Transcript Made by machine from the recording, unedited.
Delson summarises the four rupa jhanas, the meditative absorptions. He describes how the first jhana arises from letting go of the hindrances and secluding the mind from sensual pleasures, and how each later jhana sets aside a factor of the one before, through to the fourth, where equanimity and purity of mindfulness remain and the body is no longer felt.
Key points
- The first jhana arises when the hindrances are let go and the mind is secluded from sensual pleasures, bringing relief, joy and sukha.
- In the second jhana the intentional activity of the mind fades, leaving joy and happiness.
- In the third jhana the joy fades, leaving contentment and tranquility.
- In the fourth jhana the contentment fades too, leaving equanimity and purity of mindfulness, and the sense of the body is lost.
- Delson gives this as a short summary of the four rupa jhanas rather than as step-by-step instructions for reaching them.
Themes
Where this talk sits on the path
This talk speaks mostly to 3rd jhana (happiness).
The path runs from Foundations to Arahant; read at any point along it.
Transcript
Summary of the four rupa jhanas
So these are the four jhanas, or sometimes known as rupa jhanas. So to summarize, in the first jhana, you get there by letting go of the hindrances, getting your mind secluded from sensual pleasures, as a result of which your mind feels relief. From that relief, there is joy and sukha, because your mind stays with one particular object, because it brings that up, and chooses to stay with that. In the second jhana, the intentionalizing goes away, and what remains is the joy and happiness. In the third jhana, the joy fades away, and what remains is contentment and tranquility. As that fades away, there is just equanimity, purity of mindfulness, and the fourth jhana, and you'll lose contact with the body.