We'll look at MN 125 first
because it clears up any doubt and removes any wiggle room for equivocators and prevaricators from distorting what (V&V💭) vitakka & vicāra means in first jhāna.Before first jhana, during first jhana, after first jhana:
(V&V💭) = directed-thought & evaluation
(you can jump to the specific section of MN 125 you want with the table of contents hyperlinks below)
MN 125 Danta-bhūmi (Tamed-level)
- (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 satipatthana nonstop, like elephant tethered to post)
- (do 4sp with no kāma-vitakka/thoughts of sensuality)
- (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)
By completely eliminating the standard first jhana formula from the sutta entirely, this gives no wiggle room, no opportunity for people with a wrong interpretation of V&V to try to weasel their way in with a different type of V&V that only works for first jhana.
MN 78 reinforces the same idea as MN 125
MN 78 samaṇa-muṇḍika (the contemplative named mundika)
- (Uggāhamāna's invincible ascetic— no bad body action, word, thought, livelihood)
- (Buddha makes fun of him, compare to baby)
- (Buddha’s ideal ascetic)
- (kusala sīla purified by right effort)
- (3 akusalā saṅkappā exact opposite of 3 aspects of right resolve, lust, ill will, harm)
- (akusalā saṅkappā depend on 3 perceptions based on opposite of right resolves, lust, ill will, harm)
- (akusalā saṅkappā cease in first jhana)
- (right effort does the work of removing kusalā saṅkappā within, and prior to first jhana)
- (3 kusalā saṅkappā are same as 3 aspects of Right Resolve)
- (kusalā saṅkappā depend on the 3 kusala perceptions)
- (kusalā saṅkappā cease in 2nd jhana)
- (right effort removes kusala sankappa from first jhana resulting in no V&V of 2nd jhana)
B.Sujato translates sankappa as "thought". In most cases, that's fine, but there are some situations where vitakka is not exactly equivalent with sankappa. That's a topic for another day.
B.Thanissaro uses "resolve" which works better.
But the important thing is, for the context we're interested in at the moment, what vitakka is before, during, and after first jhana, vitakka and sankappa are identical (see also MN 19 and MN 117).
So for MN 78, if kusala sankappa don't cease until 2nd jhana, that means
(skillful) kusala sankappa are still live and active in first jhana.
Thoughts (vitakka, sankappa) of renunciation, good will, non-harming (the 3 aspects of right intention/samma sankappa) are live and active in first jhana. For second jhana, thoughts don't just vanish completely, it's more accurate to say they become more refined and subtle. They are no longer 'thoughts', but perceptions (sañña) of renunciation, good will, non-harming. MN 78 explicitly make that connection, that a diversity of perceptions (sañña) are what thoughts are based on.
In other words, the V&V💭 vitakka & vicāra of first jhana become
the more subtle perceptions that S&S💭 sati & sam-pajāno work with in the remaining 4 jhanas.
With a clear understanding of the straightforward MN 125 and MN 78, now when you review MN 19 you can see that it doesn't matter if the standard first jhana formula is there or not (for this sutta MN 19). Because it already explicitly describes the type of V&V that operates in first jhana, in addition to the other things that must happen for the samadhi to be of first jhana quality.
In fact the Chinese parallel to this sutta makes this even more clear by completely removing the first jhana formula from the sutta, just as MN 125 did.
So if you actually look at what the suttas say instead of biased propaganda from Theravadans, it's very straightforward what V&V means. It means exactly what it says, in simple plain language.
❤️ When Bhikkhu Anālayo met 🔪 Occam's razor is no Valentine's love story.
So what's Bhikkhu Anālayo's strategy in dealing with incontrovertible, straightforward plain speaking evidence?
Tune in to the next installment, where we go into Bhikkhu Anālayo's kitchen to see what he cooked up. We'll examine his specially selected, freshly picked cherries, red herrings, wriggly slippery eels, and bitter melon. I'm getting hungry* just thinking (vitakka) about it.
* no animals were harmed in the making of that cooking simile.
🔗fallacy & cognitive bias
B.Thanissaro uses "resolve" which works better.
But the important thing is, for the context we're interested in at the moment, what vitakka is before, during, and after first jhana, vitakka and sankappa are identical (see also MN 19 and MN 117).
So for MN 78, if kusala sankappa don't cease until 2nd jhana, that means
(skillful) kusala sankappa are still live and active in first jhana.
Thoughts (vitakka, sankappa) of renunciation, good will, non-harming (the 3 aspects of right intention/samma sankappa) are live and active in first jhana. For second jhana, thoughts don't just vanish completely, it's more accurate to say they become more refined and subtle. They are no longer 'thoughts', but perceptions (sañña) of renunciation, good will, non-harming. MN 78 explicitly make that connection, that a diversity of perceptions (sañña) are what thoughts are based on.
In other words, the V&V💭 vitakka & vicāra of first jhana become
the more subtle perceptions that S&S💭 sati & sam-pajāno work with in the remaining 4 jhanas.
With a clear understanding of the straightforward MN 125 and MN 78, now when you review MN 19 you can see that it doesn't matter if the standard first jhana formula is there or not (for this sutta MN 19). Because it already explicitly describes the type of V&V that operates in first jhana, in addition to the other things that must happen for the samadhi to be of first jhana quality.
MN 19 dve-dhā-vitakka-suttaṃ
- (3 types of “right intention” and “wrong intention”)
- (1. kāma vitakko)
- (2, byāpāda vitakko)
- (3. vihiṃsā vitakko)
- (V&V quality of thinking “bends” mind into habit)
- (simile of cowherd busy)
- (1. renunciation in opposition to kāma)
- (code phrase for “attempt 4 jhānas”)
- (2. non ill will in opposition to ill will)
- (3. non harm in opposition to harm)
- (reiteration: quality of V&V thinking “bends” mind into habit)
- (simile of cowherd relaxed in jhāna)
- (code phrase for successful entry into 4 jhānas)
- (STED 4 jhānas)
- (STED 6ab#4: recollection of past lives)
- (STED 6ab#5: divine eye: sees where beings are reborn according to kamma)
- (STED 6ab#6: arahantship)
- (simile: mara wants to kill deer, buddha wants to lead them to safety)
In fact the Chinese parallel to this sutta makes this even more clear by completely removing the first jhana formula from the sutta, just as MN 125 did.
MA 102 || MN 19 omits first jhana like MN 125
From Ven. Analayo’s footnotes in MA studies.
40 [49] A complementary case occurs in MN 19 at MN I 117,6 and its parallel MĀ
102 at T I 589c10, where the Chinese version omits the first absorption and
proceeds directly from overcoming wholesome thoughts to the second absorp
tion, whereas the Pāli version does take the first absorption into account.
So if you actually look at what the suttas say instead of biased propaganda from Theravadans, it's very straightforward what V&V means. It means exactly what it says, in simple plain language.
❤️ When Bhikkhu Anālayo met 🔪 Occam's razor is no Valentine's love story.
So what's Bhikkhu Anālayo's strategy in dealing with incontrovertible, straightforward plain speaking evidence?
Tune in to the next installment, where we go into Bhikkhu Anālayo's kitchen to see what he cooked up. We'll examine his specially selected, freshly picked cherries, red herrings, wriggly slippery eels, and bitter melon. I'm getting hungry* just thinking (vitakka) about it.
* no animals were harmed in the making of that cooking simile.
🔗fallacy & cognitive bias
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