If practitioners wish to go on to the fourth shamatha jhana,
they cultivate the third jhana and begin to pay attention to the fact that
even the cool bodily bliss is somewhat irritating or noisy,
and that the mind is still not as spacious and evenly balanced
across the field of experience as it could be.
Also,
the out-of-phase elements in the third jhana
that can lead to some of its positives, restful qualities may
begin to feel wrong, strained, and distorted in some way.
Eventually,
the mind will abandon the third jhana and shift into the fourth jhana which,
when strongly developed, is the height of equanimity.
This state is remarkable in its simple spaciousness and acceptance.
The extreme degree of imperturbability would be astounding
if there were not such pronounced imperturbability.
This is by far the most restful of the first four jhanas.
Fourth is quite a high attainment, and can easily be confused with
the goal of the spiritual life, though it very much is not.
That said,
it can seem so ordinary when it occurs in some less-developed way
that people might not even notice much about it.
However,
when it is achieved in its hard-jhana form,
it can be truly amazing in its depths of peace, vastness, openness, and silence.
Like the previous jhanas,
it can vary a lot in its specifics depending on the object we used to get there.
From this state, practitioners have quite a number of options:
1) get stuck;
2) move on to the formless realms (the fifth through eighth jhanas);
3) cultivate the experiences that are often described as “psychic powers”
(much more on that perennially touchy topic later);
4) access more exotic and unusual jhanic attainments; or
5) investigate this state while remaining in it so as to
attain insight by noticing the shifting nature of the qualities of the jhana and space
themselves as they occur,
which tends to have a much more fluxing, flowing, inclusive quality than
investigation done from within the lower jhanas.
When investigating this state,
special attention must absolutely be given to the fact that
the myriad sensations that make up equanimity, ease, peace, and spaciousness
come and go moment to moment,
do not satisfy or provide a permanent resting place,
and are not self or its property.
This article was Inspired by
Buddha’s step by step instructions to obtain Enlightenment
as refined by The Arahant Daneil M. Ingram.
