Dhyana Meditation: A Path to Deep Concentration

The word "dhyana" has several meanings. This term is commonly used to denote one of the stages of concentration in the Eightfold Path, described in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. This stage involves deep concentration and abiding in unity with the object of concentration in meditation. This is deep meditation, but in Buddhist sutras (written sources of knowledge) there is also a classification of dhyana stages—immersion into increasingly subtle states.

The term "dhyana" traditionally means "contemplation" or "concentration." An interesting translation of this word is found in the work of the scholar Buddhaghosa: dhyana - "the burning away of impurities." Impurities, in this case, refer to the non-virtuous qualities of the mind that obscure its inherently luminous nature. Each successive dhyana (of which eight are identified) involves an increasing purification of the mind. That is, the classification itself represents a stage of dissolving certain qualities and abiding in a state free fr om them, so that subsequent qualities are revealed and strengthened.

Special elevated states of consciousness, attainable through deep meditation, are called "dhyana."

The Buddha called dhyana the concentration that subsequently led him to Awakening.

In the Mahasaccaka Sutta, the Buddha recounts his spiritual journey, describing how, after studying with teachers and subsequently experiencing excessive ascetic practices, he remembered a state he had once experienced in his youth:

I recall once sitting in the cool shade of a rose-apple tree. Being secluded, free from sensuality and unwholesome states of mind, I entered the first dhyana. This concentration was accompanied by the experience of rapture and bliss. Could this be the path to Awakening? Following this recollection came the realization: "This is the path to Awakening."

Speaking of Awakening, it's worth noting that this phenomenon can be understood in different ways. Some views hold that the Buddha attained a perfect state. Other views hold that this state is inherent in all people, and the life story is a form, an explanation acceptable to the human mind.

However, evidence of the method for realizing such a state—the practice of meditation, preserved in texts—has survived to this day.

The main practice the Buddha undertook, and through which he abided in the state of dhyana and then manifested Enlightenment, is anapanasati—mindfulness of breathing. For more information on this practice, please read this article.

For the state of dhyana to become accessible (the preliminary stage of meditation is called "access concentration"), one needs to rely on prolonged meditative experience, through which two qualities of mind are realized: tranquility, developed through single-pointed concentration, shamatha shamatha, and insight into the nature of phenomena—vipassana.

According to the Eastern worldview, there are different realms of reality inhabited and perceived by different types of beings. Residing in these realms is conditioned by karma and the qualities possessed by these beings. In addition to the well-known classification of the Six Realms of Samsara, there is also the classification of the Three Levels of Perception, in which the "human realm" belongs to "kama dhatu"—the desire realm, that is, the reality wh ere the quality of desire is manifest. The next two realms have different characteristics and a different degree of density. "Kama dhatu" is a more material dimension compared to the following two.

Three Levels of Perceiving Reality:

1. Kama Dhatu — the desire realm, the level of almost all living beings.
2. Rupa Dhatu — the form realm.
3. Arupa Dhatu — the formless realm.

Dhyanas are eight stages of perception, a sequential abiding of attention in these realms from the denser to the more subtle. When a practitioner experiences the reality of a realm in meditation, they experience the state characteristic of that realm.

The word rupa translates as "form."

The first four dhyanas belong to the form realm—rupa dhyanas.

The next four belong to the formless realm—arupa dhyanas.

First Dhyana

This state correlates with the realization of the "five mental factors." The most detailed description of mental factors can be found in the sutras, as well as in the extensive collection of Buddhist scriptures called the Abhidharma. This collection lists 52 factors that describe the functioning of the mind. The concept of the five factors of dhyana is based on this classification.

Five Mental Factors:

1. Thinking directed toward the object of concentration - vitarka.
2. Analytical thinking that sustains the object - vicara.
3. Joy accompanying concentration - piti.
4. A feeling of subtle bliss - sukha.
5. One-pointedness - ekagrata.

For each of these qualities to manifest, a preliminary purification of the inner world is needed from what are commonly called "hindrances." These are the "impurities of the mind" that are burned away in the light of dhyana. The mind abiding in dhyana is called "radiant." It is a mind free from hindrances.

Five Hindrances:

1. Sensory desire - seeking pleasant sensations of the five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and physical sensations.
2. Ill will - feelings of hostility, resentment, hatred, and bitterness.
3. Sloth and torpor - acting indecisively with little effort.
4. Restlessness - the inability to calm the mind and focus attention.
5. Doubt - lack of conviction or faith in one's abilities.

Anguttara Nikaya (AI8-10):

Monks, there are these five hindrances of the mind, due to which the mind is neither malleable nor wieldy nor radiant, concentrated for the destruction of defilements. Which five? Sensual desire... ill will... sloth and torpor... restlessness and remorse... doubt.

For more information on the five mental factors, see the Pancangika Sutta: Five-factored. Anguttara Nikaya 5:28.

Second Dhyana

The second dhyana is characterized by the dissolution of the first and second of the five factors: thinking directed toward the object (vitarka) and analytical thinking (vicara).

The qualities of piti and sukha—joy and bliss—remain. The characteristic of subtle joy in meditation: a sensation of "waves" inside the body, a feeling of the body lifting into the air, floating, lightness. In general, one should not expect to experience such states in meditation, but if they do occur, it is important to understand that this is only a stage. One sutta mentions the practitioner's calm attitude towards these manifestations: these states arise and pass away.

Third Dhyana

The sensation of subtle joy and bliss is replaced by equanimity and the tranquility of contemplation.

The third dhyana is the manifestation of the quality called upekkha—equanimity.

In the sutras, this quality is compared to refined gold: "pure, bright, soft, and luminous."

Fourth Dhyana

The development of the state of equanimity continues.

At this stage, the previously arisen quality of upekkha—equanimity, impassivity, equal attitude towards phenomena—manifests perfectly.

The experience of the categories "bliss" or "suffering," "satisfaction" or "dissatisfaction," disappears.

At the stage of the fourth dhyana, the manifestation of supernormal powers is possible.

About these abilities - in the Ahuneyya Sutta: Worthy of Gifts.

Thanissaro Bhikkhu on the fourth dhyana:

Like a person draped from head to foot in white cloth so that there is no part of the body to which the white cloth does not extend, the body of the monk in meditation is pervaded with clear, bright consciousness. There is nothing in his whole body that is not pervaded with clear, bright consciousness.

Arupa-loka translates as "formless realm" or "dimension of formless realms."

Arupa dhyanas are states in meditation that transcend material form. In the scriptures, these states are commonly called "ayatana."

Fifth Dhyana

The sphere of infinite space.

Transcending the perception of forms, complete cessation of the activity of the sankhara-skandha.

Sankhara-skandha is one of the five aggregates that constitute personality. (The other four are: the form aggregate, the feeling aggregate, the perception aggregate, and the consciousness aggregate.) It is the aggregate of mental processes responsible for the formation of karma. It is a perception in which an attitude towards a phenomenon is manifest with a positive or negative connotation and actions based on this attitude. The fifth dhyana is a state free from this kind of thinking.

Entering this dhyana, the practitioner experiences abiding in a state completely free from the "hindrances of the mind," free from the properties of the form realm.

E. Torchinov, The Way Beyond: "...this is transcending the perception of any forms, disconnecting from the fixation of consciousness on multiplicity and differences, and concentrating on the image of infinite space."

Sixth Dhyana

Taking consciousness beyond the limits of "space." Unbounded consciousness.

Seventh Dhyana

Experiencing the sphere of nothingness.

Eighth Dhyana

The level called "neither perception nor non-perception." At this level, gross perceptions fall away, and only the subtlest perception remains.

When we talk about meditation, any theory and description of the method is only an auxiliary part for realizing this method in practice.

To understand categories like "dhyana," you need to practice for a long time and move deeper within yourself. For this to be possible, it is important to analyze not only the quality of your practice but also the quality of your life as a whole: what it is directed towards, what fruits it bears for the world, what you think about during the day.

Regarding the dhyanas, it's important to understand that these are not the final stages of meditative practice, but a part of the spiritual path.

Sallekha Sutta:

All unwholesome states lead downwards, and all wholesome states lead upwards.

By cultivating wholesome qualities of mind in our daily lives, we shape a reality with similar content. It is important not to allow negative thinking into consciousness and to replace it with positive thinking.

May your practice be deep and luminous!