Venerable Ajahn Chah

Although a number of highly esteemed scholars have written descriptions of the first, second, third and fourth jhanas, what's written is merely external information.

If the mind actually enters these states of profound peace, it doesn't know anything about those written descriptions.

It knows, but what it knows isn't the same as the theory we study.

If the scholars try to clutch their theory and drag it into their meditation, sitting and pondering

Hmm, what could this be?

Is this first jhana yet?

There, the peace is shattered, and they don't experience anything of real value.

And why is that?

Because there is desire, and once there's craving, what happens?

The mind is simultaneously withdrawn out of the meditation.

So it's necessary for all of us to relinquish thinking and speculation.

Abandon them completely.

Just take up the body, speech and mind and delve entirely into the practice.

Observe the workings of the mind, but don't lug the Dharma books in there with you.

Otherwise everything becomes a big mess, because nothing in those books corresponds precisely to the reality of the way things truly are.

People who study a lot, who are full of theoretical knowledge, usually don't succeed in Dharma practice.

They get bogged down at the information level.

The truth is, the heart and mind can't be measured by external standards.

If the mind is getting peaceful, just allow it to be peaceful.

The most profound levels of deep peace do exist.