Skip to main content

SN 36.11 speaking in first jhāna, acccording to B.Analayo is 'impossible'

Elsewhere the discourses indicate
that during the first jhāna it is impossible to speak (SN 36.11) (S.
IV. 217). and the hearing of sounds is an obstruction
to its attainment
 (A. V, 135). With the first jhāna one
has gone beyond Mara's vision (A/. 1. 159). having
reached the end of the world of the senses (A. IV. 430).
Though these passages present the first jhāna as a
deeply concentrated state of mental absorption, the
mental factors required for its attainment include,
according to the standard description, vitakka and
vicira. These two are only left behind with the
attainment of the second jhāna. 3 To understand the
jhāna factor vitakka here as referring to conceptual
thought conflicts with the descriptions of the first
jhāna given in the above passages, which make it clear
that the first jhāna is something far deeper than the
type of mental condition in which conceptual thought
and reflection take place.

Let’s see what the sutta actually says.

(in 4 jhānas one can perceive rūpa ✅ 🚶)

1. paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ samāpannassa
1. (with) first jhāna attained,
🚫🗣️💬 vācā niruddhā hoti.
🚫🗣️💬 vocalization-of-speech has ceased.
2. dutiyaṃ jhānaṃ samāpannassa
2. (with) second jhāna attained,
🚫(V&V💭) vitakka-vicārā niruddhā honti.
🚫(V&V💭) directed-thought-&-evaluation has ceased.
3. tatiyaṃ jhānaṃ samāpannassa
3. (with) third jhāna attained,
🚫😁 pīti niruddhā hoti.
🚫😁 rapture has ceased.
4. catutthaṃ jhānaṃ samāpannassa
4. (with) fourth jhāna attained,
🚫🌬️😤 assāsa-passāsā niruddhā honti.
🚫🌬️😤 in-breath-out-breath has ceased.

(in a-rūpa / form-less attainments, body 🚶 perception disappears)

5. ākāsā-nañc-āyatanaṃ samāpannassa
5. (with) space-infinitude-dimension attained,
🚫🚶 rūpa-saññā niruddhā hoti.
🚫🚶 forms-perception has ceased.

What the sutta actually says is if you vocalize speech in first jhana,
then you cease to be in first jhana.
It most definitely does not say speech is impossible to do from jhana.
Just as it’s not impossible to think while in second jhana.
If you think while you’re in second jhana,
then you cease to be in second jhana.
See ☸4nt → 8aam #8: Sammā Samādhi 🌄 → impure jhāna
suttas such as SN 40.1-9, SN 21.1, AN 9.34, AN 9.41, jhana can be interrupted by impurities.
another prime example, Vinaya Parjika 4.1 Moggallana hears sound in imperturbable samadhi.
What B.Analayo is trying to do, by claiming in first jhana it’s impossible to speak,
to justify that first jhana is so ‘deep’ that normal thinking as ‘vitakka’ would not be possible.
This is confirmation bias. He needs jhana to be deep, so he manufactures ‘evidence’ to support the conclusion he wants to prove, by misinterpreting SN 36.11 to mean “speech is impossible.”

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Advice to younger meditators on jhāna, sex, porn, masturbation

Someone asked: Is porn considered harmful sexual.activity? I don't have a sex life because I don't have a partner and I don't wish to engage in casual sex so I use porn to quench the biological urge to orgasm. I can't see that's it's harmful because nobody is being forced into it. The actors are all paid well and claim to enjoy it etc. The only harm I can see is that it's so accessible these days on smart devices and so children may access it but I believe that this is the parents responsibility to not allow unsupervised use of devices etc. Views? Frankk response: In another thread, you asked about pleasant sensations and jhāna.  I'm guessing you're young, so here's some important advice you won't get from suttas   if you're serious about jhāna.  (since monastics are already celibate by rule)   If you want to attain stable and higher jhānas,   celibacy and noble silence to the best of your ability are the feedstock and prerequiste to tha

illustration of Buddha Gotoma where he looks like a human being

Illustration by Bhikkhu Vimalo from a BPS postcard wishing a happy vesak   More images where Buddha looks human: https://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2021/02/where-are-buddha-images-and-statues.html Buddha and Arahant images that look like real humans

1min. video: Dalai Lama kissing boy and asking him to suck his tongue

To give more context, this is a public event,  * everyone knows cameras are rolling  *  it's a room full of children * the boy's mom is standing off camera a few feet away watching all of this * the boy initiated contact, he had already had a hug with Dalai Lama earlier and then asked Dalai Lama for another hug which triggered this segment  17 min. video showing what happened before that 1 min. clip and after, with some explanation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT0qey5Ts78 16min talk from Ajahn Acalo with his thoughts on Dalai Lama kissing boy, relevance to Bhikkhu monastic code, sexual predators in religion in general, and how celibate monastics deal with sexual energy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK2m0TcUib0 The child's comments about the incident in a filmed interview later https://www.marca.com/en/lifestyle/world-news/2023/04/18/643eba5d46163ffc078b457c.html The child: It's a great experience It was amazing to meet His Holiness and I think it's a great ex