Talk Twelve: Knowledge of Equanimity and Jhāna (Step by Step)

(Recounting the teaching on ānāpānasati)

In the beginning, it is helpful to practice with the eyes closed. Once one knows how to do it properly, practice with open eyes is also possible. If ānāpāna is practiced correctly, it can lead to insight; otherwise, it may end in samatha practice alone. This point was also emphasized by Mye Zin Sayadaw in his explanation of developing the light nimitta.

If one focuses only on the light nimitta, it leads to samatha. However, if the yogi contemplates sensations—such as warmth and coolness at the nostrils, or the movements of the abdomen—the rising and falling of the abdomen is contemplation of the four elements.

Ānāpāna arises continuously, and the khandhas likewise rise and fall continuously; they share the same nature. To take ānāpāna as “my contemplation” is a form of wrong view (diṭṭhi). This is because sati, viriya, and samādhi are not possessed by one individual alone; they are universal qualities that arise according to conditions.

If practice collapses through clinging to self, this is truly a tragedy. However, a yogi can resume practice if diṭṭhi has already been stripped away prior to the development of knowledge. In this regard, the Mogok Dhamma talks are particularly helpful.

Each time the in-breath exists, there is arising; when it no longer exists, there is vanishing. The same applies to the out-breath. There is no need to label or name it—knowing it is sufficient.

If no object arises from the six sense doors, the yogi should contemplate the rising and falling of the in- and out-breaths; otherwise, the practice will revert to samatha.

There are two modes of contemplation:

1. Contemplating objects arising from the six sense doors, relying on sati.
2. Relying on samādhi, by attentively collecting and stabilizing the mind on an object.

Some ask whether, when pain is present and a sound is heard, one should turn to contemplate the sound instead. The answer is yes, if hearing is more distinctive at that moment. This is not a matter of searching for an object. When there is no pain, but hearing arises, contemplation naturally occurs in the present moment.

Collected contemplation with samādhi power means, for example, contemplating pain at the painful spot until it falls away, without turning toward other objects that may arise. This requires strong sati and viriya, and great care: one must not contemplate with the desire for the pain to disappear. Otherwise, kilesa will intrude.

When samādhi is collected upon non-sameness objects—that is, changing phenomena such as pain—the yogi discerns their rising and falling. Pain does not arise as a single mass, but as a series of aching blips, moment by moment. At first, anicca is seen only inclusively, not yet with sharp distinction.

As ñāṇa develops, the yogi begins to see dissolutions clearly and precisely, and insight becomes far clearer than before. (This continues into the subsequent stages of insight knowledge.)

At the time when desire for deliverance arises, the arisings begin to appear similar in nature. Rising and falling seem equal; pain appears as “one, two,” thoughts as “one, two,” and so forth. Here, each arising phenomenon clearly displays the process of arising and vanishing.

Previously, contemplation required time, but now the life span of anicca becomes equalized. Some people mistake a comfortable or stable sitting posture for the knowledge of equanimity, but this is incorrect. A good sitting posture is not equanimity. Equanimity consists solely in knowing arising and vanishing.

At this stage, arisings are short, even, and uniform, appearing section by section, closely following one another. “Closer rising and falling” does not mean knowing phenomena vaguely or inclusively, as some yogis assume. That indistinct knowing belongs to immature knowledge.

When knowledge is immature, many saṅkhāra dhammas arise simultaneously, and the yogi does not know which object to contemplate, leading to confusion. When knowledge becomes sharp, the yogi can contemplate precisely and without confusion. This calm, balanced contemplation is equanimity.

Equanimity means contemplating without making choices. It is also equanimity to experience phenomena without judging them as good or bad. These are the strengths of equanimity.

To give an analogy: if fresh paint is applied over paint that has not yet dried, the surface will not appear clear. In the same way, at the beginning, defilements have not yet thinned, so insight is not clear. As the kilesas thin out, the yogi sees all phenomena as having the same nature, clear and without distinctions.

This stage differs from the knowledge of disenchantment. There, rising and falling are equal, but the field of contemplation is broader, and thoughts can still arise between objects, similar to what occurs in the jhāna process.

At this time, gooseflesh may arise, and happiness may also appear. With each contemplation, the mind feels cool and refreshed. If such factors arise at this stage, they are to be understood as factors of enlightenment, not as corruptions of insight.

These are not the same kinds of rapture (pīti) as those experienced at the beginning when seeing anicca. In the early stage, before clear discernment, a glossy or bright appearance of anicca may arise and lead to rapture. Now, however, rapture arises from discerning the truth of dukkha. This rapture is born from contemplation of truth, not from delight in appearance.

These raptures also need to be contemplated. Depending on which bojjhaṅga (factor of enlightenment) is predominant, different types of jhāna may arise. For example, one must know them correctly as Path knowledge (magga) together with the corresponding jhāna levels—first jhāna, second jhāna, and so on.

When Path knowledge arises, rapture and first jhāna arise together (conascent). With continued effort and repeated moments of pīti, higher jhānas may arise. For this type of yogi, if the mind inclines toward pīti, it can arise at any time.

However, there is an important distinction:

Whatever arises at the six sense doors, when it is contemplated correctly, vipassanā pīti arises. Therefore, vipassanā jhāna is more stable.

(Some forest monks and scholars believe that only samatha has jhāna and therefore doubt the commentaries, but this view is incomplete.)

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