The Access Concentration and The Absorption Concentration

 

Q.4. What are the differences between upacāra-samādhi and appanā-samādhi? Which is better to be used in insight meditation?

Upacāra-samādhi, the neighbourhood concentration, is the mental concentration associated with upacāra-bhāvanā.

Appanā-samādhi, the concentration at the meditative absorption, is the mental concentration associated with appanā-bhāvanā.

 

The difference between upacarā-samādhi and appanā-samādhi will now be described.

1.    In upacarā-samādhi the jhana-factors are not yet fully developed whereas in appanā-samādhi the jhāna-factors are fully developed. Thus appanā-samādhi is stronger than upacarā-samādhi.

2.    At the stage of upacarā-samādhi, bhavaṅga cittas (life-continuum) can still occur, and the meditator (yogi) can fall into the unconscious state. If this occurs, conscious of anything and that he has attained Nibbana. On the other hand, the yogi does not fall into the unconscious state at the stage of appanā-bhāvanā.

3.    Upacarā-samādhi is unstable, and it may be compared to a child who has just learnt to walk. As the child may often fall down as he walks and has to struggle to get up again and ageing, so in the same way, when upacarā-samādhi is used as the basis or insight meditation, it often falls down to parikamma-samādhi, and the yogi has to undertake Samatha-bhāvanā again and again to raise the concentration to upacarā-samādhi.

On the other hand, the appanā-samādhi is stable, and it is compared to a man who can walk for hours with out falling. When a yogi uses appanā-samādhi as the basis of insight-meditation, he can meditate for hours without any danger of losing his concentration.

4.    As the jhāna-factors are more developed in appanā-samādhi than in upacarā-samādhi, appanā-samādhi is associated with greater joy (pīti) and stronger bliss (sukha).

5.    At both the stages of upacarā-samādhi and appanā-samādhi, the mind is free from all defilements (pariyuṭṭhāna kilesa and vitikkama kilesa). So the meditator is said to attain the purity of mind (citta-visuddhi). Here again the defilements are subdued and suppressed with greater force in appanā-samādhi than in upacarā-samādhi, and the former is much more stable than the latter.

6.    The mind associated with greater Samādhi is more powerful and radiate brighter, stronger and more penetrative light. Consequently it is more effective in undertaking insight-meditation.

A yogi can undertake insight-meditation (vipassanā) using either upacarā-samādhi or appanā-samādhi as the basis of his meditation. If he uses upacarā-samādhi as the basis, his path to Nibbāna is called vipassanāyānika way; that is, using vipassanā as the carriage. It is evident that samathayānika is more effective than vipassanāyānika.

In Buddhist meditation, "access concentration" refers to a preliminary state of focused attention, considered the gateway to deeper meditative absorption ("absorption concentration") like Jhana, where the mind is steadily focused on a meditation object without major distractions, while "absorption concentration" signifies a deeper state of meditative immersion where the mind becomes completely absorbed in the object, often characterized by a sense of rapture and detachment from external stimuli. 

Key points to remember:

Access concentration:

• Considered a "threshold" state, where the mind is nearing a state of deep absorption but not fully there yet. 

• Requires strong focus on the meditation object while actively managing distractions. 

• Represents the initial stage of achieving deeper meditative states. 

Absorption concentration (Jhana):

• A state of profound mental stillness and unity with the meditation object. 

• Often described with qualities like rapture, joy, and a sense of complete absorption. 

• Considered a more advanced level of concentration achieved after developing a strong foundation in access concentration.