MN 125 first jhāna explicitly equated with (4sp) 4 sati-'paṭṭhāna

 What are the implications of this?

Can you hear sounds while you're doing (4sp) 4 sati-'paṭṭhāna?

Can you walk, think verbal thoughts,  and do (4sp) 4 sati-'paṭṭhāna at the same time? 

If you can walk, think,  and hear sounds in (4sp) 4 sati-'paṭṭhāna, 

you can also walk, think, and hear sounds while in first jhāna.

The similes in MN 125 for the different stages of samadhi, using the war elephant training for battle, make this abundantly clear. First jhana, and all four jhanas are not a formless frozen stupor. One has to be percipient of the body, able to hear sounds, able to think in order to do battle with Mara with jhana. 

The war elephant must be able to hear sounds (reacting to deadly battle environment), must be able to walk, run, discern, do war vipassana related thinking. The elephant mind can not be in a  blind deaf frozen  stupor.

MN 125, notice the absence of the first jhana formula, and the 4sp statement that replaces the first jhana

https://lucid24.org/mn/mn125/index.html

• MN 125 Danta-bhūmi
  • tamed levels
    • (prince J. doesn’t think that teaching can lead to ekagga citta)
    • (simile of well trained elephants)
    • (simile of standing on mountain seeing clearly)
    • (simile of training wild elephant)
    • (Buddha is like the wild elephant trainer)
    • (renounce, shave head, work on sīla)
    • (guard sense doors)
    • (moderation in eating)
    • (wakefulness)
    • (S&S: sati & sampajāno)
    • (5niv hindrance removal) (4sp is shown twice, once for 5niv, once for first jhana!)
    • (4sp satipatthana nonstop, like elephant tethered to post)
    • (do 4sp with no kāma-vitakka/thoughts of sensuality = first jhana)
    • (skip first jhāna, go directly to 2nd jhāna, since first jhāna can have thoughts connected to Dhamma)
    • (imperturbability/āneñjappatte, the dynamic form of 4th jhāna)
    • (#4 of 6: higher knowledge of reviewing past lives)
    • (#5 of 6: higher knowledge of divine eye sees kamma and rebirth of beings)
    • (#6 of 6: higher knowledge of destruction of āsavas, i.e. arahant)
    • (mark of sammā samādhi is khamo/patient endurance of any unpleasant experience)

excerpt of relevant section of sutta:

(moderation in eating)

(wakefulness)

(S&S: sati & sampajāno)

(5niv hindrance removal)

(4sp satipatthana nonstop, like elephant tethered to post)

So ime pañca nīvaraṇe pahāya cetaso upakkilese paññāya dubbalīkaraṇe	They give up these five hindrances, corruptions of the heart that weaken wisdom.
kāye kāyānupassī viharati ātāpī sampajāno satimā vineyya loke abhijjhādomanassaṃ.	Then they meditate observing an aspect of the body—keen, aware, and rememberful, rid of desire and aversion for the world.
Vedanāsu … pe …	They meditate observing an aspect of feelings …
citte …	mind …
dhammesu dhammānupassī viharati ātāpī sampajāno satimā vineyya loke abhijjhādomanassaṃ.	principles—keen, aware, and rememberful, rid of desire and aversion for the world.

(simile: 4sp satipatthana nonstop,to subdue thoughts of household and delight in Dharma thoughts → elephant tied to post to keep it from returning to forest, and grow to like men and fortress)

Seyyathāpi, aggivessana, hatthidamako mahantaṃ thambhaṃ pathaviyaṃ nikhaṇitvā āraññakassa nāgassa gīvāyaṃ upanibandhati āraññakānañceva sīlānaṃ abhinimmadanāya āraññakānañceva sarasaṅkappānaṃ abhinimmadanāya āraññakānañceva darathakilamathapariḷāhānaṃ abhinimmadanāya gāmante abhiramāpanāya manussakantesu sīlesu samādapanāya;	It’s like when the elephant trainer dug a large post into the earth and tethered the elephant to it by the neck, so as to subdue its wild behaviors, its wild memories and thoughts, and its wild stress, weariness, and fever, and to make it happy to be in the neighborhood of a village, and instill behaviors congenial to humans.

(in the same way as elephant tied to post, repeat section previously with monk doing 4sp )

evameva kho, aggivessana, ariyasāvakassa ime cattāro satipaṭṭhānā cetaso upanibandhanā honti gehasitānañceva sīlānaṃ abhinimmadanāya gehasitānañceva sarasaṅkappānaṃ abhinimmadanāya gehasitānañceva darathakilamathapariḷāhānaṃ abhinimmadanāya ñāyassa adhigamāya nibbānassa sacchikiriyāya.	In the same way, a noble disciple has these four kinds of remembering meditation as tethers for the mind so as to subdue behaviors of the lay life, memories and thoughts of the lay life, the stress, weariness, and fever of the lay life, to complete the procedure and to realize nirvana.

(do 4sp with no kāma-vitakka/thoughts of sensuality = first jhana)

Tamenaṃ tathāgato uttariṃ vineti:	Then the Realized One guides them further:
‘ehi tvaṃ, bhikkhu, kāye kāyānupassī viharāhi, mā ca kāmūpasaṃhitaṃ vitakkaṃ vitakkesi.	‘Come, monk, meditate observing an aspect of the body, but don’t think thoughts connected with sensual pleasures.
Vedanāsu …	Meditate observing an aspect of feelings …
citte …	mind …
dhammesu dhammānupassī viharāhi, mā ca kāmūpasaṃhitaṃ vitakkaṃ vitakkesī’ti.	principles, but don’t think thoughts connected with sensual pleasures.’

(simile: 4sp satipatthana again without kama = first jhana → elephant trained to like and follow commands for good war elephant)

Tamenaṃ hatthidamako yā sā vācā nelā kaṇṇasukhā pemanīyā hadayaṅgamā porī bahujanakantā bahujanamanāpā tathārūpāhi vācāhi samudācarati.	He spoke in a way that’s mellow, pleasing to the ear, lovely, going to the heart, polite, likable and agreeable to the people.
Yato kho, aggivessana, āraññako nāgo hatthidamakassa yā sā vācā nelā kaṇṇasukhā pemanīyā hadayaṅgamā porī bahujanakantā bahujanamanāpā tathārūpāhi vācāhi samudācariyamāno sussūsati, sotaṃ odahati, aññā cittaṃ upaṭṭhāpeti;	Spoken to in such a way by the elephant trainer, the wild elephant wanted to listen. It leant an ear and applied its mind to understand.

(note grass, water, firewood is simile for first jhana from AN 7.67 )

(also note that elephant trainer (buddha) vocalizing Dharma instructions is issuing sound that needs vaci-sankhara vitakka-thoughts to decode! That’s a reference to speech ceasing in first jhana for the listener (the elephant), but vitakka thoughts are still active!)

tamenaṃ hatthidamako uttari tiṇaghāsodakaṃ anuppavecchati.	So the elephant trainer rewards it with grass, fodder, and water.
Yato kho, aggivessana, āraññako nāgo hatthidamakassa tiṇaghāsodakaṃ paṭiggaṇhāti, tatra hatthidamakassa evaṃ hoti:	When the wild elephant accepts the grass, fodder, and water, the trainer knows:
‘jīvissati kho dāni āraññako nāgo’ti.	‘Now the wild elephant will survive!’
Tamenaṃ hatthidamako uttari kāraṇaṃ kāreti:	Then he sets it a further task:
‘ādiya, bho, nikkhipa, bho’ti.	‘Pick it up, sir! Put it down, sir!’
Yato kho, aggivessana, āraññako nāgo hatthidamakassa ādānanikkhepe vacanakaro hoti ovādappaṭikaro, tamenaṃ hatthidamako uttari kāraṇaṃ kāreti:	When the wild elephant picks up and puts down when the trainer says, following instructions, the trainer sets it a further task:
‘abhikkama, bho, paṭikkama, bho’ti.	‘Forward, sir! Back, sir!’
Yato kho, aggivessana, āraññako nāgo hatthidamakassa abhikkamapaṭikkamavacanakaro hoti ovādappaṭikaro, tamenaṃ hatthidamako uttari kāraṇaṃ kāreti:	When the wild elephant goes forward and back when the trainer says, following instructions, the trainer sets it a further task:
‘uṭṭhaha, bho, nisīda, bho’ti.	‘Stand, sir! Sit, sir!’

(in the same way, repeat what monk does before elephant simile )

Just as the elephant has to learn to follow instructions from the trainer (the Buddha) and use thoughts to decode that speech and follow them, the monk practices four satipatthana again, this time secluded from thoughts of sensuality and the other hindrances, and the monk uses vitakka thoughts and sati remembrance of Dharma instructions he heard from the Buddha and applies those instructions in first jhana satipatthana.

(skip first jhāna, go directly to 2nd jhāna, since first jhāna can have thoughts connected to Dhamma)

So vitakkavicārānaṃ vūpasamā ajjhattaṃ sampasādanaṃ cetaso ekodibhāvaṃ avitakkaṃ avicāraṃ samādhijaṃ pītisukhaṃ dutiyaṃ jhānaṃ …	As the directed-thought and evaluation are stilled, they enter and remain in the second jhāna …
tatiyaṃ jhānaṃ …	third jhāna …
catutthaṃ jhānaṃ upasampajja viharati.	fourth jhāna.

(simile: monk developing 2nd through 4th jhana → elephant tied up so it can’t move while training to be imperturbable to simulated weapons and battle stress)

Yato kho, aggivessana, āraññako nāgo hatthidamakassa uṭṭhānanisajjāya vacanakaro hoti ovādappaṭikaro, tamenaṃ hatthidamako uttari āneñjaṃ nāma kāraṇaṃ kāreti, mahantassa phalakaṃ soṇḍāya upanibandhati, tomarahattho ca puriso uparigīvāya nisinno hoti, samantato ca tomarahatthā purisā parivāretvā ṭhitā honti, hatthidamako ca dīghatomarayaṭṭhiṃ gahetvā purato ṭhito hoti.	When the wild elephant stands and sits when the trainer says, following instructions, the trainer sets the task called imperturbability. He fastens a large plank to its trunk; a lancer sits on its neck; other lancers surround it on all sides; and the trainer himself stands in front with a long lance.
So āneñjaṃ kāraṇaṃ kāriyamāno neva purime pāde copeti na pacchime pāde copeti, na purimakāyaṃ copeti na pacchimakāyaṃ copeti, na sīsaṃ copeti, na kaṇṇe copeti, na dante copeti, na naṅguṭṭhaṃ copeti, na soṇḍaṃ copeti.	While practicing this task, it doesn’t budge its fore-feet or hind-feet, its fore-quarters or hind-quarters, its head, ears, tusks, tail, or trunk.

(in the same way, repeat what monk does before elephant simile )

In the same way as the elephant in a static posture simulating the life threatening danger of war, the monk develops the second, third, and fourth jhana.

(imperturbability/āneñjappatte, the dynamic form of 4th jhāna)

So evaṃ samāhite citte parisuddhe pariyodāte anaṅgaṇe vigatūpakkilese mudubhūte kammaniye ṭhite āneñjappatte pubbenivāsānussatiñāṇāya cittaṃ abhininnāmeti.	When their mind has become undistractified-&-lucidified in samādhi like this—purified, bright, spotless, rid of taints, pliable, workable, steady, and imperturbable—they extend it toward recollection of past lives.

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🔗📝 MN 125 collection of external notes and research

• You can 👂 hear sounds in the 4 jhānas.: Which samādhis are silent?
• If you can walk and do the jhānas in all 4 postures, then obviously you must have body awareness and can't be in a formless samādhi.
• s5👻 ākāsā-nañcā-(a)yatanaṃ: if you study the terms in the space infinitude dimension formula for patigha sañña and nanatta sañña, it's clear that it must mean in the four jhānas one is sensitive to the physical anatomical body, i.e. not in a formless samādhi.