This is an edited version of a talk given by Āyasmā Aggacitta in Uttama Bodhi Vihara of Bandar Utama Buddhist Society on Sunday 13 August 2023. Here Āyasmā Aggacitta cites passages from the Pāli suttas to highlight several misconceptions about Gotama's search for awakening and the nature of the jhānas and āruppas. As usual, his well-structured arguments are solidly based on the Pāli suttas and practical experience, with significant impact on Dhamma practice.

00:00 Opening

00:45 The Story in Brief

02:34 Renunciation

09:14 First Meditation Teachers

11:29 What Are the Āruppas?

17:06 True Absorptions

17:30 Jhānas Are not Absorptions

18:19 Self-mortification

18:50 Remembering His First Childhood Experience of Jhāna

19:50 How Did He Get It?

20:55 The Āruppas Can Be Attained without the Jhānas

22:25 Difference between Jhāna and Āruppa

26:30 Realisation that Jhāna Is the Path to His Goal (Version 1)

27:19 Meaning of Āsavas

28:31 Reflection on the Law of Dependent Origination Leading to Buddhahood (Version 2)

32:02 Reflection on the Gratification, Danger and Escape in Case of the 5 Aggregates, Leading to Buddhahood (Version 3)

36:45 Conclusion: Why Gotama Resorted to Jhāna for Buddhahood Q&A

41:40 Is there a short and simple way to enlightenment?

45:27 How to observe the arising and passing away of the 5 aggregates?

46:29 So, the āruppas are not sammāsamādhi?

46:56 So, it's not necessary to practise the āruppas?

47:15 How to link open awareness to ānāpānassati and jhāna to obtain liberation?

48:11 Is reflection on the gratification, etc., and dependent origination vipassanā development?

49:03 Vipassanā means?

49:26 Will there be any corrections to the misconceptions brought up in this talk?

50:34 What are the levels of samādhi listed in Saṃkhitta Sutta AN 8.63?

51:22 What about the popular idea of jhānas as absorptions?

52:57 How do we know that we are in the first jhāna?