There is some disagreement about reaching Jhana and how to reach it and how to practice it by different traditions. The Buddha had many statements about the Jhanas in the Suttas (Sutras) in the Pali Canon. As a teacher of Jhana, I thought I’d weigh in on some things. There are descriptions of Jhana in…
If you’ve heard of Jhana Meditation before, you probably think it came from Buddhists. Not so. Buddha made it popular by practicing it and it led to his being able to do insight about the truths of life, but Jhana was already a practice that others were doing before Siddhartha became a ‘buddha.’ Did Buddha…
There are many problems and challenges facing meditators who would like to reach Jhanas. Probably the most prevalent issue is following a teacher or instructions that have only a very small chance of helping you reach the state of mind. Another major challenge in Jhana practice is that 100% concentration is needed for the Deep…
My Experience with Kasinas As I was deciding how to go about my meditation practice, and what I would do and not do, I chose to eliminate the idea of Kasina meditation in favor of meditation on the feeling of the breath at the nose as my meditation object. Once I was able to reach…
Lately there are a number of different groups calling this or that Jhana. Originally, there were 2 basic views on the Jhanas – the Sutta vs. the Visuddhimagga Jhanas. Not being Buddhist, I tend to step away from these labels and call them the Light and Deep Jhanas. Please note – There is a lot…
I had a dream last night. I should have got up and gone into the other room and dictated it into my phone recorder so it was fresh, but I still remember much of it. It was short. There were a couple more short dreams that followed, but I cannot remember them at all right…
I’m excited. I just decided to hold a Jhana meditation course (retreat) near our home here in Southern Thailand. It will be held at a wilderness resort at the base of the largest mountain in Krabi province. I’m not sure anyone will be able to attend, but I want to offer and see what happens….
I realized recently that I’ve never written about the various nimittas that show up when a meditator has full concentration on the breath. My own common nimittas are tingling in my hands and sometimes bright round circles in the mind. I usually teach about these types and rarely mention other types of nimittas. So below…