Right Concentration A Practical Guide to the Jhanas

A practical guidebook for meditators interested in achieving the states of bliss and deep focus associated with the Buddhist jhānas 

One of the elements of the Eightfold Path is Right Concentration: the one-pointedness of mind that, together with ethics, livelihood, meditation, and more, leads to the ultimate freedom from suffering. So how does one achieve Right Concentration? According to the Buddha himself, the jhānas—a series of eight progressive altered states of consciousness—are an essential method. But because the jhānas can usually be achieved only through prolonged meditation retreat, they have been shrouded in mystery for years.
 
Not anymore. In Right Concentration, Leigh Brasington takes away the mystique and gives instructions on how to achieve them in plain, accessible language. He notes the various pitfalls to avoid along the way and provides a wealth of material on the theory of jhāna practice—all geared toward the practitioner rather than the scholar. As Brasington proves, these states of bliss and concentration are attainable by anyone who devotes the time and sincerity of practice necessary to realize them.

LEIGH BRASINGTON is a teacher of Insight Meditation who was the senior American student of the late Ven. Ayya Khema, who authorized him to teach the jhanas. He has taught them, along with other insight practices, at well over one hundred residential retreats throughout the United States and Europe.

Foreword
Preface
Introduction

PART I - Practical Jhānas
The Preliminaries
Access Concentration
Entering the Jhānas
First Jhāna
Second Jhāna
Third Jhāna
Fourth Jhāna
The Immaterial Jhānas

PART II - Demystified Jhānas
Vitakka & Vicāra
First Jhāna
Second Jhāna
Third Jhāna
Fourth Jhāna
The Jhāna Summary
Insight Knowledge
The Immaterial States
The Cessation of Perception and Feeling
The Psychic Powers