The Stages of Dhyāna

In the first dhyana, I still have concepts of time and space, knowing when and where I am. In the second dhyana, I feel no thoughts, without perception or awareness, and only realize I was in samadhi after emerging from it. I have never heard that there are still thoughts in the fourth dhyana.

In the second dhyana, the manas (mental faculty) has thoughts; it is merely that the consciousness is unaware. Because at that time, the samadhi is so deep that one knows nothing, yet if someone softly says "meal time," it is immediately heard, causing the mind to emerge from samadhi. Why can such a faint sound be heard, leading to emergence from samadhi? It is precisely because the manas is preoccupied with the matter of eating. Upon hearing the faint sound, it causes the consciousness to arise and perceive, thus leading to emergence from samadhi.

In the second dhyana, consciousness is not extinguished, but it is extremely subtle. I am unable to perceive anything, unaware that I am in samadhi, as if knowing nothing at all. If the manas were not preoccupied with eating during the second dhyana, hearing someone say "meal time" would not cause emergence from samadhi. Because when I was in samadhi, dozens of people around me were talking to each other without ever quieting down, yet I could not hear them; I only heard the words "meal time."

Not having entered the fourth dhyana, I cannot know the state of the conscious mind within it. With no firsthand experience, I have no right to speak. I may have entered the third dhyana for one day; it was too blissful, and fearing falling into delusion, I abandoned it. At that time, I did not understand samadhi well. Now, wanting to regain that samadhi is no longer possible. In the second dhyana, consciousness no longer has the power of introspection, nor does one know what state consciousness was in at the time.