The jhanas are meditative absorptions that can be entered through brahmaviharas like loving-kindness, which serves as the gateway practice.
The jhanas are states of deep meditative absorption in which the mind becomes unified and concentrated, progressively deeper through four levels in the Pali Canon tradition. The brahmaviharas—loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity—are boundless heart practices that cultivate universal goodwill toward all beings.
These are distinct meditation categories. The jhanas emphasize mental stillness and unification; the brahmaviharas emphasize emotional cultivation and expansion of care. Yet they are not separate paths but interconnected practices within the broader Buddhist training.
The most direct relationship appears in the Pali Canon, where loving-kindness meditation (metta bhavana) is explicitly taught as a means to access jhana. The Buddha describes how a practitioner fills themselves and others with loving-kindness, first directing it to a benefactor, then to themselves, then gradually to all beings without exception.
When loving-kindness is practiced with sustained focus and becomes sufficiently refined, the mind naturally settles into the first jhana. The Visuddhimagga, the classical Theravada commentary by Buddhaghosa, describes this transition: the initial momentum of goodwill stabilizes into the concentrated absorption of first jhana, characterized by applied attention, sustained attention, joy, happiness, and one-pointed focus.
The brahmaviharas work as preparation by removing obstacles to concentration. Loving-kindness dissolves ill-will and resentment; compassion addresses cruelty and indifference; appreciative joy counteracts envy; equanimity releases craving and aversion. These mental refinements create the inner conditions where concentration can deepen naturally.
However, not every brahmavihara necessarily leads to jhana in the same way. Equanimity, the fourth brahmavihara, can lead to a special fourth jhana state of profound mental balance. Some traditions note that compassion and appreciative joy may be more naturally suited to certain practitioners, yet all four brahmaviharas can serve as accessible entry points depending on individual temperament.
It is important to note that jhana can be accessed through other meditation subjects. The Buddha taught jhana attainment through breath awareness (anapanasati), bodily sensations, or other objects of focus. The jhanas themselves are not inherently moral states—they are states of mental unification that can arise from various practices.
This means the brahmaviharas are one excellent path to jhana, particularly valued for their simultaneous development of ethical refinement and concentration. But they are not the only path, and some practitioners may find other objects more natural for their minds.
Theravada Buddhism, based on the Pali Canon, emphasizes this clear connection between brahmaviharas and jhana. The Mahayana and Tibetan traditions also value both practices but often contextualize them differently within their broader frameworks of compassion and wisdom development.
Zen and other East Asian traditions may approach jhana-like states through different methods entirely, sometimes emphasizing direct insight over meditative absorption. Where traditions differ most is in how central jhana attainment is considered to the spiritual path itself—Theravada views it as important training, while some other schools see concentration as important but not as essential as insight into emptiness or Buddha-nature.
The complementary nature of these practices reflects Buddhist understanding of holistic development. The brahmaviharas cultivate qualities—generosity of heart, emotional balance, genuine care—that transform the practitioner. The jhanas develop the mental power of concentration and reveal the refined nature of consciousness itself.
A practitioner might develop loving-kindness until jhana arises naturally, experience the profound peace of absorption, then emerge and apply that concentrated mind and open heart to insight practice or continued development. This integration—using brahmaviharas to access jhana, then bringing both into service of awakening—represents the classical Buddhist approach to meditation training.