AN 9.39 simile of blinding mara makes distinction between four jhanas and 5 arupa samadhi attainments, and why Vism. Jhana is wrong.

 

AN 9.39 Dev-āsura-saṅgāma [Deva]: deities-demons fight

MN 25 and MN 26 also use the simile of Mara being blinded and not able to see the monk in samadhi, but whereas the MN suttas use the same blinding simile for all 9 attainments, AN 9.39 makes different similes between the four jhanas and arupa attainments. It uses the Mara blinded simile only for the arupa samadhis, while for the four jhanas, it describes mara as being:

Asurapuragatānañca pana, bhikkhave, asurānaṃ etadahosi:	When they had entered their citadel, they thought:
‘bhīruttānagatena kho dāni mayaṃ etarahi attanā viharāma akaraṇīyā devehī’ti.	‘Now we’re in a secure location and the gods can’t do anything to us.’
Devānampi, bhikkhave, etadahosi:	And the gods also thought:
‘bhīruttānagatena kho dāni asurā etarahi attanā viharanti akaraṇīyā amhehī’ti.	‘Now the demons are in a secure location and we can’t do anything to them.’
Evamevaṃ kho, bhikkhave, yasmiṃ samaye bhikkhu vivicceva kāmehi vivicca akusalehi dhammehi savitakkaṃ savicāraṃ vivekajaṃ pītisukhaṃ paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ upasampajja viharati,	In the same way, a monk, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unskillful qualities, enters and remains in the first jhāna, which has the rapture and pleasure born of seclusion, while directing-thought and evaluation.
tasmiṃ, bhikkhave, samaye bhikkhussa evaṃ hoti:	At such a time the monk thinks:
‘bhīruttānagatena kho dānāhaṃ etarahi attanā viharāmi akaraṇīyo mārassā’ti.	‘Now I’m in a secure location and Māra can’t do anything to me.’
Mārassāpi, bhikkhave, pāpimato evaṃ hoti:	And Māra the Wicked also thinks:
‘bhīruttānagatena kho dāni bhikkhu etarahi attanā viharati akaraṇīyo mayhan’ti.	‘Now the monk is in a secure location and we can’t do anything to them.’
Yasmiṃ, bhikkhave, samaye bhikkhu vitakkavicārānaṃ vūpasamā … pe … dutiyaṃ jhānaṃ …	When, as the directed-thought and evaluation are stilled, a monk enters and remains in the second jhāna …
tatiyaṃ jhānaṃ …	third jhāna …
catutthaṃ jhānaṃ upasampajja viharati,	fourth jhāna.
tasmiṃ, bhikkhave, samaye bhikkhussa evaṃ hoti:	At such a time the monk thinks:
‘bhīruttānagatena kho dānāhaṃ etarahi attanā viharāmi akaraṇīyo mārassā’ti.	‘Now I’m in a secure location and Māra can’t do anything to me.’
Mārassāpi, bhikkhave, pāpimato evaṃ hoti:	And Māra the Wicked also thinks:
‘bhīruttānagatena kho dāni bhikkhu etarahi attanā viharati, akaraṇīyo mayhan’ti.	‘Now the monk is in a secure location and we can’t do anything to them.’
	For the arupa samadhis
Yasmiṃ, bhikkhave, samaye bhikkhu sabbaso rūpasaññānaṃ samatikkamā paṭighasaññānaṃ atthaṅgamā nānattasaññānaṃ amanasikārā ‘ananto ākāso’ti ākāsānañcāyatanaṃ upasampajja viharati.	A monk, going totally beyond perceptions of form, with the ending of perceptions of impingement, not focusing on perceptions of diversity, aware that ‘space is infinite’, enters and remains in the dimension of infinite space.
Ayaṃ vuccati, bhikkhave, ‘bhikkhu antamakāsi māraṃ, apadaṃ vadhitvā māracakkhuṃ adassanaṃ gato pāpimato tiṇṇo loke visattikan’ti.	At such a time they are called a monk who has blinded Māra, put out his eyes without a trace, and gone where the Wicked One cannot see.

 

What's the important implication?

If   (VRJ🐍) (V)isuddhi-magga (Re)-definition of (J)hana  and Jabrama🤡-jhana,  were correct in their interpretation of jhana, then Mara in this sutta should be blinded for all 9 attainments including the 4 jhanas, and not restricted to the 5 arupa samadhis!

But Mara is not blinded for the 4 jhanas. He can see the monk, but says, 

‘Now the monk is in a secure location and we can’t do anything to them.’

Think about that carefully. For both the arupa samadhi and 4 jhanas, the monk's body is physically there. So if Mara can't see them, it's definitely not talking about the physical body, but his ability to to mess with their mind while they're in samadhi.

Two more things to note.

1. Mara is a god in Yama Deva realm, which is a lower than Brahma realm and lower than the arupa formless realms. So it makes sense that he's blinded to monks abiding in formless attainment. But Mara and humans can do 4 jhanas, you don't have to be in the Brahma realm for that.  

2. But a monk in four jhanas doesn't mean he's in a formless samadhi, as VRJ and ajahn brahm claim, so Mara, having psychic powers and 4 jhana capability, can see a meditator's mind in four jhanas and mess with their mind. A monk in 4 jhanas could notice these distractions Mara is trying to produce in the background,  but they're focused and locked in their samadhi, so it doesn't bother them. It's not that they're in a frozen state where they can't even perceive Mara or Mara's attempt to distract them.

Recall first jhana says one has abandoned lust and 5 hindrances. Not that one can not even perceive any nimittas or perceptions that would cause a hindrance to arise.