Jhana

Meaning

Jhāna is a state of deep mental concentration, temporarily free from hindrances. It is not a trance or disconnection from reality but the highest degree of clarity and one-pointed attention, achieved through training the mind.

Doctrinal context

Key aspects:

• Removal of hindrances: the weakening of the five obstacles - sensual desire, ill will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and remorse, and doubt.
• Jhāna factors - specific phenomena that a meditator can observe in the state of concentration: perceiving and recognizing the meditation object (vitakka-vicāra), rapture (pīti), happiness (sukha), and one-pointedness of mind (ekaggatā).
• Levels: four form (rūpa) and four formless (arūpa) jhānas. With each level, the mind becomes increasingly refined and stable.
• A means, not an end: jhāna practice develops concentration for further use in vipassanā - insight techniques.

Practical significance

Jhāna is a natural state accessible through systematic training. Different traditions interpret jhāna differently: in some, it is the foundation for insight; in others, a useful but not essential element of the path.