Right Concentration: A Practical Guide to the Jhanas [Paperback]

The Buddhist jhanas—successive states of deep focus or meditative absorbtion--demystified. A very practical guidebook for meditators for navigating their way through these states of bliss and concentration.

One of the elements of the Eightfold Path the Buddha taught is Right Concentration: the one-pointedness of mind that, together with ethics, livelihood, meditation, and so forth, leads to the ultimate freedom from suffering. The Jhanas are the method the Buddha himself taught for achieving Right Concentration. They are a series of eight successive states, beginning with bliss and moving on toward radically nonconceptual states. The fact that they can usually be achieved only during prolonged meditation retreat tends to keep them shrouded in mystery. Leigh Brasington is here to unshroud them. He takes away the mystique and gives instructions for them in plain, accessible language, noting the various pitfalls to avoid along the way, and then providing a wealth of material on the theory of jhana practice--all geared toward the practitioner rather than the scholar.Foreword
Preface
Introduction

PART I - Practical Jhānas
The Preliminaries
Access Concentration
Entering the Jhānas
First Jhāna
Second Jhāna
Third Jhāna
Fourth Jhāna
The Immaterial Jhānas

PART II - Demystified Jhānas
Vitakka & Vicāra
First Jhāna
Second Jhāna
Third Jhāna
Fourth Jhāna
The Jhāna Summary
Insight Knowledge
The Immaterial States
The Cessation of Perception and Feeling
The Psychic Powers For those interested in exploring jhana, Leigh brings many years of skillful teaching to this accessible, clear, and helpful guide. —Jack Kornfield, author ofA Path with Heart

Leigh Brasington presents a clear map of jhana practice as he learned it from his teacher, Ayya Khema. As with many aspects of the Buddha&rslĂ*