Concentration
Samādhi Sutta (AN 4:41)
“Monks, these are the four developments of concentration. Which four? There is the development of concentration that, when developed & pursued, leads to a pleasant abiding in the here & now. There is the development of concentration that, when developed & pursued, leads to the attainment of knowledge & vision. There is the development of concentration that, when developed & pursued, leads to mindfulness & alertness. There is the development of concentration that, when developed & pursued, leads to the ending of the effluents.
“And what is the development of concentration that, when developed & pursued, leads to a pleasant abiding in the here & now? There is the case where a monk—quite secluded from sensuality, secluded from unskillful qualities—enters & remains in the first jhāna: rapture & pleasure born of seclusion, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation. With the stilling of directed thoughts & evaluations, he enters & remains in the second jhāna: rapture & pleasure born of concentration, unification of awareness free from directed thought & evaluation—internal assurance. With the fading of rapture, he remains equanimous, mindful, & alert, and senses pleasure with the body. He enters & remains in the third jhāna, of which the noble ones declare, ‘Equanimous & mindful, he has a pleasant abiding.’ With the abandoning of pleasure & pain—as with the earlier disappearance of elation & distress—he enters & remains in the fourth jhāna: purity of equanimity & mindfulness, neither pleasure nor pain. This is the development of concentration that, when developed & pursued, leads to a pleasant abiding in the here & now.1
“And what is the development of concentration that, when developed & pursued, leads to the attainment of knowledge & vision? There is the case where a monk attends to the perception of light and is resolved on the perception of daytime (at any hour of the day). Day (for him) is the same as night, night is the same as day. By means of an awareness open & unhampered, he develops a brightened mind. This is the development of concentration that, when developed & pursued, leads to the attainment of knowledge & vision.2
“And what is the development of concentration that, when developed & pursued, leads to mindfulness & alertness? There is the case where feelings are known to the monk as they arise, known as they persist, known as they subside. Perceptions are known to him as they arise, known as they persist, known as they subside. Thoughts are known to him as they arise, known as they persist, known as they subside. This is the development of concentration that, when developed & pursued, leads to mindfulness & alertness.3
“And what is the development of concentration that, when developed & pursued, leads to the ending of the effluents? There is the case where a monk remains focused on arising & falling away with reference to the five clinging-aggregates: ‘Such is form, such its origination, such its passing away. Such is feeling, such its origination, such its passing away. Such is perception, such its origination, such its passing away. Such are fabrications, such their origination, such their passing away. Such is consciousness, such its origination, such its passing away.’ This is the development of concentration that, when developed & pursued, leads to the ending of the effluents.4
“These are the four developments of concentration.
“And it was in connection with this that I stated in Puṇṇaka’s Question in the Way to the Far Shore [Sn 5:3]:
‘He who has fathomed
the far & near in the world,
for whom there is nothing
perturbing in the world5—
his vices evaporated,
undesiring, untroubled,
at peace—
he, I tell you, has crossed over birth
& aging.’”
Notes
1. For more on the first development of concentration, see AN 5:28.
2. For more on the second development of concentration, see SN 51:20 and AN 5:28.
3. For more on the third development of concentration, see MN 118, MN 149, SN 54:8, and AN 8:70. MN 111 and MN 121, which discuss the perceptions and feelings that arise and disappear on shifting from one level of concentration to another would also seem to be relevant here.
4. The difference between the third and fourth developments of concentration is apparently that in the fourth, the aggregates are viewed not only in terms of their arising but also their origination: what causes them to arise. For more on the fourth development of concentration, see MN 52, SN 22:5, AN 4:124, AN 4:126, AN 5:28, and AN 9:36.
It is sometimes argued that the first development of concentration is the only one that falls under the four jhānas, but the passages cited in these notes all show that jhāna is involved in all four developments. The difference lies in how the practice of jhāna is used.
5. Imperturbability is a quality of concentration that allows it to be used for the second and fourth developments of concentration (see MN 4). For more on imperturbable concentration, see MN 66 and MN 106. On an even higher level, the arahant’s mind is said to be imperturbable in the face of all sensory input. On this point, see AN 6:55.
