review of New book: The Only Way to Jhāna by Ajahn Nyanamoli
I just finished reading this book yesterday, after a few weeks of slowly working through it.
This is not a detailed review, just quickly writing thoughts on more important salient points,
as people in the past have asked me whether I thought Ajahn Nyanamoli is teaching jhāna correctly according to the EBT.
* He does a good job of describing the whole ecosystem and lifestyle necessary to support a jhāna practice
* while I find some his his ideas a little idiosyncratic (nothing wrong with that), he always provided sutta passages to show where his ideas were derived from or commenting on.
* He makes a fair point that many people approach jhāna practice as another kind of sensuality attainment, trying to acquire some pleasurable state of jhāna to replace the boredom or upleasant current moment of their life, rather than experiencing jhāna as a result of understanding how and why they experience boredom and unpleasant states.
* his sutta translations of the standard four jhāna seem reasonable, seems to agree with the EBT, especially a body is a physical body, not a "body of mind devoid of physical body", and vitakka and vicāra are thinking and pondering, presumably including linguistic verbal thoughts, mental talk.
He didn't elaborate what sati and sampajāno and upekkha were doing in second jhāna and beyond.
* the impression I get is he understands all four jhānas as possible in all postures, and all activities.
He doesn't go into detail on passaddhi (pacification, deep relaxation of body and mind) and what the physical symptoms of someone with four jhānas would experience, versus someone who is very mentally happy and has a physical ease (I believe he translates sukha as "ease" somewhere), but IMO would not qualify as jhāna as described with the four jhāna similes (AN 5.28, DN 2), with full body pervasion of sukha running like strong currents of energy (combination of hydraulic, eletrical, heat, wind force sensations).
I would recommend his book for many reasons, but with reservations on whether the physical components of jhāna are met,
Whereas Ven. Thanissaro's books, or Gunaratana, or my own writings give much more details on that.
Other reservations against the book in the discussion below.
Those are good points. having any or all 4 jhānas is independent of whether one is ariya. The part where he says one with 4th jhana, "is impossible not to be an arahant", we'd have to get him to expand on it and clarify, but as it is stated doesn't sound right. I took it to mean, one can not attain arahantship without 4th jhāna, which is how I interpret the suttas. But if means only arahants can experience 4th jhāna, that's obviously wrong.
Seeing as they have all those you tube videos, you should be able to contact them fairly easily right? It would be good for you to investigate and get some clarification from them, and share your findings, preferably published on a permanent web page somewhere. blogger is free, and has no ads on it. I'm glad other people besides me are making a point of holding popular public figures accountable.
@frankk Since I somehow cannot comment on your Blogpost, I'll write my thoughts here instead:
Although I don't know Ven. Nyanamoli's take on vitakka, vicāra, or whether there is a experience of the physical body in jhāna or whether one can walk in jhāna, still he seems to have some very odd ideas about jhāna (even if his idea of vitakka etc. were to be in line with the EBT).
1. He seems to think that the 4. jhāna is nibbāna.
Here is a transcription of the talk "Pervading the Body of Jhana" from 15:05 ~ 17:30 (with some comments by me in {brackets}):
N: "So now [referring to the fourth jhāna], the body is neither pleasant nor unpleasant, it’s just a neutral state, with indifference of the composure [...] nothing is felt to the extent of the body [...] neither pleasure nor displeasure is felt."
— "Would you say that the neither-pleasure-nor-pain is a feeling?"
N: "Yeah, but it’s not felt, that’s what it is. That’s why if you know neither-pleasure-nor-no-pleasure, it’s pleasant."
— "You know what not-feeling is."
{Neither-pleasure-nor-pain is still a type of feeling, not not-feeling}
N: "Exactly. If you don’t know what neither-pleasure-nor-displeasure is, you are affected by it [...] which means it’s felt unpleasantly. [...]
Even in the case of an arahant, it’s not the case that they discover some super-extra dimension between the feelings.
{compare this to e.g. Ud 8.1}
No, it’s either pleasure or displeasure or neutral feeling, which is for them all neutral. So they don’t feel any of it. And because they know it, that’s why it’s pleasant.
That’s what Sāriputta meant, 'that there is nothing felt, that’s why it’s pleasant' [probably referring to AN 9.34, which is about nibbāna]. So, on one level, it’s nothing felt, and on another level, that is pleasure. But it’s a different type of pleasure.
So, fourth jhāna is exactly that [i.e. nibbāna(?)].
Like, if you were to develop the fourth jhāna, it would be impossible to not be an arahant.
Because fourth jhāna is not about some random, magical, pleasurable attainment, [...] the amount of clarity there;
clarity about the domain of the hindrances, the clarity of the extent of the body, clarity about the nature of the feelings, clarity about the unshakable, imperturbable context of mindfulness,
[...] complete equanimity {Ven. Nyanamoli's understanding of nibbāna?} has to be the result of it."
This is obviously at odds with AN 6.60, where someone who has attained the 4. jhāna is still overcome with lust(!) and returns to the lower life (which is impossible for arahants).
2. He seems to think that, in the gradual training (DN 2 etc.), one becomes a stream-winner even before the seclusion and jhāna.
A transcript from "Q&A on War, Precepts, Contemporary Meditations and Right Calmness"
At 53:45
N: "Even the seclusion in the gradual training [see e.g. DN 2] comes FAR later; first, the person develops the right view, becomes a sotapanna and THEN he's ready for seclusion [and subsequently, jhāna(?)]."
Which is obviously at odds with MN 117 and SN 55:5, where the stream-winner is already endowed with right concentration (i.e. jhāna), instead of starting with jhāna only after achieving stream-entry.
Edit: see also SN 47.4, where newcomers should be encouraged to practice satipatthana and concentration(!).. The newcomers are probably not all stream-winners already..
Weirdly, no one seems to talk about this, and people at large seem to regard his teachings as in line with the EBT, when they are clearly contradicting (at least) some suttas.
Sadat wrote: ↑Sat Jun 17, 2023 8:50 pmBased on discussions at Hillside Hermitage reddit channel a while ago, Bhante N maintains a position that right view has to be fulfilled (stream entry level) before one can attain even 1st jhana. Otherwise, it is not jhana. Probably that is why 4th jhana is equated to arahantship. For this reason, one of HH followers explained that meditation is not advised until one is confident that they achieved right view (stream entry). If anyone has more clarification, it would be interesting to learn more. This is just the impression I got.
This is exactly the point! And one of my criticisms. How can one possibly attain stream-entry before jhāna? Ven. Nyanamoli is putting the cart before the horse. How can one have enough discernment to break through to stream-entry without having (temporarily) suppressed the five hindrances by jhāna? Any contemplation without jhāna lacks strength and clear insight because the five hindrances still obscure the mind. It's like going into battle with a baguette instead of a sword.
One of my friends was heavily influenced by Ven. Nyanamoli's teachings, and was therefore discouraged to practice meditation. He just kept beating himself up on how he must "perfect sense restraint" (by which he meant the 8 precepts and a ascetic lifestyle) and how he is not ready for meditation (and that it's something so far away from where he was, like the earth from the sky, or something like that). Mind you, he was a beginner layperson who was keeping the 5 precepts already. He got superfixated on asceticism and was disappointed in himself that he couldn't meet up to his own expectations of asceticism. Finally, he gave up the buddhist practice altogether, and apparently abandoned his aspiration to attain the goal of spiritual practice, because "he just couldn't give up the things he is attached to" (although he told me that he still keeps the 5 precepts).
I think not getting the nourishment of meditation played a big part. One doesn't need to be a sotapanna to practice meditation (=satipatthana/jhāna). And telling beginners and laypersons otherwise may be harming them and stunting their (gradual!) growth.
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