Abstract

The relation of the meditative state of jhāna to the development of insight and liberating knowledge is one of the most controversial issues in studies on early Buddhism. In the Suttapitaka and later Buddhist meditative texts, one can find discrepancies which are difficult to reconcile. In this paper, I propose a new model of meditative insight using an interdisciplinary approach based both on critical philological studies of the Suttapitaka and the results of the dynamically developing cognitive science. I also highlight and examine the difficulties related to the traditional Buddhist model of insight. In order to propose a plausible model of insight as an element organically linked to jhāna, I refer to several new developments in the field of cognitive science.