If you build in difference to reach higher jhana won't that make it hard to enter jhana?

Question

If i have to review how gross the jhana factors are won't that make it hard to enter the jhana as I don't care for the factors?

Answer 1

The jhana of the Buddha is born from letting go (SN 48.10). When the peace of letting go is always known, the vibrations of rapture will feel unsatisfactory compared to the peace of letting go (i.e., the Nibbana element). Thus, the mind will not cling to the vibrations of rapture and the rapture will lose its energy as the body (rupa) relaxes even more.

The rapture of jhana is merely nervous system bliss arising from the dissolution of sankharas or stress previously stored in the physical body. That is why they are called "rupa jhana"; because the bliss is based on the relaxation of the neurology of the physical body that stores and is stressed by unwholesome mentality.

Answer 2

Try not to think of "reviewing" as a matter of discursive thinking. Their grossness becomes self evident as your mind settles and you progress through each jhana. The best example is in the case of piti or rapture. As the the 2nd jhana grows in strength, piti actually starts to get a little overwhelming. At this point, you don't necessarily start thinking "this rapture is terrible and distracting, I'm going to abandon it". If you did that, you'd be more in danger of slipping back into access concentration. Instead, there's just a letting go of what is now obviously a much coarser experience than the less distracting factors offered by the 3rd jhana.

Answer 3

Well, you review the grossness of the factors of the previous jhana, not the one you're generating. The point is, each subsequent jhana is a step closer to suchness than the last one, because you review and let go of the gross-most factor of non-suchness present on each level.