Jhana is a Pali word that literally means "to meditate," but in the context of Theravada Buddhism (old-school Buddhism), it refers to a special state of absorption—a deep concentrated state that is particularly powerful.
Jhanas are used to:
These states prepare us for deeper transformative practices such as vipassana (insight meditation) or non-dual awareness practices. Jhana is not only incredibly enjoyable in itself but also serves as excellent preparation for deeper meditative work.
When discussing jhanas, people often say they're about concentration. However, this word can be misleading in English, as it suggests a sense of struggle, tightness, and control—as if we're wrestling with our attention, forcefully pointing it at something and keeping it there.
Important: This approach of tight control is absolutely NOT what we want in jhana.
The Buddha himself emphasized that jhanas are about happiness, not strain. This is the key to understanding how to enter jhana states:
Instead of "concentration," I prefer the terms "absorption" or "unification." The mind naturally gathers around something it finds attractive. This is what we're aiming for—allowing the mind to gather naturally around something pleasant.
To begin, we start with samatha (concentration) meditation on an object. While many teachers insist that jhana practice requires focusing on the breath at the nose or throughout the body, the truth is you can concentrate on anything that helps you become focused, absorbed, and unified.
Possible focus objects include:
For any focus object you choose, it's beneficial to begin by establishing a positive emotional state. Take a moment to:
This helps reduce the hindrances—the negative qualities in your mind that prevent absorption. When practicing jhana, you should not be:
Tip: Metta (loving-kindness) meditation is particularly helpful for setting up conducive conditions for jhana, as it establishes a pleasant mind state and reduces hindrances naturally.
As you meditate on your focus object in a relaxed, heart-open, peaceful manner, you're waiting for something specific to arise: piti.
Piti (often poorly translated as "rapture" or "bliss") is best described as a pleasant body sensation—a body buzz. It can manifest in various ways:
Where does piti typically first appear? For most people, piti often starts in:
When piti first arises, it may be momentary or weak. For jhana, you need piti that is both:
Here's the key process for entering the first jhana:
The most important point from this entire guide: When piti becomes strong and stable enough, switch your attention from your original focus object to the piti itself and rest there.
If you try to force the process, push the piti harder, or try to "wrangle your way" into jhana, it will fail. Remember to stay happy, open, and relaxed.
At a certain point, the piti will naturally intensify on its own. It will ramp up significantly and your mind will "click" into jhana—your mind will gather or unify around the piti. This is absorption, this is unification.
You'll definitely know when it happens—it produces a very distinct sense of entering an altered state, and it's a remarkably pleasant one.
After piti arises and you enter jhana, several things may happen:
One way past intense piti is to move through it into the second jhana. While the first jhana is centered on physical pleasure (piti), the second jhana focuses on emotional joy and happiness.
In the second jhana:
To transition from the first to second jhana, simply shift your focus from the physical sensations of piti to the emotional quality of joy or happiness that accompanies it.
Jhana practice offers numerous benefits:
Developing the jhanas is its own worthwhile path of mental development and refinement. Working with jhanas makes your mind more subtle, refined, stable, and skillful. Some worry about becoming "addicted" to jhanas because they're so pleasant, but this is rarely an actual problem in practice.
In the Pali Canon, the Buddha makes it clear that jhana is a prerequisite for insight. With jhana-level concentration and absorption, your mind becomes unified and powerful enough to do effective vipassana practice, potentially leading to stream entry and further stages of awakening.
Even first jhana is sufficient concentration to support insight practice, though the Buddha mentioned that fourth jhana is particularly reliable for producing awakening.
The stability and sharpness of jhana-focused mind makes it much easier to engage in non-dual practices such as awareness of awareness. Later Buddhist traditions often use jhanas or similar concentration states as preparation for non-dual practices.
As you become proficient in jhana practice, you can learn to bring non-jhanic but still powerful levels of joy, tranquility, and equanimity into your daily life on demand. This can significantly enhance your overall wellbeing and emotional balance.
If you want to deepen your jhana practice, here are some excellent resources: