Dhyānāṅga

dhyānāṅga (P. jhānaṅga; T. bsam gtan gyi yan lag བསམ་གཏན་གྱི་ཡན་ལག་; C. chanzhi 禪支) is translated as "absorption factors," "dhyāna factors," "limbs of dhyāna," "constituents of meditative absorption," etc. This term refers to five factors that must be present in order to attain the first of the four dhyānas. These factors also counteract the five hindrances to shamatha meditation.

According to the Pali tradition, the five factors are:

1. Coarse examination (vitakka)
2. Precise investigation (vicāra)
3. Well-being (pīti)
4. Bliss (sukha)
5. Single-pointed attention (ekaggatā)

According to the Abhidharma-kosa of the Sanskrit tradition, the fifth factor is meditative concentration (samadhi) rather than single-pointed attention.

Within the four dhyanas, each higher dhyana has a decreasing number of factors. (See dhyana.)

Counteracting the five hindrances

According to the Pali tradition, these five factors counteract the five hindrances to shamatha as follows:

1. Coarse examination (vitakka) counteracts sloth-torpor (thina-middha)
2. Precise investigation (vicāra) counteracts doubt (vicikicchā)
3. Well-being (pīti) counteracts ill-will (vyapada)
4. Bliss (sukha) counteracts restlessness-worry (uddhacca-kukkucca)
5. Single-pointed attention (ekaggatā) counteracts sensory desire (kāmacchanda)

Alternate translations

• absorption factors (Thubten Chodron, One Teacher, Many Traditions)
• constituents of meditative absorption (Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism)
• constituents of dhyāna (Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism)
• jhāna factors (Harvey, Henepola Gunaratana)
• dhyāna factors
• limbs of dhyāna (Gethin, Foundations of Buddhism)

Sources

• Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University 
• Wallace, B. Alan (2006), The Attention Revolution, Widsom