“Jhāna is something that you will know right away when you have found it.”

The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.

“Jhāna is something that you will know right away when you have found it.”

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Question: How do we know when our mind is calm enough to practice contemplation and how and what do I contemplate to develop wisdom?

Tan Ajahn: Jhāna is something that you will know right away when you have found it. It is something out of this world. It is something that you never have experienced before in your life.

Sometimes when it happens, it feels like your mind just drops suddenly, like falling from a tall building, falling into a well, and becoming still, peaceful, and happy. For most people, the first time will be brief. It happens suddenly and then it is back to normal. But at least you could feel the happiness that you have experienced even though it was just for a moment or so.

If you continue to meditate more and more—I mean, almost all day long, either sitting or walking—then when you sit, your mind will become peaceful and calm and can enter into jhāna for a longer duration. The longer the duration (in jhāna state), the stronger the ability to detach, to let go.

So this is what you have to develop first. Once you have this ability, when you think of the body as impermanent, as something that doesn’t belong to you, your mind is at peace.

But if you cling to the body, you will be clinging to a burning fire. When you see this, you will want to let go of the body. When you let go, you will return into jhāna, into peace, into happiness. So this is the level of jhāna that you have to develop.

“Dhamma for the Asking, Nov 11, 2014”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
www.phrasuchart.com

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