“Also we are apt to be appalled when we find ‘discrimination’ roundly condemned, as all the Masters condemn it, and then, on the next page, ‘discrimination’ lauded as a high and essential activity of the bodhisattva. The explanation is simple enough once it is understood. Discrimination on the plane of seeming is equivalent to identification and attachment, for it is affective; but discrimination on the plane of intuitive cognition is neither more nor less than vision of Reality.”


~ Wei Wu Wei, from Fingers Pointing Towards The Moon

Taoist Meditation

Taoist meditation is typically spoken of in terms of Turning the Light Around and Keeping the One (aka Embracing the One) – both of which are related to Developing the Witness Consciousness.

The term most frequently employed – in Buddhist and Hindu as well as in Taoist traditions -- to describe deepening levels of concentration that unfold in the context of meditation practice is Samadhi. This essay will introduce a number of terms related to Samadhi, along with a couple of traditional frameworks for understanding its various levels.

Dhyana – Jhana – Ch’an - Zen

Dhyana is a Sanskrit term generally translated into English as “meditation.” The Pali equivalent of Dhyana is Jhana. Sanskrit and Pali are languages originally associated with the Buddhist and Vedic (Hindu) traditions of ancient India. In traveling to China, the word Dhyana became Ch’an, and in traveling to Japan it became Zen. The take-home point here is that all four of these words – Dhyana, Jhana, Ch’an and Zen – have been and continue to be used interchangeably to mean “meditation.”

How does Samadhi fit into this scheme? Samadhi – meditative absorption – is a byproduct, outcome or fruition of meditation practice. In other words, one of the results of a deep meditation practice is Samadhi.

Where it gets a bit confusing is that Dhyana and Jhana can be used to refer not only to meditation practice in a general sense, but also – more specifically – to various levels of meditation that are associated with various levels of Samadhi. In these more specific meanings, Dhyana and Jhana become more-or-less equivalent to Samadhi.

In short: the words Dhyana and Jhana can be used as the equivalent of Samadhi – or to refer to a practice whose fruit is Samadhi.

Patanjali’s Eight Limbs Of Yoga

The Ashtanga (eight-limb) Yoga of Patanjali is among the more well-known maps of spiritual unfolding which include both Dhyana and Samadhi. The eight limbs of this system are:

1. Yama : Universal morality
2. Niyama : Personal observances
3. Asanas : Body postures
4. Pranayama : Breathing exercises, and control/freeing of prana
5. Pratyahara : Control or turning inward of the senses
6. Dharana : Concentration and cultivation of intuitive ways of knowing
7. Dhyana : Meditation
8. Samadhi : Meditative absorption or union with the Divine

Notice that in this schema Samadhi is a distinct stage – the outcome of Dhyana (meditation). In its meaning as “union with the Divine,” it signifies the end of the journey. However, though the stages are traditionally listed in this sequence, it’s understood also that their development at certain points becomes interwoven and simultaneous, rather than strictly sequential. The various stages are mutually enhancing; they provide nourishment for one another.

Ramana Maharshi & Sahaja Samadhi

In the Advaita Vedanta tradition, the sage Ramana Maharshi describes Sahaja Samadhi as follows:

“Sahaja samadhi is a state in which a silent level within the subject is maintained along with (simultaneously with) the full use of the human faculties.”

Read more: Simultaneous Mind & The Mysterious Pass

The Nine Dhyanas (Jhanas) Of Theravada Buddhism

Theravada Buddhism outlines Nine Dhyanas (Jhanas) as stages of Samadhi (meditative absorption) that set the stage for and then culminate in enlightenment or self-realization. So here, the terms Dhyana and Samadhi are used interchangeably.

These stages describe a process of refinement, in which relatively coarse or gross levels of perception are dissolved to reveal more subtle ones – which then become “gross” in relation to even more subtle layers. The process corresponds to a deep level of physical, mental and emotional relaxation along with increasing mental clarity.

The categories as such are in a certain sense arbitrary – just one of many ways of “slicing the pie” of meditative experience. Yet because the descriptions are based upon reports of many generations of meditation practitioners, they’re not entirely arbitrary -- and can be useful signposts.

Think of these stages as being akin to the different eco-systems one encounters, when hiking from the rim of the Grand Canyon down to the Colorado River. Though precise demarcations are impossible, nevertheless it’s meaningful to designate the differences, based upon clear distinctions in plant and animal life and geological formations.

In the following excerpt from Twenty-Five Doors to Meditation: A Handbook for Entering Samadhi, William Bodri and Lee Shu-Mei do a nice job of cross-referencing Taoist, Buddhist and Hindu Yoga ways of describing these progressive levels.

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"Now, since the nine samadhi are nondenominational in nature, you also simply use them because they produce the effects intended: religion doesn’t even enter into the picture. And since the nine samadhi are themselves naturally occurring states of mind that manifest as the mind becomes purer through “resting,” no one can argue that the samadhi are unnatural, evil, or artificial creations. Their sequence of manifestation and their individual characteristics can even be described as quite natural, or even scientific in nature. Hence the principles revealed within this text for attaining the samadhi are not just empty philosophical thought and theories, but actually produce the results described.

It is beyond the scope of this introductory text to discuss the nature of the nine samadhi in detail. However, it’s useful to at least know their names and general rudimentary characteristics, which run as follows:

1. The first dhyana is characterized by one-pointed concentration, physical bliss, and mental joy. Taoists say that in this stage your thoughts stop because you’ve reached an initial degree of mental cessation. This dhyana corresponds to initial entry into the Form Realm heavens, has three levels, and is sometimes called the Joyous Ground of Separating from Production. In his Yoga-Sutra, Patanjali calls this vitarka-samadhi. If you attain this samadhi, you’ve greatly freed yourself from the lust for food and sexual relations.

2. The second dhyana is characterized by one-pointed concentration, inner clarity (purity), and a much higher stage of physical bliss and mental joy. In this stage, we say that your chi (qi) stops and in terms of the physical body, your external respiration has certainly ceased by this stage. This samadhi corresponds to accomplishment in the Form Realm heavens, has three levels, and is sometimes called the Joyous Ground of Producing Samadhi. Patanjali calls this the stage of vicara-samadhi.

3. The third dhyana is characterized by one-pointed concentration, equanimity, mindfulness, and an even higher stage of physical bliss. Taoists says that in this absorption, your pulse can stop. The dhyana has three levels and is sometimes called the Wonderful Blissful Ground of Separating from Joy. This is the stage of ananda-samadhi, mentioned in the classical yoga schools. Naturally, its main characteristic is physical bliss as ananda means bliss.

4. The fourth dhyana is characterized by one-pointed concentration, completely pure equanimity, and neutrality. In this stage, one’s mind is extremely clear, which can be described as a great emptiness due to the absence of thoughts. It corresponds to the top of the Form Realm heavens, has nine levels, and is sometimes referred to as the Pure Ground of Renouncing Thought. This is the asmita-samadhi of classical yoga.

5. The samadhi of infinite (boundless) space is also known as the Samadhi of infinite form, and corresponds to initial entry into the Formless Realm heavens.

6. The samadhi of infinite (boundless) consciousness, a samadhi of the Formless Realm, can be described as an experiential state of consciousness-only.

7. The samadhi of nothingness, another Formless Realm samadhi, is hard to describe. The best we can say is that nothing is taken to mind, and so we use the word “nothingness” for lack of better words. In this stage of samadhi you view even consciousness as gross and so you abide in a state where there are no such discriminations at all.

8. The samadhi of neither thought nor no-thought (without thought and without no-thought, or neither perception nor non-perception) corresponds to the very top of the Formless Realm heavens and so is also called the Peak of Cyclic Existence.

9. The Arhat’s nirvana (with remainder), because of its requisite stage of prajna-wisdom attainment, is a samadhi found only in Buddhism.

After these nine samadhi comes the stage of enlightenment or self-realization, which we call Tao. This is the stage of the bodhisattvas and buddhas who work in the world helping others; their bodies function in the world of form but their minds transcend all mundane reality."

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Of Related Interest:

* About Time – The Past, Present & Future Of Nondual Spiritual Practice
* Guide Review of David Loy’s Nonduality: A Study In Comparative Philosophy