Jhana meditation – extending and deepening your practice
In previous blogs I have written an introduction to the jhana meditations and why the Buddha considered them important, and also a brief note on a change in my subjective experience of them (see ‘Sources’ below for links). The change didn’t last by the way... In this blog I share some ideas on how jhana meditations could be deepened and extended for those who have some experience of them, including the experiences of reaching access concentration and of entering one or more of the jhanic states. For practitioners who feel comfortable about accessing the four material and four immaterial jhanas, deepening your practice might involve: • Refining your mastery of holding, exploring and then moving between states • Extending the application of these states, and • Integrating them into broader spiritual goals, such as insight in Buddhist traditions or deeper awareness of God in Christian traditions. Here are some suggestio...