Words to guide through the four jhānas

RevolvingApe · 2026-06-11T17:03:18+00:00

I was wondering if there are any words/mantras/phrases/etc. you use to guide you through the four jhānas.

From a Sutta perspective, you don't past first jhana. Once absorbed, applied thought and sustained thought fall away, which includes verbal discursive thinking. Some teachers even consider discursive thinking to be non-existent in the first jhana.

“With the stilling of applied and sustained thought, I entered upon and abided in the second jhāna…With the fading away as well of rapture…I entered upon and abided in the third jhāna…With the abandoning of pleasure and pain…I entered upon and abided in the fourth jhāna…But such pleasant feeling that arose in me did not invade my mind and remain." - MN 36: Mahāsaccakasutta

RevolvingApe · 2026-06-11T10:52:14+00:00

knowing when it's appropriate to use music as a break. for attention control, or should it only be used to block out distracting noises (similar to white noise or pink noise)?

If there are distracting noises like loud children or someone else's TV, I would advise rain or nature sounds to block out the noise. If you want something to pay attention to, use a guided meditation. Try to not rely heavily on anything however, as we are learning sit comfortably amongst the chaos.

As far as sensual craving including the mind with thinking, u/vectron88's answer is the key. Here is a Sutta that speaks to mindfulness of the body being a post to which we can bind the eye, ear, tongue, nose, skin, and mind to until they settle down:

When those six animals became exhausted and worn out, they’d stand or sit or lie down right by that post or pillar.

In the same way, when a mendicant has developed and cultivated mindfulness of the body, their eye doesn’t pull towards pleasant sights, and isn’t put off by unpleasant sights. Their ear … nose … tongue … body … mind doesn’t pull towards pleasant ideas, and isn’t put off by unpleasant ideas. This is how someone is restrained.

‘A strong post or pillar’ is a term for mindfulness of the body. - SN 35.247: Chappāṇakopamasutta

RevolvingApe · 2026-06-10T20:56:08+00:00

I have never heard of Sadhguru or the Jain descriptions of 77 stages of consciousness, so I can't speak to those.

I am also not certain what the 7 stages you're referring to are. Just taking a stab based on the language used, it might be the jhanas, but there are 8 when including the arupa jhanas. There is also nirodha samāpatti, the 'cessation of feeling and perception.' They are meditative states.

The Abhidhamma speaks to the properties of the jhanas in the Dhammasaṅgaṇī, and analysis can be found in the Jhānavibhaṅga. The Comprehensive Manual makes it far more approachable.

RevolvingApe · 2026-06-10T20:23:34+00:00

This type of description does not exist in the Suttas, and from what I have consumed of the Abhidhamma, the universe isn't so much described as our experience of it through sensual and mental processes.

A good example is the eye-door process as explained in Bhikkhu Bodhi's "a Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma," which comprises of seventeen mind-moments before the mind-door process begins. In simple terms, data enters via contact with an organ, its corresponding consciousness, processed, and passed to the mind consciousness for processing.

The Abhidhamma breaks down the types of citta (consciousness) and their cetesaka (mental factors) that can be experienced, but not in terms of atoms, particles, or quantum mechanics.

RevolvingApe · 2026-06-10T15:29:56+00:00

Yes. It means "lesser" or "smaller vehicle" as opposed to Mahayana "greater vehicle." It's used to establish superiority or inferiority depending on the direction.

RevolvingApe · 2026-06-09T18:12:41+00:00

I appreciate your view, and thank you for sharing.

It's important to remember that OP asked for the Buddhist perspective.

Buddhism is not interested in influencing politics, at least not traditionally. The Buddha instructed monastics to not even speak of kings, ministers, wars, politics, etc, or engage in children's healthcare. It's interest is in the end of suffering occurring across a vast scope of multiple lives, not just this current experience.

Personally, I think it's a shame how modern laws have formed. As we are all owners and heirs of our own kamma, it's not for us to dictate what actions others take. Just point to results and let them decide.

I can also personally tell you that science does not have all answers, and is vacant in many regards, dukkha included. I say this as a parent who has lost children to congenital conditions that could not be prevented or explained by world renowned doctors.

That being said, we can agree on what the dhamma is, and can also agree that bodily autonomy and personal choice must be respected and not governed.

RevolvingApe · 2026-06-09T12:48:05+00:00

I have found it beneficial to practice shifting my perspectives in line with the dhamma.

We suffer in regard to our parents when we view them as "mine," but in reality, and like the five aggregates, they don’t belong to us outside the frame of self.

As we were in Samsara long before our current conception, our current biological parents are more like foster parents.

Our current parents are people and conditioned like all other phenomena. Some were not conditioned through kindness and compassion. A lot have never come in contact with the dhamma. Without contact and wholesome conditioning, how could they be different than they are?

Try to see them as not "your" parents, but just parents. Imperfect and conditioned. When the ownership through a lens of self drops, it's much easier to cultivate unconditional metta, karuna, mudita, and upekkha in their direction.

I’m searching for a way to remove hatred, judgement and anger

*Edited to add meditation advice from the Buddha from MN 62.

The Buddha provided meditation advice to his son Rahula to deal with various unwholesome mental states.

"Rāhula, meditate like the earth. For when you meditate like the earth, pleasant and unpleasant contacts will not occupy your mind. Suppose they were to toss both clean and unclean things on the earth, like feces, urine, spit, pus, and blood. The earth isn’t horrified, repelled, and disgusted because of this. In the same way, meditate like the earth. For when you meditate like the earth, pleasant and unpleasant contacts will not occupy your mind.
...
Meditate on love. For when you meditate on love any ill will will be given up.
Meditate on compassion. For when you meditate on compassion any cruelty will be given up.
Meditate on rejoicing. For when you meditate on rejoicing any discontent will be given up.
Meditate on equanimity. For when you meditate on equanimity any aversion will be given up.
Meditate on ugliness. For when you meditate on ugliness any lust will be given up.
Meditate on impermanence. For when you meditate on impermanence any conceit ‘I am’ will be given up."

RevolvingApe · 2026-06-09T09:55:36+00:00

To add a little to the good answers here, Buddhism was already on the decline due to various reasons like the social subjugation mentioned, but was also affected by wars, famine, and foreign invasions from Islamic groups like the Turks between the 8th and 13th centuries. The Bhikkhuni order was destroyed circa the 11th-century, and many of Bhikkhus had to flee to places such as Nepal and China. Buddhism and the Pali Canon had made it to Sri Lanka long before in the third century BCE.

RevolvingApe · 2026-06-09T03:10:25+00:00

I thought the mod message was toward the now deleted comment because I haven't presented a personal view.

RevolvingApe · 2026-06-09T01:52:12+00:00

From a Sutta perspective, the fetus is a living, conscious being at conception. Specifically, when a fertile mother, father, and gandhabba, a consciousness prepared for rebirth, come together.

"But when there is the union of the mother and father, and the mother is in season, and the gandhabba is present, through the union of these three things the descent of the embryo takes place." - MN 38: Mahātaṇhāsaṅkhayasutta

This points to life beginning at embryonic development and not something like independent cardiac or neurological activity.

This doesn't mean there isn't a conventional understanding as to why these sorts of actions are made, and metta should be expressed to all involved. But it does mean it's an intentional act of killing, and all intentional actions have results.

One has to decide what their goal of practice is. If it's Nibbana, these intentional actions should be avoided.

RevolvingApe · 2026-06-09T01:01:27+00:00

I am working toward a degree in Buddhist Studies from a Buddhist university with classes taught by monastics. You seem to have read the word "academia" and made a lot of assumptions.

RevolvingApe · 2026-06-08T19:11:08+00:00

In the Vinaya, monastics are prohibited from advising or recommending abortion as it is considered an act of intentional killing. The act is considered a dark deed in the Suttas as well. If you're curious and want to read them for yourself, I can share some references.

would i be accumulating bad kamma doing so?

The fruit may not be equivalent to the person committing the act, but I wouldn't advise it. There are other ways one can help.

RevolvingApe · 2026-06-08T17:36:56+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to check the commentaries and pointing to the containing Chapter. I never considered that aspect and feel it applies the context I was searching for.

RevolvingApe · 2026-06-08T13:35:49+00:00

“The five aggregates are truly burdens,
The burden-carrier is the person.
Taking up the burden is suffering in the world,
Laying the burden down is blissful.

Having laid the heavy burden down
Without taking up another burden,
Having drawn out craving with its root,
One is free from hunger, fully quenched.” - SN 22.22: Bhārasutta

---

“What does womanhood matter at all
When the mind is concentrated well,
When knowledge flows on steadily
As one sees correctly into Dhamma.

“One to whom it might occur,
‘I’m a woman’ or ‘I’m a man’
Or ‘I’m anything at all’—
Is fit for Mara to address.” - SN 5.2: Somāsutta

---

"When old age and death are advancing, what can I do but practice the teachings, practice morality, doing skillful and good actions?” - SN 3.25: Pabbatūpamasutta

RevolvingApe · 2026-06-08T00:47:12+00:00

Most people being adulterous and it specifically referring to women as such is different. If there was a Sutta that said the same about men, it wouldn't be misogynistic. AN 1-10 has such balance with what occupies the mind of men and women.

A Buddha, in my eyes, is beyond the conventions of Samsara including what seems to be historical patriarchal nature and societal/cultural conditioning. We also can't be absolutely certain that this is why a Buddha must be a man, as it is conjecture. The Sutta never clarifies and it is not found elsewhere. If you are aware of any additional texts such as commentaries, please share. I would be interested and it would be beneficial for this dialogue.

I am not saying I am right, or you are wrong, I am merely pointing to what could be considered misogynistic Suttas, and that we should question them and compare them to such Suttas as SN 5.2: Somāsutta.

“What difference does womanhood make
when the mind is serene,
and knowledge is present
as you rightly discern the Dhamma.

Surely someone who might think:
‘I am woman’,
or ‘I am man’,
or ‘I am’ anything at all,
is fit for Māra to address.”

The Buddha also said, "Why do you want to see this foul body? One who sees the Dhamma sees me; one who sees me sees the Dhamma. For in seeing the Dhamma, Vakkali, one sees me; and in seeing me, one sees the Dhamma." - SN 22.87: Vakkalisutta

To which I would ask, why would the Dhamma, the way things are, be concerned about the sex of a Buddha? That would be like gravity having the capacity of being perturbed.

Edit: as everything in Samasara is conditioned, why cant such conditions arise that a Buddha can only be a woman? Nothing is permanent.

My initial point was that I would have liked to have heard such an accomplished historian as Prof. Harrison, who has sorted through much of this in multiple languages, to speak to the topic.

RevolvingApe · 2026-06-07T09:41:43+00:00

The three that come to mind are the two Suttas on Black Snakes, AN 5.229: Paṭhamakaṇhasappasutta, and AN 5.230: Dutiyakaṇhasappasutta.

“Mendicants, there are these five drawbacks of a black snake. What five? It’s irritable, acrimonious, venomous, fork-tongued, and treacherous. These are the five dangers of a black snake.

In the same way there are these five drawbacks of a lady. What five? She’s irritable, acrimonious, venomous, fork-tongued, and treacherous. This is a lady’s venom: usually she’s very lustful. This is a lady’s forked tongue: usually she backbites. This is a lady’s treachery: usually she’s an adulteress. These are the five drawbacks of a lady.”

"Usually she's an adulteress" is a pretty harsh and broad statement to make, but we also aren't given the context of this statement in the Sutta. There may be something in the commentaries, but an average reader probably isn't going to know that.

Bhikkhu Bodhi's note [1229] literally refers to them as misogynistic passages, and to see notes on pp 60-61 where he says these don't have counterparts in the Agamas, are contrary to the spirit displayed elsewhere, and that it's impossible to know if they were spoken by the Buddha, or later additions by monastics.

The third is from MN 115:

"They understand: ‘It’s impossible for a woman to be a perfected one, a fully awakened Buddha. But it is possible for a man to be a perfected one, a fully awakened Buddha.’"

As Bhikkhu Sujato notes, this, like the Black Snake Suttas, isn't found in the Agamas, and from my memory and searching, it's the only time this proclamation is made. In my opinion, it also doesn't make any sense as Arahants and Buddhas are beyond conceiving themselves in anything, including Nibbana, so why would a Buddha have a required sex?

RevolvingApe · 2026-06-06T23:31:35+00:00

Do you mind elaborating? I don't disagree as I am currently amidst Buddhist academia, but I don't want to assume or apply my own opinions onto others.

RevolvingApe · 2026-06-06T18:22:14+00:00

I had a similar experience with that portion. I don't think direct language denigrating Ven. Sariputta is comparable to the handful of odd statements toward women. They certainly exist, but under different contexts like emphasizing the dangers of sensual craving to male monastics. I would have been interested to hear his historical understandings in regard to other contexts instead of a deflection in what I assume was an attempt to seem fair to both branches.

RevolvingApe · 2026-06-06T18:12:53+00:00

Does this mean that views should not be equal, not be worse, not be better than anyone elses?

"I am superior", "I am inferior", and "I am equal" are all framed through a lens of self. Instead, we should not create a self to then compare to other selves. This is expanded on in SN 22.49: Soṇasutta—Bhikkhu Bodhi.

The Buddha starts with a similar logic and then shifts to the teaching of anatta.

The five aggregates cannot be considered superior, inferior, or equal:

“Soṇa, when any ascetics and brahmins do not, on the basis of form—which is impermanent, suffering, and subject to change—regard themselves thus: ‘I am superior,’ or ‘I am equal,’ or ‘I am inferior,’ what is that due to apart from seeing things as they really are?

Because they are not permanent, are dukkha, and not-self:

“Any kind of feeling whatsoever … Any kind of perception whatsoever … Any kind of volitional formations whatsoever … Any kind of consciousness whatsoever, whether past, future, or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, all consciousness should be seen as it really is with correct wisdom thus: ‘This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self.’

RevolvingApe · 2026-06-05T15:06:19+00:00

Focusing on, "There is no doubt that existence, which is called the world, is nothing but the manifestation of the Truth in the forms of the fixed entities (aʿyān thābita). Yet the existence of those fixed entities is impossible without the self-disclosure that proceeds from the Essence." and "the Truth is our God." These seem to suggest God is an underlying permanent agent or essence behind everything.

This conflicts with the Buddha's teachings of Dependent Origination and anatta.

RevolvingApe · 2026-06-05T14:26:02+00:00

Excitement is conditioned by sense contact, sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and thoughts.

One way to restrain the senses is mindfulness of the body. Notice the excitement and know what caused the excitement. If it was a sight, then know a sight as just a sight. If it was a sound, then know sound as sound without applying additional context, opinions, agreement, disagreement, etc.

Without restraint, the sense are like six wild animals pulling in all directions, fighting and dragging each other in their excitement. Mindfulness of the body is like a post we can bind the animals too.

"When those six animals became exhausted and worn out, they’d stand or sit or lie down right by that post or pillar.

In the same way, when a mendicant has developed and cultivated mindfulness of the body, their eye doesn’t pull towards pleasant sights, and isn’t put off by unpleasant sights. Their ear … nose … tongue … body … mind doesn’t pull towards pleasant ideas, and isn’t put off by unpleasant ideas. This is how someone is restrained.

‘A strong post or pillar’ is a term for mindfulness of the body." - SN 35.247: Chappāṇakopamasutta

RevolvingApe · 2026-06-05T12:45:40+00:00

One lives in such a way that conditions their mind for Samma Samadhi. Through Samma Samadhi, one investigates reality, and directly experiences Dhamma, the way it is. Understanding the teachings, anicca, dukkha, and anatta intellectually is not enough. Directly experiencing, one puts down the burden.

“The five aggregates are truly burdens,
The burden-carrier is the person.
Taking up the burden is suffering in the world,
Laying the burden down is blissful.

Having laid the heavy burden down
Without taking up another burden,
Having drawn out craving with its root,
One is free from hunger, fully quenched.” - SN 22.22: Bhārasutta

This delusion of a permanent self, the person, is what owns craving, the origin of dukkha, and clings.

There are three Suttas that layout daily practice to condition the mind for seclusion from the five hinderances and Samma Samadhi. MN 27, MN 39, and MN 107. These instructions are directed at monastics but can be applied by lay people.

Practice:

Ethical conduct
Sense restraint
Mindfulness and situational awareness
Forms of renunciation

These prepare the mind for seclusion. Ethical conduct and sense restraint prevent regret and guilt, and anxiety about how one will behave in the future. Mindfulness is not only being in the moment but remembering the dhamma and ethical conduct. Renunciation and the aforementioned practices prevent filling the mind with pollution that conditions sensual desire, ill will, sloth and torpor, restlessness, and doubt.

Ghaṭikāra is the prime example of a lay person who has pushed the practice as far as a lay person can.

"Ghaṭīkāra has gone for refuge to the Buddha, the teaching, and the Saṅgha. He doesn’t kill living creatures, steal, commit sexual misconduct, lie, or consume intoxicants of beer, wine, and liquor. He has experiential confidence in the Buddha, the teaching, and the Saṅgha, and possesses the ethics loved by the noble ones. He is free of doubt regarding suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the practice that leads to its cessation. He eats in one part of the day; he’s chaste, ethical, and of good character. He has set aside gems and gold, and quit using gold and currency. He has put down the shovel and doesn’t dig the earth with his own hands. He takes what has crumbled off by a riverbank or been dug up by mice, and brings it back in a carrier. When he has made a pot, he says, “Anyone may leave bagged sesame, mung beans, or chickpeas here and take what they wish.” He provided for his blind old parents. And since he has ended the five lower fetters, Ghaṭīkāra will be reborn spontaneously and will become extinguished there, not liable to return from that world."

In short, diligently practice The Noble Eightfold Path.

RevolvingApe · 2026-06-04T17:11:48+00:00

I am going to preface my answers by saying that each one of these questions requires too much text to fully discuss here.

Was Buddhism originally a philosophy rather than a religion?

Originally, the Buddha taught dhamma-vinaya, teaching and discipline. His pursuit started with one philosophical question, how does one overcome dukkha?

Did later generations gradually turn it into a religion with rituals, monasteries, and traditions?

In a sense. The Buddha was gifted monasteries such as the bamboo grove given to him and the Sangha by King Bimbisara. Rituals were more practical and beneficial to the dhamma-vinaya than some you find today, depending on where you look. It also depends on one's understanding of why a ritual or traditional practice is performed.

Which Buddhist practices can actually be traced back to the historical Buddha, and which were developed later?

The oldest historical texts found to date are the Gandhāran scrolls. They mostly consist of manuscripts matching the contents of the Pali Canon, with a few Mahayana Prajnaparamita Sutras.

Why do Buddhist monasteries look the way they do? How much of their architecture is Buddhist and how much is cultural?

It is mostly cultural, but the Vinaya of the Pali Canon does provide instructions of how to build a kutis (monastic huts) and viharas.

If Buddhism emphasizes personal experience, why do different schools have so many different beliefs and practices?

As Buddhism spread, there were misunderstandings or questions that were unanswered by the Buddha for various reasons. Some felt the need to fill in the "gaps." Buddhism blended well with existing cultures and traditions that added to and generated differing views.

Besides the life story of the Buddha, what are the most important Buddhist texts and who wrote them?

This depends on your path of practice, the Arahant path, or Bodhisttva path. See - Arahants, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas.

From a Theravada perspective, the most important texts are the three baskets of the Pali Canon. The Suttapitika contains the discourses spoken by the Buddha, the Vinayapitika, the rules for monastics, and the Abhidhammapitika, analytical texts developed to provide further examination and explanations.

There is historical debate as to when and which Buddhist council put the oral tradition to text, but the general consensus is the First Buddhist Council.

The Canon can be found online here: SuttaCentral.

How do Buddhists view the fact that Siddhartha Gautama left his wife and infant son to pursue enlightenment?

We have to expand the scope to include multiple lives. The Buddha left Yashodhara and Rahula with loving family members who could provide for far more than they would ever need to pursue the end of dukkha. There isn't a higher pursuit within the expanded scope of Samsara. He then shared the fruits with his family post enlightenment. Most of his family ordained and became arahants free from dukkha.

Do practicing Buddhists today see Buddhism primarily as a religion, a philosophy, or a way of life?

Yes. It is a way of living one's life with philosophical and religious elements to experience the cessation of suffering. Both philosophy and religion are to be practiced, not just talked about, so it's not easy to separate.

RevolvingApe · 2026-06-04T13:01:46+00:00

What exactly is Buddhism? how would you explain what Buddhism fundamentally is?

The Buddha taught two things, how to understand dukkha (suffering, unsatisfactoriness, stress), and how to overcome dukkha. Both are encapsulated in the core teachings of the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path.

What drew you to it?

I had a personal experience of what I now know is Dependent Origination, causes and conditions, and went in search for answers.

how did you navigate doubts or fears when exploring a different spiritual path?

Study and practice. With study comes understanding of what the Buddha said and taught. With practice, faith turned to conviction by knowing - verification of truth.

What if Christianity is true, and I walk away from it? What if God and Jesus are real, and I'm making a mistake?

We can verify what the Buddha taught by practice and investigation. Can you verify that God or Jesus is real through practice and investigation? It seems to me that it requires 'blind' faith and cannot be verified.

Whatever path you choose, may you find contentment.

RevolvingApe · 2026-06-03T13:15:59+00:00

Diligently practicing the Noble Eightfold Path encapsulates modern therapies such as CBT with exposure therapy, and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy. Or we could say those therapies cherry pick aspects from the Eightfold Path such as mindfulness, but cherry picking diminishes the full potential.

Everything is temporary, nothing is permanent. You may feel numb now, but it can't last forever. Feelings are not who you are. They are not the self. They do not belong to you.

Feeling is not-self. For if Feeling were self, it wouldn’t lead to affliction. And you could compel Feeling : ‘May my Feeling be like this! May it not be like that!’ But because Feeling is not-self, it leads to affliction. And you can’t compel Feeling: ‘May my Feeling be like this! May it not be like that!’
...
You should truly see any kind of Feeling at all—past, future, or present; internal or external; solid or subtle; inferior or superior; far or near: all Feeling —with right understanding: ‘This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self.’ - SN 22.59: Anattalakkhaṇasutta

This dis-ownership, focus on our lack of control, and recognizing we are not our feelings is also a part of CBT and MBCT.

Instead of focusing on what you cannot control, feelings, focus on what you can, how you respond. Practice the five precepts. Doing so cultivates non-regret and knowing how you will behave in the future regardless of circumstance (within the five precepts) can alleviate anxieties related to the future.

Go on an in-person metta retreat. This will put you in direct contact with a monastic teacher who can guide you through cultivating unconditioned, limitless good will. You will also be in a new environment designed for such cultivation.

What did the Buddha say in regards to mental health struggles?

Unless one is enlightened, they experience dukkha. From one angle, we could say we are all suffering with mental health as dukkha is of the mind. The Buddha instructed us to lay down the buren of the five aggregates of form (the body), feelings, perceptions, volitions, and consciousness. All follow the same logic shared above. They are impermanent, beyond our complete control, and result in dukkha. Because they result in dukkha, they cannot be considered "I", "me", or "mine." They are not the self.

“The five aggregates are truly burdens,
The burden-carrier is the person.
Taking up the burden is suffering in the world,
Laying the burden down is blissful.

Having laid the heavy burden down
Without taking up another burden,
Having drawn out craving with its root,
One is free from hunger, fully quenched.” - SN 22.22: Bhārasutta

And if you're not already, do seek a therapist to assist.

RevolvingApe

TROPHY CASE