4👑☸EBT Jhāna Vs. Vism. Re-definition

Difference between rūpa and a-rūpa

MN 43 mind is divorced from 5 body faculties for (smd 5)


♦ 451. “nissaṭṭhena hāvuso, pañcahi indriyehi	[Ven. Mahā Koṭṭhita]: “divorced ****** (from the) five sense-faculties,
parisuddhena mano-viññāṇena	(with a) purified mind-consciousness,
kiṃ neyyan”ti?	what can-be-known?"

♦ “nissaṭṭhena āvuso, pañcahi indriyehi	[Ven. Sāriputta]: “divorced ****** (from the) five sense-faculties,
parisuddhena mano-viññāṇena	(with a) purified mind-consciousness,
‘ananto ākāso’ti ākāsān-añc-āyatanaṃ neyyaṃ,	‘infinite space,’ the-space-infinitude-dimension (can be) known,
‘anantaṃ viññāṇan’ti viññāṇ-añc-āyatanaṃ neyyaṃ,	‘infinite consciousness,’ the-consciousness-infinitude-dimension (can be) known,
‘natthi kiñcī’ti ākiñcaññ-āyatanaṃ neyyan”ti.	‘There is nothing.’ the-nothingness-dimension (can be) known."

Meaning you can’t feel body pain, mosquito bites, or loud sounds in these 3 arupa attainments.

SN 22.79 rūpa (as both noun and verb) affecting cold, heat, hunger, mosquitoes, etc.

“kiñca, bhikkhave, rūpaṃ vadetha?	“And why, bhikkhus, do you call it form?"
ruppatīti kho, bhikkhave, tasmā ‘rūpan’ti vuccati.	‘It is deformed,’ bhikkhus, therefore it is called form."
kena ruppati?	Deformed by what?
sītenapi ruppati, uṇhenapi ruppati,	Deformed by cold, deformed by heat,
jighacchāyapi ruppati, pipāsāyapi ruppati,	deformed by hunger, deformed by thirst,
ḍaṃsamakasavātātapasarīsapasamphassenapi ruppati.	deformed by contact with flies, mosquitoes, wind, sun, and serpents.
ruppatīti kho, bhikkhave, tasmā ‘rūpan’ti vuccati.	‘It is deformed,’ bhikkhus, therefore it is called form

Comment on distinction between rūpa attainments (first four jhānas) and a-rūpa (formless) attainments. From the SN 22.79 quote above, it’s quite obvious if a-rūpa means you won’t be afflicted by hunger, cold, heat, mosquitos, then in the four jhānas, which are rūpa, you ARE subject to feeling hunger, cold, heat, mosquitos. Very straightforward.

MN 13 rūpā, sarīraṃ, kāya of beautiful girl aging, dying

From this passage you can see rūpa’s relationship to kāya (body).


♦ 171. “ko ca, bhikkhave, rūpānaṃ assādo?	"Now what, monks, is the allure of forms?
seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, khattiyakaññā vā brāhmaṇakaññā vā gahapatikaññā vā pannarasavassuddesikā vā soḷasavassuddesikā vā, nātidīghā nātirassā nātikisā nātithūlā nātikāḷī nāccodātā paramā sā, bhikkhave,	Suppose there were a maiden of the noble caste, the brahman caste, or the householder class, fifteen or sixteen years old, neither too tall nor too short, neither too thin nor too plump, neither too dark nor too pale.
tasmiṃ samaye subhā vaṇṇanibhāti?	Is her beauty & charm at that time at its height?"

‘evaṃ, bhante’.	Yes, lord.

yaṃ kho, bhikkhave, subhaṃ vaṇṇanibhaṃ paṭicca uppajjati sukhaṃ somanassaṃ —	"Whatever pleasure & joy arise in dependence on that beauty & charm:
ayaṃ rūpānaṃ assādo.	That is the allure of forms."

(rupa applied to same beautiful girl aging, getting old and ugly)

(note this next part appears in MN 10 under kāya anupassana (body contemplation - rupa, sarira, kaya all pointing to anatomical body here)

♦ 172. “puna caparaṃ, bhikkhave, tameva bhaginiṃ passeyya sarīraṃ sivathikāya chaḍḍitaṃ —	"Again, one might see that very same woman as a corpse cast away in a charnel ground —
ekāhamataṃ vā dvīhamataṃ vā tīhamataṃ vā, uddhumātakaṃ vinīlakaṃ vipubbakajātaṃ.	one day, two days, three days dead, bloated, livid, & oozing.
taṃ kiṃ maññatha, bhikkhave, yā purimā subhā vaṇṇanibhā sā antarahitā, ādīnavo pātubhūtoti?	What do you think: Has her earlier beauty & charm vanished, and the drawback appeared?"

‘evaṃ, bhante’.	Yes, lord.

ayampi, bhikkhave, rūpānaṃ ādīnavo.	"This too, monks, is the drawback of forms.

MN 62 1. Earth-property

“yaṃ kiñci, rāhula,	Any thing, ******,
ajjhattaṃ paccattaṃ	internal, within oneself,
kakkhaḷaṃ kharigataṃ	(that's) hard, solid,
upādinnaṃ,	& sustained [by craving],
seyyathidaṃ —	such-as :
kesā lomā nakhā dantā taco	head hairs, body hairs, nails, teeth, skin,
maṃsaṃ nhāru aṭṭhi aṭṭhimiñjaṃ vakkaṃ	flesh, tendons, bones, bone marrow, kidneys,
hadayaṃ yakanaṃ kilomakaṃ pihakaṃ papphāsaṃ	heart, liver, membranes, spleen, lungs,
antaṃ antaguṇaṃ udariyaṃ karīsaṃ,	large intestines, small intestines, contents of the stomach, feces,
yaṃ vā pan-aññampi kiñci	(or) whatever ** any-other thing
ajjhattaṃ paccattaṃ	internal, within oneself,
kakkhaḷaṃ kharigataṃ	that's hard, solid,
upādinnaṃ —	(and) sustained:
ayaṃ vuccati, rāhula,	This (is) called, ******,
ajjhattikā pathavī-dhātu	(the) internal earth-property.

MN 62 2. Water-property

“katamā ca, rāhula, āpo-dhātu?	"What , ****, (is the) water-property?
āpo-dhātu siyā ajjhattikā,	(the) water-property can-be internal,
siyā bāhirā.	(it) can-be external.
katamā ca, rāhula, ajjhattikā āpo-dhātu?	"What , ****, (is the) internal water-property?
yaṃ ajjhattaṃ paccattaṃ	Anything internal, belonging-to-oneself,
āpo āpogataṃ upādinnaṃ,	that's water, watery, & sustained:
seyyathidaṃ —	such-as-these:
pittaṃ semhaṃ pubbo lohitaṃ sedo medo	bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat,
assu vasā kheḷo siṅghāṇikā lasikā muttaṃ,	tears, oil, saliva, mucus, oil-of-the-joints, urine,
yaṃ vā panaññampi	or anything else
kiñci ajjhattaṃ paccattaṃ	that's internal, within-oneself,
āpo āpogataṃ upādinnaṃ —	that's water, watery, & sustained:
ayaṃ vuccati, rāhula, ajjhattikā āpo-dhātu.	This (is) called, ******, (the) internal water-property.

MN 62 3. Fire-property

“katamā ca, rāhula, tejo-dhātu?	"{and} what, ******, (is the) fire-property?
tejo-dhātu siyā ajjhattikā,	(The) fire-property may-be-either internal
siyā bāhirā.	or external.
katamā ca, rāhula, ajjhattikā tejo-dhātu?	What , **** (is the) internal fire-property?
yaṃ ajjhattaṃ paccattaṃ	Anything internal, belonging to oneself,
tejo tejogataṃ upādinnaṃ,	(that's) fire, fiery, & sustained:
seyyathidaṃ —	such-as-these:
yena ca san-tappati	that ** (by which) [the body is] warmed,
yena ca jīrīyati	that ** (by which is) aged,
yena ca pariḍayhati	that ** (by which is) consumed with fever;
yena ca asita-pīta-khāyita-sāyitaṃ	that ** (by which is) eaten, drunk, chewed, & savored
sammā pariṇāmaṃ gacchati,	(and) {goes} (through) proper digestion;
yaṃ vā panaññampi kiñci ajjhattaṃ paccattaṃ	{or} any ** particular thing internal, within-oneself,
tejo tejogataṃ upādinnaṃ —	(that's) fire, fiery, & sustained:
ayaṃ vuccati, rāhula, ajjhattikā tejo-dhātu.	This is-called (The) internal fire-property.

MN 62 4. Wind-property

“katamā ca, rāhula, vāyo-dhātu?	"{And} what, ******, (is the) wind-property?
vāyo-dhātu siyā ajjhattikā,	(the) wind-property may-be-either internal
siyā bāhirā.	or external.
katamā ca, rāhula, ajjhattikā vāyo-dhātu?	{And} what, ******, (is the) internal wind-property?
yaṃ ajjhattaṃ paccattaṃ	Anything internal, belonging to oneself,
vāyo vāyogataṃ upādinnaṃ,	that's wind, windy, & sustained:
seyyathidaṃ —	such-as-these:
uddhaṅgamā vātā,	up-going winds,
adhogamā vātā,	down-going winds,
kucchisayā vātā,	stomach winds,
koṭṭhāsayā vātā,	intestinal winds,
aṅgam-aṅgā-(a)nusārino vātā,	{winds that} {course through}-parts-[and more]-parts [of the body],
assāso passāso,	in-breathing (and) out-breathing,
iti yaṃ vā panaññampi kiñci ajjhattaṃ paccattaṃ	or anything else internal, within oneself,
vāyo vāyogataṃ upādinnaṃ —	that's wind, windy, & sustained:
ayaṃ vuccati, rāhula, ajjhattikā vāyo-dhātu.	This is called (the) internal wind-property.

In MN 62, Rahula is learning 16APS (anapanasati), and in the process of that the Buddha gives him other meditations, that presumably he can do within 16 APS, or as a preliminary practice. Here in these passage the key to note is how Rupa, defined elsewhere as 4 great elements, apply to the anatomical body. In breathing and out breathing, the object of APS, is explicitly stated as part of the wind element. So in arupa attainments, you would not be able to experience 4 elements, and the body parts associated with that. Therefore, in Rupa. You WOULD be able to exeperience that in your meditation. Not just the breath as wind element, but feeling of solidity in parts of your body, the water element of sweat dripping on your skin, the sensation of heat and electricity that run in currents through your body, etc.

STED 3rd Jhāna


pītiyā ca virāgā	Rapture ** fading,
upekkhako ca viharati	Equanimous ** (he) dwells,
sato ca sampajāno,	mindful and alert,
sukhañca kāyena paṭisaṃvedeti,	pleasure with-the-body (he) experiences,
yaṃ taṃ ariyā ācikkhanti —	that those Noble-Ones declare -
‘upekkhako satimā sukha-vihārī’ti	“equanimous (and) mindful (he has) pleasant-abiding.”
tatiyaṃ jhānaṃ upasampajja viharati.	third Jhāna (he) enters, dwells.

Now backing up to 3rd jhāna, examine how sukha is used. The Buddha could have just used “sukha” unqualified, and knowing that we’re talking about vedana established from 4th jhana, we could safely assume sukha is physical. But just to be absolutely clear, he qualified sukha with “kāyena”, physical body, so there could be no doubt.

If the Buddha wanted sukha to be mental in 3rd jhāna...

We know he has the vocabulary from STED 4th jhāna. He could simply have stated “somanassa patisamvedeti” (mental happiness he experiences). Or “sukha manassa” (pleasure that is mental). The Buddha has an excellent track record in being specific and clear. It would be completely absurd to think he would treat sukha in a sloppy way here and not clearly distinguish between physical and mental.

Pounding in the final nail on the coffin of the Jhāna controversy

From the 7 suttas which expressly state vedana (and sukha) are of bodily origin out of the 31 suttas in Vedana Samyutta SN 36, with almost complete certainty we can say the “body” in the second line of this sutta is anatomical.

SN 36.14 (3-fold vedana explicitly said to arise from anatomical body)

evameva kho, bhikkhave,	just like that, monks,
imasmiṃ kāyasmiṃ vividhā vedanā uppajjanti.	(in) this body, various feelings arise.
sukhāpi vedanā uppajjati,	pleasant feeling arises,
dukkhāpi vedanā uppajjati,	painful feeling arises,
a-dukkham-a-sukhāpi vedanā uppajjati.	neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling arises;

(carnal feelings are tied to 5 cords of sensual pleasure, clearly anatomical body)

sāmisāpi sukhā vedanā uppajjati,	carnal pleasant feeling arises;
sāmisāpi dukkhā vedanā uppajjati,	carnal painful feeling arises;
sāmisāpi a-dukkham-a-sukhā vedanā uppajjati.	carnal neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling arises;

(anatomical body originated spiritual feelings arise in jhāna, see SN 36.31 for explicit tie to jhāna definition)

nirāmisāpi sukhā vedanā uppajjati,	spiritual pleasant feeling arises;
nirāmisāpi dukkhā vedanā uppajjati,	spiritual painful feeling arises;
nirāmisāpi a-dukkham-a-sukhā vedanā uppajjatī”ti.	spiritual neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling arises.

Difference between rūpa and a-rūpa

Vism chap. 10 arūpa

CHAPTER X THE IMMATERIAL STATES

THE IMMATERIAL STATES

(Āruppa-niddesa)

[(1) THE BASE CONSISTING OF BOUNDLESS SPACE]

1. [326] Now, as to the four immaterial states mentioned next to the divine abidings (III.105), one who wants firstly to develop the base consisting of boundless space sees in gross physical matter danger through the wielding of sticks, etc., because of the words: “‘It is in virtue of matter that wielding of sticks, wielding of knives, quarrels, brawls and disputes takes place; but that does not exist at all in the immaterial state,’ and in this expectation he enters upon the way to dispassion for only material things, for the fading and cessation of only those” (M I 410); and he sees danger in it too through the thousand afflictions beginning with eye disease. So, in order to surmount that, he enters upon the fourth jhāna in any one of the nine kasiṇas beginning with the earth kasiṇa and omitting the limited-space kasiṇa.

[CP]: In short, it's saying that the advantage of arūpa attainments over rūpa jhanas is that in arūpa, you wouldn't feel the pain of mosquito bites, wind, heat, cold, hunger, getting stabbed by swords, violent winds from indigestion producing sharp stabbing pains that make you wish for death, etc.

By definition of a-rūpa vs. rūpa, this means in rūpa attainemnts (i.e. four jhanas), it IS possible to feel all of those physical pains. Buddhaghosa then tries to divert your attention away from this obvious truth with this line of reasoning:


♦ tassa kiñcāpi rūpāvacara-catutthaj-jhāna-vasena karajarūpaṃ atikkantaṃ hoti,	2.Now, although he has already surmounted gross physical matter by means of the fourth jhāna of the fine-material sphere,
atha kho kasiṇa-rūpampi yasmā tappaṭibhāgameva,	nevertheless he still wants also to surmount the kasiṇa materiality
tasmā tampi samatikkamitukāmo hoti.	since it is the counterpart of the former.
kathaṃ?	How does he do this?

Vism. Then gives similes that are difficult to comprehend

3.Suppose a timid man is pursued by a snake in a forest and flees from it as fast as he can, then if he sees in the place he has fled to a palm leaf with a streak painted on it or a creeper or a rope or a crack in the ground, he is fearful, anxious and will not even look at it. Suppose again a man is living in the same village as a hostile man who ill-uses him and on being threatened by him with a flogging and the burning down of his house, he goes away to live in another village, then if he meets another man there of similar appearance, voice and manner, he is fearful, anxious and will not even look at him.

4.Here is the application of the similes. The time when the bhikkhu has the gross physical matter as his object is like the time when the men were respectively threatened by the snake and by the enemy. [327] The time when the bhikkhu surmounts the gross physical matter by means of the fourth jhāna of the fine- material sphere is like the first man’s fleeing as fast as he can and the other man’s going away to another village. The bhikkhu’s observing that even the matter of the kasiṇa is the counterpart of that gross physical matter and his wanting to surmount that also is like the first man’s seeing in the place he had fled to the palm leaf with a streak painted on it, etc., and the other man’s seeing the man who resembled the enemy in the village he had left, and their unwillingness to look owing to fear and anxiety.

And here the similes of the dog attacked by a boar and that of the pisāca goblin

and the timid man1 should be understood too.

5. So when he has thus become disgusted with (dispassionate towards) the kasiṇa materiality, the object of the fourth jhāna, and wants to get away from it, he achieves mastery in the five ways. Then on emerging from the now familiar fourth jhāna of the fine-material sphere, he sees the danger in that jhāna in this way: “This makes its object the materiality with which I have become disgusted,” and “It has joy as its near enemy,” and “It is grosser than the peaceful liberations.” There is, however, no [comparative] grossness of factors here [as in the case of the four fine-material jhānas]; for the immaterial states have the same two factors as this fine-material [jhāna].

a better simile that explains what is actually going on

[CP]: Basically, the idea behind those 2 similes he gives is that even though transcending rūpa with arūpa lets you escape from potential horrible physical bodily pains, the very subtle physicality of the rūpa kasina itself (a mental visual image of a brown colored disk), is still fearful and frightening because it reminds you of the deathly physical body pain that you left behind in four rūpa jhanas.

Here is a much better simile that actually describes the relative stress of having a kasina in your arūpa attainment.

The rūpa jhanas are like being lower middle class in the economic hierarchy. If you get a 30$ parking ticket, it gives you some stress. If you forget to pay the ticket on time, it becomes a 300$ ticket and now you're really stressed out.

Arūpa attainments is like being a billionaire. You get a 30$ parking ticket, you sneer and ignore it. You get a late notice letting you know it's now a 300$ ticket. You just laugh and ignore it. You get a court summons which you fail to show up for, they rule contempt of court, give you a 30 day jail sentence on top of a hefty $10,000 fine. You're not smiling anymore, but you're still not stressed. You decide its better to take care of the situation now than wait for the police to show up. You call up the super attorney you have on retainer, tell him to take care of the situation, and you go on with your business, still stress free. The total cost resulting from the 30$ ticket affair, mostly attorney fees, is 250,000$. The cost of being a billionaire who doesn't have to worry about a trifling amount of money, priceless.

The difference between rūpa (of brown kasina) and a-rūpa is the difference between price and priceless. The brown rūpa disk kasina is the 30$ parking ticket. Don't let THOX's diversionary tactics and obfuscation distract you from grasping the key point differentiating rūpa from arūpa.

(...paragraphs 6. through 11. describe how to use earth kasina to swtich to infinite space…)

(…paragraph 12 to 15 he starts to gloss the STED (smd 5) Space-infinitude-dimension formula ...)

Vism. passage glossing meaning of patigha-sañña-atthangama

16. With the disappearance of perceptions of resistance: perceptions of resistance are perceptions arisen through the impact of the physical base consisting of the eye, etc., and the respective objects consisting of visible objects etc.; and this is a term for perception of visible objects (rūpa) and so on, according as it is said: “Here, what are perceptions of resistance? Perceptions of visible objects, perceptions of sounds, perceptions of odours, perceptions of flavours, perceptions of tangible objects—these are called ‘perceptions of resistance’” (Vibh 261); with the complete disappearance, the abandoning, the non-arising, of these ten kinds of perceptions of resistance, that is to say, of the five profitable-resultant and five unprofitable-resultant;6 causing their non-occurrence, is what is meant.

next paragraph is the key

17.Of course, these are not to be found in one who has entered upon the first jhāna, etc., either; for consciousness at that time does not occur by way of the five doors. Still [330] the mention of them here should be understood as a recommendation of this jhāna for the purpose of arousing interest in it, just as in the case of the fourth jhāna there is mention of the pleasure and pain already abandoned elsewhere, and in the case of the third path there is mention of the [false] view of personality, etc., already abandoned earlier.

[CP]: That is a definitive statement that the mind is divorced from the sense faculties not just inside arūpa attainments, but also the rūpa attainments (all four jhanas, including first jhana). In EBT jhāna, it's possible for loud sounds to knock you out of the attainment, and it's possible to feel body pain and mosquito bites. In the THOX redefinition of Jhāna, that is not possible. Big contradiction.

18. Or alternatively, though these are also not to be found in one who has attained the fine-material sphere, still their not being there is not due to their having been abandoned; for development of the fine-material sphere does not lead to fading of greed for materiality, and the occurrence of those [fine-material jhānas] is actually dependent on materiality. But this development [of the immaterial] does lead to the fading of greed for materiality. Therefore it is allowable to say that they are actually abandoned here; and not only to say it, but to maintain it absolutely.

But this part seems to agree with EBT that sound can knock you out of first jhāna

19.In fact it is because they have not been abandoned already before this that it was said by the Blessed One that sound is a thorn to one who has the first jhāna (A V 135). And it is precisely because they are abandoned here that the imperturbability (see Vibh 135) of the immaterial attainments and their state of peaceful liberation are mentioned (M I 33), and that Āḷāra Kālāma neither saw the five hundred carts that passed close by him nor heard the sound of them while he was in an immaterial attainment (D II 130).

[CP]: It seems to agree, but that would contradict Vism.'s own positiion from paragraph 17 right above which definitely states mind is divorced from five sense faculties. So this means the sound as a thorn in jhana is not a thorn, but a gate that can block you from attaining first jhana. Vism. frequently uses tactics like that where they ambiguously quote or paraphrase EBT passsages in a way that makes you think it supports the straightforward EBT interpretation, then they pull a bait and switch and deliver something else.

Conclusion on difference between THOX rūpa and a-rūpa

In EBT, rūpa attainments (four jhānas) are clearly different from arūpa (4 formless attainments). In EBT, though the sense of the body fades into the background gradually and more deeply the higher the jhāna, it’s still possible to feel body pain and have loud noise knock you out of your jhāna. In the EBT arūpa attainments, mind is divorced from 5 senses, and you can not feel pain and hear noise. If you do, you’re not in that attainment.

In paragraphs 12-15, it looks like he’s using equivocation and lawyer speak to distract, and divert your attention away from the main important idea: rūpa is drastically different from Arūpa. That THOX’s redefined rūpa jhāna doesn’t bear the main features of rūpa that differentiate itself from Arūpa, and they can not present a rational reason why, this should tell you that fraudulent activity is going on here. The books are cooked. Compare with the Vimuttimagga passages on the same section of the first Arūpa attainment. There, rūpa and arūpa are properly differentiated exactly the same as in EBT. Vimuttimagga, composed about 400 years after Buddha’s parinibbana was based on an earlier Abhidhamma. Visuddhimagga, is 500 years later than Vimuttimagga, and it clearly uses most of the same underlying structure and passages from Vimt, except they’ve redefined some key terms and concepts suit their Agenda.

In THOX, the arūpa attainment is the same as EBT as far as the mind being divorced from five sense faculties. In EBT four jhānas, mind can still access the 5 sense faculties. In THOX four jhānas (rūpa), it can not. So two obvious question: First, why is THOX contradicting the EBT? Second why is THOX rūpa and arūpa incoherent even within its own system? Buddhaghosa is stuck trying to explain this massive incoherence. If there’s no difference between four jhānas and arūpa attainments in being free from body pain, why is there even a distinction between rūpa and arūpa attainments? The best Buddhaghosa can come up with is that the earth kasina itself is made up of very fine rūpa, and therefore the meditator is trying to escape the kasina’s infitessimally trivial amount of suffering from that. In paragraph 18, “with disappearance of perceptions of resistance”, since Buddhaghosa no longer has a kasina as a scapegoat, he again has to confront the problem of explaining why does this arūpa attainment have to mention “perceptions of resistance (ability for mind to sense 5 faculties) if it already was gone in first jhāna? There is no way to wiggle out of it, so he uses a standard lawyer strategy of equivocation to imply that in first jhana you can hear sound by paraphrasing AN 10.72, but this contradicts the established fact that mind is divorced from 5 senses not only in arūpa, but in rūpa (first jhāna). In other words he’s using ambiguity to keep you off balance and distract you from clearly comprehending the huge contradiction caused by redefining Jhāna.

THOX redefines kāya in 16 APS

Compare Vism. 16 APS (anpanasati) with Vimt. (Vimuttimagga 16 APS text is in separate article).

They're both based on Abhidhamma. Vism. was composed 500 years after Vimt., and it clearly borrowed the same underlying structure from Vimt. They both have about 40 meditation subjects. They both use Abhidhamma. How did their 16 APS interpretation come out so different?

First, where they are similar

They both say that air kasina, and 16 APS have two ways to enter Jhāna, two types of nimittas to choose from. A visual nimitta that one fixes on with V&V-SKF (Vitakka & Vicāra - Samatha Kung Fu), or a tactile sensation of the breath that suffuses the body starting from the mouth nostril area in the case of 16 APS, the wind kasina may be the touch of a cool breeze contacting the part of the meditator's skin used as a tactile nimitta. So in both Vimt. and Vism., they mention in 16 APS a meditator is liable to come across both of these types of Nimittas.

where they differ drastically

When it comes time to choose between the two types of Nimittas, they give opposite answers. Vimt. says ignore the visual nimittas of smoke and visual objects, and instead stay with the breath as the tactile nimitta. Vism. says ignore the tactile nimitta, and fixate one pointedly (V&V-SKF) on the visual nimitta, until one moves from access concentration into fixed penetration (aka their redefined Jhāna).

Neither book AFAIK says why exactly they choose one over the other, even though they both admit it's possible to enter jhāna with either type of nimitta. But here's a pretty good guess: If you're not in an arūpa samādhi, a formless attainment, you're in a form attainment which has not transcended forms, meaning you can hear loud noises and feel mosquito bites in Jhāna as defined in EBT. If the 5 senses are active, and you are alive, you have a breath. The process of breathing can only be known through the various ways it contacts form. The breath is a physical process, hence the tactile nimitta is the one that acknowledges and uses it as the vehicle to enter jhāna. That's why it's called 16 APS, and also 16 APSS (Ānā-pāna-sati-samādhi). It's using breath to enter samādhi. In SN 54, Ānāpāna samyutta, that's probably why they made sure to call it both 16 APS and 16 APSS. If it were only 16 APS, someone might try to claim it's only a sati practice, not something that can take you into jhāna. But with explicit definition as 16 APSS, it's hard to claim mindfulness of breathing is just a baby step until you get a visual nimitta, then you switch over to the big leagues with a completely different type of meditation.

If you completely ignore the breath and the physical tactile sensations that accompany it, and instead fixate the mind on a small white visual disk, then it's not breathing meditation any more, it's a type of kasina meditation. And that's exactly what Vism. is doing. The tactile breath sensation is the opening act. The headliner (the star of the show) is the kasina type of mental fixity. In Vism., when the visual white light of the breath nimitta becomes stable, it literally says, now turn to the page in the book of earth kasina chapter and proceed from there to enter absorption.

The difference between these two approaches can be huge in real practice. That's a big topic for another day.

(Vism. Step 3. Whole "body" of breath redefined)

Once again, we're going to see some bodies disappearing. Kāya, in EBT is an anatomical body, in 16 APS. There's a quote taken out of context from MN 118 which is used to justify the "body is a breath body among bodies", interpretation under EBT, we will tackle the fallacy of that argument in a different article.

But even if you subscribe to the "body among bodies" EBT interpretation, Vism. goes too far in taking that as the ONLY body, getting rid of the regular anatomical body. In KN Ps, they do the sensible thing in listing both anatomical body and body of breath as types of POSSIBLE bodies in step 3 of 16 APS. With no justification, Vism. insists that their redefined "body of breath" is THE ONLY CORRECT BODY. This is a completely unacceptable interpretation.

Vism. redefines "entire" (non-physical) body as a temporal fixity of a point near the nostrils where breath strikes the skin. That is, one is to be mindful of breath continuously from beginning, middle, end, of each cycle with no gaps of unmindfulness in between.

171.(iii) He trains thus: “I shall breathe in … I shall breathe out experiencing the whole body”: he trains thus: “I shall breathe in making known, making plain, the beginning, middle and end of the entire in-breath body. I shall breathe out making known, making plain, the beginning, middle and end of the entire out- breath body,” thus he trains. Making them known, making them plain, in this way he both breathes in and breathes out with consciousness associated with knowledge. That is why it is said, “He trains thus: ‘I shall breathe in … shall breathe out …’”

172. To one bhikkhu the beginning of the in-breath body or the out-breath body, distributed in particles, [that is to say, regarded as successive arisings (see note 45)] is plain, but not the middle or the end; he is only able to discern the beginning and has difficulty with the middle and the end. To another the middle is plain, not the beginning or the end; he is only able to discern the middle and has difficulty with the beginning and the end. To another the end is plain, not the beginning or the middle; he is only able to discern the end [274] and has difficulty with the beginning and the middle. To yet another all stages are plain; he is able to discern them all and has no difficulty with any of them. Pointing out that one should be like the last-mentioned bhikkhu, he said: “He trains thus: ‘I shall breathe in … shall breathe out experiencing the whole body.’”

sign (nimitta) soon appears

214. When he does so in this way, the sign59 soon appears to him. But it is not the same for all; on the contrary, some say that when it appears it does so to certain people producing a light touch like cotton or silk-cotton or a draught.

215. But this is the exposition given in the commentaries: It appears to some like a star or a cluster of gems or a cluster of pearls, to others with a rough touch like that of silk-cotton seeds or a peg made of heartwood, to others like a long braid string or a wreath of flowers or a puff of smoke, to others like a stretched-

out cobweb or a film of cloud or a lotus flower or a chariot wheel or the moon’s disk or the sun’s disk.

216. In fact this resembles an occasion when a number of bhikkhus are sitting together reciting a suttanta. When a bhikkhu asks, “What does this sutta appear like to you?” one says, “It appears to me like a great mountain torrent,” another “To me it is like a line of forest trees,” another “To me it is like a spreading fruit tree giving cool shade.” For the one sutta appears to them differently because of the difference in their perception. Similarly this single meditation subject appears differently because of difference in perception.60 It is born of perception, its source is perception, it is produced by perception. Therefore it should be understood that when it appears differently it is because of difference in perception.

(Fixing = V&V-SKF)

219. Then he should fix his mind on that same sign; and so from now on, his

development proceeds by way of fixing. For the Ancients said this:

“Fixing his mind upon the sign

And putting away61 extraneous aspects,

The clever man anchors his mind

Upon the breathings in and out.”

220. So as soon as the sign appears, his hindrances are suppressed, his defilements subside, his mindfulness is established, and his consciousness is concentrated in access concentration.

221. Then he should not give attention to the sign as to its colour, or review it as to its [specific] characteristic. He should guard it as carefully as a king’s chief queen guards the child in her womb due to become a Wheel-turning Monarch,62 or as a farmer guards the ripening crops; and he should avoid the seven unsuitable things beginning with the unsuitable abode and cultivate the seven suitable things. Then, guarding it thus, he should make it grow and improve with repeated attention, and he should practice the tenfold skill in absorption (IV.42) and bring about evenness of energy (IV.66).

8 stages of attention: 5. observing 6. turning away

222. As he strives thus, fourfold and fivefold jhāna is achieved by him on that

same sign in the same way as described under the earth kasiṇa.

THOX redefines kāya in tranquility awakening factor as body of mental aggregates

sutta method: tranquility has body and mind components

vibhaṅga pāḷi 10. bojjhaṅgavibhaṅgo 1. suttantabhājanīyaṃ

♦ āraddha-vīriyassa	For him of strenuous energy
uppajjati pīti nir-āmisā —	there arises rapture that is not worldly.
ayaṃ vuccati “pīti-sambojjhaṅgo”.	This is called rapture-awakening-factor. (4)

♦ pīti-manassa kāyopi passambhati,	For him of raptureful mind the body becomes calm,
cittampi passambhati —	also consciousness becomes calm.
ayaṃ vuccati “passaddhisambojjhaṅgo”.	This is called calmness-awakening-factor. (5)

♦ passaddha-kāyassa sukhino	For him of calm-body and pleasure,
cittaṃ samādhiyati —	consciousness is in samādhi.
ayaṃ vuccati “samādhisambojjhaṅgo” .	This is called samādhi-awakening-factor. (6)

♦ tattha katamo passaddhisambojjhaṅgo?	Therein what is calmness-awakening-factor?
atthi kāya-passaddhi,	There is calmness of the body;
atthi citta-passaddhi .	there is calmness of consciousness.
yadapi kāya-passaddhi	That which is calmness of body,
tadapi passaddhi-sambojjhaṅgo abhiññāya sambodhāya nibbānāya saṃvattati.	that calmness-awakening-factor is for full knowledge, for awakening, for full emancipation also.
yadapi citta-passaddhi	That which is calmness of consciousness;
tadapi passaddhi-sambojjhaṅgo abhiññāya sambodhāya nibbānāya saṃvattati.	that calmness-awakening-factor is for full knowledge, for awakening, for full emancipation also. (5)

10.2. Analysis According To Abhidhamma

♦ tattha katamo passaddhisambojjhaṅgo? yā	Therein what is calmness-awakening-factor? That which
vedanākkhandhassa	of the aggregate of feeling,
saññākkhandhassa	of the aggregate of perception,
saṅkhārakkhandhassa	of the aggregate of volitional activities,
viññāṇakkhandhassa passaddhi	of the aggregate of consciousness is calmness,
paṭippassaddhi passambhanā paṭippassambhanā	serenity, being calm, being serene,
paṭippassambhitattaṃ passaddhisambojjhaṅgo —	state of being serene, calmness-awakening-factor.
ayaṃ vuccati “passaddhisambojjhaṅgo”.	This is called calmness-awakening-factor. (5)

In 7sb (awakening factors), passadhi-bojjhanga has two components. Kāya and citta. In the EBT sutta corresponding to this definition, SN 46.2, tranquility has two components, kāya and citta. They are clearly meant as the universal “body and mind” dichotomy used to contrast one from the other. And since tranquility is the factor that immediately precedes concentration awakening factor, this means that the kāya portion of tranquility is the same kāya as in the rūpa attainments, the four jhānas. So just as THOX had to get rid of the body in the 3rd jhāna definition, their job is not complete until they get rid of the body here.

You see how they have two definitions, one "sutta method" and one "abhidhamma method"? That allows for the theoretical possibility that context could determine which definition gets used. But this kind of added complexity just adds confusion to Buddhism.

So for THOX's redefined third jhāna, the tranquility awakening factor would have to also take on the "mind only" version divested of anatomical body.

THOX redefines sukha as all mental factors

abhidhamma book 2 vibhanga 12

3rd jhana formula gloss

♦ 587. “sukhañca kāyena paṭisaṃvedetī”ti	“Experiences pleasure by way of the body (of mental aggregates)”
tattha katamaṃ sukhaṃ?	means: Therein what is pleasure?
yaṃ cetasikaṃ sātaṃ	That which is mental ease,
cetasikaṃ sukhaṃ	mental pleasure,
cetosamphassajaṃ sātaṃ sukhaṃ vedayitaṃ	easeful pleasant experience born of mental contact,
cetosamphassajā sātā sukhā vedanā —	easeful pleasant feeling born of mental contact.
idaṃ vuccati “sukhaṃ”.	This is called pleasure.

First jhana sukha redefined as mental only

Abhidhamma Vb 12

“Rapture and pleasure” means: There is rapture; there is pleasure.

Therein what is rapture? That which is rapture, gladness, rejoicing, rapture, mirth, merriment, felicity, elation, delight of consciousness. This is called rapture.

Therein what is pleasure? That which is mental ease, mental pleasure, easeful pleasant experience born of mental contact, easeful pleasant feeling born of mental contact. This is called pleasure. This pleasure is accompanied by, co-nascent with, conjoined with, associated with this rapture. Therefore this is called “rapture and pleasure”.

second jhana rapture

“Desireless of rapture” means: Therein what is rapture? That which is rapture, gladness, rejoicing, rapture, mirth, merriment, felicity, elation, delight of consciousness. This is called rapture. This rapture is calmed, tranquillized, inhibited, terminated, vanished, destroyed, well destroyed, withered, well withered, abrogated. Therefore this is called “desireless of rapture”.

fourth jhāna gloss, watch sukha


♦ 594. “sukhassa ca pahānā dukkhassa ca pahānā”ti, atthi sukhaṃ, atthi dukkhaṃ.	“By the abandoning of pleasure and by the abandoning of pain” means: There is pleasure; there is pain.

♦ tattha katamaṃ sukhaṃ? yaṃ kāyikaṃ sātaṃ kāyikaṃ sukhaṃ kāyasamphassajaṃ sātaṃ sukhaṃ vedayitaṃ kāyasamphassajā sātā sukhā vedanā — idaṃ vuccati “sukhaṃ”.	Therein what is pleasure? That which is bodily ease, bodily pleasure, easeful pleasant experience born of bodily contact, easeful pleasant feeling born of bodily contact. This is called pleasure.

♦ tattha katamaṃ dukkhaṃ? yaṃ kāyikaṃ asātaṃ kāyikaṃ dukkhaṃ kāyasamphassajaṃ asātaṃ dukkhaṃ vedayitaṃ kāyasamphassajā asātā dukkhā vedanā — idaṃ vuccati “dukkhaṃ”. iti idañca sukhaṃ idañca dukkhaṃ santā honti samitā vūpasantā atthaṅgatā abbhatthaṅgatā appitā byappitā sositā visositā byantīkatā. tena vuccati “sukhassa ca pahānā dukkhassa ca pahānā”ti.	Therein what is pain? That which is bodily uneasiness, bodily pain, uneasy painful experience born of bodily contact, uneasy painful feeling born of bodily contact. This is called pain. Thus this pleasure and this pain are calmed, tranquillized, inhibited, terminated, vanished, destroyed, well destroyed, withered, well withered,
	abrogated. Therefore this is called “by the abandoning of pleasure and by the abandoning of pain”.
♦ 595. “pubbeva somanassadomanassānaṃ atthaṅgamā”ti atthi somanassaṃ, atthi domanassaṃ.	“First terminating mental pleasure and mental pain” means: There is mental pleasure; there is mental pain.

♦ tattha katamaṃ somanassaṃ? yaṃ cetasikaṃ sātaṃ cetasikaṃ sukhaṃ cetosamphassajaṃ sātaṃ sukhaṃ vedayitaṃ cetosamphassajā sātā sukhā vedanā — idaṃ vuccati “somanassaṃ”.	Therein what is mental pleasure? That which is mental ease, mental pleasure, easeful pleasant experience born of mental contact, easeful pleasant feeling born of mental contact. This is called mental pleasure.

♦ tattha katamaṃ domanassaṃ? yaṃ cetasikaṃ asātaṃ cetasikaṃ dukkhaṃ cetosamphassajaṃ asātaṃ dukkhaṃ vedayitaṃ cetosamphassajā asātā dukkhā vedanā — idaṃ vuccati “domanassaṃ”. iti idañca somanassaṃ idañca domanassaṃ pubbeva santā honti samitā vūpasantā atthaṅgatā abbhatthaṅgatā appitā byappitā sositā visositā byantīkatā. tena vuccati “pubbeva somanassadomanassānaṃ atthaṅgamā”ti.	Therein what is mental pain? That which is mental uneasiness, mental pain, uneasy painful experience born of mental contact, uneasy painful feeling born of mental contact. This is called mental pain. Thus this mental pleasure and this mental pain are first
	calmed, tranquillized, inhibited, terminated, vanished, destroyed, well destroyed, withered, well withered, abrogated. Therefore this is called “first terminating mental pleasure and mental pain”.
♦ 596. “adukkhamasukhan”ti yaṃ cetasikaṃ neva sātaṃ nāsātaṃ cetosamphassajaṃ adukkhamasukhaṃ vedayitaṃ cetosamphassajā adukkhamasukhā vedanā. tena vuccati “adukkhamasukhan”ti.	“Neither-pain-nor-pleasure” means: That which is neither mental ease nor uneasiness, neither-painful-nor-pleasant experience born of mental contact, neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling born of mental contact. Therefore this is called “neither-pain-nor-pleasure”.

♦ 597. “upekkhāsatipārisuddhin”ti, tattha katamā upekkhā? yā upekkhā upekkhanā ajjhupekkhanā majjhattatā cittassa — ayaṃ vuccati “upekkhā”.	“Purity of mindfulness caused by equanimity” means: Therein what is equanimity? That which is equanimity, having equanimity, supreme equanimity, state of balance of consciousness. This is called equanimity.

	Therein what is mindfulness? That which is mindfulness, constant mindfulness, See section 220. right mindfulness. This is called mindfulness. This mindfulness, because of this equanimity, is unobstructed, very pure, very clear. Therefore this is called “purity of mindfulness caused by equanimity”.

Look at sukha carefully here. It follows the normal default understanding of sukha and dukkha vedana as bodily originated feeling and experience. So abhidhamma didn’t bother to redefine these into mental factors for fourth jhana, but this makes no sense! Sukha in first jhāna was redefine as mental only, so why would fourth jhana even need to mention a removal of sukha at all, unless it refers to sukha of third jhana? Perhaps THOX realized if it redefined sukha as all mental in fourth jhana, it would look especially ridiculous next to the somanassa which is already mental. But by doing so, they just create more contradiction and incoherence. A sure sign of fraudulent cooking of the books.

THOX tries to explain why anatomical body feels so good in jhāna

THOX is left to answer a very important question. If kaya/body has been redefined into completely mental factors, and sukha has been redefined as all mental factors, then why does the meditator’s anatomical body feel so amazingly unworldly bliss before, during, after jhāna?

Vism. Says

Vism. chapter 4, 3rd jhana gloss for "sukhanca kayena patisamvedeti"

175. Now, as to the clause he feels bliss with his body: here, although in one actually possessed of the third jhāna there is no concern about feeling bliss, nevertheless he would feel the bliss associated with his mental body, and after emerging from the jhāna he would also feel bliss since his material body would have been affected by the exceedingly superior matter originated by that bliss associated with the mental body.48 It is in order to point to this meaning that the words “he feels bliss with his body” are said.

sub commentary explanation is basically same as above

From "Critical Analysis of the Jhana",

Vism. Perspective of how the four famous jhana similes of AN 5.28, in this example the first jhana simile of the bathman, the question naturally arises why is it first jhana feels like the body is in bliss if there is only mind?

(Wr. tr.). The rapture and happiness born of seclusion, the Buddha states, suffuse the whole body of the meditator in such a way that there is no part of his body which remains unaffected by them. This he explains with the help of the following illustration:

Monks, take the case of a monk, who, aloof from sensuous appetites, enters and abides in the first jhāna; he steeps and drenches and fills and suffuses this body with zest [rapture] and ease [happiness] born of solitude, so that there is not one particle of the body that is not pervaded by this lone-born zest [rapture] and ease [happiness]. Monks, just as a handy bathman or attendant might strew bath powder in some copper basin and gradually sprinkling water, knead it together so that the bath-ball gathered up the moisture, became enveloped in moisture and saturated both in and out, but did not ooze moisture, even so a monk steeps, drenches fills and suffuses this body with zest and ease born of solitude, so that there is not one particle of the body that is not pervaded by this lone-born zest [rapture] and ease [happiness].

1. Expositor, 1:155-56. Dhs.A., pp. 160-61.

2. “Te imasmi viveke jātā honti, sañjātā nibbattā, abhinibbattā, pātubhūtā. Tena vuccati vivekajanti.” Vibh., p. 267.

3. GS. 3:17-18. “So ima eva kāya vivekajena pītisukhena abhisandeti parisandeti paripureti parippharati, nāssa kiñci sabbāvato kāyassa vivekajena pītisukhena apphu a hoti. Seyyathāpi bhikkhave dakkho nahāpako vā nahāpakantevāsī vā ka sathāle nahāniya cu āni okiritvā udakena paripphosaka paripphosaka sanneyya, sā’ssa nahāniya pi i snehānugatā snehaparetā sāntarabāhirā phutā snehena na

This statement raises the question how mental qualities like rapture and happiness can suffuse a physical substance like the body. The subcommentary provides an answer. It says that “the material form produced by consciousness suffuses every area where there is material form produced by kamma.”

(Wr. tr.). The “material form produced by kamma” is the yogi’s physical body. The physical body contains material phenomena of four modes of origination; that is, material phenomena produced by kamma (kammaja rūpa ), by consciousness (cittaja rūpa ), by temperature (utuja rūpa ), and by food (āhāraja rūpa ).

When the yogin attains to jhāna, the jhāna consciousness produces a subtle kind of material form which suffuses his physical body. Since this material form is produced by a consciousness associated with rapture and happiness, the impression is created that rapture and happiness themselves suffuse the whole physical body.

The Buddha was pragmatic

For the sake of argument, let’s say the THOX explanation above is true. That is, there is a more subtle level of reality, where our coarse physical body has a sheathe of etheric immaterial body that fits like a glove. The Buddha is famous for being pragmatic and practical. If it suffices to say a meditator feels physical bliss in the anatomical body while they’re in jhāna, even if that’s not the most precise highest truth, there’s no reason to introduce metaphysics and the added complexity of an etheric spirit body. It not only is unhelpful, it introduces massive contradictions and incoherence when you try to sort out what’s going on with pīti, sukha, etc.

Why does Vism. Not talk about the famous 4 jhāna similes?

Buddhaghos, in Vism., can wax eloquent on the etymology of a single pali word for seemingly pages on end. But when it comes to some of the most famous similes in EBT, the four jhānas, they’re completely absent from Vism. Why is that? Is he trying to hide from something? Let’s take a closer look. Here’s what the THOX commentary has to say about the four jhāna similes. They explicitly identify the meditator’s body in jhāna as flesh and blood anatomical.

AN 5.28, DN 2, MN 39, jhāna simile commentary – physical!


AN-a 5, 1. paṭhamapaṇṇāsakaṃ, 3. pañcaṅgikavaggo, 8. pañcaṅgikasuttavaṇṇanā, para. 1 ⇒	(geoff shatz trans.)
imameva kāyan-ti imaṃ karajakāyaṃ.	“This very body:” this body born of action [i.e. born of kamma].
Abhisandetī-ti temeti sneheti,	“He drenches:” he moistens,
sabbattha pavatta-pīti-sukhaṃ karoti.	he extends joy and pleasure everywhere.
Parisandetī-ti samantato sandeti.	“Steeps:” to flow all over.
Paripūretī-ti vāyunā bhastaṃ viya pūreti.	“Fills:” like filling a bellows with air.
Parippharatī-ti samantato phusati.	“Permeates:” to touch all over.
sabbāvato kāyassāti assa bhikkhuno	“His whole body:” in this monk’s body,
sabbakoṭṭhāsavato kāyassa kiñci upādinnakasantatipavattiṭṭhāne	with all its parts, in the place where acquired [material] continuity occurs there is not even the smallest part consisting of
Chavi-maṃsa-lohit-ānugataṃ	skin, flesh, and blood
aṇumattampi ṭhānaṃ paṭhamaj-jhāna-sukhena a-phuṭaṃ nāma na hoti.	that is not-permeated with the pleasure of the first-jhāna.

The THOX explanation earlier of why the physical feels the body of mental only bliss, follows the sub-commentary explanation of the same AN 5.28 passsage.

In other words, Vism. Skips right over the earlier composed commentary, and reaches instead for the sub-commentary which is later than the commentary and contradicts it. With no explanation. Ironically, both the commentary and subcommentary are part of THOX. So they not only contradict EBT, they contradict their own elders within their own hierarchy.

Vimuttimagga on the other hand, has no problem dissecting the four jhana similes word by word. They have nothing to hide, arūpa is arūpa, rūpa is rūpa, four jhānas are rūpa, and they talk about the anatomical body of rūpa that experiences physical bliss in jhāna. Being an earlier abhidhamma than Vism., it’s likely they’re also following the commentary explanation which agrees with EBT.

Vimt. matches EBT in rupa vs. arupa, space-infinitude-dimension

THE SPHERE OF THE INFINITY OF SPACE

I consider the tribulations of the fourth meditation, jhāna.

Now, the yogin who has acquired boundless happiness in the fourth meditation, jhāna, wishes to enjoy the space-concentration and to transcend the realm of form. He considers thus: "Concentration of form is coarse; space- concentration is fine". That yogin sees the tribulations of form and the merits of space-concentration.

What are the tribulantions of form? There are many (tribulations) such as the taking up of sticks and weapons, beating, quarrelling, slander, lying, maiming and the like. There are many sufferings such as pain of the eye and other bodily ills, cold and heat, hunger and thirst. These are the severe trials of the sensuous form.

What are the tribulations of the fourth meditation, jhāna?

The depending on form objects has satisfaction for near enemy. It is called coarse. One who is attached to form and delights in it cannot partake of distinction. But depending on space, one liberates oneself peacefully. In this concentration one fulfils the gross. Thus the yogin sees the tribulations of the fourth meditation, jhāna, in form. The merits of space-concentration consist of the over- coming of these.

I have considered the troubles of the fourth meditation, jhāna.

And now I show how to enter the concentration of the sphere of the infinity of space.

That yogin having seen form and the great tribulations thereof and the merits of space-concentration, rises from that (form) concentration, abandons the earth kasina, the earth sign and practises space-concentration.

He should dwell on space regarding it as an infinite object. If he meditates thus, he quickly completes the destruction of the earth sign and his mind rises out of the earth sign and goes beyond the earth sign to space. Through the acquisition of facility in the perception of the sphere of the infinity of space he attains to fixed meditation, jhāna.

That yogin "by passing entiiely beyond perception of form, by the dis- appearance of the perception of impact, by being freed from attention to perceptions of diversity, thinking, 'Infinite is space', enters into and abides in the sphere of infinite space.

1 "Entirely" means without remainder.

"By passing beyond perception of form": What is perception of form?

The perception, the perceiving, the state of having perceived pertaining to one who dwells in the concentration of the form-element — these are called perception of form. "Passing beyond" means the surpassing of this. [421]

This is saying the mind is divorced from 5 sense faculties

"By the disappearance of the perception of impact":

What is the perception of impact? The perception of visible objects, of sounds, of odours, of flavours, and of tangibles — these are called the perception of impact.

"Disappearance" means the ending of these various kinds of (impact-) perception.

[CP]: Note that nowhere in this chapter on infinite-space-dimension do they mention, "oh by the way, in the four jhānas the mind was already divorced from 5 sense faculties". Just as it is in EBT, rupa is rupa, arupa is arupa.

"By being freed from attention to perceptions of diversity": What are perceptions of diversity? The perception, the perceiving, the state of having perceived pertaining to one who has not attained to concentration and who is endowed with the mind element and the conscious- ness element — these are called perceptions of diversity.

"Freed from attention to perceptions of diversity" means that one is freed from attending to these perceptions of diversity.

Q. Why is it that only the surpassing of perception is taught and not the surpassing of feeling, formations and consciousness ?

A. If a man passes beyond perception of form, he passes beyond all the others; and if a man is not freed from perception of form, his mind is not capable of passing beyond the others. Hence the Blessed One taught the surpassing of perception of form with the intention of setting forth the surpassing of all form-objects, because all (form) objects of concentration are dependent on perception.

here he explicitly says four jhānas, the mind is still sensitive to 5 faculties

Q. If that does not happen (i.e., if he does not transcend the perception of form) is there or is there not perception of impact and diversity?

A. There is the perception of impact and diversity in form concentration, because these are removed (later).

Q. Why does he not proceed further in that concentration?

A. He dislikes form, therefore, he does not remove (these perceptions) in that (concentration). This is according to the teaching of the Buddha which says that, owing to the non-removal of these (perceptions of impact) in that (form concentration), sound is a thorn to one entering the first medi- tation, jhāna.

Thus disliking form, he goes further. He destroys them here. Therefore, he attains to the imperturbability of the formless attainment and the peacefulness of liberation. Alaia Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta when they entered the formless attainment, did not see nor hear those five hundred carts passing and repassing.

Therefore, it is taught as the destruction of the (sense) spheres; and thus, surpassing of all form perception is taught as the destruction of the form states and the perception of impact.

"By being freed from attention to perceptions of diversity" means the destruction of the sense states. Again, the surpassing of all form perception is taught as the attainment of the realm of the formless. The disappearance of the perception of impact is taught as the destruction of the outer disturbance to that concentration (of the formless) and the purification of imperturbability.

"Freed from attention to perceptions of diversity" is taught as destruction of the inner disturbance to that concentration and the purification of the peacefulness of liberation.

Q. "The sphere of infinite space": What is space?

A. It is the sphere of space, the element of space and vacuity.

That which is untouched by the four primaries — this is called vacuity. When a man tranquillizes the mind by means of the perception of limitless space, it is said that he thinks, "Infinite is space". Infinite space means the entering into limitless space. The mind and the mental properties which enter space are called "sphere of space". What is "sphere of space"? Boundlessness is the nature of space. This boundless nature is the "sphere of space". This is taught as the meaning of space. As dwelling in heaven is called heaven, so (dwelling in) the concentration of the sphere of space is called "sphere of space". "Enters into and abides in the sphere of infinite space" means that he acquires the concentration of the sphere of infinite space, passes beyond all form objects, fulfils three factors, three kinds of goodness and ten characteris- tics, is associated with twenty-two merits and dwells peacefully in the enjoyment of the reward of concentration practice. By reason of these good qualities, he will be reborn in the sphere of infinite space, as it was fully taught before. "By these good qualities he will be reborn in (the sphere of infinite) space" means that he who practises the concentration of the sphere of space will,

after his death, be reborn in the sphere of infinite space. His life-span will be two thousand aeons.

jhāna in depth

In Chapter 9, "access conentration", he talks about kasinas and upacāra samādhi (that term and concept is not in EBT) with meditation practices that for the most part draws from EBT passages and don't seem to contradict core EBT principles. Perhaps his adoption of Vism. terminology and concepts is a diplomatic gesture to help bridge the gap between the contradictions between Vism. and EBT on jhāna.

In Chapter 10 he goes through the 4 jhānas again, but in greater depth.

First jhāna

"When you enter the first jhana you are still in touch with your physical senses. Your eyes are closed but you can still hear, smell, feel, and taste. This is one definite indication of the first jhana, as opposed to others.

You don’t fully lose thought either. Thoughts come now and again. Since you have been thinking all your life, your thoughts do not disappear all of a sudden at the attainment of the first jhana. They are like nervous habits—difficult to wipe out at once. They continue to haunt your mind periodically. Just ignore them. They are one of the things that will pull you out of jhana..."

Interesting to note he still translates "vitakka and vicara" as "applied and sustained thought" following Vism., but clearly you can see from his plain English description it doesn't mean the same thing Vism. means. Far from it. He spends a quite a bit of text to go into "vitakka and vicara" in more detail, even trying to harmonize with the Vism. re-defintion of those two terms.

Then he shows how the 7 awakening factors apply to these jhānas.

In the first factor, mindfulness, a few quotes of interest: "Mindfulness of the body focuses your attention on the body itself and its position and movement. You see that breathing is something that takes place within the body itself.

Mindfulness of feelings focuses on physical sensations. You watch them, looking constantly for their deeper nature, the way they are constantly changing and have no real substance other than what you give them with your mind. Tactile sensation is a feeling. Hearing is a feeling, too, if you ignore the other mental content that arises with it and just concentrate on the pure sensation of sound vibrations. The same is true for all the senses."

In the 5th factor, tranquility: "...Out of joy arises tranquility.

The calm, cool, and refreshing joy engendered by this practice makes your mind and body calm, relaxed, and peaceful..."

From how he talks about "body" in the four jhānas, clearly he means anatomical body in this awakening factor, which is in agreement with SN 46.2, and contradicts Vism.'s interpretation of SN 46.2, which takes "body" as meaning "a body of mental aggregates."

Second jhāna

"... You don’t even have to wish to go to the second jhana. When the mind is ready, it glides into the second jhana by itself. ...

When you attained the first jhana, you let go of your many activities and all the hindrances that were such firm habits of mind. The second jhana is called “jhana without thought.” To attain the second jhana you must let go of vitakka (applied thoughts of generosity, loving-friendliness, and compassion) and vicara (maintaining those thoughts with sustained application). Part of their function is to form words, to turn subtle thought into speech.

... The second jhana does not have discursive thought or sustained thought. Here your internal silence is truly noble. ...

The moment your thinking or subtle thoughts vanish from your mind, you are aware that you have entered the second jhana. But as soon as the thought, “This is the second jhana,” appears in your mind, you lose it. Try again and again until that thought does not appear. You can stay with the awareness of second jhanic experience without the concept “this is the second jhana.” This is a very delicate balance. Only with full awareness can you maintain it. ...

The second jhana also has a deeper level of concentration. You do not have to watch out for hindrances. The first jhana is still close to the hindrances and to all material experiences. The second jhana is still close to vitakka and vicara, but remote from hindrances. You should always be mindful of the possibility of losing the jhana. This is why you have cultivated mindfulness from the beginning.

When thought drops away, you experience your entire body and mind filled with joy and happiness. This joy continuously replenishes itself with more and more joy. It is like a lake that has a spring underneath, ..."

Even though V&V have dropped out in 2nd jhāna, you can see S&S (sati and sampajano) is still active, the mind is still mindful , alert in a non-verbal way, clearly not the frozen state of samādhi described in Vism. where this kind of activity is not possible until you emerge from that frozen state back into access concentration.

Third jhāna

In Third jhāna, he introduces the 5 aspects of Mastery of Samādhi, superficially similar to Vism.'s description, but in conformance to the EBT core principles, rather than the Vism.'s frozen samadhi and emergence into an access concentration.

Fourth jhāna

" ... In the fourth jhana, nonverbal, non-conceptual realization begins to take place on a regular basis. The broad base of the eight steps of the Noble Eightfold Path gradually narrows down to the last step, concentration. The factors of enlightenment come together. Endowed with this powerful concentration, the fourth jhana penetrates the five aggregates and sees their impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and selflessness at a nearly subatomic level. This is not inferential or theoretical knowledge. It is nonverbal, non-conceptual, and experiential, a direct seeing of the intrinsic nature of the aggregates. ...

In this state verbal communication has totally ceased. The pure concentrated mind with pure mindfulness and equanimity clearly comprehends things without the sound of words or the vibration of thoughts. This is not the verbalizing or thinking stage. You already passed that long ago during your rational thinking phase. There you practiced the investigation factor of enlightenment in a verbal way, a way that took place before your mind became concentrated.

In the fourth jhana, you don’t think conceptually about suffering, the cause of suffering, the end of suffering, or any of the rest. You just know, directly. This is the level where the mind sees things through the eye of wisdom. Words, thinking, investigation, or even reflection have no place. They would just get in the way. They are too slow and everything is moving too fast. Every cell in the body undergoes change every moment. When body changes at this inconceivable rapidity, no mind without powerful concentration can keep up. You need steadiness, pliability, softness, and purity to notice that flashing, incessant change. This sharpness of the mind is present only in the concentrated mind.

...

Once you have attained the fourth jhana, you will not feel any need to come out of it. Equanimity predominates and you have strong “neither pleasant nor unpleasant” feelings. You stay as long as you have planned to stay. The world cannot disturb you. Pleasure and pain are abandoned. This “neutral feeling” is something that will persist throughout all the jhanas above the fourth.

In addition to the qualities that we have already mentioned, there are many mental factors in the fourth jhana (though six of them are repetitions from earlier jhanas). Once you have attained and mastered the fourth jhana, you can re-attain it any time without any problem."

Even in 4th jhāna, with the sampajano (clear comprehension or alertness) dropping out of (S&S) of third jhāna, the mind is able to do "vipassana" while inside the 4th jhāna. This is consistent with EBT passsages, in direct opposition to Vism. views.

He reiterates in the next section that directly addresses the controversy of access concentration, vipassana:

COMING OUT OF JHANA TO PRACTICE VIPASSANA

Many people teach that we must come out of jhana to practice vipassana. Is that true?

The real question is, “Can your jhanic concentration penetrate things as they really are?” If the answer is “No,” then your concentration is the absorption variety we spoke of earlier. It may well be wrong jhana. If the answer is “Yes,” then your concentration is not absorption. It is right jhana.

According to the Buddha’s teaching, when the mind is concentrated, you can see things as they really are. If your concentration is absorption without mindfulness, then you should come out of it because you are in wrong jhana. However, you can see things while you are in right jhana, and those things bear the stamp of the triple marks of all experience. They show anicca, dukkha, and anatta, which is what you are looking for and the reason you’re doing all of this. So why should you come out of it to see things as they really are?

When we read about the way that the Buddha used his own fourth jhanic concentration, as given in many suttas, we have no reason to believe that he came out of jhana to develop the three kinds of knowledge that he used for seeing past lives, seeing beings dying and taking rebirth, and knowing that his own defilements had been destroyed.

If you can see things as they truly are when you are in access concentration, there is no reason to come out of it to practice vipassana. You are already achieving the goal of the practice. But, if you can see things as they actually are in access concentration, then you should be able to see things even better when you are in full right jhana, which is clearer and stronger than access concentration.

Should you come out of jhana and reflect upon the jhanic factors in order to understand the impermanence, suffering, and selflessness of jhanic factors themselves? It is virtually impossible to find evidence in the suttas that one should come out of jhana to practice vipassana. If you come out of jhana to practice vipassana, you lose the jhanic qualities because your hindrances return. The jhanic state is a perfect state of mind to focus on the Four Noble Truths, impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and selflessness and to attain liberation by eliminating the fetters.

can you hear sound and feel body pain in jhana?

On the controversy of hearing sound in jhāna, or body pain knocking you out of jhana, he says in the section after "mastery" under third jhana, and right before fourth jhana:

BEING IN JHANA

Why do you have to do all this after attaining a jhana? Jhana is like a juggling act. You keep things suspended in the air or balanced. Then you drop them. Then you start over. It takes a lot of practice and you need to figure out why you dropped the balls.

Being in jhana is like juggling five balls at once. They are the five jhanic factors. You are holding them all in the air without letting any of them fall to the ground. If one falls, they all fall. You must pick them up and start juggling all over again. What would make a ball fall? You are distracted—by fatigue, on-lookers, vehicles, sounds, or even by the joy of jhana.

While you are in jhana, a hindrance will appear in your mind. Maybe your body is hurting so much that your attention goes there. Maybe you hear a loud noise. Maybe you want lunch. Then you lose your jhana. You must start it all over again. Fortunately, you don’t have to start from scratch because you have already learned to restrain hindrances. Simply go through these five steps of mastery and attain jhana again....

different than vism.

This is a more practical and battle tested interpretation on the subject of pain and noise potentially knocking a meditator out of jhāna. It's consistent with a straightforward reading of AN 9.72, unlike Vism., which uses an idealistic but somewhat unrealistic expectation for meditators, even in first jhāna, to be able to resolve to enter first jhana, go into a frozen state where S&S is unable to fully function, and emerge like a programmed robot at exactly the predetermined time, down to the second, without having been aware of any body pain or noise that may have occurred during the frozen period.

There are living meditators who an do a flawless version of Vism.’s redefinition of Jhāna, but they are rare. Bhante G’s current view is congruent with the Buddha’s promise that the path to awakening is gradual, like the slope of the ocean floor from the beach, until there’s a sudden steep drop off. The steep drop off is Nibbāna realization, not first jhāna.


sabbaso rūpa-saññānaṃ samatikkamā	(with) complete [physical] form-perceptions transcending,
Paṭigha-saññānaṃ atthaṅgamā	(with) resistance-perceptions disappearance,
nānatta-saññānaṃ a-manasikārā	(and) diversity-perceptions; non-attention (to them),
‘an-anto ākāso’ti	[perceiving,] 'In-finite space,'
ākāsānañcā-(a)yatanaṃ upasampajja viharati.	Space-infinitude-dimension, (he) enters, dwells.

“tatra, bhikkhave,	“Therein, monks,
yañca sukh-indriyaṃ yañca so-manass-indriyaṃ,	the pleasure-faculty and-the good-mental-[state]-faculty,
sukhā sā vedanā daṭṭhabbā.	{should be seen as} pleasant ** feeling
tatra, bhikkhave,	“Therein, monks,
yañca dukkh-indriyaṃ yañca do-manass-indriyaṃ,	The pain-faculty and-the bad-mental-[state]-faculty,
dukkhā sā vedanā daṭṭhabbā.	{should be seen as} painful ** feeling.
tatra, bhikkhave,	“Therein, monks,
yadidaṃ upekkh-indriyaṃ,	the equanimity-faculty,
A-dukkham-a-sukhā sā vedanā daṭṭhabbā.	{should be seen as} neither-painful-nor-pleasant ** feeling.

“katamañca, bhikkhave, sukh'-indriyaṃ?	“what, ************, (is the) pleasure-faculty?
yaṃ kho, bhikkhave,	Whatever *, **********,
kāyikaṃ sukhaṃ,	bodily pleasure,
kāyikaṃ sātaṃ,	bodily satisfaction,
kāya-samphassajaṃ sukhaṃ sātaṃ vedayitaṃ —	Bodily-contact-produced pleasurable satisfying feeling –
idaṃ vuccati, bhikkhave, sukh'-indriyaṃ.	that (is) called, *********, pleasure-faculty.


sukhassa ca pahānā	Pleasure's ** abandoning,
dukkhassa ca pahānā	pain's ** abandoning,
pubbeva somanassa-domanassānaṃ atthaṅgamā	previous elation-(and)-distress disappearance,
A-dukkham-a-sukhaṃ	Neither-pain nor-pleasure
Upekkhā-sati-pārisuddhiṃ	equanimity-(and)-mindfulness-purified,
catutthaṃ jhānaṃ upasampajja viharati	fourth Jhāna (he) enters, dwells.

♦ tattha katamo kāyo?	Therein what is the body (of mental aggregates)?
saññākkhandho,	The aggregate of perception,
saṅkhārakkhandho,	aggregate of volitional activities,
viññāṇakkhandho —	aggregate of consciousness.
ayaṃ vuccati “kāyo”.	This is called the body (of mental aggregates).
idaṃ sukhaṃ iminā kāyena paṭisaṃvedeti.	This pleasure he experiences by way of this body (of mental aggregates).
tena vuccati “sukhañca kāyena paṭisaṃvedetī”ti.	Therefore this is called “experiences pleasure by way of the body (of mental aggregates)”.

4👑☸ Cattāri Ariya-saccaṃ 四聖諦

EBT Jhāna Vs. Vism. Re-definition

EBT Jhāna Vs. Vism. Redefinition

The Buddha’s agenda

THOX agenda

The fallout from the different agendas

An uncomfortable truth

'It depends upon what your definition of "is" is.'

How EBT defines Jhānas

STED (smd 5) ākāsānañcā-(a)yatanaṃ

Difference between rūpa and a-rūpa

MN 43 mind is divorced from 5 body faculties for (smd 5)

SN 22.79 rūpa (as both noun and verb) affecting cold, heat, hunger, mosquitoes, etc.

MN 13 rūpā, sarīraṃ, kāya of beautiful girl aging, dying

(note this next part appears in MN 10 under kāya anupassana (body contemplation - rupa, sarira, kaya all pointing to anatomical body here)

MN 62 1. Earth-property

MN 62 2. Water-property

MN 62 3. Fire-property

MN 62 4. Wind-property

How sukha is defined in EBT jhānas

5 fold scheme, SN 48: 31, 36, 37 differentiate faculty (indriya) in mental and physical

SN 48.37: each vedana has mental and physical portion

SN 48.37: sukha-indriya is physical, somanassa is mental

STED 4th Jhāna

STED 3rd Jhāna

If the Buddha wanted sukha to be mental in 3rd jhāna...

Pounding in the final nail on the coffin of the Jhāna controversy

SN 36.14 (3-fold vedana explicitly said to arise from anatomical body)

(carnal feelings are tied to 5 cords of sensual pleasure, clearly anatomical body)

(anatomical body originated spiritual feelings arise in jhāna, see SN 36.31 for explicit tie to jhāna definition)

How THOX redefined Jhāna

Difference between rūpa and a-rūpa

Vism chap. 10 arūpa

Vism. Then gives similes that are difficult to comprehend

a better simile that explains what is actually going on

Vism. passage glossing meaning of patigha-sañña-atthangama

next paragraph is the key

But this part seems to agree with EBT that sound can knock you out of first jhāna

Conclusion on difference between THOX rūpa and a-rūpa

THOX redefines kāya as body of mental aggregates

body gets redefined as “body of mental aggregates”

THOX redefines kāya in 16 APS

First, where they are similar

where they differ drastically

(Vism. Step 3. Whole "body" of breath redefined)

sign (nimitta) soon appears

(Fixing = V&V-SKF)

THOX redefines kāya in tranquility awakening factor as body of mental aggregates

sutta method: tranquility has body and mind components

vibhaṅga pāḷi 10. bojjhaṅgavibhaṅgo 1. suttantabhājanīyaṃ

10.2. Analysis According To Abhidhamma

THOX redefines sukha as all mental factors

First jhana sukha redefined as mental only

fourth jhāna gloss, watch sukha

THOX tries to explain why anatomical body feels so good in jhāna

Vism. Says

sub commentary explanation is basically same as above

The Buddha was pragmatic

Why does Vism. Not talk about the famous 4 jhāna similes?

AN 5.28, DN 2, MN 39, jhāna simile commentary – physical!

Vimt. in practice is mostly consistent with EBT jhāna

Vimt. matches EBT in rupa vs. arupa, space-infinitude-dimension

This is saying the mind is divorced from 5 sense faculties

here he explicitly says four jhānas, the mind is still sensitive to 5 faculties

Evolution of Bhante Gunaratana's Interpretation of Jhāna

Bhante G. Bio.

book 1: Critical Analysis of the Jhānas

book 2: Beyond Mindfulnes

where to get this book

Bhavana society website link

Summary of first book

Highlights from the second book

brief key points of four jhānas

jhāna in depth

First jhāna

Second jhāna

Third jhāna

Fourth jhāna

COMING OUT OF JHANA TO PRACTICE VIPASSANA

can you hear sound and feel body pain in jhana?