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A Critique of Bhante Gunaratana Teaching of Jhana

Bhante Gunaratana of Bhavana Society, the author of The Jhanas In Theravada Buddhist Meditation, certainly takes credit for being one the early authors on the subject of jhana.  However, his premises come from a study of Abhidhamma and the Visuddhimagga in clear contradiction to the Discourses of the Buddha (Sutta Pitaka).

We did everything we could to promote the work of Leigh Brasington and Bhante Gunaratana, who were the first names in jhana we encountered when we first became aware of the term 'jhana' in 2001.  At that time we were on the board of a large southwestern USA vipassana meditation center where we hoped to put jhana on their menu of options.  The effort was, however, unsuccessful, because of how demonized jhana is in the dry insight community.

Through the JSG we promoted a 9-day meditation retreat that was led by Bhante Gunaratana in the spring of 2004.  Due to our promotional efforts 9 of the people attending that retreat, which was more than half of the full-time attendees there, were either students of ours or members of the JSG.  We also happened to have served him and his monastic attendant during that retreat.

Considering how much work we did to promote the work of Bhante Gunaratana one would think the Bhante would have been at least a little gracious toward us at that retreat, instead when this contemplative went to his first interview with the Bhante, we requested to enter into the Bhante's ordination program.  He became offended by the request, perhaps due to a language barrier, even though he seems to speak and understand English quite well, otherwise we could not see anything offensive in the request or how it was delivered.  Later during that same retreat a second interview was granted in which this contemplative confided in the Bhante what occurs during his typical meditation experience. 

Gunaratana's only response was, "You are so arrogant."  He said it with quite some emotion as well. 

This contemplative did not know how to respond to him, so he just said, "Thank-you Bhante G," and got up and left.

From listening to the Bhante's dhamma talks at that retreat it became clear that Bhante Gunaratana subscribes to the Visuddhimagga as his source on jhana.  On his suggestion some years earlier this contemplative had read the Visuddhimagga and found it not at all helpful or informative regarding jhana. That fifth century commentary seemed to only offer myth not the actual experience of meditative absorption.  It is not surprising because Buddhaghosa, the author of the Visuddhimagga was not even a Buddhist, but a Brahman scholar who was hired by the King of Sri Lanka to compose a work that would support the premises of the dominant dry insight community while paying lip-service to the smaller moist jhana community. The Suttas, on the other hand, spoke to this contemplative's experience of meditative absorption.  The conclusion that must be taken is Bhante Gunaratana is nothing more than a scholar-monk who has no real experience of jhana, and that is most probably why he was offended by this contemplative's personal experiences with jhana.

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