Here's my translation of AN 8.63 of metta done with jhāna simultaneously
(preliminary practice, proxy for removing 5niv)
“Tasmātiha te,bhikkhu, evaṃ sikkhitabbaṃ: | “Then, monk, you should train yourself thus: |
‘ajjhattaṃ me cittaṃ ṭhitaṃ bhavissati susaṇṭhitaṃ, | ‘My mind will be established inwardly, well-composed. |
na ca uppannā pāpakā akusalā dhammā cittaṃ pariyādāya ṭhassantī’ti. | No evil, unskillful qualities, once they have arisen, will remain consuming the mind.’ |
Evañhi te,bhikkhu, sikkhitabbaṃ. | That’s how you should train yourself. |
Yato kho te,bhikkhu, ajjhattaṃ cittaṃ ṭhitaṃ hoti susaṇṭhitaṃ, | having done that... |
na ca uppannā pāpakā akusalā dhammā cittaṃ pariyādāya tiṭṭhanti, | … |
(1. 4Bv #1: mettā me ceto-vimutti)
tato te,bhikkhu, evaṃ sikkhitabbaṃ: | “Then you should train yourself thus: |
‘mettā me ceto-vimutti bhāvitā | ‘Good-will, as my awareness-release development, |
bhavissati | (will be) developed, |
bahulī-katā yānī-katā | Much-pursued, given a means of transport, |
vatthu-katā anuṭ-ṭhitā | given a grounding, steadied, |
paricitā su-samāraddhā’ti. | consolidated, & well-undertaken.’ |
Evañhi te,bhikkhu, sikkhitabbaṃ. | That’s how you should train yourself. |
Yato kho te,bhikkhu, ayaṃ samādhi evaṃ bhāvito hoti bahulīkato, | When you have developed this undistractible-lucidity in this way, |
tato tvaṃ,bhikkhu, | then |
(combine that with samādhi in 3 ways which fulfills 7sb☀️ and 4j🌕 )
| (samādhi in 3 ways fulfills (7sb → 1-6 🐘💭… 🌄) and 4j jhānas) | |
imaṃ samādhiṃ | this undistractible-lucidty |
(1) sa-vi-takkampi sa-vicāraṃ bhāveyyāsi, | (1) with-directed-thought & with-evaluation (you should) develop, |
(2) a-vi-takkampi vicāra-mattaṃ bhāveyyāsi, | (2) Without-directed-thought & a-modicum-of-evaluation (you should) develop, |
(3) a-vi-takkampi a-vicāraṃ bhāveyyāsi, | (3) Without-directed-thought & wiithout-evaluation (you should) develop, |
Sap-pīti-kampi bhāveyyāsi, | (7sb → 4. 😁) With-rapture (you should) develop, |
nip-pīti-kampi bhāveyyāsi, | Without-rapture (you should) develop, |
sāta-sahagatampi bhāveyyāsi, | Endowed-with-satisfaction (you should) develop, |
upekkhā-sahagatampi bhāveyyāsi. | (7sb → 7. 🛆👁 ) Endowed-with-equanimous-observation (you should) develop, |
AN 8.63 B. Sujato trans.
https://suttacentral.net/an8.63/en/sujato
When your mind is steady and well settled internally, and bad, unskillful qualities that have arisen don’t occupy your mind, then you should train like this: 2.2‘I will develop [metta ceto vimutti] the heart’s release by love. I’ll cultivate it, make it my vehicle and my basis, keep it up, consolidate it, and properly implement it.’ 2.3That’s how you should train.
3.1When this immersion is well developed and cultivated in this way, you should develop it while placing the mind and keeping it connected. You should develop it without placing the mind, but just keeping it connected. You should develop it without placing the mind or keeping it connected. You should develop it with rapture. You should develop it without rapture. You should develop it with pleasure. You should develop it with equanimity.
frankk comments on the problem
The problem is, the jhana model that B. Sujato follows, does not allow simultaneous metta and jhāna.
In the Vism. redefinition of jhana and Ajahn Brahm redefinition of jhana that he follows, jhana is a state where one predetermines a length of time of frozen stupor where one has no volition, can not think, mind is divorced from 5 senses. One can not be doing metta while in Ajahn Brahm "jhana". So what is B. Sujato talking about then in his sutta translation?
How would the monks follow the Buddha's instructions in this sutta and end up doing Ajahn Brahm's "jhana"?
Remember, the suttas are actual meditation instructions that monks follow, they need to actually use words in a common language that they can understand.
So how would the monks, hearing Sujato's translation, which is telling them to do Ajahn Brahm "jhana" WHILE simultaneously doing metta, which we know is impossible?
Here's my suggestion. Just as Vism. redefines "body" to mean "not body, collection of mental factors", and they redefine "thinking" to mean "not thinking, just placing the mind on a visual kasina",
we can redefine the word 'WHILE' to mean:
One enters a samatha state of frozen stupor for a predetermined amount of time where the mind has only the perception of a visual kasina, then one emerges from stupor to perform 'metta'.
How's that? Problem solved.
Just let Ajahn Brahm know, when he gets in his time machine to go back to the Buddha's time to let all the monks know there's a new meaning for the word "WHILE", to go along with kaya, rupa, vitakka, etc. being redefined.
One more big problem in B. Sujato's translation
As I highlighted earlier, his translation of 'metta' as love:
I will develop [metta ceto vimutti] the heart’s release by love. I’ll cultivate it,
What this instruction sounds like, and it is possible to do in real life, is one should have jhanic quality of samadhi and perform tantric sex for many hours.
But it would be impossible to do with B. Sujato's understanding of jhana. Unless the meditators are doing that WHILE waiting for Ajahn Brahm to give them the secret decoding ring.
No wait, that above line should say 'while' (normal definition of 'while'), not the B. Sujato redefinition of 'WHILE'.
See how confusing things get if you try to redefine basic words to force an interpretation out of sutta text?
Doc martin entering his delorean time machine
A new attempt to enter a time machine
B. Sujato's [metta ceto vimutti], "The Heart's release by *LOVE (metta)"
* To be clear, this is obviously not the definition of 'love' that B. Sujato intends in his translation. But when you translate an important word in meditation practice (metta, which derives from mitta = 'friend'), it's gross negligence to use a loaded ambiguous word 'love', when the actual practice of metta is unambiguously a platonic friendship, a caring and compassionate family member, neighbor, friend).
Love
.
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