Liberating Insight
The Nine Successive Cessations In Buddhist Meditation
The Nine successive cessations (anupubba-nirodha) as mentioned in the Anguttara Nikaya are the progressive ‘levels’ in meditation that include the 4 form jhanas, the 4 formless jhanas, and finally the state of cessation of perception and feeling.
These are also called the nine progressive cessations, and referred to as the nine progressive dwellings, where it is clear that ‘dwelling’ truly means a ‘state of mind’ and not a physical location or preferred dwelling like a quiet place or cave. (AN IV.410)
The goal of these meditations is the destruction of the taints.
Entering and abiding in the first 8 jhanas is like getting to the ‘end of the world’ and dwelling at ‘the end of the world:
“Here, brahmins, secluded from sensual pleasures . . . a monk enters and dwells in the first jhana . . . [same for 2nd to 8th jhana] This is called a monk who, having come to the end of the world, dwells at the end of the world. Others say thus of him: ‘He, too, is included in the world; he, too, is not yet released from the world.’ I also say thus: ‘He, too, is included in the world; he, too, is not yet released from the world.’” — AN IV.430
The First Jhana
By the attainment of the first jhana, perceptions of sensuality (kamasanna) cease. The first step of the meditation is to still the craving for sensual pleasure:
“Here, secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, a monk enters and dwells in the first jhana, which consists of delight and pleasure born of seclusion, accompanied by thought and examination.” — AN I.53
“I say of [that state] where sensual pleasures cease and of those who dwell having thoroughly ended sensual pleasures:
‘Surely, those venerable ones are without hunger and quenched; they have crossed over and gone beyond in that particular respect.’
If anyone should say: ‘Where do sensual pleasures cease? And who are those that dwell having thoroughly ended sensual pleasures? I do not know this, I do not see this,’
He should be told:
‘Here, friend, secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, a monk enters and dwells in the first jhana.
That is where sensual pleasures cease, and those are the ones who dwell having thoroughly ended sensual pleasures.’” — AN IV.411
The Second Jhana
By the attainment of the second jhana, thinking and pondering cease. The second step of the meditation is to still the mind, find balance, and establish quietude as a basis:
“With the subsiding of thought and examination, he enters and dwells in the second jhana, which has internal placidity and unification of mind and consists of delight and pleasure born of concentration, without thought and examination.” — AN I.53
“I say of [that state] where thought and examination cease and of those who dwell having thoroughly ended thought and examination:
‘Surely, those venerable ones are without hunger and quenched, have crossed over and gone beyond in that particular respect.’
If anyone should say: ‘Where do thought and examination cease? And who are those that dwell having thoroughly ended thought and examination? I do not know this, I do not see this,’
He should be told:
‘Here, friend, with the subsiding of thought and examination, a monk enters and dwells in the second jhana.
That is where thought and examination cease, and those are the ones who dwell having thoroughly ended thought and examination.’” — AN IV.411
The Thrid Jhana
By the attainment of the third jhana, delight (piti) ceases. The third step of the meditation is to establish neutrality to likes and dislikes, and to balance the mind in equanimity:
“With the fading away as well of delight, he dwells equanimous and, mindful and clearly comprehending, he experiences pleasure with the body; he enters and dwells in the third jhana of which the noble ones declare: ‘He is equanimous, mindful, one who dwells happily.’” — AN I.53
“I say of [that state] where delight ceases and of those who dwell having thoroughly ended delight:
‘Surely, those venerable ones are without hunger and quenched, have crossed over and gone beyond in that particular respect.’
If anyone should say:
‘Where does delight cease? And who are those that dwell having thoroughly ended delight? I do not know this, I do not see this,’
He should be told:
‘Here, friend, with the fading away as well of delight . . . he enters and dwells in the third jhana.
That is where delight ceases and those are the ones who dwell having thoroughly ended delight.’” — AN IV.411
The Fourth Jhana
By the attainment of the fourth jhana, in-and out-breathing ceases. The fourth step of the meditation is to still the subtle notion of breathing and bodily functions:
“With the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the previous passing away of joy and dejection, he enters and dwells in the fourth jhana, neither painful nor pleasant, which has purification of mindfulness by equanimity.” — AN I.53
“I say of [that state] where the pleasure [connected with] equanimity ceases and of those who dwell having thoroughly ended the pleasure [connected with] equanimity:
‘Surely, those venerable ones are without hunger and quenched, have crossed over and gone beyond in that particular respect.
If anyone should say:
‘Where does the pleasure [connected with] equanimity cease? And who are those that dwell having thoroughly ended the pleasure [connected with] equanimity? I do not know this, I do not see this,’
He should be told:
‘Here, friend, with the abandoning of pleasure and pain . . . a monk enters and dwells in the fourth jhana.
That is where the pleasure [connected with] equanimity ceases and those are the ones who dwell having thoroughly ended the pleasure [connected with] equanimity.’” — AN IV.412
These first four preliminary steps are geared towards the body and it’s functions, how the mind acts and reacts (re-acts) towards the body functions. The cessation of the craving, grasping, and clinging towards the body and it’s functions paves the way for a mind that is more capable of dealing with the comings and goings of both internal and external phenomena.
In the next and final part 3, we’ll be discussing the 4 formless stages + the final stage of the 9 successive cessations in Buddhist meditation.
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The purpose of meditation is to make our mind calm and peaceful. If our mind is peaceful, we will be free from worries and mental discomfort, and so we will experience true happiness. But if our mind is not peaceful, we will find it very difficult to be happy, even if we are living in the very best conditions.
source : Kelsang Gyatso
My teacher told me the purpose of meditation was to become enlightened, to see it any other way was a waste of time. However the Dali Lama is a very kind person and meditation does bring peace, but it won't last unless you become enlightened. I hope this helps and doesn't confuse your lovely message @machhour.
thank you so much for your comment , so true Meditation is the tongue of the soul and the language of our spirit:)
We are meditating all day! Right meditation shifts awarneness away from mundane happiness and grasping so one can see past the constant flux of phenomena, the grasping at what we "think" of as self and the stress this causes. Then we can see reality as it is...which isn't a thing. Things are made up of bits of other things....hehehe
I cannot comment on the soul because it is vague, the soul has a different meaning for everyone.
My teacher (a zen monk) had a slightly different way of putting it. He said the purpose of meditation was—then he rang a singing bowl and let that finish the thought for him.
I'm surprised he didn't slap me instead. Those zennies are unpredictable dudes.
@dbooster my Soen teacher would go Spock face on me and the force of that look would set me back like I was hit on the head with his sandal...hahaha
All communications on a subliminal level would stop...there would be nothing, sometimes the force of that ability to just stop the play of the mind and emotions took my breath away...I wanted to learn how to do that...hahah
Now there's a superpower!
meditation is an activity that can calm the soul and make our minds become healthy and calm. and we too can think clearly .. a very good post and amazing my friend @ reddust.i love to read about free this insight.thanks for your post, success always for you
shamatha meditation brings calmness and discipline to the mind, vipassana means insight, insight into reality as it is, this meditation is done after the mind is calm and disciplined. Jhanas are another kind of meditation and they take you through all the levels of the mind , refining concentration and eventually you will have to let go of these subtle mind states as well.. Each Jhana becomes more subtle, more subtle until there is nothing left to grasp...
I like Liegh's site, he speaks about Jhanas in a way that is very understandable to me.
http://www.leighb.com/jhanas.htm
@reddust, You were nicely explained what's Nine Successive Cessations. It's meditation theories indeed amazing title. I every time given my huge salute for update every valuable part of Buddhism to steemians. I've seen lot of peoples using meditation steps to control their mindset. Everybody know meditation wanna give better opportunities to our life. Every negative and positive both thoughts coming from our mind. If control our mind (convert negative thoughts to positive thought) life easily handle. In fact meditation do massive task.
Thank you kindly @madushanka, meditation, especially the jhanas are fascinating. Shamatha or anapanasati mediation are the best for disciplining the mind and everyone should start with discipline first or the other mediation will be a waste of time. I find the Jhanas and Buddha's story about his Brahmin teacher so interesting. After he sat under the Bodhi Tree and became enlightened he wanted to tell his teacher what he found and the Jhanas weren't enough to bring enlightenment. But sadly his teacher passed away... I can't remember the rest of the story..https://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/lifebuddha/13lbud.htm
Buddhist monks uses meditation to free themselves from the everyday struggles... through meditation they are able to free their thoughts toward enlightenment... one step closer to heaven.... it was rumored that one monk meditated over a year, everyone thought he was dead due to no pulse, but his body did not decay but minor fungus on skin.
I've heard all sorts of stories about psychic powers reached in Buddhist meditation. In Tibetan mediation the Guru. Master or Teachers powers are welcomed and used to inspire students to build faith and inspire them to continue their practice. I know this is basically the same in Mahayana Buddhism, you know Zen, Pure Land, Ch'an to name a few. But all my teachers have told me the psychic powers are not worth the distraction if one hasn't achieved enlightenment first. So stay focused and keep on meditating no matter what happens ;-) hahaha pay no mind to all the pretty lights and bliss :p
My Theravada mediation teachers told me to just watch and don't do anything. Psychic powers pass away like everything else in this world.
Monks go away from the world so they won't be tempted, it is easier to focus on study and mediation that way. However the monks I know are so busy with temple duties and study, they don't have much time to meditate ;-)
We can get great successful stories of as mentioned Buddhism via your valuable articles. Actually I'm wondering to hear your proud experience & knowledge. Everything you can control across meditation steps. Food control, breath control, thoughts control etc.. everything can do using meditation I've heard.
Once the mind is disciplined like a well trained horse you can do what you need to do with ease, a well trained mind will take you just about anywhere..hehehe...and if you become a master turn around and see the deathless <3
this is really interesting and cool and I'm enjoying the comment also. Thank you for this post! I believe if everyone in the world would take a few minutes of their time every day to meditate, there would be no wars. World Piece to humankind at a cost of only few minutes of meditation and mindfulness. Not a bad price to pay in my opinion.
I like the comment section the best when posting my Buddhist articles, I have so much fun talking with you all...we would have to get rid of the banks and all our negative conditioning to avoid wars ...hahaha blasted banksters.
Meditation isn't easy...if it was we would all be enlightened just sitting down and watching TV
So true. Meditation is a skill that has to be acquired and polished. I’d like to learn how.
I've worked in many sanghas helping set up classes and retreats. It is difficult to learn how to meditate if you don't go to retreat and deeply ingrain the lessons. Also a teacher is needed to help us work our way through all the crap that comes up during meditation. People need to be of sound mind, good health helps too but that isn't as important as a healthy mind.
Why? Because there is some scary shit hiding in the darker corners of our mind. Meditation is like cleaning out the dark corners, cleaning up our house and property. It is hard work and sometimes physically and mentally demanding, even dangerous.
People tend to go for the feel good meditations but I feel that's kind of like masturbating, it's nice but it really only last for a couple minutes and you end up having to masturbate endlessly and sometimes go for extremes to get the same kind of high.
Everyone is trying to be happy but they end up making themselves miserable, this happens with meditation as well.
I can help you find qualified teachers but that won't guarantee that you and the teacher will work well together. It's a tough path to walk but totally worth it from my point of view.
Our culture seems to always be on the run. It makes sense to slow down, meditate an breathe. Calmness can be found and an inner self as you can listen better to inner self and your higher power. Thanks @reddust.
And maybe if we are still enough we can see who we truly are instead of our dreams and wishes. Have a lovely Sunday @enjoywithtroy.
in the science of tasauf (for a Muslim) there is a meditation called "khulwah"
in this khulwah a man leaves all worldly pleasures and luxuries for the sake of merely drawing closer to his Lord, they live in full worship of his god, so that no longer have any value even he no longer have praise in his heart, so they reach the level that called "makrifah".
at this stage they have reached the level of mutmainnah lust,
hopefully this little comparison is beneficial to all companions
I really love your sharing with us your meditation, I can research and learn so much from you @steemitcountry. I was raised Christian and have loved God since my Mom caught me getting dressed at the age of three getting ready to go to Church to be with God. My Mom wasn't very religious but my Dad was, however he was flying missions and gone all the time so we didn't go to church that often and I really loved going to Church. My Dad was a navigator and Captain in the air force. He died when I was around five years old and my Mom didn't go to church. But I started going to church by myself when I was around 12 years old.
The Christians I grew up with thought meditation was evil. They thought I was doing the devils work when I started going to Buddhist retreat. I think they need to start meditating and practicing loving kindness (metta) and compassion (karuna ). However I met lots of Christians at vipassana retreat including Catholic monks and nuns who told me meditation helped them hear God instead of hearing their own wants and needs.
When as I grew older I found that praying wasn't enough to remove my conditioning and I started lookiing for something that would help me let go and found Buddhism. I wasn't born a Buddhist and I don't really call myself a Buddhist but I follow the lessons taught by Buddha. One of my teachers, my meditation teacher SN Goenka (he has passed away) told me the art of living is the art of dying. When I die I won't be afraid and I will be able to see reality as it is or maybe even see God when I leave this body.
I am researching all the information you leave, I really love the Sufi practices, they speak to my heart.
A friend of my husband went to the Middle East to find a real Sufi teacher, one with a lineage that is still active. He told my husband it was difficult to find a qualified Sufi master from a real live lineage. I hope your practice continues to prosper!
I found this link
http://www.sufischool.org/practises/muraqabah.html
I sympathize with your life story,
all sourced from the heart, good happiness, sadness, joy, sympathy, anti-starch and so on, when we are able to control the heart of our lives will be balanced, able to dive into the darkness of life to stay bright with God's guidance. that is the essence of the Sufi lesson.
I'm glad you like sufism, you can visit my blog or my wife's blog @ steemitnatural, I now write a lot about Sufi and heart management with the parable of daily life
It makes my heart happy to meet you @steemitcountry and @steemitnatural, I will visit you blog. I hope others do too, and we can all share our stories without fear, with loving kindness and compassion.
thank you for your appreciation
thank you for your warm welcome, hopefully we can give each other and fill in every opportunity
I just found out that in the teachings of budha there are teachings about managing hearts and feelings, I am a Muslim, in every meeting we are taught to mutually pity, love each other, at first calm qalbu management,
thank you for your post @ reddust
Dear @steemitnatural, I am so happy we can find common ground working with the virtues. It is true, we must deal with our hearts desire with right intentions. This will free up space for others to deal with their own stuff and give us space to see reality as it is...I think this is a way we all can live together in peace <3
a happiness to know you from my husband, I am sure you are a person who dedicates your whole life to peace and love, I am very proud of you
@reddust, there were many things I considered writing here, but after a few minutes of pondering I thought it would be best if I just said, I am grateful for your post. It is meaningful to me. Peace.
I am so happy this little article speaks to your heart @mistermercury, reading the Dhamma brings peace and comfort to me as well.