Jhanas

Jhana is the Pali word for mental or meditative absorption, and in Buddhist meditation, the jhanas refer to states of deep concentration attainable through practice.

IdeasMagazine | Feature

The Jhana Underground

The mid-20th century Theravada reforms favored vipassana (insight) over samatha (concentration) and the altered mind-state of the jhanas associated with it. What the sangha didn’t know was that six thousand miles away, a hitchhiking ex-monk, reformed…

By Wendy Biddlecombe Agsar

Fall 2022

Culture

Tricycle’s Summer Reading List: 7 Books to Read This Season

From ancient Buddhist stories to new novels with Buddhist settings or themes, this summer reading list has something for everyone.

By Tricycle

Jun 24, 2022

Meditation

Jhana: The Spice Your Meditation Has Been Missing

Meditation teacher and political columnist Jay Michaelson explains how jhana meditation is a transformative and vital part of the eightfold path.

By Dr. Jay Michaelson

Jan 21, 2022

Magazine | Teachings, What's in a Word?

What’s in a Word? Jhāna

Our expert discusses its meaning and practice.

By Andrew Olendzki

Fall 2021

Teachings

Sutta Study: Factors of Concentration

The Samadhanga Sutta explains how insight arises from developing jhana, the Buddha’s concentration.

By Peter Doobinin

Dec 07, 2018

Meditation

Entering the Jhanas: Focus Comes First

A practice to develop the steady mind necessary for attaining wisdom

By Leigh Brasington

Mar 25, 2018

person wearing a virtual reality headset

Meditation

Can Virtual Reality Help You Reach Enlightenment?

If games that train and transport your mind are cheating, then so are vast swaths of the Buddhist tradition, according to this meditation teacher.

By Dr. Jay Michaelson

Jul 20, 2017

TeachingsMagazine | Insights

Thirsting for Enlightenment

Ayya Khema likens the path to a walk through the desert.

By Ayya Khema

Winter 2009

IdeasMagazine | Feature

Within You Without You

Like a telescope launched into orbit beyond the distortions of the earth’s atmosphere, shamatha meditation provides a platform for exploring the deep space of the mind.

By B. Alan Wallace

Winter 2009

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Seeking Refuge

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Dharma Talks

Video teachings with contemporary Buddhist teachers

Dharma TalksTeachings

Right Relationship as the Ninth Factor of the Path

All of life is made up of relationships, so how do we relate more skillfully to ourselves and to others? In this talk, lay Zen teacher Zuisei Goddard draws upon the Buddhist teachings to illuminate the…

By Vanessa Zuisei Goddard

Feb 2026

Jhanas

The Jhana Underground

Tricycle’s Summer Reading List: 7 Books to Read This Season

Jhana: The Spice Your Meditation Has Been Missing

What’s in a Word? Jhāna

Sutta Study: Factors of Concentration

Entering the Jhanas: Focus Comes First

Can Virtual Reality Help You Reach Enlightenment?

Thirsting for Enlightenment

Within You Without You

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