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Shaila Catherine’s “The Jhanas” on Amazon

I had a Deep Jhana Coaching Call with a student today and this woman’s book came up again in conversation. I remembered there was something I read in the blurb for the book that I thought was off. Now that I look at it, I see a number of things I disagree with. I’ll bold and number them, then comment later.

Shaila Catherine’s intro to “The Jhanas: A Practical Guide to Deep Meditative States.”

Experience new levels of joy, calm, and clarity with this revised and enhanced edition of the bestselling Focused and Fearless.

The Pali word jhana literally means “to meditate.” It also refers to a traditional series of states of absorption, each deeper than the last (1), in which the mind is undistracted by sensation, thoughts, or moods. Shaila Catherine’s friendly, wise approach, blended with contemporary examples and pragmatic “how to” instructions that anyone can try, will show meditators (and non-meditators) how to attain these extraordinary states with relative ease (2).

But jhana practice is about much more than just meditation or concentration; it offers a complete path toward bliss, fearlessness, and true awakening. From the introduction:

Jhanas are states of happiness (3) that can radically transform the heart, reshape the mind, imbue consciousness with enduring joy and ease (4), and provide an inner resource of tranquility that surpasses any conceivable sensory pleasure. Jhanas are states of deep rest, healing rejuvenation, and profound comfort (5) that create a stable platform for transformative insight. In this approach to jhana, we use the calming aspects of concentration to support the investigative aspects of insight meditation. The fruit of concentration is freedom of heart and mind.

This new edition of the meditation classic clarifies crucial points and offers twenty-one additional exercises, making this a great book for both those new to jhana practice and those looking to deepen their practice.

My Comments

  1. I’m not sure how each jhana could be thought of as deeper than the last. Even subjectively, I’m not sure how one can say the 5th Jhana is deeper than the 4th. I’m not sure how one could qualify the 6th as deeper than the 5th or the 4th. Maybe there is something in the way ‘deep’ is defined. I just can’t see it. I define deep as less going on. More tranquility. OK, wait. I just realized that some people think there are only 4 Jhanas. It would make sense then. But, acknowledging only 4 jhanas and ignoring the arupa jhanas doesn’t seem sensible. Update – I just read the back cover of the book and it refers to covering the formless jhanas (arupa jhanas). So, I’m not sure how she sees each jhana as deeper than the last.
  2. Nobody attains deep Jhana with relative ease. The book title mentions ‘deep meditative states” which implies deep jhanas. The light jhanas, where someone can speak into your ear and guide you through it couldn’t be considered deep, but they can be had by anyone who can follow directions it seems. Is she focused in this book on the deep Visuddhimagga jhanas or the light, Sutta Jhanas, or some other idea about what jhana is?
  3. Jhanas are not states of happiness. Period. The first jhana has joy and bliss. The 2nd jhana has some good feeling. By the 3rd jhana anything resembling happiness is unattainable by the mind in the jhana states. The 4th through the 8th certainly cannot be considered imbued with anything that can be called happiness.
  4. Enduring joy? With the exception of entering and leaving the 1st or 2nd jhana, I’m not sure what she could mean. She says the ‘jhanas’ do this, which lumps the 3rd through the 8th into that. There is no enduring joy after deep jhana. There is emptiness, lack of ego, lack of emotion, lack of desires, but joy? Nothing I would call joy.
  5. Profound comfort? In none of the jhanas did I ever feel profound comfort. Comfort is external – about surroundings and physical sensations, isn’t it? In the deep jhanas there is no awareness of surroundings or physical sensations except Jhana 1. Did she mean profound tranquility? Tranquility is internal—a state of mind. Even that doesn’t fit as Jhana 1, 5, and 6 can’t be considered tranquil.

I think the description for this book must have been written by someone trying to understand what the jhanas are, not someone who has directly experienced them. Otherwise, it just doesn’t make sense.

I almost forgot this one too – “and provide an inner resource of tranquility that surpasses any conceivable sensory pleasure.” What does that even mean? How can you compare profound tranquility with some inconceivable sensory pleasure? It surpasses it? How can it be compared with it side-by-side? I’m completely lost here.

Anyway, just my initial thoughts as someone in past conversation before today also mentioned Shaila Catherine’s book and asked if I had read it. I read the description, and that was enough to at least get a cursory idea what is going on. Not even curious about reading the book now, sadly enough.

NOTE – I have very strong ideas about what Jhana is and isn’t based on what I experienced in each one. Many meditation teachers say things that don’t make sense to me regarding Jhana. Once or twice I have even heard monks – including abbots of temples – say something that just doesn’t fit at all. Unfortunately there are people who have only read about and heard about from other people what true Jhana is like. Someone having experienced the deep jhanas from the first through the eighth wouldn’t say some of the things said in the blurb for this book.

There is a lot of misinformation going around! Some of you may think it’s coming from me. Fair enough! 🙂 Feel free to comment.

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