Table Of ContentEarly Buddhist Meditation
This book offers a new interpretation of the relationship between ‘insight practice’
(satipaṭṭhāna) and the attainment of the four jhānas (i.e., right samādhi), a key
problem in the study of Buddhist meditation. The author challenges the traditional
Buddhist understanding of the four jhānas as states of absorption, and shows how
these states are the actualization and embodiment of insight (vipassanā). It pro-
poses that the four jhānas and what we call ‘vipassanā’ are integral dimensions of
a single process that leads to awakening.
Current literature on the phenomenology of the four jhānas and their relation-
ship with the ‘practice of insight’ has mostly repeated traditional Theravāda inter-
pretations. No one to date has offered a comprehensive analysis of the
fourfold jhāna model independently from traditional interpretations. This book
offers such an analysis. It presents a model which speaks in the Nikāyas’ distinct
voice. It demonstrates that the distinction between the ‘practice of serenity’
(samatha-bhāvanā) and the ‘practice of insight’ (vipassanā-bhāvanā) – a funda-
mental distinction in Buddhist meditation theory – is not applicable to early Bud-
dhist understanding of the meditative path. It seeks to show that the common
interpretation of the jhānas as ‘altered states of consciousness’, absorptions that
do not reveal anything about the nature of phenomena, is incompatible with the
teachings of the Pāli Nikāyas.
By carefully analyzing the descriptions of the four jhānas in the early Buddhist
texts in Pāli, their contexts, associations and meanings within the conceptual
framework of early Buddhism, the relationship between this central element in the
Buddhist path and ‘insight meditation’ becomes revealed in all its power.
Early Buddhist Meditation will be of interest to scholars of Buddhist studies and
Asian philosophies and religions, as well as Buddhist practitioners with a serious
interest in the process of insight meditation.
Keren Arbel holds a PhD in Buddhist Studies and teaches at the Department of
East Asian Studies in Tel Aviv University, Israel. Her research interests include
early Buddhism, Buddhist Meditation, Indian contemplative traditions and South
Asian Buddhism.
Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism
Edited by Stephen C. Berkwitz
Missouri State University, USA
Founding Editors : Charles S. Prebish and Damien Keown
Utah State University, USA and Goldsmith’s College, London University, UK
Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism is a comprehensive study of the Buddhist
tradition. The series explores this complex and extensive tradition from a variety
of perspectives, using a range of different methodologies.
T he series is diverse in its focus, including historical, philological, cultural and socio-
logical investigations into the manifold features and expressions of Buddhism world-
wide. It also presents works of constructive and refl ective analysis, including the role
of Buddhist thought and scholarship in a contemporary, critical context and in the light
of current social issues. The series is expansive and imaginative in scope, spanning more
than two and a half millennia of Buddhist history. It is receptive to all research works
that are of signifi cance and interest to the broader fi eld of Buddhist Studies.
Editorial advisory board
J ames A. Benn, McMaster University, Canada; Jinhua Chen, University of British Colum-
bia, Canada; Rupert Gethin, University of Bristol, UK; Peter Harvey, University of Sun-
derland, UK; Sallie King, James Madison University, USA; Anne Klein, Rice University,
USA; Lori Meeks, University of Southern California, USA; Ulrich Pagel, School of Ori-
ental and African Studies, UK; John Powers, Australian National University, Australia;
Juliane Schober, Arizona State University, USA; Vesna A. Wallace, University of Califor-
nia, Santa Barbara, USA; Michael Zimmermann, University of Hamburg, Germany
Tibetan Buddhism in Diaspora
Ana Cristina Lopes
Engendering the Buddhist State
Reconstructions of Cambodian History
Ashley Thompson
Ethical Practice and Religious Reform in Nepal
The Buddhist Art of Living
Lauren Leve
Early Buddhist Meditation
The Four Jhânas as the Actualization of Insight
Keren Arbel
Birth in Buddhism
The Suffering Fetus and Female Freedom
Amy Paris Langenberg
Early Buddhist Meditation
The Four Jhānas as the Actualization
of Insight
Keren Arbel
First published 2016
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2017 Keren Arbel
The right of Keren Arbel to be identifi ed as author of this work has
been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders for their
permission to reprint the material in this book. The publisher would be
grateful to hear from any copyright holder who is not here acknowledged
and will undertake to rectify any errors or omissions in future editions of
this book.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-1-138-93792-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-67604-3 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
To the most important people in my life:
my father and my mother
my brother
my soul mate, Yossi
With love and deep gratitude
Contents
Acknowledgements viii
Abbreviations x
Introduction 1
1 The Fourfold Jhāna Model: Buddhist or Not? 23
2 The First Jhāna: A Turning Point in the Spiritual Path 45
3 The Second Jhāna: Non-discursive Broad Field
of Awareness 86
4 Awakening Jhāna Factors 103
5 The Third Jhāna: Establishing a Specialized Form
of Awareness 115
6 The Fourth Jhāna: Non-reactive and Lucid Awareness
of the Phenomenal Field 124
7 Morality (sīla), Wisdom (paññā) and the Attainment
of the Jhānas 155
8 Reconsidering Samatha-bhāvanā, Vipassanā-
bhāvanā and Paññā-vimutti 173
Final Refl ections 199
Bibliography 202
Index 210
Acknowledgements
W riting this research was an adventure involving all aspects of life. It is the result
of many years of study and contemplations. Completing this project holds the joy
of remembering all those who have helped and supported me along this long but
fulfi lling journey. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere grati-
tude to all those who assisted me on this path and inspired my study, both directly
and indirectly. These pages refl ect my relationships with many generous and
inspiring people, some of whom I met personally and some who inspired me by
their writings. I cherish each of their contributions and feel deep appreciation.
First to Jacob Raz, my thesis supervisor at Tel Aviv University. I am deeply
grateful for his support, illuminating discussions and precious comments; I also
appreciate the profound impact he has had over the years on my thinking about
Buddhist practice and philosophy. I am grateful for his allowing me to enjoy the
freedom of study while supporting me at every step.
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Menachem Lorberbaum and
Ornan Rotem. Without their encouragement and support in the early stages of my
academic life, I would not have continued to graduate studies. I owe them a great
debt for their unlimited kindness when we barely knew each other. I will forever
be grateful to my MA supervisor, Rupert Gethin, whose writing on early Buddhism
initiated me into the fi eld of Buddhist Studies, inspired my thinking and motivated
my academic path. I am profoundly grateful to Meir Shahar for his generosity,
encouragement, friendship and unselfi sh help. I would also like to extend deep
thanks to Dr. Pushpa Kale, with whom I had the good fortune to read Pāli in her
home when I lived in Pune. I thank Professor P.D. Premasiri and Professor G.A.
Somaratne, for their kindness and willingness to share with me their knowledge
of Pāli and Buddhism, when I came to study in Sri Lanka. I want to thank Professor
Stanley Insler, who deepened my knowledge of Pāli when he took the time to read
Pāli texts with me when I visited Yale as a Fulbright fellow.
This work benefi ted from the inspired studies of scholars around the world such
as Tilmann Vetter, Sue Hamilton, Andrew Olendzki, Stuart Ray Sarbacker, Richard
Gombrich, Johanness Bronkhorst, Lance Cousins, K.R. Norman, Bhikkhu Anālayo
and Bhikkhu Bodhi. Without the research of all of these scholars, my project would
have been made much more diffi cult. I would like to express a special gratitude to
Peter Harvey, who generously converse with me and offered perceptive comments
which illuminated aspects I had not seen without his insights.
Acknowledgements ix
A major portion of C hapter 2 was published under the title “Joy (p īti) and Plea-
sure ( sukha) in the Early Buddhist Path to Awakening” in B uddhist Studies Review
32, no. 2 (2015). Thanks to the publisher for permission to reprint this material.
I would like to thank the Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism Series Editor,
Stephen Berkwitz, for his interest in the manuscript and the editorial team at Rout-
ledge Press who guided me through the many publication logistics. I thank, too,
Cynthia Col for copyediting the manuscript and for compiling the index. Thank
you to the Israel Science Foundation, which supported the publication of this book.
T o my invaluable network of supportive and loving friends: Vered Lam, Shiri
Shoham, Dana Merzel, Orit Kahana, Erez Joskovich and Iris Toister. A deep grati-
tude to Shlomo Shantideva Springer, with whom I have had many deep and pro-
ductive discussions over the years about the Buddhist path. I would like to express
my gratitude to Daniel Stambler for his patience, kindness and helpful comments
when editing the PhD. Many other friends and colleagues gave me strength along
the way. I apologize for not mentioning all of them by name.
I am deeply grateful to my Dharma teachers, Rob Burbea, Shaila Catherine,
Kittisaro, Thanissara, Stephen Batchelor and Joseph Goldstein, who inspired my
practice, deepened my understanding and enriched my scholastic writing.
N o acknowledgements would be complete without appreciating wholeheartedly
my parents, who have supported me in all my pursuits. Without their unconditional
love, unfailing support and encouragement, I would never have been able to
choose this path and follow it through. With all my heart, I wish to thank them and
my loving and supporting brother, Avri, for their complete confi dence in me and
utter understanding during the long years of research which took me all over the
world. I have been blessed with the most supportive and loving family; thank you.
L ast, but certainly not least, I wish to express my eternal gratefulness to my
loving partner, Yossi, my k alyāṇa-mitta . Thank you for your limitless encourage-
ment, love and support, which has allowed me to delve deeply into this experience
without worrying where it will take me. Thank you for always being there and for
being a full-fl edged partner in this journey. Thank you from the bottom of my
heart.
