We have shown that Buddha made a breakthrough in meditation to a higher state, leaving aside the Brahmanic Realization. But what did he accomplish by this at that moment? Actually very little. His meditation was not intense and although it was memorable it did not have great significance for him.
We may suppose with an educated guess that his meditation was upon Suffering, but perhaps that is too great a simplification.
The future development of this meditation many years later led to what is termed the Four Noble Truths:
The Truth of Suffering
The Truth of the Source of Suffering
The Truth of the End of Suffering
The Eightfold Path to End Suffering
All Buddhist groups accept these four as basic ideas of their system, but from a true Buddha Dharma position, removed from the rigid structure of an antiquated Buddhism, we can examine these in a way that is different from the traditional and more appropriate.
The Truth of Suffering is that all sentient creatures with Identity and accompanying Duality suffer.
The Truth of the source of Suffering is that it has no real substance and is generated by the mind as delusion.
The Truth of the end of Suffering is that when the mind is seen to be the source of all delusion and illusion then Suffering ceases to exist.
If we review these first three truths, then we can take quite a different view than the traditional that throws greater light upon the true Buddha Dharma position. Anagarika Govinda expressed it well when he declared these truths not to be the Noble Truths of Suffering, but the Noble Truths of True Happiness, it being understood that this Happiness is not of the mundane variety.
Buddha during his early meditation and during all his years of austerity was viewing all from an egocentric position. Although his meditation topic may have been Human Suffering, his internal motivation was to discover the Happiness of all human creatures, including himself.
What did he encounter in his meditation under the rose-apple tree? We must believe that it was no more than the first Noble Truth. All is indeed Suffering for all human creatures. Yet that for us is of little importance at the moment. What is important is that the door to a more profound meditation was opened.
A SYSTEMATIC DESCRIPTION OF BUDDHA'S PROBABLE ROSE-APPLE TREE MEDITATION
The First Absorption (Pathama-jhana) has five factors (vitakka, vicara, piti, sukkha, upekkha). When there is a correctly balanced meditation they disperse the Five Hindrances.
The Second Absorption (Dutiya-jhana) consists of two factors (piti, sukkha), which suppress vitakka and vicara.
The Third Absorption (Tatiya-jhana) has one factor (sukkha), which eliminates piti.
The Fourth Absorption (Catuttha-jhana), which dispenses with sukkha, has one factor (upekkha—indifferent feeling).
The first step in Buddha's Rose-Apple Tree meditation was the structuring of his meditation, which is effectively a pre-planning in which the topic, called a device, is selected and any subtleties in the meditation are planned.
This meditation, either by design or due to the great agitation of his mind concerning his inquietude with regard to his life and the four experiences in the village, resulted in an inability to develop the normal Jhanas with ordinary Concentration or with Brahmanic Realization.
The result was that Vitakka was filled with the non-verbal torrent of cognitive thoughts and associations regarding the device, which we can assume was Suffering.
But we must remember that Vitakka is not a state of anxiety or worry, but a state where the topic is set and organized. The characteristic of Vitakka is the placing of consciousness (Citta or mind) on the chosen theme of meditation.
Vitakka is a mental factor that happens in the mind, but does not occur for everyone. If Vitakka lifts consciousness to the meditation theme, the mind will be firmly fixed on the object. But if consciousness is lifted to attach itself to objects or random topics other than the meditation theme, then it will be impossible for the mind to be in the state of meditation. If consciousness is not placed on any object, then it will fall into a passive state (bhavanga) in which no mental progress can be made.
Gotama Buddha had no problem with bringing the meditation topic to the Vitakka state.
The First Jhana Absorption
The First Absorption (Pathama-jhana) has five factors (vitakka, vicara, piti, sukkha, upekkha).
The ringing of a bell: Vitakka is the first moment of the mind achieving focus on the theme, like the striking of a bell. Vicara is the subsequent continuance of consciousness on the meditation object, without conceptual awareness of the bell itself, allowing the reverberation of the bell to continue as support.
The mind is nourished relative to the topic (device) and it is prevented from falling from the state of meditation.
Vicara is ‘sustained thinking’ and its direct function is to take over after Vitakka has completely lifted consciousness to the meditation theme. At that point, Vicara sustains the meditation. The Vitakka mental conceptions are let go so that there is neither a meditation or a meditator nor a conscious device of meditation.
In Buddha's meditation he brought the topic (Suffering) to the meditation level and allowed the Vicara support of Suffering to sustain the subject within the meditation.
He thus with Vitakka no longer experienced letting go of verbal mental concomitants and associations, he released Vicara.
The Second Jhana Absorption (Dutiya-jhana)
It consists of two factors (piti and sukkha), which at this point suppress Vitakka and Vicara.
His mind experienced the mental EXPERIENCE of Suffering, namely the TRUTH OF SUFFERING without mental impediments.
In the second Jhana therefore Buddha experienced Piti and Sukkha.
Piti is ‘rapture’ or the feeling of full contentment resulting from the peace of mind achieved in Samadhi. Piti can happen in many forms and manifests itself in different ways to various meditators, depending upon their temperament.
There are five different forms of Piti. That which Buddha experienced, for he had extensive Jhana training with the Brahmanic system, was Pharana-piti, a suffusing or all-pervading joy. This form of rapture radiates all over the body and one experiences ecstasy.
The Sukkha or "bliss" experienced by Buddha at this time was both physically and mentally blissful (kaya-passaddhi and citta-passaddhi). Generally, piti and sukkha occur together because piti delights in attaining to the desired object, whereas sukkha (bliss) is the enjoyment of what is attained. So when there is rapture there is always bliss.
Rapture is considered an aggregate of mental formations, whereas bliss is considered an aggregate of discrimination.
Bliss in Jhana is of a very high intensity and is incomparable to mundane worldly happiness.
Mundane happiness arising from clinging and craving and thus is mixed with suffering. Buddha then experienced both rapture and blisss free from the experience of Suffering. That is effectively seeing the potential end of Suffering, which is the Third Noble Truth.
It must be clearly remembered that this was Buddha's first trance beyond the limits of the Brahmanic Jhana system. Therefore the intensity of the experience and a deeper understanding of what was occurring does not assume the full understanding of the First Noble Truth of Suffering nor that cessation of Suffering.
What he experienced were rudimentary experiences which were indelible in his mind, but without transcendental substance. However, they formed the base of later meditations of this form leading to a formal presentation of the Four Noble Truths.
A) Khuddaka-piti—Minor rapture includes symptoms such as hairs standing on end or tears flowing, sometimes in copious amounts. This form of piti occurs often but not for long durations. Some meditators will experience this form of piti only on rare occasions, others will experience it regularly, while some will not experience this form at all.
B) Khanika-piti—Momentary joy. This form of rapture occurs in a moment, like the flash of a slight shock of electricity, sometimes like the gentle tickle of small insects crawling over the face, or like cobwebs brushing the face. Sometimes the body jerks, or the backbone jolts, or the rapid rushing of the blood through the veins will be felt. This piti is experienced by every meditator, but in different ways depending upon temperament.
C) Okkantika-piti—The showering, or flood of joy. Being more thrilling than khanika-piti, it is stronger than a slight shock of electricity. It is more like waves breaking on the seashore. Sometimes it is like sailing on the ocean, being tossed by the waves, and the body is rocked repeatedly.
D) Ubbenga-piti—Uplifting joy or transporting rapture. This form of rapture makes the mind fluffy; sometimes it causes unintentional acts like exclamations.
E) Pharana-piti—suffusing or all-pervading joy. This form of piti radiates all over the body.
The Third Jhana Absorption
(Tatiya-jhana)
It has one factor (sukkha), which at this level eliminates piti.
Sukkha (bliss) is the enjoyment of what is attained. What then Buddha experienced was the clear brightness of the cognitive mind free from all impediments. Later this may well have formed the base of the Second Noble Truth, for it is from such an uncontaminated mind that Suffering and all other mental impediments arise.
The Fourth Jhana Absorption
(Catuttha-jhana)
It dispenses with sukkha, and has one factor present.
That factor has been termed upekkha, equanimity, and although it is not in any way an intelectual indifference it is not the same as the Equanimity spoken of within the Four Sublime States. There equanimity is best termed Tatramajjhattata, which is regarded as both a moral and an intellectual equanimity.
In this Jhana then Buddha experienced a balanced equanimity when Sukkha fell away. Thus there was no clinging to the former state.
This fourth Jhana being the end of the series actually in Jhana meditation serves as the platform for the four higher Jhanas.
Apart from understanding the fount of Buddha's future emphasis upon Suffering and its cessation, what have we learned?
That when one enters into Jhana meditation without a restraining factor which actually determines the path, the mind is free to go where it will.
This free access to the mind space, held firm however with a non-restrained topic within Vitakka and Vicara, allows a deeper penetration of the "topic" or "device" of the meditation.
In other words, it allows the full cognitive EXPERIENCE of the topic to appear together with the changing factors of the four Jhanas.
While the topic of a meditation in and of itself is not present after the first Jhana, the post-meditative reflections (discernments) regarding that topic are changed by the meditative experience.
NOTE: There are seven unconscious states which we deal with here. We say that they are not perceived because they are without perception.
(Non-perception here is the state where Name and Form are NOT present).
The seven unpercieved states, known as a result of direct experiences and inference, are:
Nirodha
Dharmas of the Masculine Principle
Latent Formations of Samsara
Parinama Transformations
Jivana - Vitality
Cesra - Volition
Sakti, the capacity of producing action
These unperceived states flow like a river, from source to delta, consistent with natural law. It is Consciousness that generates all turbulence.