Reexamining Jhana: Towards a Critical Reconstruction of Early Buddhist Soteriology

Contents: I.Jhana and Yoga: 1.Problem of the Jhanas (General Place of Jhana in Buddhist System of Meditation; Jhana in the Eyes of Modern Theravadin Meditation Masters; General Overview of the Place of Jhana in Suttapitaka; Jhana Controversy; Quest for the Earliest Stratum of Suttapitaka); 2.Criticized Methods of Meditation in Suttapitaka (Lesson of 'Bodhisatta Suttas'; Meditative Practice of Brahmin Parasariya; Initial Conclusions; Significance of Sandha Sutta); 3.Yogic Meditation in Scriptures of the non-Buddhists (Yogic Meditation in Principal Upanisads; Yogic Meditation in Yoga-Sutras of Patanjali; Yogic Meditation in Bhavagad Gita; Yogic Meditation in Yogic Upanisads; Jainism and Yoga; Seeking for Original Soteriological Context of Yogic Meditation; Buddhist Influence in Yogic Scriptures); 4.Investigating the Authenticity of 'Bodhisatta Suttas' (Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta; Description of the Breathless Meditation; Ascetic Practices in Mahasihanada Sutta; Ariyapariyesana or Bodhirajakumara: Quest for Original 'Bodhisatta Sutta'); II.Four Jhanas and Meditative Teachings of Theravada Buddhism: 1.Investigating the Orthodox Theory of Meditation Presented in Visuddhimagga (Kasina Meditation in Visuddhimagga; Arupas and Jhanas in Suttapitaka; Place and Role of 10 Kasinas in Suttapitaka; Concept of Nimitta in Suttapitaka; Place and Role of Vitakka and Vicara in Suttapitaka); 2.From Jhana to Yoga (Reconstructing the Evolution of Meditative Ideas of Early Buddhism; Anapanasati Meditation; Attainment of Cessation; Were the 4 Jhanas Practiced by the non-Buddhists?); 3.Uncovering the Inconvenient Truth: A Look at Meditative Tradition of Theravada Buddhism (Origins of Modern Meditative Traditions of Theravada Buddhism; Non-Buddhist Elements in Meditative Teachings of Modern Theravadin Meditation Masters; Meditative Practices in Yogavacara Manual; Buddhist Myth of Decline)