Studies in the Origins of Buddhism c19.s1.27

c19.s1.27

The Nature of Jhanas.—Jhānic practice, it is apparent, does not aim at producing a state of auto-suggested hypnosis or of coma.¹³⁵ Vitality in the sense of mental energy and lucidity is not lowered but enhanced. On the other hand, Jhāna, as has been pointed out, is not “meditation”.¹³⁶ A suspension of “thought” as of ‘feeling’ was of its essence.¹³⁷ What resulted was not a state akin to sleep or coma, but rather of the mind stilled or hushed before leaping into a far-reaching intuition. The theory was that in the depth of the still and even consciousness reality mirrored itself as in unruffled waters.¹³⁸ Transcendental knowledge (Paññā)¹³⁹ was not the result of the discursive efforts of the mind; it revealed itself spontaneously.