(from an Article by William Chu)
I've always wondered the true connection between the eightfold path/ethics on one hand, and jhanas on the other.
If
jhanas are something neutrally concentrative, which can in theory be
equally developed by staring at a nimitta, focusing on a mantra, and
practicing calligraphy, the all-important ethical-behavioral dimension
is left out.
To the Buddha, jhana always
carries with it an ethical dimension, an intention-molding/sloping
teleology, a habit-changing-behavior-
If pressed, the following is how I would characterize jhanas:
--the
mind firmly resolved on disenchantment, dispassion, and/or cessation
(can be on some facet of them), always moving in that direction, all the
while experiencing the confidence, joy, pleasure, equanimity, or
serenity that invariably comes from the mind moving in that direction
--the
heightening and balancing of the seven factors of awakening, for the
purpose of cultivating disenchantment, dispassion, and/or cessation
(e.g. mindfulness--remembering the Dhammic mission, the why and how of
inducing disenchantment etc.; be ablaze and passionate and ardent about
such a task and goal, all the while keeping the blaze steady and
potent...)
--not allowing the mind to distract
from a samana's abode: cultivating non-carnal enjoyment to replace
household resolves, concerns, memories; wholeheartedly and consistently
savor contentment, seclusion, Dhamma passion, shedding off of burdens...
--approximating
and duplicating a liberated samana's min, which is: vast, unobstructed,
not burned by passion, signless (free from canker-inducing
impressions), empty (not dwelling on me and mine), unwrinkled, unstuck,
bright, alert, discerning [for the purpose of Dhamma]; approximation is
one of the best ways to unlearn/decondition habits/addictions, and is
not a lesser practice or being a mere preliminary to the so-called
"vipassana practice"; the cultivation of citta, the removal of
hindrances is not simply a strictly samatha practice. According to the
suttas, it is the liberative path in its own right.
--all
of the above are detailed in the sixteen steps. The sixteen steps need
not be linear. They are situational, dynamic, open-ended, and can
fluidly move from one step to the other. Jhana is the steadying, fluid
transitioning, situational resilience, undistracted execution...of any
and all the 16 steps
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