Right Concentration: A Practical Guide to the Jhanas

by Leigh Brasington

Five Things to Do at the End of Meditation The five things to do at the end of a meditation period begin with recapitulation—what did you do, and how did you get there? This includes remembering what your posture was at the beginning of the period, what it was like to do the five preliminaries mentioned above, what you used for your access method, how you knew you were in access, how long you stayed in access, what was the pleasant sensation that you switched to, what was it like to be with that pleasant sensation, how did the jhāna begin to manifest (if one did), how you responded, and so forth. In fact it can be helpful to remember things that you did before coming to meditate: Had you just eaten? Had you just come back from a walk? Did you read something inspiring? If you have a meditation the likes of which you would like to have again, it is helpful to know the factors that went into generating that experience.