Skip to main content

MN 45, MN 36 how gradual and accessible first jhāna is. ABRJ (ajahn brahm redefined jhana doesn't work here)


MN 45 is a good sutta to get a holistic sense of how ordinary, gradual, and easily accessible first jhana was designed to be. The contrast between wrong pleasure, the 5 strings of sensuality, and four jhanas, the right kind of pleasure, is what first jhana formula's 'vivicceva kamehi' is referencing. 

Especially pay attention to the 3rd case, of the monks who have 'painful practice in the present life.'  Their practice is painful because they constantly suffer from second guessing whether they're missing out on coarse sensual pleasures of life like food, women,  beer, etc.  It says nothing about the more subtle dukkha of rupa vs. arupa, which is what Ajahn Brahm wrongfully claims first jhana is the escape for. (see rūpa is not a-rūpa, 4 jhānas operate in rūpa)

Why is first jhana an uttari manussa dhamma (superhuman state)? Because it's difficult for people, to genuinely prefer the pleasure of quiet meditation over the coarse  sensual pleasures of food, sex, drugs, rock and roll.

A passage from MN 36 also corroborates case #2 of MN 45, that the pleasure of first jhana is contrasted against useless austerities with no spiritual benefit. The pleasure is simply that one need not fear a pleasure that arises from delighting in seclusion and skillful Dharmas. Nothing at all about transcending the physical sphere entirely, as Vism. and Ajahn Brahm wrongly interpret. If you example this passage carefully, you see MN 36 is very plain, straightforward and addressing the framework of MN 45.

Tassa mayhaṃ, aggivessana, etadahosi:
Then I thought:
‘ye kho keci atītamaddhānaṃ samaṇā vā brāhmaṇā vā opakkamikā dukkhā tibbā kharā kaṭukā vedanā vedayiṃsu, etāvaparamaṃ, nayito bhiyyo.
‘Whatever ascetics and brahmins have experienced painful, sharp, severe, acute feelings due to overexertion—whether in the past, future, or present—this is as far as it goes, no-one has done more than this.
Yepi hi keci anāgatamaddhānaṃ samaṇā vā brāhmaṇā vā opakkamikā dukkhā tibbā kharā kaṭukā vedanā vedayissanti, etāvaparamaṃ, nayito bhiyyo.
Yepi hi keci etarahi samaṇā vā brāhmaṇā vā opakkamikā dukkhā tibbā kharā kaṭukā vedanā vedayanti, etāvaparamaṃ, nayito bhiyyo.
Na kho panāhaṃ imāya kaṭukāya dukkarakārikāya adhigacchāmi uttari manussadhammā alamariyañāṇadassanavisesaṃ.
But I have not achieved any superhuman distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones by this severe, grueling work.
Siyā nu kho añño maggo bodhāyā’ti?
Could there be another path to awakening?’
Tassa mayhaṃ, aggivessana, etadahosi:
Then it occurred to me:
‘abhijānāmi kho panāhaṃ pitu sakkassa kammante sītāya jambucchāyāya nisinno vivicceva kāmehi vivicca akusalehi dhammehi savitakkaṃ savicāraṃ vivekajaṃ pītisukhaṃ paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ upasampajja viharitā.
‘I recall sitting in the cool shade of the rose-apple tree while my father the Sakyan was off working. Quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unskillful qualities, I entered and remained in the first jhāna, which has the rapture and pleasure born of seclusion, while directing-thought and evaluation.
Siyā nu kho eso maggo bodhāyā’ti?
Could that be the path to awakening?’
Tassa mayhaṃ, aggivessana, satānusāri viññāṇaṃ ahosi:
Stemming from that memory came the realization:
‘eseva maggo bodhāyā’ti.
‘That is the path to awakening!’
Tassa mayhaṃ, aggivessana, etadahosi:
Then it occurred to me:
‘kiṃ nu kho ahaṃ tassa sukhassa bhāyāmi, yaṃ taṃ sukhaṃ aññatreva kāmehi aññatra akusalehi dhammehī’ti?
‘Why am I afraid of that pleasure, for it has nothing to do with sensual pleasures or unskillful qualities?’
Tassa mayhaṃ, aggivessana, etadahosi:
Then I thought:
‘na kho ahaṃ tassa sukhassa bhāyāmi, yaṃ taṃ sukhaṃ aññatreva kāmehi aññatra akusalehi dhammehī’ti.
‘I’m not afraid of that pleasure, for it has nothing to do with sensual pleasures or unskillful qualities.’



MN 45 Cūḷa-dhamma-samādāna




☸ Lucid 24.org 🐘


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