VIDEO: WHAT ARE JHANAS? ~ LEIGH BRASINGTON WITH STEPHANIE NASH
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5oRb6c71Qk
Today I will talk about absorption. First a quote:
“If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?”
(Dogen, Founder of the Sōtō school of Zen)
The idea of absorption is as old as mindfulness meditation. Buddhists laid out a series of steps leading to the deepest meditative experience. These are called “The Jhanas.” This is where you are profoundly still and in perfect concentration. Your mind is fully immersed in and absorbed in meditation.
While this may sound difficult, it is probably something you have already experienced, such as when you are “lost in meditation,” and time has passed and you didn’t notice.
I want to talk about this, to give you a bit of a model of what to expect from your ongoing meditation. First, you get a good start with meditation by practicing every day. Then, as the meditation deepens, you start experiencing this absorption, what Buddhists call, “The First Jhana.”
This is not something you need to strive for; it will come naturally as you continue to practice; your awareness becomes one with the experience. You lose awareness of yourself. To enter into the First Jhana you must establish a base of mental tranquility.
The first Jhana consists of: deliberation, reflection, joy, ease, and one‐ pointedness of mind.
NOW, ONTO OUR MEDITATION … 10 MINUTE GUIDED MEDITATION FOR MINDFULNESS