Vipassana Jhanas

Vipassana jhanas are steps that describe the development of Vipassanā meditation practice as described in the Burmese Theravada tradition. They contrast with samatha jhanas. A common description as outlined in the commentorial tradition opposes the concentration attained by practicing samatha meditation called the jhanas, and the concentration attained by practicing vipassana meditation called "neighborhood concentration" (upacara samadhi).

Sayadaw U Pandita describes four vipassana jhanas:

• The meditator first explores his body, then his mind, discovering the three characteristics. The first jhana consists in seeing these points and in the presence of vitakka and vicara. Phenomena reveal themselves as appearing and ceasing.
• In the second jhana, the practice seems effortless. Vitaka and vicara both disappear.
• In the third jhana, piti, the joy, disappears too: there is only happiness (sukha) and concentration.
• The fourth jhana arises, characterised by purity of mindfulness due to equanimity. The practice leads to direct knowledge. The comfort disappears because the dissolution of all phenomena is clearly visible. The practice will show every phenomenon as unstable, transient, disenchanting. The desire of freedom will take place.

The only further steps are the knowledge of attaining nirvana.