The jhanas (Sanskrit dhyana) are states of meditative absorption described in the Pali canon with unusual technical precision. They are the fruit of concentration practice, they are named as the content of right concentration — the eighth factor of the path — and they are among the most argued-about topics in contemporary Buddhist practice.

The word gave rise, through Chinese chan, to Zen.

The four rupa jhanas #

Each is defined by which mental factors are present. The canonical formula is repeated hundreds of times across the discourses, and it is worth reading closely because the definition is entirely in terms of factors, not experiences.

First jhana #

“Secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, one enters and dwells in the first jhana, which is accompanied by applied thought (vitakka) and sustained thought (vicara), with rapture (piti) and pleasure (sukha) born of seclusion.”

Factors: applied thought, sustained thought, rapture, pleasure, one-pointedness.

Vitakka is the initial directing of the mind onto the object; vicara is keeping it there. Piti is an energetic, often physically felt rapture — practitioners describe waves, tingling, lightness, sometimes involuntary movement or tears. Sukha is a quieter contentment.

The five hindrances are suppressed in jhana, and the factors map onto them as antidotes: applied thought counters sloth, sustained thought counters doubt, rapture counters ill will, pleasure counters restlessness, one-pointedness counters sensual desire.

Second jhana #

“With the stilling of applied and sustained thought, one enters and dwells in the second jhana, which has internal confidence and unification of mind, is without applied and sustained thought, and has rapture and pleasure born of concentration.”

The mental “talking” that even subtly accompanies the first jhana drops away. What remains is rapture, pleasure, and unification, now self-sustaining.

Third jhana #

“With the fading away of rapture, one dwells equanimous, mindful and clearly comprehending, experiencing pleasure with the body.”

Rapture is energetic and, at length, tiring. Its dropping leaves a quieter and deeper pleasure with equanimity. The canonical description notes that the noble ones say of this state: “equanimous, mindful, one dwells pleasantly.”

Fourth jhana #

“With the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the previous disappearance of joy and grief, one enters and dwells in the fourth jhana, which has neither-pain-nor-pleasure and purity of mindfulness due to equanimity.”

Extremely still, extremely clear, with no hedonic tone in either direction. The breath is described as becoming very subtle or ceasing to be perceptible.

This is the state the texts identify as the platform for the three knowledges on the night of the awakening, and the one from which the psychic powers are said to be developed.

The four formless attainments #

Beyond the fourth jhana lie the arupa attainments, each reached by taking a subtler object:

The sphere of infinite space — attention to the boundlessness of space. The sphere of infinite consciousness — attention to the boundlessness of the consciousness that apprehended space. The sphere of nothingness — attention to the absence of anything. The sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception — so subtle that it cannot be characterised either way.

These are the states the Buddha learned from Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta — the third and fourth respectively — and found insufficient. He kept the techniques and rejected the claim that they constitute liberation.

Beyond them, for those who have attained non-return or arahantship, the texts describe nirodha-samapatti, the cessation of perception and feeling.

The debate: deep jhana or light jhana #

This is the live controversy in contemporary practice, and a reader will encounter incompatible descriptions.

The deep or “sutta-plus-commentary” position, associated with Pa Auk Sayadaw, Ajahn Brahm, and the Visuddhimagga tradition, holds that jhana is an extremely absorbed state in which the five senses do not operate at all. The meditator cannot hear sounds, is unaware of the body, and cannot move or think. Entry requires a nimitta, a mental light-sign, and access concentration developed over long periods. On this view, most people who report jhana have not attained it.

The light or “sutta-only” position, associated with Leigh Brasington, Thanissaro Bhikkhu in a different form, and much of the Western insight community, holds that jhana as the discourses describe it is considerably more accessible: strong concentration with the defining factors present, but with some awareness of surroundings retained and the ability to emerge at will. Proponents point out that the discourses describe the Buddha giving talks and being addressed while in states associated with jhana, and that the total-absorption reading comes largely from the Visuddhimagga rather than the suttas.

What is at stake is practical. On the deep reading, jhana is a specialist attainment requiring retreat conditions and months of work. On the light reading, it is available to committed lay practitioners within a reasonable time, and the Visuddhimagga’s standard has discouraged generations of people unnecessarily.

The honest position is that the discourses are not decisive, that both readings have serious defenders, and that the states being described under one label may genuinely differ.

How jhana is developed #

The general method is consistent across approaches.

Establish ethical conduct. Not a formality. Remorse is a hindrance, and concentration does not develop under it.

Take a single object and stay with it. The breath is the most common; the Visuddhimagga lists forty possible objects, including the kasinas (coloured discs), loving-kindness, and the recollections.

Develop access concentration (upacara samadhi) — the stage at which the hindrances are suppressed, attention stays with the object without wandering, and the mind is unified but not yet absorbed.

Attend to the pleasure. This is the step most often missed. As concentration settles, a subtle pleasantness appears; the instruction in the concentration traditions is to shift attention to that pleasure and let it grow, rather than continuing to grip the original object. Absorption follows from the pleasure rather than from effort.

Do not grasp at it. The most reliable way to prevent jhana is to want it during the session. The traditional instruction is to let go, repeatedly.

Jhana and insight #

Do you need jhana to become awakened? The traditions disagree.

Yes, say the concentration traditions: the fourth jhana is the platform from which insight is developed, and the Buddha’s own account places it there. Insight developed without deep concentration is shallow.

Not necessarily, say the “dry insight” (sukkha-vipassaka) traditions, dominant in the modern Burmese methods: momentary concentration (khanika samadhi), sustained on changing objects, is sufficient for insight, and the canon describes practitioners liberated by wisdom without the formless attainments.

Both cite canonical support. The texts do describe those “liberated by wisdom” as well as those “liberated both ways,” which suggests the canon itself recognised more than one route.

The tradition is united on one point: jhana alone does not liberate. Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta had the formless attainments and were still bound. Concentration suppresses the defilements; only insight uproots them.

The dangers #

Attachment to the states. Two of the ten fetters are desire for fine-material existence and desire for immaterial existence — attachment to the jhanas and the formless spheres respectively. These are not incidental hazards; they are named fetters that persist until arahantship.

Mistaking suppression for uprooting. In jhana the hindrances are absent, which can feel like their removal. They return.

Spiritual ambition. Jhana attracts collectors. The traditions warn about this consistently.

Common questions #

How long does it take? On the light reading, a committed practitioner on retreat might reach the first jhana within days to weeks. On the deep reading, months of sustained retreat practice is typical. At home, with an hour a day, both are considerably slower.

How do I know if I’m in jhana? By the factors, not the feeling. Is applied thought present or absent? Is rapture present? Is there any hedonic tone at all? This is why the factor-based definitions exist, and why a teacher is genuinely useful.

Are the jhanas the same as mystical experience in other traditions? There are evident similarities with absorption states described in Christian, Sufi, and Hindu contexts, and some scholars treat them as the same phenomena differently interpreted. Buddhism’s distinctive move is not the states themselves but the insistence that they are not liberation.

Is jhana necessary? The dry-insight traditions say no, the concentration traditions say yes, and the canon can be read either way. What is uncontroversial is that concentration of some degree is necessary.

Can I do this without a teacher? Many people work from books and get somewhere. Assessing which state one is actually in is genuinely difficult from inside, and a teacher who has been there is the main remedy.

Sources & further reading #

Ajahn Brahm, Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond (Wisdom, 2006) — the deep-jhana position, practically presented. Leigh Brasington, Right Concentration: A Practical Guide to the Jhānas (Shambhala, 2015) — the light-jhana position, clearly argued. Buddhaghosa, The Path of Purification, trans. Bhikkhu Nanamoli (BPS, 4th ed. 2010), chs. 4–10 — the classical account. Bhikkhu Analayo, A Meditator’s Life of the Buddha (Windhorse, 2017) — on jhana in the Buddha’s own practice. Richard Shankman, The Experience of Samādhi (Shambhala, 2008) — a survey of the disagreement, with teacher interviews from both camps.