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Originally Posted by sky123
In the Sallekha Sutta the Buddha points out to Maha-Cunda, one of the senior monks, that he may have been placing too much emphasis on the levels of meditative absorption. In this sutta, Cunda asked the Buddha if acquiring the absorption of the jhanas would bring final release. The Buddha places the importance of the jhanas as a foundational aspect of the dhamma and then describes the “Right Discipline” developed by the Eightfold Path as the way to develop complete release.
The Buddha explained these states to specifically downplay any sense of special achievements associated with the jhanas. They are simply states of mindfulness of deepening concentration that are common experiences to all who engage in whole-hearted development of the Eightfold Path. All that is needed to experience these levels of concentration and absorption is Dhamma practice within the framework of the Eightfold Path.
https://becoming-buddha.com/the-jhan...ve-absorption/ |
I just read the article for which you provided the link, and I agree with it completely. It is, however, amazing how the jhana descriptions do indeed follow closely the progressions as meditation deepens. They are definitely NOT goals but I can relate to them completely. However, I paid attention to them only after I performed my practices and then afterwards realized that they are indeed accurate descriptions though not goals to be met or to boast about. While the Eightfold Path is excellent, I got a lot of my meditation motivation from the Sattipana Sutra in which one gets to "Know Yourself" by observing the body and then the feelings and then the thoughts and then beyond.
Thank you for your input and the excellent article. We can close this thread now as nothing more need be said.
