Jhana

PURE MIND SUMMARY

The Eight Jhānas & the Nature of Knowing

By G. Ross Clark

For the part of me that is learning to rest as awareness.
“Love is Everything.”

I. The Eight Jhānas — The Meditative Stages

Stage Name (Pāli) Essence / Characteristics
1. First Jhāna Paṭhama-jhāna Applied & sustained attention; rapture (pīti); bliss (sukha); one-pointedness (ekaggatā).
2. Second Jhāna Dutiya-jhāna Thinking subsides; deep joy and inner stillness.
3. Third Jhāna Tatiya-jhāna Joy fades; calm happiness and balanced awareness arise.
4. Fourth Jhāna Catuttha-jhāna Complete equanimity (upekkhā); pure, steady mindfulness.
5. Infinite Space Ākāsānañcāyatana Awareness expands into boundless space.
6. Infinite Consciousness Viññāṇañcāyatana Consciousness knows itself as infinite.
7. Nothingness Ākiñcaññāyatana Perception of “no-thing”; deep peaceful absence.
8. Neither Perception nor Non-Perception Nevasaññā-nāsaññāyatana Subtlest balance; perception nearly ceases.

II. Practising the Jhānas

  1. Ground in ethics (sīla).

  2. Develop steady mindfulness on a simple object (e.g., breath).

  3. Allow joy to arise naturally; remain relaxed yet attentive.

  4. Refine by letting go of coarser joys into deeper calm.

  5. Move gradually from form to formless awareness through spaciousness, consciousness, and nothingness.

The first four jhānas cultivate profound calm and purity of mind; the higher four refine consciousness itself.

III. Knowingness and Equanimity

Knowing / Knowingness Equanimity (Upekkhā)
Nature The immediate cognizing of experience. Balanced, non-reactive awareness.
Function Illuminates truth; sees impermanence. Frees from craving and aversion.
Relationship When knowing is clear, equanimity arises. When equanimity matures, knowing stabilizes.

In the Fourth Jhāna, the two merge: “mindfulness purified by equanimity.”

IV. Pure Awareness, Pure Mind, Knowingness, Equanimity

Aspect Orientation Description
Pure Awareness Non-dual The open field of awareness itself.
Pure Mind Ethical-psychological Mind free from greed, hatred, delusion.
Knowingness Phenomenological Simple presence that knows experience.
Equanimity Emotional-attitudinal Even-minded acceptance of all states.

They are four facets of the same clear reality — awareness seen from different angles.

V. Everyday Practice

  1. Pause and know: notice sensations, thoughts, feelings.

  2. Let be: do not grasp or resist.

  3. Recognize: “This, too, is known.”

  4. Rest as awareness: the still mind knows naturally.

  5. Respond with kindness: this is equanimity in action.

Jhāna builds stillness; knowingness and equanimity keep that stillness alive in daily life.

VI. Summary Table

Aspect Jhānas Knowing / Equanimity
Path Concentration (samatha) Insight (vipassanā)
Mode Absorptive, inward Open, present, flexible
Goal Purified peace Liberation through wisdom
Use Retreat practice Everyday mindfulness

The Eight Jhānas & the Nature of Knowing

by G. Ross Clark  •  Pure Mind Series

Explore this concise summary of the Eight Jhānas and the qualities of
Pure Awareness, Knowingness, and Equanimity in Theravāda Buddhist practice.
Designed for study, reflection, or teaching—this single-page guide distills the path from concentration to insight.

Love is Everything

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