Skip to main content

KN Iti 45 Sujato tries to make jhana disappear in this passage, because it shows jhana concurrent with satipatthana

 

Sujato trans.

That is what the Buddha said.Etamatthaṁ bhagavā avoca.On this it is said:Tatthetaṁ iti vuccati:

“With minds at peace, alert,“Ye santacittā nipakā,mindful and meditative,satimanto ca jhāyino; Variant: satimanto ca → satimantova (bj, mr)they rightly discern the Dhamma,Sammā dhammaṁ vipassanti,unconcerned for sensual pleasures.kāmesu anapekkhino.

Delighting in diligence, peaceful,Appamādaratā santā,seeing fear in negligence,pamāde bhayadassino;such a one can’t decline,Abhabbā parihānāya,and has drawn near to quenching.”nibbānasseva santike”ti.


Thanissaro trans.

(verse)

♦ “ye santacittā nipakā,
Those with calm minds–
satimanto ca jhāyino.
masterful,
♦ sammā dhammaṃ vipassanti,
mindful,
kāmesu anapekkhino.
absorbed in jhāna–
♦ “appamādaratā santā,
clearly see Dhamma rightly,
pamāde bhayadassino.
not intent on sensual pleasures.
♦ abhabbā parihānāya,
Delighting in heedfulness,
nibbānasseva santike”ti.
calm,
♦ ayampi attho vutto bhagavatā,
seeing danger in heedlessness, they
iti me sutanti. aṭṭhamaṃ.
–incapable of falling away–
are right in the presence of Unbinding.    


Frankk trans. (derived from Sujato)

(verse)

“Ye santa-cittā nipakā,
“With minds at peace, alert,
satimanto ca jhāyino;
Rememberful [of the Dharma] and absorbed in jhāna,
Sammā dhammaṁ vipassanti,
they rightly discern the Dhamma,
kāmesu anapekkhino.
unconcerned for sensual pleasures.
Appamādaratā santā,
Delighting in assiduity (a-p-pamāda 🐘🐾‍), peaceful,
pamāde bhayadassino;
seeing fear in negligence,
Abhabbā parihānāya,
such a one can’t decline,
nibbānasseva santike”ti.
and has drawn near to quenching [aka nirvana].”
Ayampi attho vutto bhagavatā, iti me sutanti.
This too was spoken by the Blessed One: that is what I heard.    



Apekkhati 1. [Sk. apīkṣate, apa + īkṣ] to desire, long for, look for, expect Sn 435 (kāme nɔâpekkhate cittaṃ), 773 (ppr. apekkhamāna); J iv.226 (id.); Dhs A 365. anapekkhamāna paying no attention to (acc.) Sn 59; J v.359. <-> 2. [Sk. avīkṣate, ava + īkṣ; see avekkḥati] to consider refer to, look at, ger. apekkhitvā (cp. Sk. avīkṣya) with reference to VvA 13. -- pp. apekkhita (q. v.).


The line about Kamesu and An-appkhino is referencing four jhanas, and sambojjhangas

that sanskrit root  īkṣ, meaning "observing, looking upon"

is also part of upekkha (equanimous-observation), prominent in 3rd and 4th jhana, and the 7th awakening factor. Upekkha is not just brain dead equanimity. It's a lucid mind in samadhi, doing dhamma vicaya, vipassana, penetrating Dharma with 4 jhana level of quality. 

So in all 3 translations here, it's not obvious, but it's not just being 'unconcerned with sensual pleasures.' It's a compact reference to the first jhana formula's discernment and seclusion from sensual pleasures,  being replaced with upekkha of the higher jhanas, and also by means of the upekkha equanimously observing with discernment to realize the benefits of abandoning sensual pleasure.

 

Conclusion

All 4 jhanas and 7 awakening factors are happening concurrently in that verse, if you go by Thanissaro's or Frankk's translation.


But if you believe Sujato's translation, jhana in this context is just a general meditation not involving the strict requirements for 4 jhanas. 


Sujato never gives a justification for how he arrived at his interpretation of 4 jhanas, or why jhana in this verse is not the 4 jhanas.


He conspicuously avoids ever acknowledging suttas such as MN 125.


 MN 125 is especially clear on first jhana explicitly equated with sati / satipatthana (with Dhamma vitakka on kusala dharma devoid of 3 wrong resolves). That is, first jhana and 4 satipatthana done with passaddhi sambojjhanga and having skillful Dharmic thoughts are exactly the same moments of mind. 

For detailed audits, see  🔗📝 MN 125, especially 

MN 125 first jhāna explicitly equated with (4sp) 4 sati-'paṭṭhāna




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...

SN 48.40 Ven. Thanissaro comments on Ven. Sunyo's analysis

This was Ven. Sunyo's analysis of SN 48.40: https://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2024/05/exciting-news-honest-ebt-scholars-like.html And here is Ven. Thanissaro's response to that analysis: I think there’s a better way to tackle the issue of SN 48:40 than by appealing to the oldest layers of commentarial literature. That way is to point out that SN 48:40, as we have it, doesn’t pass the test in DN 16 for determining what’s genuine Dhamma and what’s not. There the standard is, not the authority of the person who’s claiming to report the Buddha’s teachings, but whether the teachings he’s reporting are actually in accordance with the principles of the Dhamma that you know. So the simple fact that those who have passed the Buddha’s teachings down to us say that a particular passage is what the Buddha actually taught is not sufficient grounds for accepting it. In the case of the jhānas—the point at issue here— we have to take as our guide the standard formula for the jhānas, a...

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...