In a previous article, we spoke about the first four Jhanas, or meditative absorptions. In this article we discuss in brief the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth Jhanas.
The first four absorptions are called rupa-jhanas in Pali where rupa means body and jhana means absorption – this means that whilst the experience we may have is familiar to us, such as joy and contentment, it would feel more refined.
The fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth Jhanas are referred to as arupa-jhanas, where the “a” is translated as “not” which means that the experience in these jhanas is not like what we have consciously experienced before and are purely spiritual in nature.
Ayya Khema in her book 'Visible Here and Now' 2001, pg.116, said that, “the jhanas are comparable to a house with eight rooms. While staying in one room of the house, we may decide to visit another one, but we can also stay put. The decision to go into another room means inclining and aiming the mind in that direction. This decision opens up our consciousness to something new and prevents the rejection of what can’t be grasped by the senses.”
The Buddha said that while we shouldn’t force anything, we can continuously open ourselves up to the next stage.
The Fifth Jhana – infinite space
This is where there is an expansion of the body until there are no more limits. One can visualise this perhaps as a camera zooming out from a person, to a house, to a suburb, a country, the earth, the solar system, the universe, the multiverse to infinity.
This can lead to a feeling that worldly things are not that important and don’t affect us so much. In this infinity, one can start to feel the sense of no “I”.
The Sixth Jhana – infinite consciousness
The experience of infinite space moves into infinite consciousness. This is where we become aware of the consciousness in us that is aware of the infinite space.
This is the realisation that the “I” is not separate and there is only a whole that the “I” is a part of. The droplet becomes aware that it is a part of, and not separate to, the ocean.
Of course, we still need to live in the material world with this awareness, but being aware of the oneness and that everything passes away can help us with clinging to things too tightly which can cause suffering.
The Seventh Jhana – the “sphere of no-thingness”
Science and physics indicate that matter is energy vibrating at a different level and matter is interchangeable with energy (Albert Einstein’s famous E=mc2 equation).
So energy comes together and disperses. We (and everything else) is merely a movement of energy, contracting and expanding. Even our body regenerates cells and does not stay the same.
Some people have been reported as being able to levitate or pass through walls - they have truly understood that “there is nothing but particles of energy that come together and disperse”. (Ayya Khema “Visible Here and Now” 2001, pg. 119). This is a deep understanding that there is really nothing to cling to.
The Eighth Jhana – the “sphere of neither perception or non-perception”
The eighth jhana is a profound infinite depth of rest and stillness in body and mind that excludes perception. It is not a trance like state where one emerges feeling groggy and tired, but rather where one emerges full of energy and awake.
What can this mean for us…
If we continue with our practice and experience these different levels of consciousness, it is impossible not to have a changed consciousness in everyday life.
The Buddha said about the jhanas: "It is impossible to calculate the breadth of influence of a person who practices the jhanas".
Even if a person sits in a cave and pays no attention to worldly matters, he or she has a powerful influence on what takes place in the world (Ayya Khema “Visible Here and Now” 2001, pg. 120).
Reference: Visible Here and Now, 2001 by Ayya Khema