Billionaire playboy tires of his harem and goes into seclusion: Or, Why it's better to translate first jhāna's kāmehi as 'sensuality'

example to show problem with kāmehi as "sensual pleasures" in first jhāna:

Billionaire playboy Tony Stark got tired of his harem of beautiful girl friends and hedonic lifestyle indulging in the 5 cords of sensual pleasure, so he went into the forest for seclusion from those sensual pleasures to meditate.

6 months later he emerged from his secluded forest meditation retreat, and lust and desire returned in full force.

And that's why I follow Thanissaro translation of kāmā as "sensuality", AN 6.63, KN Pe and Ab Vb first jhāna gloss.

It's more accurate and prevents that kind of misinterpretation of temporary disenchantment from lust and passion for sensual pleasures.  

First jhāna marks not just a meditative skill accomplishment, but a deeper understanding of suffering and its cause, and a tangible impact eroding the power of craving, lust, desire.

In mangling 'kāmehi' in the sutta formula for first jhāna, Ajahn Brahm and Vism.'s redefinition of "jhāna" as a disembodied frozen stupor,  removes the critically important link to the second noble truth, the first jhāna's important role in reducing the cause of suffering.  

 

Abhidhamma Vibhanga 12 first jhana gloss

“Vivicceva kāmehi vivicca akusalehi dhammehī”ti tattha katame kāmā? Chando kāmo, rāgo kāmo, chandarāgo kāmo, saṅkappo kāmo, rāgo kāmo, saṅkapparāgo kāmo— ime vuccanti “kāmā”.	“Aloof from sense pleasures, aloof from unskilful dhammas” means: Therein what are sense pleasures? Wish is sense pleasure, lust is sense pleasure, lustful wish is sense pleasure, thought is sense pleasure, lust is sense pleasure, lustful thought is sense pleasure. These are called sense pleasures.

It was always clear to me, even just relying on Bodhi's English sutta translations,  without even considering the grammar, whether kāma was singular or plural, just looking at what happens before every first jhāna occurrence in the suttas, it's always linked to samma sankappo (nekkhamma as the opposite of kāma), and the 5 kāmaguna.

So in my mind, whether the more common translation of "sensual pleasures" or Thanissaro's "sensuality" was used, my mind already establishes the correct meaning, as Ab Vb and AN6.63 gloss more accurately, linking it to second noble truth and preventing this kind of wrong interpretation in the billionaire example above that can happen if you go with "sensual pleasures."

kāmehi 🔗detailed gloss audit