For those of you who don't know what the Jhanas are: they are deep concentration states, to be very focused, to be very one-pointed, to be very absorbed in a subject. In these you enter into a very deep concentrated state based on concentrating on a very simple object. Trying to be very narrow. If you use reflections, it is not so easy. If you use the breath it's easier. If you use a mantra, something very simple, then it can take you into a deep concentrated state. However, Rosemary and I don't teach these because, by and large, one of two things happen. Either most Westerners can't do them, or if they can do them, they get stuck in their practice, liking to concentrate rather than to develop Wisdom. We find many people today can not work very well with what's called Jhanas, getting deep concentration. Now when it actually comes to purifying, letting go of our anger, letting go of our greed, desires, and so on, we don't actually need the Jhanas, we don't need them at all. If you read the scriptures, read the stories, the Buddha taught many different types of people. Lots of people were getting enlightened who were not even meditators, not serious hard-working meditators. In many of the stories, the Buddha is just talking with somebody, and they gain a deep wisdom penetration, not through sitting on a pillow and getting deep absorption.
With regard to this, it is also valuable to know that when the Buddha left the palace and went off to start meditating, first he went to a teacher who taught almost the highest of all the deep concentration states, there are 8 of them. He attained the seventh level and he felt very peaceful, very content when he meditated, but he knew there were still elements of defilements left in the mind. He knew he wasn't enlightened yet. So he asked the teacher, "What comes next?" The teacher said "That's as high as I know, that's all I know." So the Buddha left that teacher, saying "This ain't it!"
He went to another teacher who actually taught the very highest of the Jhanas. He mastered that, and then asked that teacher, "What comes next?" And that teacher said, "That's as high as I go." The Buddha left that teacher also. So it's very nice to know that strong concentration practice was taught before the Buddha and it is not a direct way to get enlightened. It is very helpful to know this, and it is helpful to know, also, that it is very difficult for people today. People's minds are too cluttered today, it's not so easy to get concentrated and to use it as a wise tool.
When I said that a lot of Westerners get attached to it, get stuck with it, it's because it can be very peaceful. If you have had as much as two minutes of staying with your breathing or being concentrated on any subject... Even as much as two minutes, you know "Oh that was very nice!" Well imagine that for an hour, and imagine doing it for days. And it can be so nice that it becomes a place where people get stuck. They get trapped in that state. They just want that pleasant feeling. And they don't want to deal with their anger, their fear and everything else because they can escape it with ease. If you can concentrate really well, you can escape your thoughts for a short time while you are meditating, but it's not good enough to go deeper in wisdom.
The Jhanas are part of Buddhism which is called Samata. Buddhism also has a practice which is called Vipassana. Vipassana is to develop Wisdom, no matter what technique we use, its purpose is to develop Wisdom. They say at times you can use the Jhanas to develop Wisdom, but it's very difficult because it's just too nice and people don't want to use them to develop Wisdom. Now if a person does have enough Wisdom to watch out for the trap of deep concentration, then they may be useful. But we don't know many people who can do that. Either you have got enough Wisdom to be working on Vipassana straight away, and you don't really need the other, the Jhana Samata side, or you don't have enough Wisdom and you may get stuck.
So you can work on yourself. You can experiment in the future if you like, but by and large, always keep in mind what your Direction is. It's not just to sit down and feel peaceful, but to develop Wisdom.