First Dhyana and Realizing Enlightenment

Question: Is the first dhyāna attained before or after awakening to the true nature of mind? Based on your lecture notes, it seems the first dhyāna is attained in a specific state after awakening. But non-Buddhists haven't awakened to the true nature of mind and haven't severed the view of self; how is it that they still attain the first dhyāna?

Answer: There is no necessary connection between the first dhyāna and awakening to the true nature of mind. It is possible to cultivate and attain the first dhyāna without awakening or realizing any fruition. Non-Buddhists are an example of this; they have even attained the formless absorption of nirodha-samāpatti (neither perception nor non-perception), which far surpasses the first dhyāna. This is because practitioners in ancient times had very pure minds, were able to withdraw from the mundane world, cultivate concentration deep in the mountains, and harbored no greed for worldly things, making it easier for them to develop meditative absorption. Furthermore, society as a whole was simpler then; material resources and information were not well-developed, environmental influences were less severe, and people's minds had far fewer distracting thoughts, making the attainment of concentration naturally quicker.

Under the environmental conditions of modern society, cultivating concentration is not so easy, and attaining the first dhyāna is even more difficult. Therefore, it is only after severing the view of self that it becomes somewhat easier to cultivate the first dhyāna. Before realizing fruition and awakening to the true nature of mind, it is very difficult to cultivate the first dhyāna, though this does not preclude exceptions or special cases. Within the meditative concentration (samādhi) attained immediately after realizing fruition, if one can strike while the iron is hot and add more fire (persist diligently), the first dhyāna might manifest not long after. Once this samādhi stage passes, the mind may become somewhat lax, concentration becomes harder to cultivate, and the first dhyāna is less likely to appear. Therefore, seizing the right timing and maintaining the appropriate intensity are crucial and important.