I come from a tradition that places great importance on samadhi, on getting into the jhanas. Could you please explain your understanding of samadhi?

I am interested in the kind of samadhi which develops because of wisdom. When there is wisdom, when the mind understands things, there is stability of mind and we have what is called samma samadhi. Right samadhi brings clarity of awareness and insight. Many yogis think they only have samadhi when they experience a feeling of being in a kind of trance.

This kind of samadhi has been built with some tension in the mind. In such a state they cannot learn anything and clarity of awareness cannot improve. The state of mind which we call samadhi is very relaxed, cool, and calm. It is receptive and sensitive to whatever happens and can therefore know a lot more.

Many yogis have wrong ideas about how to build samadhi. They focus; they put in a lot of effort. What develops might be quietness, but it’s heavy; there is no lightness to it. In vipassana practice all we need is enough stability of mind to remain aware from moment to moment. We need just the stability of mind to know what is happening, that’s all. We don’t need jhanic samadhi; you cannot use absorption concentration for vipassana. Yogis who develop jhana before they practise vipassana need to get out of jhana first.

Jhana temporarily controls the defilements; there are no gross defilements in a jhanic state. Jhana suppresses the five hindrances. But jhana only suppresses kama chanda, sensual desire. It does not suppress other kinds of lobha (greed). Bhava tanha, the desire to become, is very much present in every jhanic state.

Samadhi is only complete when it has all three ingredients: samma sati (right mindfulness), samma vayama (right effort), and samma samadhi (right stability of mind). When there is continuous awareness with the right attitude and the right ideas, samadhi develops naturally.

Sayadaw U Tejaniya in Awareness Alone Is Not Enough (PDF)

See also, A strong, stable and continuous samadhi

Source: sayadawutejaniya.org

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  1. dhammaeverywhere reblogged this from sharanam
  2. beautifulcafe said: thank you.
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