here, bhikkhus, (1) completely secluded from sense pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, a bhikkhu enters and dwells in the first jhāna, which has initial-application, and sustained-application, with joy and bliss that are born of seclusion; (2) With the subsiding of initial-application and sustained-application, he enters and dwells in the second jhāna which has inner clarity and unification of mind, which is without initial-application and sustained-application, which has joy and bliss born of concentration; (3) With the fading away as well of joy he dwells equanimous, mindful and clearly comprehending, and he experiences bliss with the body; he enters and dwells in the third jhāna of which the Noble Ones declare ‘He is equanimous, mindful, one who dwells in bliss;’ (4) With the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the previous disappearance of happiness and unhappiness, he enters and dwells in the fourth jhāna which is without pain and pleasure, a [state of] purity of mindfulness due to equanimity. This, bhikkhus, is called right concentration.”From this and similar passages (e.g. Dīgha-Nikāya Sutta 22, Majjhima-Nikāya Sutta 141, Vibhaṅga Saccavibhaṅga) it seems that right concentration of the Noble Eightfold Path must necessarily consists of the four jhānas. But is this always the case? Can right concentration be some concentration other than these samatha jhānas?
There are passages in the canonical texts which suggest that this is possible. In these passages the Buddha usually describes, without mentioning any development of jhāna at all, the practice of the development of vipassanā or insight that culminates in the realization of the fruit of arahatship or the attainment of one of the lower path and fruition.
The first example of suttas which we can cite to show that right concentration need not necessary be in the order of the samatha jhāna is the Mahāsaḷāyatanika Sutta (Majjhima-Nikāya sutta 149). This sutta describes the practice of pure development of vipassanā without any mention of samatha jhānas. The major portion of this sutta is as follows:
“Bhikkhus, when one knows and sees the eye as it really is, when one knows and sees visible-forms as they really are, when one knows and sees eye-consciousness as it really is, when one knows and sees eye-contact as it really is, when one knows and sees as it really is the feeling, pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant, that arises with eye-contact as a condition, then one is not overcome by lust for the eye, for visible-forms, for eye-consciousness, for eye-contact, for the feeling, pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant, that arises with eye-contact as a condition.In the complete sutta the Buddha repeated the same passage just quoted with reference to the other five sense-bases i.e. ear, nose, etc. What is significant about this sutta is that even though it describes pure vipassanā practice without involving any development of samatha jhāna, yet the Buddha said that the concentration that is developed as a result of this practice is the right concentration of the Noble Eightfold Path. The fulfillment of the Noble Eightfold Path through development here is the culmination of vipassanā practice which, in the case of this particular sutta, means the attainment of the path of the arahat (arahatta-magga). Since this sutta describes pure vipassanā practice without any development of jhāna, the concentration which is developed here is not that of samathat jhāna. It is the concentration peculiar to the development of vipassanā called momentary concentration (khaṇika-samādhi), also called momentary unification of the mind (khaṇikacittekaggatā) which is described thus in the Mahā-Ṭīkā, the commentary to the Visuddhimagga:
“For one who dwells not overcome by lust, unfettered, undeluded, contemplating danger, the five aggregates subject to clinging go towards future diminution. And his craving, which leads to renewed existence, which is accompanied by delight and lust, which finds delight here and there, is abandoned. His bodily woes are abandoned, his mental woes are abandoned, his bodily torments are abandoned, his mental torments are abandoned, his bodily fevers are abandoned, his mental fevers are abandoned, and he experiences bodily and mental pleasure.
“The view of such a person is right view, the thought of such a person is right thought, the effort of such a person is right effort, the mindfulness of such a person is right mindfulness, the concentration of such a person is right concentration. But his bodily action, verbal action and livelihood have been well-purified earlier. Thus for him the Noble Eightfold Path comes to fulfillment through development.”
“Momentary unification of the mind: concentration lasting for a moment. For that too, when it occurs uninterruptedly on its object in a single mode and is not overcome by opposition (i.e. the hindrances), fixes the mind immovably as if in absorption.”Momentary concentration is so called because of the nature of the vipassanā objects which it contemplates. Vipassanā objects consist of formations or conditioned realities (saṅkhārā, basically mental and physical phenomena) which ceaselessly arise and pass away from moment to moment. They last but a single brief moment. Therefore the concentration that depends on objects of such a nature must necessarily also last only a single moment. But when momentary concentration is well developed it occurs repeatedly and uninterruptedly moment after moment, taking as its object the saṅkhāras that arise and pass away in each moment. Because of this continuous and uninterrupted re-occurrence of momentary concentration the jhāna factors associated with this momentary concentration gather momentum and strength from moment after moment and, eventually, are able to overcome the mental hindrances to the practice. When this happens the mind becomes fixed on the flow of saṅkhāras as if it is in absorption. Because it is able to overcome and suppress the five mental hindrances to the practice, this vipassanā momentary concentration is able to fulfill the function of right concentration or purification of mind (citta-visuddhi). Because this momentary concentration can, when it is well developed, fix the mind on the flow of saṅkhāras as if in absorption, some present day teachers like Mahāsi Sayādaw had referred to it as vipassanā-jhāna.
~ Mahā-Ṭīkā Vol 1, para 235, Burmese Edition
The Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (Majjhima Nikāya, Sutta 10) can also be cited here to show that right concentration is not necessarily jhāna. This Sutta describes the practice of Satipaṭṭhāna, the practice for the firm establishment of mindfulness, by means of twenty one different Satipaṭṭhāna objects. At the end of the sutta the Buddha gave the assurance that anyone who practice Satipaṭṭhāna in the way described in this Sutta for a period of time ranging from anywhere between seven years to seven days, will be assured of either the attainment of the final knowledge of an arahat or at least the attainment of the path and fruit of the non-returner. Yet among the twenty one objects listed in this sutta only the breath, the bodily parts and the nine cemetery contemplation, are capable of arousing jhāna. The four material elements may produce access concentration if pursued as a samatha practice. If pursued as a pure vipassanā practice it produces vipassanā momentary concentration. The others are pure vipassanā objects which produce only vipassanā momentary concentration. And yet the Buddha said that they are capable of bringing about the attainment of arahatship or at least the state of a non-returner if practiced properly in the way described.
Next example is the case of the bhikkhus of the group of five to whom the Buddha taught the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (Saṃyutta-Nikāya, Saccasaṃyutta, Sutta 11; Vinaya Mahāvagga, Mahākhandhaka, Pañcavaggiyakathā) the first major discourse he gave after his enlightenment. Prior to listening to this discourse it is not mentioned any where that these five bhikkhus have any attainment of jhānas. While the Buddha was considering to whom he should first teach the Dhamma, he thought of his two teachers with whom he had sought pupil-ship while he was still an unenlightened Bodhisatta, Āḷāra Kālāma and Uddaka Rāmaputta, and he described them as having “little dust [in their eye of wisdom] for a long time.” This according to the vinaya commentary means that they are “pure being who is without mental defilements because [the defilements] have been suppressed by their attainment [of jhānas].” These two teachers had been jhāna-attainers for a long time and through their jhānas they had been able to keep their mental defilements in a suppressed state, but not entirely cut off yet. Their defilements are merely in a dormant state and still have the potential to resurface should they fall away from their jhāna. But because the dusts of mental defilements are suppressed by the jhāna their eye of wisdom are not obstructed and so they would have easily understood the Dhamma if the Buddha taught it to them. Unfortunately by the time the Buddha was ready to teach the Dhamma both of them have passed away and have been reborn in the immaterial world where the Buddha could not help them with the Dhamma.
After the Buddha realized that both of them have passed away, he thought of the bhikkhus of the group of five. But when he thought of them the Buddha did not describe them as having little dust in their eyes of wisdom for a long time, like Āḷāra Kālāma and Uddaka Rāmaputta. This can only mean that they do not have any jhāna attainment, for otherwise the Buddha would have described them in the same way. Instead, the Buddha merely described them as having been helpful in attending to him while he was striving for Buddhahood. And yet without any prior attainment of jhāna, we know from the account given in the Vinaya that all of them were established in the fruit of stream winner while listening to a Dhamma discourse given by the Buddha, in the case of Ven. Koṇdañña, while listening to the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta itself, and in the case of the other four bhikkhus while listening, presumably, to an elaboration of the same sutta.
The main topic the Buddha discussed in the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta is the four Noble Truths. The first truth is the truth of suffering which consists of the five aggregates subject to clinging which the Buddha said should be fully understood (pariññeyyaṃ). The second truth is the truth of the origin of suffering which is craving that should be abandoned (pahātabbaṃ). The third truth is the truth of the cessation of suffering which is the cessation of craving itself, or Nibbāna, which should be realized (sacchikātabbaṃ). And the fourth truth is the truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering, the Noble Eightfold Path, which should be developed (bhāvetabbaṃ). These four truths had been called “The Dhamma discourse unique to the Buddha” (buddhānaṃ sāmukkaṃsikā dhammadesanā). This teaching of the four noble truths is, indeed, unique to the Buddhas, for there are no other spiritual teachers who had taught these four truths other than the Buddhas or their disciples.
However, these four truths are merely the theoretical aspect of this unique teaching of the Buddhas. Their practical aspect is the practice for the development of vipassanā itself, which, again, is a practice unique to the Buddhas’ teaching. These teaching of these four truths is actually a very concise theoretical exposition for the development of vipassanā. The truth of suffering, the five aggregates subject to clinging, or the saṅkhāras mentioned above, constitutes the objects of vipassanā contemplation. By contemplating them the yogi comes to understand their nature of impermanent, suffering, and non-self, i.e. he fully understood (pariññātaṃ) the first truth. And by so doing he develop revulsion and dispassion towards the five aggregates subject to clinging, as a result of which he dispels any attachment and craving he has towards these aggregates, i.e. he abandoned (pahīnaṃ) the second truth, which is craving. When the truth of the origin of suffering has been abandoned his mind lets go of the truth of suffering and turns towards the cessation of suffering and realized (sacchikataṃ) the third truth, Nibbāna. And the practice of the development of vipassanā itself constitute the fourth truth, the Noble Eightfold Path, which he had developed (bhāvitaṃ). So we can say that this Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta is in a way an exposition on vipassanā practice, listening to which the five bhikkhus became established in the fruit of stream winner.
Then, later, while listening to the Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta (Saṃyutta-Nikāya, Khandhasaṃyutta, Sutta 59; Vinaya Mahāvagga, Mahākhandhaka, Pañcavaggiyakathā), the five bhikkhus are said to become established in the fruit of arahatship. In Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta there is no mention of any jhāna practice at all. It is a sutta containing purely an instruction on vipassanā development alone. The main portion of this sutta in abbreviated form is as follow:
“Bhikkhus, materiality is non-self. For if materiality were self, this materiality would not lead to affliction, and it would be possible to [wish] thus of materiality ‘May my materiality be thus, may my materiality not be thus.’ But because materiality is non-self, materiality leads to affliction, and it is not possible to [wish] thus of materiality ‘May my materiality be thus, may my materiality not be thus.’
“Feeling is non-self … Perception is non-self … Formations are non-self … Consciousness is non-self. For if consciousness were self, this consciousness would not lead to affliction, and it would be possible to [wish] thus of consciousness ‘May my consciousness be thus, may my consciousness not be thus.’ But because consciousness is non-self, consciousness leads to affliction, and it is not possible to [wish] thus of consciousness ‘May my consciousness be thus, may my consciousness not be thus.’
“What do you think, bhikkhus, is materiality permanent or impermanent?” “Impermanent, venerable sir.” “That which is impermanent, is it suffering or pleasure?” “Suffering, venerable sir.” “That which is impermanent, suffering, and subjected to change, is it proper to regard it thus ‘This is mine, this I am, this is my self?” “No, venerable sir.”
“Is feeling permanent or impermanent? … Is perception permanent or impermanent? … Are formations permanent or impermanent? … Is consciousness permanent or impermanent?” “Impermanent, venerable sir.” “That which is impermanent, is it suffering or pleasure?” “Suffering, venerable sir.” “That which is impermanent, suffering, and subjected to change, is it proper to regard it thus ‘This is mine, this I am, this is my self?” “No, venerable sir.”
“Therefore, bhikkhus, whatever materiality, past, future, or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, that which is far or near, all materiality should seen as it really is with right wisdom thus ‘This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self.’
“Whatever feeling … Whatever perception … Whatever formations … Whatever consciousness, past, future, or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, that which is far or near, all consciousness should seen as it really is with right wisdom thus ‘This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self.’
“Seeing thus, bhikkhus, the instructed noble disciple has revulsion towards materiality, towards feeling, towards perception, towards formations, towards consciousness. Having revulsion, he becomes dispassionate; Through dispassion [his mind] is liberated. When it is liberated there is the knowledge ‘It is liberated.’ He knows ‘Birth is exhausted, the holy life has been lived, what is to be done has been done, there is nothing more beyond this.”
This is what the Blessed One said. Delighted the bhikkhus of the group of five rejoiced in the Blessed One’s words. And while this exposition was being spoken the minds of these bhikkhus of the group of five were liberated from the taints through non-clinging.
Looking at the account of the Dhammacakkappavattana and Anattalakkhaṇa Suttas, it seems that the listeners attain their respective path and fruition merely by listening to a sutta. What type of concentration did they developed then? The answer is, because they were listening to an exposition on the development of vipassanā they were practicing vipassanā meditation, and so the concentration that they developed was vipassanā momentary concentration. Actually they did not get enlightened just by listening to the discourse of the Buddha. The discourse is merely a means by which the Buddha pointed them to the right practice of vipassanā development. Without doing the practice itself and developing vipassanā insight into the impermanent, suffering, and non-self nature of the saṅkhāras, it would be impossible for them to developed revulsion and dispassion towards the saṅkhāras and thus liberate their minds and become enlightened. But these were people with pāramīs, spiritual perfections. They have cultivated this practice in many of their past lives, and have developed a strong inclination towards the practice and are thoroughly familiar with it. The Buddha had to merely give them the method suitable to their tendencies in order to arouse this inclination already build up and latent in their mind from past practice, and this would be enough to call up the habitual tendencies of past practice and immediately launch their mind into the practice of vipassanā development, leading them to revulsion, dispassion and finally enlightenment. And so it appears that even while listening to the suttas they got enlightened.
Another example is the Ādittapariyāya Sutta (Saṃyutta-Nikāya, Saḷāyatanasaṃyutta, Sutta 28; Vinaya Mahāvagga, Mahākhandhaka, Uruvelapāṭihāriyakathā) which was taught to the Kassapa brothers and their one thousand disciples after they were converted to the fold of the Sāsana by the Buddha. The account of the conversion of these matted-hair ascetics (Vinaya Mahāvagga, Mahākhandhaka, Uruvelapāṭihāriyakathā) by the Buddha prior to the delivery of this sutta suggests that before their conversion they were ascetics who were involved with rituals of fire-sacrifice and bathing in the river and do not seem to have practiced any form of meditation, and that before listening to this sutta none of them possess any jhānas. Yet upon listening to this sutta where the Buddha gave instruction on the development of vipassanā, again without any mention of jhāna, all of them attained the fruit of arahatship. The main portion of this sutta in abbreviated form is as follow:
“Bhikkhus, all is burning. And what, bhikkhus, is the all that is burning?Yet another example is the Bāhiya Sutta (Udāna Chapter 1, Sutta 10). In this Sutta the Buddha gave Bāhiya Dārucīriya a very concise and terse instruction on the development of vipassanā thus: “In the seen there will be only the seen; In the heard there will be only the heard; In the sensed there will be only the sensed; In the cognized there will only be only the cognized.”
“The eye is burning, visible-forms are burning, eye-consciousness is burning, eye-contact is burning, feeling that arises with eye-contact as condition – either pleasant, painful, or neither painful nor pleasant – that too is burning. Burning with what? Burning with the fire of lust, with the fire of hatred, with the fire of delusion, burning with birth, ageing, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, unhappiness, despair, I say.
“The ear is burning, sounds are burning …
“The nose is burning, odors are burning …
“The tongue is burning, tastes are burning …
“The body is burning, tangibles are burning …
“The mind is burning, mind-objects are burning, mind-consciousness is burning, mind-contact is burning, feeling that arises with mind-contact as condition – either pleasant, painful, or neither painful nor pleasant – that too is burning. Burning with what? Burning with the fire of lust, with the fire of hatred, with the fire of delusion, burning with birth, ageing, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, unhappiness, despair, I say.
“Seeing thus, bhikkhus, the instructed noble disciple has revulsion towards the eye, towards visible-forms, towards eye-consciousness, towards eye-contact, towards feeling that arises with eye-contact as condition – either pleasant, painful, or neither painful nor pleasant;
“He has revulsion towards the ear, towards sounds…
“He has revulsion towards the nose, towards odors …
“He has revulsion towards the tongue, towards tastes …
“He has revulsion towards body, towards tangibles …
“He has revulsion towards the mind, towards mind-objects, towards mind-consciousness, towards mind-contact, towards feeling that arises with mind-contact as condition – either pleasant, painful, or neither painful nor pleasant.
“Having revulsion, he becomes dispassionate; Through dispassion [his mind] is liberated. When it is liberated there is the knowledge ‘It is liberated.’ He knows ‘Birth is exhausted, the holy life has been lived, what is to be done has been done, there is nothing more beyond this.”
And while this exposition was being spoken the minds of these thousand bhikkhus were liberated from the taints through non-clinging.
It is said that listening to this instruction of the Buddha, Bāhiya attained the fruit of arahatship right there. The circumstances of Bāhiya prior to listening to this discourse as given in the commentary (the little that is said about him in the Sutta is elaborated in the commentary) again suggest that Bāhiya could not have had any jhāna attainment then. He was a sea-faring merchant who got shipwrecked in the middle of the ocean. As he was swept ashore by the current he lost all his clothing. Out of a sense of shame, as he was near a port town, he fashioned some clothing from the wood materials in the forest to cover himself. As he went about the town in search for food the people mistaken him for an ascetic and from his simple clothing they surmised that he must be an arahat. They started to venerate him as an arahat and shower him with gifts and offertories.
This eventually got to his head and he began to act the part of an arahat and finally, even believe himself to be an arahat. But fortunately he was brought back to his senses by a brahma (described as a devatā in the Sutta), a non-returner, whom had been his companion in the holy life in one of his past life. The brahma then pointed him to the Buddha who was a true arahat. Moved by a sense of urgency he set out immediately to meet the Buddha who was living at Sāvatthi which is a hundred and twenty leagues from where he was. But it is said that through the help of the brahma he managed to cover the distance and arrived at Sāvatthi within a single night. Upon seeing the Buddha he was so filled with joy and moved by his sense of urgency he immediately requested the Buddha to teach him. But the Buddha refused his request twice seeing that his mind was too excited with joy and also his body was exhausted from the journey. Only on his third request, when he had calmed down considerably, did the Buddha teach him. This account of Bāhiya hardly portrays a jhāna-attainer.
There are also many instances in the suttas where the Buddha taught his listeners a graduated discourse (anupubbi kathā) beginning with a talk on generosity, followed by a talk on virtue, then a talk on the heavens, and finally a talk on the faults, vileness, and defilements of sensual pleasures, and the benefits of renunciation. At this point, having listened to all these talks, the minds of the listeners are described to be ready, malleable, free from the hindrances, elated and clear. When the Buddha knows this he will then teach them the Dhamma discourse which is unique to the Buddha, i.e. the four Noble Truths, which as explained above is a concise exposition on the practice of the development of vipassanā. Then the listeners, their minds compared to a piece of clean and spotless cloth which would readily take on the dye, are said to attain the spotless, stainless vision of the Dhamma, i.e. the knowledge of the stream winner path.
The listeners of these graduated discourse like Yasa, his parents, his former wife, and his fifty four friends (Vinaya Mahāvagga, Mahākhandhaka, Pabbajjākathā), the group of thirty Bhaddavaggiya bhikkhus (Vinaya Mahāvagga, Mahākhandhaka, Bhaddavaggiyavatthu), the Brahmin Pokkharasāti (Dīgha-Nikāya Sutta 3), the Brahmin Kūṭadanta (Dīgha-Nikāya Sutta 5), etc. were mostly busy householders who immerse themselves in the enjoyment of sensual pleasures. They can hardly be jhāna-attainers. Yet while listening to this graduated discourse their mind are said to become malleable, free from the hindrances, elated and clear and ready to receive the vision of the Dhamma. This state of mind point to a degree of calmness and tranquility (samatha) which, as implied by these suttas, is enough for the mind to attain the path of a stream winner. In the case of Yasa, when he listened to this graduated discourse for a second time, it was enough for him to attain even arahatship. The most important feature of their mental state is the freedom from the hindrances which is a function of right concentration. The whole purpose of right concentration or purification of the mind (citta-visuddhi) is to free the mind from the five hindrances which obstruct the development of wisdom or insight. But this state of mind which is achieved while listening to a discourse cannot possibly be jhāna concentration. When a person enters the jhāna his mind will be totally absorbed into the jhāna object and he will be totally unaware of any other object through the five physical senses, including the sound of the discourse spoken by the Buddha. And if he cannot hear the discourse it will be impossible for him to comprehend it, much less attain the path and fruition knowledge.
There are many other such suttas where the Buddha described the practice of pure vipassanā, where no mention is made of any development of jhāna, and at the end of the discourse the Buddha said that this practice leads to the realization of the fruit of arahatship or some other lower path and fruition (e.g. Majjhima-Nikāya Suttas 11, 22, 37, 74; Saṃyutta-Nikāya Khandhasaṃyutta, Suttas 12-20; Saḷāyatanasaṃyutta, Suttas 1-12, 234, just to name a few).
The last sutta we would like to cite to show that right concentration need not necessarily be jhāna is the Cūḷadukkhakkhandha Sutta (Majjhima-Nikāya Sutta 14). In this sutta the Buddha told Mahānāma the Sākyan this:
“Even though a noble disciple has well seen as it really is with right wisdom that sensual pleasures provides little gratification, much suffering, much despair, and more faults, as long as he has not attain to the joy and bliss that is apart from sensual pleasures and unwholesome states, or to some other more peaceful [attainment] than that, he is one who is liable to resort back to sensual pleasures.”The commentary to this sutta explains the noble disciple in this passage as the noble disciple of the two lower paths, i.e. the stream-winner and the once-returner. The right wisdom with which he had seen that sensual pleasures provides little gratification, etc. is insight wisdom (vipassanā-paññā) or the knowledge associated with these two lower paths. “The joy and bliss that is apart from sensual pleasures and unwholesome states” refers to the first two jhānas which are accompanied by joy. The attainments which are more peaceful than these are the two other higher jhānas and the two other higher paths, i.e. the paths of the non-returner (which cuts off completely sense-desire) and that of the arahat. So what the Buddha is essentially saying here is that there are noble disciples of the two lower paths who have never experience any jhāna before, and it is possible for them to resort back to the enjoyment of sensual pleasures. This shows that it is possible to attain the path of stream-winner or once-returner without having to attain jhāna.
So far we have shown that right concentration of the Noble Eightfold Path need not necessarily be in the order of jhāna. The concentration developed through the practice of vipassanā, momentary concentration, is also capable of fulfilling this function of right concentration as the Mahāsaḷāyatanika Sutta, quoted above, shows. The important criteria for right concentration is the ability to overcome, at least temporarily, the five mental hindrances to the practice, and momentary concentration is quite capable of doing this. Jhāna, although it is desirable, is not necessary to achieve this.
Another important criteria for right concentration is the direction that right concentration must lead towards. The Noble Eightfold Path is called dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā or the way that leads to the cessation of suffering. Since right concentration is a factor of the Noble Eightfold Path it must contribute towards achieving this goal of the Path. So for concentration to be considered right concentration it must necessarily work in harmony with the other path factors to bring about the realization of the cessation of suffering.
That this is true can be seen from the Ariyapariyesanā Sutta (Majjhima-Nikāya Sutta 26). In this sutta the Bodhisatta is seen to have learnt and attained the jhāna that has nothingness as its base from Āḷāra Kālāma, and the jhāna which is the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception from Uddaka Rāmaputta. These two immaterial jhānas are the highest of the eight jhānas mentioned in the suttas. In order to attain them the Bodhisatta must have first of all attain the lower jhānas including the first four fine material jhānas mentioned in the definition of right concentration above. This is because without first attaining the lower jhānas the higher jhānas cannot be reached. One can only skip jhānas after one has first attained them sequentially and gained mastery over them. So the Bodhisatta has actually attained all the four lower fine-material jhānas as well as the four higher immaterial jhānas under these two teachers. Yet having attained all these jhānas he was not satisfied. The Bodhisatta renounced the worldly life for the sole purpose of seeking out the answer to life’s suffering. He did not find his answer in these jhānas that he attained under these two teachers. In fact, referring to these jhānas he said:
“This Dhamma does not lead to revulsion, to dispassion, to cessation, to calmness, to higher knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna.”Yet later on, after practicing self-mortification unsuccessfully, we find the Bodhisatta, while reflecting upon his spontaneous attainment of the first jhāna as a child while he was seated under the rose apple tree, realized that that first jhāna is the path to enlightenment (Majjhima-Nikāya Sutta 36). Why then, we must ask, are the two highest jhānas that the Bodhisatta attained while practicing under Āḷāra Kālāma and Uddaka Rāmaputta not considered by him to be the path to enlightenment while the first jhāna which he spontaneously attained as a child, without the guidance of any teacher, he considered to be the path to enlightenment? The answer is given in the sub-commentary:
~ Majjhima-Nikāya Suttas 26 & 36
“The jhānas attained [by the Bodhisatta] under Ālāra and Uddaka have the round [of saṃsāra] as their basis; the concentration due to [mindfulness of] breathing [which he attained spontaneously as a child], however, is called ‘the path to enlightenment’ because of its being included in mindfulness-directed-to-the-body and also because it serves as the basis for insight for all bodhisattas.”Why are the jhānas that the Bodhisatta attained under Āḷāra Kālāma and Uddaka Rāmaputta said to have the round of saṃsāra as their basis? And what does this mean? The suttas do not give us any details about the views and philosophical system of these two teachers. But like all spiritual teachers in the Buddha’s time, the meditation method of these two teachers must have been based on a philosophical system which expounds their view as to how liberation from saṃsāric suffering can be attained. It is mentioned in the Ariyapariyesanā Sutta that before he attempted to attain the jhānas under these two teachers the Bodhisatta had to first learn their system. So the Bodhisatta, while he was learning under them, must have adopted their views prior to practicing meditation. But, except for the Buddha’s teaching, all the views and philosophical system of all the spiritual teachers and philosophers in ancient India at that time were, one way or another, founded upon the belief in the existence of a self or soul in one form or another. This self either exist eternally and is liberated by self-mortification, or by some kind of union with a universal self, or by some other method; or it is not eternal but is annihilated after death. The two teachers were probably eternalist who taught that the eternal soul will be liberated, in the case of Āḷāra Kālāma, by attaining the jhāna that has nothingness as its base, and, in the case of Uddaka Rāmaputta, by attaining the jhāna which is the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception. So the Bodhisatta started his practice under the two teachers with their views in mind.
As far as the Buddha’s teaching is concern these views are considered wrong views. The system of the two teachers taught their disciples to aim to attain something which is still tied to saṃsāra, i.e. rebirth in the immaterial realm of existence. And so the jhānas which they attained is said to have the round of saṃsāra as their basis. They do not lead their disciples to the realization of the true cessation of saṃsāric suffering. And so they cannot qualify as right concentration of the Noble Eightfold Path, even though they are jhāna concentration. And because they are not right concentration the way of practice taught by the two teachers cannot be considered the Noble Eightfold Path, the path to enlightenment, the way leading to the cessation of suffering.
What about the first jhāna that the Bodhisatta attained spontaneously as a child? The commentary said that the Bodhisatta was using breathe as his object when he attain that first jhāna. But many yogis in India must have been meditating on the breathe even before the Buddha’s enlightenment. Why were they not enlightened? Again this has got to do with the direction in the yogi’s mind. Even though they meditate on the breathe they are directing their mind more towards the development of samatha or tranquility. They do not have the method of vipassanā development (mindfulness-directed-to-the-body mentioned in the sub-commentary), which only the Buddhas know, which allows them to use the jhānas developed through the breath as the basis for developing insight knowledge which leads to liberation. This much is said in the sub-commentary passage quoted above.
But this raised another question: How did the Bodhisatta as a young child who still needed nurses to attend to him, and without the guidance of any teacher, know how to practice mindfulness-directed-to-the-body using the breathe as his object? And why did he not remember that this is the path to enlightenment when he later renounced the worldly life as a twenty nine year old adult in search of an answer to suffering and instead seek out teachers who led him on the wrong path? The texts did not provide an answer to this question but the answer is not difficult to deduce from the facts that are known to us.
While the Bodhisatta in his last life may still be a young child, he was not an ordinary being. Indeed, he was an extraordinary being who had for countless past lives dedicated himself to the development of his spiritual qualities, pāramīs, in preparation for Buddhahood. Part of his training involved many lifetimes of cultivation of meditation, developing in particular mindfulness of breathing and fulfilling the perfection of wisdom by developing insight knowledge using as his object the jhāna developed through mindfulness of breathing. This method of course he would have learnt from the earlier Buddhas who he encountered. Through this many lifetimes of cultivating this practice he had developed a very strong habit and inclination towards it, and it is this habit and inclination which drove him as a young innocent child in his last life to spontaneously turn his attention to the breathe and enter the first jhāna, even without the guidance of any teacher. But this experience must not have been something very extraordinary for him since he had done it many times in his past lives. As a child he might have even thought that it is something common to everybody. And so later on as he grew older and became more and more entangled with enjoyment of sensual pleasures in the palace and began to lose his childhood innocence, this spiritual attainment is easily forgotten, buried deep underneath the lure and dizziness of sensual enjoyment. When he grew up also, he must probably have studied, or is at least aware of the various philosophies and spiritual teachings available during his time. And so by the time he decided to go forth from the palace to seek an answer to suffering, it was to these philosophies and teachings that he turned to first. It was only after trying them out without any success for six long years that, in a moment of spiritual despair, the memory of his childhood attainment resurfaced, and he realized that he had known the path to enlightenment all these time.
From the foregoing discussion we can see that to qualify as right concentration, the concentration must have the strength enough to temporary put aside the mental hindrances that obstruct the development of wisdom and also it must be directed towards achieving the cessation of suffering. Only if the concentration is so directed can it qualify as right concentration of the Noble Eightfold Path. If it is not directed in this way, then, even if the concentration that one developed is in the order of jhāna, the Buddha do not call it right concentration but only pleasant abiding here and now (diṭṭhadhammasukhavihārā) as in the following passage from the Sallekha Sutta (Majjhima-Nikāya Sutta 8)
“It is possible, Cunda, that completely secluded from sense pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, some bhikkhu enters and dwells in the first jhāna, which has initial-application, and sustained-application, with joy and bliss that are born of seclusion; He might think ‘I am abiding with effacement [of the defilements]’ But these are not called effacement in the discipline of the Noble One. These are called pleasant abiding here and now in the discipline of the Noble One.”The Buddha repeated this passage, substituting the remaining three fine material jhānas for the first jhāna, and saying in each case that they are not the practice that leads to effacement of the defilements but only serve as pleasant abiding here and now. The commentary said that in this passage the Buddha is referring to a bhikkhu who overestimated his own attainment of jhāna. For when the mental defilements are suppressed over a long time through the practice of jhāna one may overestimate one’s own attainment thinking that one is now one of the Noble Ones whom have effaced the mental defilements. The commentary further explained why these jhānas are not called the practice of effacement of the mental defilements:
“Because they do not serve as a basis for [the development of] insight (vipassanā). For having entered upon the jhāna he (i.e. the bhikkhu) do not emerge from it and comprehend the formations (saṅkhārā); his jhāna which forms a mere one-pointed mind (cittekaggamattaṃ karoti) is pleasant abiding here and now.”To comprehend the formations or conditioned realities (basically mental and physical phenomena) means to practice vipassanā meditation, developing insight knowledge into the nature of these realities as impermanent, suffering and non-self, knowledge which brings about, at the culmination of its development, the realization of the cessation of suffering. From this we can understand further that in order to be directed towards the goal of cessation of suffering, right concentration must be used as an aid in the practice of vipassanā.
This fact is supported by the Samādhibhāvanā Sutta (Aṅguttara-Nikāya, The book of the fours, Sutta 41). In this sutta the Buddha spoke about the four kinds of development of concentration: that which leads (1) to pleasant abiding here and now, (2) to obtaining knowledge and vision [of the divine eye], (3) to mindfulness and clear comprehension, and (4) to the destruction of the taints. The Buddha again equates (1) to the four jhānas, while (2) is the development of the perception of light, and (3) is the development of mindfulness and clear comprehension till they are so keen as to be able to know feelings, perceptions, and thoughts as they arise, as they are present and as they pass away. The last development of concentration, (4), that which leads to the destruction of the taints (which is essentially the realization of the cessation of suffering) is described thus by the Buddha:
“And what, bhikkhus, is the development of concentration which when developed and cultivated leads to the destruction of the taints? Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu dwells contemplating the rise and fall in the five aggregates subject to clinging: ‘Such is materiality, such is the arising of materiality, such is the passing away of materiality; such is feeling, such is the arising of feeling, such is the passing away of feeling; such is perception, such is the arising of perception, such is passing away of perception; such are formations, such is the arising of formations, such is the passing away of formations; such is consciousness, such is the arising of consciousness, such is the passing away of consciousness.’ This, bhikkhus, is the development of concentration which when developed and cultivated leads to the destruction of the taints.”To contemplate the arising and passing away in the five aggregates subject to clinging is another way to describe the practice of vipassanā, for it is by contemplating the nature of rise and fall of the aggregates that one also realizes their nature of impermanent, suffering, and non-self, which is basically what vipassanā wisdom is all about. And it is the concentration developed through this practice of vipassanā development that is called the development of concentration that leads to the destruction of taints or the realization of the cessation of suffering. It is this concentration that qualifies as right concentration of the Noble Eightfold Path, the way that leads to the end of suffering.
So for concentration to qualify as right concentration, not only must it have the strength to suppress the five hindrances to the practice, it must also be directed to the goal of the Noble Eightfold Path, the cessation of suffering, which means that it must be involved in the practice of vipassanā meditation, the development of insight knowledge that leads to liberation from saṃsāric suffering. And this involvement with vipassanā meditation is twofold: (1) as the concentration involve in contemplation of vipassanā object or (2) as concentration serving as the object of vipassanā. (1) refers to vipassanā momentary concentration that is involved in the contemplation of vipassanā objects while (2) refers to jhāna which serves as object for vipassanā contemplation.
This brings us to another point, not about right concentration but related to it. In the suttas the Buddha actually taught two major system of meditation, both of which qualifies as the practice of the Noble Eightfold Path and leads to the realization of the cessation of suffering. In the suttas they are described as the development of tranquility preceded by insight (vipassanāpubbaṅgamaṃ samathaṃ bhāveti) and the development of insight preceded by tranquility (samathapubbaṅgamaṃ vipassanaṃ bhāveti). In the commentaries those who follow these two methods are called vipassanāyānika, he who has insight as his vehicle, and samathayānika, he who has tranquility as his vehicle, respectively. Vehicle here refers to the means of bringing about the goal of cessation of suffering.
These two individuals follow two different methods which emphasizes two different aspects of the path. The practice of the Samathayānika yogi emphasizes tranquility (samatha) whereas that of the Vipassanāyānika yogi emphasizes insight (vipassanā). But the difference is only at the beginning of the practice because both must finally end up doing vipassanā without which it is not possible to realize the cessation of suffering. Also they both finally end up developing both tranquility (samatha) and insight (vipassanā) regardless of what their practice emphasized in the beginning.
The samathayānika yogi begins his practice by developing jhāna or at least access concentration (i.e. samatha). Then he emerge out of his concentration and practice vipassanā by contemplating the jhāna factors of his concentration as well as other mental and physical states associated with that concentration, as impermanent, suffering, and non-self. In this case the jhāna or access concentration which he developed earlier is used as an object for vipassanā contemplation. His vipassanā contemplation is carried out not by the concentration he had developed earlier (either access or jhāna) but by vipassanā momentary concentration. The vipassanāyānika yogi on the other hand goes straight into vipassanā by contemplating the mental and physical phenomena appearing at the six sense doors. By doing so he develops momentary concentration (i.e. samatha) which when it is well developed allows him to discern clearly the impermanent, suffering, and non-self nature of the phenomena he contemplates. The passages we quoted at the beginning of this essay such as Mahāsaḷāyatanika Sutta, Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta, etc. shows the practice of vipassanāyānika. The following passages are example of the description of the practice of samathayānika in the suttas:
“Here, householder, completely secluded from sense pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, a bhikkhu enters and dwells in the first jhāna, which has initial-application, and sustained-application, with joy and bliss that are born of seclusion. He considers and knows thus: ‘This first jhāna is conditioned and volitionally produced. But whatever is conditioned and volitionally produced is impermanent, subject to cessation.’ Standing upon that he attains the destruction of the taints. If he do not attain the destruction of the taints, then through the destruction of the five lower fetters he becomes one who is spontaneously reborn [in the Pure Abodes] and there attain final Nibbāna without coming back from that world.”Finally, we must raise another question: If, as we have shown, right concentration need not be in the order of jhāna, why did the Buddha defined right concentration as the four jhānas? Because among concentration that are capable of suppressing the five hindrances, that can be employed in the service of vipassanā, i.e. concentrations that qualify as right concentration, the jhānas are the best example. For the jhāna factors in the jhānas have been developed to the point where they possess the strength of absorption. This gives the jhānas formidable strength to keep away the mental hindrances for a long time, allowing for much more stability in the mental environment of the yogi, which is very important for progress in meditation. It also gives depth and refinement to the jhānic concentration, which is helpful when it comes to vipassanā, as it would allow the yogi to discern the impermanent, suffering, and non-self nature of saṅkhāras more clearly and profoundly. Another reason why right concentration is defined as the jhānas is also because at the peak of the development of the Noble Eightfold Path, that is, when the supramundane path consciousness arises, the concentration associated with that supramundane consciousness is that of jhāna. Therefore when the Buddha define right concentration as the jhānas we can understand this as showing the best example of concentration possible within the practice of the Noble Eightfold Path, as well as the concentration at peak of the development of the Noble Eightfold Path. What is important though is that regardless of which concentration we choose to develop, we must finally develop vipassanā in order to develop revulsion and dispassion towards the saṅkhāras so as liberate ourselves from saṃsāric suffering.
~ Majjhima-Nikāya Sutta 52“And what, Ānanda, is the path, what is the way for the abandoning of the five lower fetters? Here, Ānanda, with the seclusion from objects of attachment, with the abandoning of unwholesome states, with the complete tranquilization of all bodily inertia, completely secluded from sense pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, a bhikkhu enters and dwells in the first jhāna, which has initial-application, and sustained-application, with joy and bliss that are born of seclusion.
“Whatever exists therein of materiality, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness, he sees these states as impermanent, as suffering, as a disease, as a boil, as a dart, as a misfortune, as an affliction, as alien, as disintegrating, as empty, as non-self. He draws away his mind from these states. Having drawn away his mind from these states he draws his mind close to the deathless element thus: ‘This is peaceful, this is sublime, that is the tranquilization of all formations, the relinquishing of all attachment, the destruction of craving, dispassion, cessation, Nibbāna.’ Standing upon that he attains the destruction of the taints. If he do not attain the destruction of the taints, then through the destruction of the five lower fetters he becomes one who is spontaneously reborn [in the Pure Abodes] and there attain final Nibbāna without coming back from that world.”
~ Majjhima-Nikāya Sutta 64
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