What is Jhana States?
Jhana (Pali) or dhyana (Sanskrit) refers to a sequence of progressively deeper states of concentration and meditative absorption achieved through sustained and focused meditation on a chosen object. The jhanas are states of deep mental unification that arise when the mind becomes sufficiently concentrated to transcend ordinary distraction and mental agitation. Often the two sets are joined together under the collective title of the eight jhanas or the eight attainments (atthasamapattiyo). Pivotal to both systems of meditation, though belonging inherently to the side of serenity, is a set of meditative attainments called the jhanas.
In the oldest texts of Buddhism, dhyāna (Sanskrit: ध्यान) or jhāna (Pāli) is a component of the training of the mind (bhāvanā), commonly translated as meditation, to withdraw the mind from the automatic responses to sense-impressions and “burn up” the defilements, leading to a “state of perfect equanimity and awareness (upekkhā-sati-parisuddhi).” The Buddha called the jhanas the cornerstone of right concentration, which is the eighth factor in the Noble Eightfold Path to freedom from suffering—and he described mastery of these states as a key to reaching enlightenment.
The practice tradition describes four fine-material jhanas (rupajhana) and four immaterial jhanas (arupajhana), often joined together under the collective title of the eight jhanas, with some traditions referencing a ninth state called cessation of perception and feeling.
Origins & Lineage
The Buddha’s first two teachers instructed him in jhana practice, so we know the jhanas predated his own era and philosophy, but there is little documentation of their pre-Buddhist origins. The Buddha also describes stepping through the jhanas on the night of his enlightenment. Before his awakening under the Bodhi tree, he had already mastered all eight stages under two different teachers. What he realized was that the jhanas alone were not enough for liberation, but they were the tool that made liberation possible.
The canonical Buddhist description of jhanas appears in the Pali Canon, particularly in the suttas of the Suttapitaka. During the reign of the Sri Lankan king Mahanama in the 5th century CE, the great Buddhist commentator Buddhaghosa wrote the Visuddhimagga, which became the most influential systematic treatment of jhana practice in the Theravada tradition. When the prolific monk and translator Buddhaghosha wrote the Visuddhimagga (“Path to Purification”), a massive Buddhist meditation manual, the jhanas were codified as a very difficult though noble pathway, inaccessible to the majority of practitioners.
In early twentieth-century Burma, political and ideological wars were waged over the best route to nibbana: the monastic hierarchy sought a “true” vipassana, or insight, path; concentration practices, including jhana, were relegated to the margins. A dry insight tradition, known as Mahasi Vipassana after the prominent Burmese teacher Mahasi Sayadaw, won out and has been transmitted to thousands of Westerners since the late 1960s. Teachers in the Thai Forest tradition spearheaded a jhana revival in the twentieth century, affirming that sincere and dedicated practitioners could most certainly attain these states.
How It’s Practiced
These states are achieved through sustained and focused meditation on a chosen object, such as the breath, a mantra, or a visualized image. The practitioner gradually moves through these stages, refining their concentration and insight. According to Buddhist tradition, it may be supported by ānāpānasati, mindfulness of breathing, a core meditative practice which can be found in almost all schools of Buddhism.
To summarize the method for entering the first jhāna: You sit in a nice comfortable upright position, and generate access concentration by putting and maintaining your attention on a single meditation object. When access concentration arises, then you shift your attention from the breath (or whatever your method is) to a pleasant sensation, preferably a pleasant physical sensation. Pīti is this physical sensation that literally takes you over and takes you into an altered state. It will be accompanied by an emotional sensation of joy and happiness. The Pali word is sukha, the opposite of dukkha [pain, suffering].
The first four jhanas progress through distinct qualities: The first jhana is characterized by the presence of initial and sustained thought (vitakka and vicāra), accompanied by rapture (pīti) and pleasure (sukha) born from seclusion. The meditator’s mind becomes secluded from sensual desires and unwholesome states, leading to a profound sense of joy and tranquility. With the subsiding of initial and sustained thought, the meditator enters the second jhana, a state of inner tranquility and unification of mind. In this stage, rapture and pleasure arise from concentration itself, leading to a deeper sense of joy and stability. As rapture fades in the third jhana, the meditator remains equanimous, mindful, and fully aware. This stage is marked by a profound sense of pleasure accompanied by equanimity, reflecting a balanced and serene state of mind. In the fourth jhana, both pleasure and pain, as well as joy and sorrow, are transcended.
The four immaterial jhanas involve increasingly subtle meditative objects: the base of boundless space, the base of boundless consciousness, the base of nothingness, and the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception.
Entering the jhanas is not easy—the harder you try, the more difficult it becomes. But you can make yourself ready for them to open up to you. The key insight: jhana isn’t about concentrating harder. It’s about relaxing into stability. Most people who struggle with jhana are trying too hard.
Jhana States Today
Jhana practice has experienced a notable resurgence in contemporary Western Buddhism. Modern teachers have found something different: jhana is accessible, often within days of focused practice. The gap between what was believed and what’s possible has closed. The first Western conference on Jhāna practice in Theravada Buddhism was held near Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, in June, 2001.
Contemporary practitioners encounter jhana through multiple channels. Intensive meditation retreats specifically focused on jhana training are offered by teachers including Leigh Brasington, Shaila Catherine, and Pa Auk Sayadaw’s lineage. Organizations like Jhourney have emerged, taking a pragmatic, fun, and accessible approach to teaching the jhanas to beginners. They are markedly different from a typical meditation retreat.
Several western teachers (Thanissaro Bhikkhu, Leigh Brasington, Richard Shankman) make a distinction between “sutta-oriented” jhana and “Visuddhimagga-oriented” jhana, dubbed “minimalists” and “maximalists” by Kenneth Rose. This reflects ongoing debates about accessibility and interpretation.
In the past couple of years, the jhanas captured attention in rationalist and tech-focused communities, expanding the practice beyond traditional Buddhist contexts into secular frameworks focused on attention training and mental optimization.
Common Misconceptions
Jhana is not the same as enlightenment. Although not enlightenment experiences, they do provide much needed experience into the Path and explain much of the cosmology in an experiential way. The jhanas are concentration attainments; insight (vipassana) into the nature of reality is a separate but complementary practice.
Jhana does not require decades of practice. While traditionally portrayed as extremely difficult, under the sutta interpretation, many dedicated meditators can experience jhana within weeks or months of consistent practice. Under the Visuddhimagga interpretation, it may take years. Individual reports vary widely, with some practitioners accessing early jhanas after 20-30 hours of focused practice.
Jhana is not identical to samadhi. Samadhi derives from the prefixed verbal root sam-a-dha, meaning to collect or to bring together, thus suggesting the concentration or unification of the mind. Jhana is a particular state of samadhi. Samadhi is the broader category of concentration; jhanas are specific absorptive states arising from developed concentration.
The “Visuddhimagga jhanas” differ from “sutta jhanas.” In its emphasis on kasina-meditation, the Visuddhimagga departs from the Pali Canon, in which dhyana is the central meditative practice, indicating that what “jhana means in the commentaries is something quite different from what it means in the Canon.” Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, a western teacher in the Thai Forest Tradition, has repeatedly argued that the Pāli Canon and the Visuddhimagga give different descriptions of the jhānas, regarding the Visuddhimagga description to be incorrect.
Jhana is not exclusive to Buddhism. Buddhists mapped these states especially well; they didn’t invent them. Contemplatives across traditions (Buddhist, Christian, Sufi, Hindu) discovered these states independently.
How to Begin
Prospective practitioners have several entry points. For systematic instruction, Leigh Brasington’s teachings and his book Right Concentration present an accessible Western approach to sutta-based jhana practice. Shaila Catherine’s Focused and Fearless offers detailed guidance grounded in Theravada orthodoxy with attention to the Visuddhimagga framework. Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, author of the classic meditation manual Mindfulness in Plain English, explains the jhanas and how they can be reached.
For direct experience, dedicated jhana retreats provide optimal conditions. Systematic jhāna training retreats are typically limited to a maximum of 30-40 students to enable close work with each student. Organizations offering introductions to jhana practice include Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Insight Meditation Society, and contemporary secular platforms like Jhourney.
The foundational practice remains straightforward: establish a regular sitting meditation practice, develop concentration on a single object (typically the breath), cultivate ethical conduct to support mental stability, and seek guidance from experienced teachers. Don’t try to do the jhanas. You can’t. All you can do is generate the conditions out of which the jhanas can arise. Recognize when you’ve established these conditions, then patiently wait for the jhana to come find you.