jhna

Jhna, also written jhāna or jhana, is a term used in Buddhist meditation to denote deep states of mental absorption achieved through focused concentration. In English-language texts, jhna is often presented as a transliteration variant of the Pali and Sanskrit term jhāna. The concept refers to a graduated series of meditative attainments that stabilize the mind and reduce contact with ordinary sense-impressions.

Traditionally, jhānas are divided into two broad categories: rupa-jhānas (form absorptions) and arūpa-jhānas (formless absorptions). In the commonly cited framework, there are four rupa-jhānas, followed by four arūpa-jhānas in many traditions. Each jhāna is described as a progressively more refined state of concentration and equanimity, with the mind gradually moving beyond ordinary discursiveness and sensory engagement.

Practitioners typically begin with a meditation object such as the breath and cultivate single-pointed attention. As concentration deepens, hindrances fall away, and meditative experiences such as rapture (pīti) and happiness (sukha) arise, becoming more subtle in higher jhānas. In many schools, jhānas are viewed as preparatory or supportive states for insight meditation (vipassanā), though some traditions emphasize that insight can be developed with varying degrees of absorption.

Outside Buddhism, similar ideas of deep meditative absorption appear in other Indian traditions under different terms, but jhāna remains a term most closely associated with Buddhist practice in English-language usage. The spelling jhna without diacritics is a common variant found in many texts.