Part 23 - Eight Ways of Mastery of the Mind through Concentration

Then the Buddha continued His discourse without break thus:

“Ānanda, there are eight ways (abhibhāyatana-jhānas) of overcoming the opposite phenomena and sense objects, i.e. the hindrances that mar clear mental vision (i.e. concentration). These are:

i) Someone (with an excellent mental capacity or intelligence) after having gained concentration at the preliminary or preparatory level on the colour of certain parts of his own body, concentrates his mind on small external forms of his choice (kasiṇa objects), which may be either unblemished or blemished (i.e. whose colour may be either good or bad). His mind gets fixed on these small forms, gains mastery over them and thus dwells in appanā-jhāna. After emerging from the jhānic absorption, he is aware that he knows and sees these forms. This is the first abhibhāyatana-jhāna. ii) Some other person (of similar intelligence), after having gained the preliminary concentration on the colour of certain parts of his own body, concentrates his mind on big external forms (as kasiṇa objects), which may be either unblemished or blemished. His mind gets fixed on these big objects, gains mastery over them, and thus dwells in appanā-jhāna. After emerging from the jhānic absorption, he is aware that he knows and sees these forms. This is the second abhibhāyatana-jhāna.

iii) Some other person (of similar intelligence), without taking the colour of any part of his body as an object of preliminary concentration, concentrates on small external objects (kasiṇa objects), which may be either unblemished or blemished, as objects of preliminary concentration. His mind duly gets fixed on these small forms (as kasiṇa objects), gains mastery over them, and thus dwells in appanā-jhāna. After emerging from the jhānic absorption, he is aware that he knows and sees these forms. This is the third abhibhāyatana-jhāna.

iv) Some other person (of similar intelligence), without taking the colour of his body as an object of preliminary concentration, concentrates on big external forms (as kasiṇa objects), which may be either unblemished or blemished, as objects of preliminary concentration. His mind duly gets fixed on these big forms, gains mastery over them, and thus dwells in appanā-jhāna. After emerging from the jhānic absorption, he is aware that he knows and sees these forms. This is the fourth abhibhāyatana-jhāna.

v) Some other person (of similar intelligence), without taking the colour of his body as an object of preliminary concentration, concentrates on external forms (as kasiṇa objects) that are dark blue, with a dark-blue colour, dark-blue hue, like the flax-blossom which is dark blue, with a dark-blue colour, dark-blue hue, or like Bārāṇasī fabric with a smooth finish on both sides, which is dark- blue and has a dark-blue colour, dark-blue hue. He concentrates on external forms that are dark-blue, with a dark-blue colour, dark-blue hue, as objects of preliminary concentration. His mind duly gets fixed on them, gains mastery over them, and thus dwells in appanā-jhāna. After emerging from the jhānic absorption, he is aware that he knows and sees these forms. This is the fifth abhibhāyatana-jhāna.

vi) Some other person (of similar intelligence), without taking the colour of his body as an object of preliminary concentration, concentrates on external forms (as kasiṇa objects) that are yellow, with a yellow colour, yellow hue, or like Bārāṇasī fabric with a smooth finish on both sides, which is yellow and has a yellow colour, yellow hue. He concentrates on these external forms that are yellow, with a yellow colour, yellow hue, as objects of preliminary concentration. His mind duly gets fixed on them, gains mastery over them, and thus dwells in appanā-jhāna. After emerging from the jhānic absorption, he is aware that he knows and sees these forms. This is the sixth abhibhāyatana-jhāna.

vii) Some other person (of similar intelligence), without taking the colour of his body as an object of preliminary concentration, concentrates on external forms (as kasiṇa objects) that are red, with a red colour, red hue, like a flower of the tree Pentapetes phoenicea (baṇḍhu jīvaka) which is red, with a red colour, red hue, or like Bārāṇasī fabric with smooth finish on both sides, which is red and has a red colour, red hue. He concentrates on these external forms that are red, with a red colour, red hue, as objects of preliminary concentration. His mind duly gets fixed on them, gains mastery over them, and thus dwells in appanā-jhāna. After emerging from the jhānic absorption, he is aware that he knows and sees these forms. This is the seventh abhibhāyatana-jhāna. viii) Some other person (of similar intelligence), without taking the colour of his body as an object of preliminary concentration, concentrates on external forms (as kasiṇa objects) that are white, with a white colour, white hue, like the morning star which is white, with a white colour, white hue, or like Bārāṇasī fabric with a smooth finish on both sides which is white and has a white colour, white hue. He concentrates on these external forms that are white, with a white colour, white hue, as objects of preliminary concentration. His mind duly gets fixed on them, gains mastery over them, and thus dwells in appanā-jhāna. After emerging from the jhānic absorption, he is aware that he knows and sees these forms. This is the eighth abhibhāyatana-jhāna.

(The discourse is not yet ended)

(Abhibhāyatana-jhāna: Abhibhū, overcoming opposite external states such as hindrances (āyatana); a state of ecstatic bliss (jhāna). It is the jhāna that is possible for those with very sharp intellect who can achieve concentration quickly and thereby overcome all hindrances, and who are able to deal with either a small object or a big object of meditation, and gain mastery over it without difficulty.) To achieve the abhibhāyatana-jhāna, a yogi may begin the preliminary or preparatory concentration by taking an internal form, i.e. by concentrating on a certain part of his own body or an external form.

If he begins with an internal form he may choose any one of the four colours, viz., darkblue, yellow, red and white——that consist in the various parts of his own body. For example, if he concentrates on the dark-blue colour, he may concentrate on either his hair, or bile, or the pupil of the eye and impress his mind with the dark-blue colour, thinking, ‘Dark-blue, dark-blue’. If he concentrates on the yellow colour, he may concentrate on either the fat, the skin, the top of the hand, or the top of the foot, or the yellowish surface of the eye-ball and impress his mind with the yellow colour, thinking, ‘Yellow, yellow’. If he concentrates on the red colour, he may concentrate on either the flesh, the blood, the tongue, or the reddish surface of the eye-ball and impress his mind with the red colour, thinking, ‘Red, red’. If he concentrates on the white colour, he may concentrate on either the bone, the teeth, the finger nails, toe nails, or the whitish surface of the eye-ball, and impress his mind with the white colour, thinking, ‘White, white’.

Internal forms can help set up only the preliminary concentration (parikamma), and not the full concentration or appanā-bhāvanā. The after image or reflex image that the yogi obtains after achieving the preliminary concentration is not sufficiently clear. To get the necessary unblemished reflex image (paṭi bhāga nimitta), the yogi has to shift his object of meditation from an internal form to an external form. Then only can he get the desired sign or reflex image that can upgrade his concentration till he attains threshold concentration (upacāra) and full concentration (appanā) by stages.

The yogi, who begins the preliminary concentration by taking an external form as an object of meditation, can fulfil all the three stages of concentration (i.e. the preliminary stage (parikamma-bhāvanā), the threshold stage (upacāra-bhāvanā) and the jhānic stage (appanā-bhāvanā).

The objects of concentration may either be small or large. For the yogi, who can achieve the abhibhāyatana-jhāna, is of very keen intellect so that he does not find any difficulty on account of the size of object of concentration. It is like that of a person of good appetite who can eat a small amount or a big amount without difficulty. Whether the object of concentration is small or big, the yogi of this calibre achieves threshold concentration quickly and then immediately attains appanā-jhāna, thus overcoming all opposing mental states such as hindrances.

Regarding the first four of the eight abhibhāyatana-jhānas, a small form, as object of concentration, is suitable for yogi who are ruminative in nature (vitakka-carita). A big form, as object of concentration, is suitable for yogi who have a bewildered nature (mohacarita). An external form of good colour is suitable for yogi who are irritable by nature (dosa-carita). An external form of bad colour is suitable for yogi who have a strong inclination towards sensuous desire (rāga-carita).

These abhibhāyatana jhānas were taught by the Buddha out of His own experience. As a matter of fact, He had practised them innumerable times. To some people outside the Buddha’s Teaching, an indefinite object can be quite daunting to be taken as a proper object of concentration, for an indefinite object may be as vast as the entire physical setting to the world of living things. As for the Buddha the extent of object of concentration is infinite. Nothing whatever can therefore daunt the Buddha’s mind. In discoursing on the eight abhibhāyatana-jhānas to Venerable Ānanda, the Buddha intended to let the venerable disciple understand the fearless nature of the Buddha.

“Ānanda,” the Buddha continued, “the Tathāgata, who has dwelt in the eight abhibhāyatana-jhānas of such nature and has emerged from them, has no fear or dread at all. That being so, how could anyone say that the Tathāgata was afraid of Māra who came to Him alone? Ānanda, in relinquishing the life-maintaining mental process, the Tathāgata did so fearlessly, with mindfulness and clear comprehension.”

(These words occur in the Pakiṇṇaka Dhamma desanā Pāli which was not recited at the Great Council but was quoted by the Commentaries.)