[duncanalisstmp]

As a post I made in another thread was well off topic and subsequently removed, I thought I'd open a thread for the purpose of exploring the points which I brought up.

I'll take Element's quote from elsewhere as a starting point. It seems to sum up the context of what I was trying to say:

Thus, when the Buddha taught the EightFold Path, he did not mention samatha or vipassana as dhammas that are practised

Well said. Very much what I was trying to convey in my comment about Henepola Gunaratana's 'take' on Jhana. My point is, there is no 'proper' Jhana without awareness. Awareness and tranquillity are like a car and its driver - if they are split up it doesn't work as well as it should.

Briefly, during the time I have researched Jhana I have, from time to time, encountered an assumption amongst some lay people and Vipassana teachers that Jhana is just 'chilling out' - a kind of nice vacuous Buddhist Dope. Fine for relaxation but of very limited use as it lacks necessary insight.

This is then contrasted with the "proper approach" which is dry-insight (perhaps with access concentration to grease the gears a bit).

I reject the premise. If Jhana were just a zombie state, then okay - but it isn't. The suttas are clear on this, as the process of Jhana is outlined in terms of awareness of that process. Also, Buddha would hardly have recommended it as often as he did - even to the extent of putting it right up front in the Maha-satipatthana Sutta - a key sutta for Vipassana adherents!

To answer Stuka's question of my rationale, I'll look at my reading of the passage (and it's assumptions) in a bit more detail.

Misconception #1
Meditation is just a relaxation technique

The bugaboo here is the word 'just'. Relaxation is a key component of meditation, but Vipassana-style meditation aims at a much loftier goal. Nevertheless, the statement is essentially true for many other systems of meditation. Under "many other systems" by default, comes Jhana, to which the adage "Meditation is just a relaxation technique" presumably applies?

All meditation procedures stress concentration of the mind, bringing the mind to rest on one item or one area of thought. Do it strongly and thoroughly enough, and you achieve a deep and blissful relaxation which is called Jhana. Not necessarily. Buddha practiced 'concentration' techniques with previous teachers before uncovering Jhana for himself. The other systems resulted in deep, trance-like states, but they were not Jhana.

It is a state of such supreme tranquility that it amounts to rapture. It is a form of pleasure which lies above and beyond anything that can be experienced in the normal state of consciousness. Most systems stop right there. That is the goal, and when you attain that, you simply repeat the experience for the rest of your life. Wrong again. The degree of "rapture" varies from Jhana to Jhana and this rapture is not the goal, it is a by-product. Buddha himself said that if a monk gets hooked on rapture and stops progressing, he cannot attain nibbana.

Not so with Vipassana meditation. Vipassana seeks another goal--awareness. Sound of straw man being demolished here. Awareness is a key component of Jhana, without it, it can't be Jhana, so the contrast is false.

Concentration and relaxation are considered necessary concomitants to awareness. They are required precursors, handy tools, and beneficial byproducts. But they are not the goal. Again, nobody said they were! There is only one goal and Buddha was clear on that.

The goal is insight. Vipassana meditation is a profound religious practice aimed at nothing less that the purification and transformation of your everyday life. I wouldn't describe it as a religious practice, but that's his prerogative. I don't want to diss Vipassana systems as they do seem to deliver good things for many people and from what I've read, there is much to recommend them. I fail to see though, why some proponents feel the need to justify the system by talking down Buddha's teachings on Jhana.

http://www.vipassana.com/meditation/..._english_4.php