The word "dhyana" is used in several meanings. This term is usually used to denote one of the stages of concentration in the Eightfold Path described in the "Yoga Sutras" by Patanjali. This stage involves deep concentration and being in unity with the object of concentration in meditation. This is a deep meditation, but in the Buddhist sutras (scriptures) there is also a classification of the stages of dhyana — immersion in increasingly subtle states.
Special elevated states of consciousness, being in which is possible through deep meditation, are called "dhyana"
The term "dhyana" traditionally means "contemplation", "concentration". An interesting translation of this word is found according to the scholar Buddhaghosa: dhyana - "burning of impurities". Impurities in this case refers to unwholesome qualities of the mind, obscuring its originally luminous nature. Each subsequent dhyana (of which eight are distinguished) involves an increasing purification of the mind. That is, the classification itself is a stage of dissolving certain qualities and staying in a state free fr om them, allowing subsequent wholesome qualities to arise and strengthen.
Special elevated states of consciousness, being in which is possible through deep meditation, are called "dhyana".
Dhyana is what Buddha called the concentration that eventually led him to Enlightenment.
In the "Mahasachakka Sutta", Buddha tells about his spiritual path, describing that after training with mentors and subsequent experience of excessive ascetic practice, he remembered the state that he once experienced in his youth:
I remember one day I was sitting in the cool shade of a rose apple tree. Abiding in solitude, being free fr om sensuality and unwholesome states of mind, I entered the state of the first dhyana. This concentration was accompanied by the experience of rapture and bliss. Could this be the path to Enlightenment? Following this memory came the realization: "This is the path to Enlightenment."
Speaking of Enlightenment, it is worth noting that this phenomenon can be understood in different ways. There are views according to which the Buddha reached a certain perfect state. There are views according to which this state is generally inherent in all people, and the biography or life story is simply a form, an acceptable explanation for the human mind.
As it may, evidence of a method for realizing such a state has come down to our days — the practice of meditation, preserved in texts.
The main practice that Buddha performed and thanks to which he remained in a state of dhyana, and then manifested Enlightenment, is anapanasati — mindfulness of breathing.
In order for the state of dhyana to become available (the preliminary stage of meditation is called the "access state") you need to rely on a long meditative experience, through which two qualities of mind are realized: calm, developed through single-pointed concentration shamatha, and insight into the nature of phenomena — vipassana.
Patanjali's Yoga Sutras.
According to the Eastern worldview, there are different realms of reality in which different types of beings live and perceive. Staying in these realms is conditioned by karma and the qualities that these beings possess. In addition to the well-known classification of the Six Worlds of Samsara, there is also a classification of the Three Levels of Perception, in which the "world of people" refers to "kama dhatu" — the world of desires, that is, the reality wh ere the quality of desires is manifested. The next two worlds have different characteristics and a different degree of density. "Kama dhatu" is a more material dimension in relation to the next two.
Three levels of perception of reality:
- Kama Dhatu — the world of desires, the level of almost all living beings.
- Rupa Dhatu — the world of forms.
- Arupa Dhatu — the world of formlessness.
Dhyanas represent eight stages of perception, involving the sequential focusing of attention within these worlds from denser to more subtle. When a practitioner experiences the reality of the world in meditation, he experiences a state characteristic of this world.
The word rupa translates as ‘form’.
The first four dhyanas belong to the world of forms — rupa dhyanas.
The next four to the world of formlessness — arupa dhyanas.
All unwholesome states lead down, and all wholesome states lead up
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 writings called the "Abhidharma". This collection lists 52 factors describing the functioning of the mind. The concept of the five dhyana factors is based on this classification.
Five mental factors:
- Thinking directed at the object of concentration — vitarka.
- Analytical thinking that holds the object — vichara.
- Joy/Rapture accompanying concentration — piti.
- A feeling of subtle bliss/happiness — sukha.
- Single-pointedness — ekagrata.
In order for each of these qualities to manifest, the inner world first needs to be purified of what are commonly called the "hindrances". These are the very "impurities of the mind" that burn in the light of dhyana. The mind dwelling in dhyana is called "shining". This is a mind free from obstacles.
Five hindrances:
- Sensory desire — the search for pleasant sensations of the five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste and physical sensations.
- Ill-will — feelings of hostility, resentment, hatred and bitterness.
- Lethargy (or Sloth and Torpor) — indecisive action with little effort.
- Anxiety (or Restlessness and Remorse) — inability to calm the mind and focus attention.
- Doubt — lack of conviction or faith in one's abilities.
Anguttara Nikaya (AI8-10):
Ascetics, there are five distortions of the mind, because of which the mind is neither pliable, nor manageable, nor radiant, concentrated for the destruction of defilements. What are the five? Sensual desire... ill-will... laziness and apathy... anxiety and remorse... doubt.
Read more about the five mental factors in the "Panchangika Sutta": Five-Factor. 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 at the object (vitarka), and analytical thinking (vichara).
The qualities of piti and sukha are preserved — joy/rapture and bliss/happiness. Characteristics of subtle joy (piti) in meditation: a feeling of "waves" inside the body, a feeling of the body rising into the air, soaring, lightness. In general, you should not expect to experience such states from meditation, but if they do occur, you should understand that this is only a stage. One of the sutras mentions the practitioner's calm attitude to these manifestations: these states appear and disappear.
Third dhyana
Equanimity and tranquility of contemplation come in place of the feeling of subtle joy (piti) and bliss (sukha).
The third dhyana is a manifestation of the quality called upekkhā — equanimity.
In the sutras, this quality is compared to purified gold: "pure, bright, soft and luminous".
Fourth dhyana
The development of the state of equanimity continues.
At this stage, the previously arisen quality of upekkhā — equanimity, impartiality, equanimous attitude towards phenomena — is manifested in perfection.
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.
Tanissaro Bhikkhu on the fourth dhyana:
Like a man who is covered from head to toe with a white cloth, so that there is no part of the body that the white cloth does not extend to, the monk's body in meditation is permeated with pure bright consciousness. In his whole body there is nothing that would not be permeated with pure, bright consciousness.
Arupa-dhyanas are states in meditation that go beyond the lim it of material form
Arupa-loka translates as "formless realm" or "dimension of formless worlds".
Arupa-dhyanas are states in meditation that go beyond the lim it of material form. In the scriptures, these states are usually called "ayatana".
Fifth dhyana
The sphere of infinite space.
Going beyond the perception of forms, complete calming of the activity of the samskara-skandha.
Samskara-skandha is one of the five groups (aggregates) of elements that make up the personality. (The other four: the aggregate of matter, the aggregate of feelings, the aggregate of perception, the aggregate of consciousness.) This is a group of mental processes responsible for the formation of karma (volitional formations). This is a perception in which an attitude to a phenomenon with a plus or minus sign and actions based on this attitude are manifested. The fifth dhyana is a state free from this kind of thinking.
Entering this dhyana, the practitioner experiences being in a state completely free from "impurities of the mind", free from the properties of the world of forms.
E. Torchinov The Path Beyond: «...this is going beyond the perception of any forms, detaching consciousness from focusing on diversity and differences and focusing on the image of infinite space».
Sixth dhyana
The Sphere of Infinite Consciousness.
Seventh dhyana
The Sphere of Nothingness.
Eighth dhyana
The level called "neither perception nor non-perception". At this level, gross perceptions disappear, and only the subtlest perception remains.
When we talk about meditation, any theory or description of the method is only a support for putting the method into practice.
A stupa in Bodhgaya.
To understand categories like "dhyana", you need to spend a long time studying and engaging in deep introspection. In order for this to be possible, it is important to analyze not only the quality of your practice, but also the quality of life as a whole: what is it directed to, how does it benefit the world, what do you think about during the day.
As for dhyanas, it is important to understand that these are not the final stages of meditative practice, but part of the spiritual path.
«Sallekha Sutta»:
All unwholesome states lead down, and all wholesome states lead up.
By cultivating wholesome qualities of the mind in our daily lives, we shape our reality accordingly. It is important not to allow negative thinking in the mind and replace it with positive thinking.
May your practice be deep and luminous!