The Noble Eight Fold Path The Way of Practice Leading to the Elimination of Discontentedness

And what, Monks, is The Noble Truth of the Way of Practice Leading to the Elimination of Discontentedness?

It is just this Noble Eight Fold Path, namely: Right View; Right Intention; Right Speech; Right Action; Right Livelihood; Right Effort; Right Mindfulness; Right Concentration.

And what, Monks, is Right View?

It is, Monks, the wisdom of discontentedness, the wisdom of the cause of discontentedness, the wisdom of the elimination of discontentedness, and the wisdom of the way of practice leading to the elimination of discontentedness. This is called Right View.

And what, Monks, is Right Intention?

The intention of renunciation, the intention of non-ill-will, the intention of harmlessness. This, Monks, is called Right Intention.

And what, Monks, is Right Speech?

Refraining from lying, refraining from slander, refraining from harsh speech, refraining from frivolous speech. This is called Right Speech.

And what, Monks, is Right Action?

Refraining from taking life, refraining from taking what is not given, refraining from sexual misconduct. This is called Right Action.

And what, Monks, is Right Livelihood?

Here, Monks, the Noble Disciple, having given up wrong livelihood, keeps himself by Right Livelihood.

And what, Monks, is Right Effort?

Here, Monks, a Monk rouses his will, makes an effort, stirs up energy, exerts his mind and strives to prevent the arising of unarisen evil unwholesome mental states. He rouses his will, makes an effort, stirs up energy, exerts his mind and strives to overcome evil unwholesome mental states that have arisen. He rouses his will, makes an effort, stirs up energy, exerts his mind and strives to produce unarisen wholesome mental states. He rouses his will, makes an effort, stirs up energy, exerts his mind and strives to maintain wholesome mental states that have arisen, not to let them fade away, to bring them to greater growth, to the full perfection of development. This is called Right Effort.

And what, Monks, is Right Mindfulness?

Here, Monks, a Monk resides reflecting on body as body, dedicated, clearly aware and mindful, having put aside craving and worry for the world; he resides reflecting on feelings as feelings, dedicated, clearly aware and mindful, having put aside craving and worry for the world; he resides reflecting on mind as mind, dedicated, clearly aware and mindful, having put aside craving and worry for the world; he resides reflecting on mental objects as mental objects, dedicated, clearly aware and mindful, having put aside craving and worry for the world. This is called Right Mindfulness.

And what, Monks, is Right Concentration?

Here, a Monk, distant from sense-desires, distant from unwholesome mental states, enters and resides in the first Jhāna, which is with thinking and pondering, based in seclusion, filled with excitement and joy. And with the subsiding of thinking and pondering, by gaining inner tranquility and oneness of mind, he enters and resides in the second Jhāna, which is without thinking and pondering, based in concentration, filled with excitement and joy. And with the fading away of excitement, remaining imperturbable (unable to be upset or excited; calm; serene), mindful and clearly aware, he experiences in himself the joy of which the Noble Ones say:

‘Peaceful is he who resides with equanimity and mindfulness’, he enters the third Jhāna. And, having given up pleasure and pain, and with the fading away of former gladness and sadness, he enters and resides in the fourth Jhāna, which is beyond pleasure and pain, and purified by equanimity and mindfulness. This is called Right Concentration.

And that, Monks, is called the way of practice leading to the elimination of discontentedness.

(Reference: DN 22)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares The Eight Fold Path.

The Eight Fold Path is the complete solution to solving the problem of the unEnlightened mind and The Cycle of Rebirth. The Eight Fold Path is “the way of practice leading to the elimination of discontentedness.”

Detailed explanation of The Eight Fold Path is available in this same book series found in Chapter 5 of the book “Developing a Life Practice: The Path That Leads to Enlightenment” (Volume 1).

What are the Jhānas and how can I experience them?

The Jhānas are preliminary phases the mind experiences as it is making its way to Enlightenment, and prior to the first Stage of Enlightenment.

When the mind is in the Jhānas, there are heightened qualities that are experienced, which are needed in order to fully develop the mind and experience Enlightenment. These are referred to as “the Jhānas”.

Without experiencing the Jhānas, a Practitioner would have no ability to attain Enlightenment, or even the first Stage of Enlightenment.

The Jhānas are oftentimes misunderstood, especially outside of Asia.

Oftentimes people think that the Jhānas are only experienced through the practice of meditation and, that the Jhānas are turned "on or off” while in meditation or in daily life. This misunderstanding leads to the inability to experience these heightened qualities of mind, the first Stage of Enlightenment, or Enlightenment itself. Thus, an individual continues to stay trapped in the unEnlightened state experiencing sadness, anger, frustration, irritation, annoyance, guilt, shame, fears, boredom, loneliness, shyness, jealousy, resentment, stress, anxiety, etc. over and over and over again. The mind is stuck in this continuous cycle of discontent feelings due to its lack of wisdom of The Path to Enlightenment.

I will demystify the Jhānas and help you to understand what they are and how to experience them so that you can escape the constant struggles and difficulties of the unEnlightened mind.

(Please read further if you are interested in learning this important Teaching so that the mind can become free of these strong feelings and others.)

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As mentioned, the Jhānas are heightened qualities that are experienced as one is progressing on The Path to Enlightenment. These are heightened qualities of awareness (i.e. mindfulness), tranquility, concentration, and equanimity, along with other beneficial qualities of mind that are needed to experience progress on The Path to Enlightenment and Enlightenment itself.

A Practitioner would be unable to experience Enlightenment without these heightened qualities developed and acquired in the Jhānas.

The Jhānas are experienced through learning, reflecting on (i.e. independently verifying), and practicing The Eight Fold Path.

The Eight Fold Path is the core and central Teaching of The Buddha, it is “THE” Path to Enlightenment. If you are interested in experiencing Enlightenment through The Teachings of The Buddha, you would need to know The Eight Fold Path, inside and out, backwards and forwards, up and down, left and right. And, you would need to learn The Eight Fold Path through the original Words of The Buddha with guidance from a Teacher while you retain the responsibility for your own learning and growth.

It is putting together all the individual factors of The Eight Fold Path that the mind will move into, and reside in, the Jhānas.

Yes, one will need to meditate to experience the Jhānas but, it is not only meditation that one needs to learn and practice to experience the Jhānas. There are many other aspects of The Path to Enlightenment than only meditation, which are described in The Eight Fold Path, and all of these factors are needed to make progress towards Enlightenment to include, experiencing the Jhānas.

Meditation is one aspect of one factor in The Eight Fold Path. If you did the math, that means that meditation is about 6% of The Path to Enlightenment. There is much more to experiencing Enlightenment than only meditation. There is much more to experiencing the Jhānas than only meditation.

Unfortunately, many people are misunderstanding, thinking that The Buddha sat under a tree, meditated, and instantly got to Enlightenment. This is just untrue and a significant misunderstanding. You can know this is true through The Words of The Buddha and his important Teachings.

“Monks, I do not say that final knowledge (wisdom) is achieved all at once. On the contrary, final knowledge is achieved by gradual training, by gradual practice, by gradual progress.” (Reference: MN 70.22)

An Enlightened being would have attained “final knowledge” through acquiring wisdom, by learning, reflecting (i.e. independently verifying), and practicing The Teachings of The Buddha to awaken to The Natural Laws of Existence, the mind is then Enlightened.

Final Knowledge = Enlightenment

Enlightenment is not achieved “all at once”.

You can independently verify that Enlightenment is not experienced “all at once” or instantly because, everything you have ever accomplished in life has been through gradual training, gradual practice, and gradual progress, just like The Buddha is sharing in this important Teaching. It took The Buddha six (6) years to attain Enlightenment.

Think about learning to read, write, and speak English, did it happen all at once? Think about the job or occupation that you perform, was your wisdom and skills acquired “all at once”?

No, of course not.

Therefore, you can understand how acquiring wisdom to attain Enlightenment does not occur “all at once”. The Words of The Buddha are sharing this important Teaching and, you can independently verify it for yourself. All of The Teachings of The Buddha are independently verifiable and is how a Practitioner would need to progress on The Path to Enlightenment to actually experience Enlightenment. It is through gradual training and gradual practice that leads to gradual progress of acquiring wisdom and awakening to the Enlightened mental state.

So, Enlightenment, and the Jhānas, are not experienced “all at once” and they are not experienced only in meditation.

These are The Words of The Buddha on the Jhānas.

“And what, Monks, is Right Concentration? Here, a Monk, distant from sense-desires, distant from unwholesome mental states, enters and resides in the first Jhāna, which is with thinking and pondering, based in seclusion, filled with excitement and joy. And with the subsiding of thinking and pondering, by gaining inner tranquility and oneness of mind, he enters and resides in the second Jhāna, which is without thinking and pondering, based in concentration, filled with excitement and joy. And with the fading away of excitement, remaining imperturbable (unable to be upset or excited; calm; serene), mindful and clearly aware, he experiences in himself the joy of which the Noble Ones say:

‘Peaceful is he who resides with equanimity and mindfulness’, he enters the third Jhāna. And, having given up pleasure and pain, and with the fading away of former gladness and sadness, he enters and resides in the fourth Jhāna, which is beyond pleasure and pain, and purified by equanimity and mindfulness. This is called Right Concentration.”

(Reference: DN 22)

The Buddha describes the four (4) Jhānas in multiple places within his Teachings. There are only four (4) Jhānas, even though you will see different numbers being taught by other people who have misunderstanding but, The Buddha only taught four (4) Jhānas, as you can see in his original words.

The Buddha describes the four (4) Jhānas in the same way in each Teaching. However, this is a reference to the eighth factor of The Eight Fold Path, Right Concentration. This is where he describes the Jhānas, in detail, and this is where the misunderstandings in the world are originating as people are not understanding what was taught by The Buddha.

Right Concentration is accomplished through a well developed meditation practice and practicing “singleness of mind” in daily life. The Buddha describes how to practice Right Concentration as part of The Path to Enlightenment in many of his other Teachings, which all integrate into The Eight Fold Path.

So, because Right Concentration is to practice meditation and developing singleness of mind, some people are misunderstanding the Jhānas as only being experienced in meditation and is something that is turned “on and off”.

This is confusing many people and leading to the inability to experience the Jhānas and Enlightenment.

As you can see in the original Words of The Buddha, he is describing enhanced qualities of mind that the mind “enters and resides” in as part of his description of the Jhānas.

The mind “resides” in the Jhānas.

He is describing the Jhānas as part of The Eight Fold Path because this is the byproduct or benefit, of practicing the entire core and central Teaching of The Buddha, The Eight Fold Path, which will guide you in training the mind to experience the Jhānas and attain Enlightenment.

One enhanced quality of mind that is experienced in the second Jhāna includes “oneness of mind” or “unification of the mind”.

In the unEnlightened state, there is a conscious mind and a subconscious mind, both of these are polluted and need to be purified to experience Enlightenment. However, the subconscious mind is much more heavily polluted than the conscious mind. A Practitioner in the unEnlightened state will have some awareness of the conscious mind but, they will lack awareness of the subconscious mind until, they are experiencing the second Jhāna.

Oneness of mind, or unification of the mind, is when the conscious mind and subconscious mind have merged. They have become “one”. The Practitioner will have “full awareness” of the entire mind, the mind becomes highly introspective being able to easily look inward. This is sometimes referred to as “the opening of the third eye, divine eye, or inward looking eye”.

When “oneness of mind” or “unification of mind” is experienced, there will no longer be a conscious and subconscious mind but instead, there will be just one mind - “oneness of mind” or “unification of the mind”. And, this enhanced quality is needed in order to purify the mind. You would be unable to purify the entire mind to attain Enlightenment if there was no awareness of the entire mind throughout your entire day.

So, to even get to the first Stage of Enlightenment, and Enlightenment itself, a Practitioner needs to experience “oneness of mind” or “unification of the mind” in the second Jhāna. And, this is an enhanced quality of mind that is experienced at all times during one’s day.

This is not a quality of mind that is only experienced during meditation and it is not an aspect of the mind that is turned “on or off”. Instead, the mind is “residing” in this mental quality. This is true for all the enhanced qualities of the Jhānas. They are experienced at all times and, are not turned “on or off”. As shared by The Buddha, the mind “enters” and “resides” in the Jhānas.

For anyone who has experienced the Jhānas, they know this to be true.

The translation of the word “Jhāna” is “mental absorption” and “meditative absorption” because, to experience the Jhānas, a Practitioner will have mentally absorbed a certain amount of The Teachings of The Buddha and be practicing those Teachings. And, the Practitioner will have conducted and benefited from a certain amount of meditation. The mind has mentally “absorbed” The Teachings of The Buddha, and is practicing The Teachings of The Buddha, to include but not limited to, meditation.

When a mind has absorbed something and is experiencing improved qualities of mind, those qualities are not being turned “on or off” nor only experienced during meditation. These mental qualities are always present, the mind is “residing” in these enhanced qualities.

The Jhānas are temporary, as the mind can regress out of the Jhānas if the mind becomes complacent. However, if one continues to remain determined, dedicated, and diligent, the qualities of the Jhānas will continue to persist in the mind, all the way through to Enlightenment and while the mind is experiencing Enlightenment.

The Jhānas are not something to boast about nor take pride in. If the mind is becoming arrogant or prideful due to experiencing the Jhānas, a Practitioner would be wise to “cut that off and let it go”. Otherwise, the mind is complacent and will ultimately regress out of the Jhānas and, this will hinder any further progress on The Path to Enlightenment.

So in short, you will need to experience the Jhānas to make progress on The Path to Enlightenment and to attain Enlightenment itself, and this is accomplished through learning, reflecting on (i.e. independently verifying), and practicing The Eight Fold Path, the core and central Teaching of The Buddha that you need to know inside and out to experience the Jhānas and Enlightenment.

Experiencing the Jhānas is like the “lightbulb is flickering”, providing an indication to you that the mind has put together The Eight Fold Path well enough to experience these heightened qualities of mind.

The Practitioner will know they are experiencing the Jhānas because they will notice the improved qualities of mind as described by The Buddha in Right Concentration of The Eight Fold Path.

When experiencing the Jhānas it is a significant indication that a Practitioner is making tangible progress on The Path to Enlightenment.

It would be unwise to become arrogant, prideful, or boastful about anything at all, to include experiencing the Jhānas. If so, those unwholesome aspects of the mind would only create a lack of further progress on The Path to Enlightenment.

Once a Practitioner is experiencing the Jhānas, it is time for the real work to begin. The mind is now prepared to fully eradicate all of the pollutions of mind. The needed enhanced qualities have been acquired and it is time to start focusing on the elimination of The Ten Fetters starting with, the first three.

Eliminating the first three fetters/taints/pollutions of mind, a Practitioner will then experience the first Stage of Enlightenment. From the first Stage of Enlightenment, the mind will no longer regress. In the first Stage of Enlightenment, one has progressed past the preliminary phases of the Jhānas, where the mind can regress, and is now firmly in the first Stage of Enlightenment, where the mind will not regress.

But, this is not a time to become complacent but instead, learn, reflect on (i.e. independently verify), and practice the elimination of The Ten Fetters. Your practice will need to pivot towards actively learning, reflecting on (i.e. independently verifying), and practicing to eliminate The Ten Fetters.

A Practitioner will need to know what is each of The Ten Fetters, what are the symptoms, how to eliminate the fetters, and how to know they are eliminated. This can all be learned in one of our annual retreats titled “Purification of The Mind to Attain Enlightenment”. In this retreat, there are individual classes devoted to learning each individual fetter of The Ten Fetters.

The Jhānas await you. These improved qualities of mind await you. Enlightenment awaits you.

The only thing holding you back is your own determination, dedication, and diligence to learn, reflect (i.e. independently verify), and practice The Path to Enlightenment, based on The Words of The Buddha, as taught by The Buddha.

Meditate, Monks, do not be complacent, lest you will regret it later. This is my instruction to you. (Reference: SN 43.1)

Be well and enjoy your journey…

To learn more about the Jhānas please see this recorded online class. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgxpbmW6bO4&list=PLFuun1phKgQn_7rDGqXFDF-Pz4cRrlBa_&index=3