Right Concentration: A Practical Guide to the Jhanas

by Leigh Brasington

Another problem that some students face is fear of loss of control. It simply is not possible to enter the first jhāna and be in control during the whole experience. You have to let go and let the pīti take over. What sometimes happens is that someone generates quite good access concentration, switches to the pleasant sensation, and eventually the pleasant sensation begins morphing into pīti. And that experience can be accompanied by a sense that something unintended is happening in one’s mental sphere—in other words, things are getting out of control. The fear generated in the face of this experience results in the person—intentionally or unintentionally—drawing back and shutting down the pīti, thereby blocking any jhānic experience. If you are faced with the above reaction, the first thing to realize is that you have never actually been in control of anything ever. All that you are losing is the illusion of being in control!