The definitional state of the first of the four levels of mental constancy (Skt. dhyāna), in which one achieves a temporary blockage of manifest attachment and desire for desirable sense objects of the plane of sensory desires (desire realm), achieves a level of mind on the plane of ethereal forms (form realm), and attains the various types of advanced awareness (extrasensory cognition and extraphysical powers). It is achieved on the basis of a stilled and settled state of shamatha, known in this context as the indispensable preliminary stage of the first level of mental constancy (bsam-gtan dang-po'i nyer-bsdogs mi-lcogs-med). It is divided into the mere actual state and the distinguished actual state. With a mere actual state of the first level of mental constancy (bsam-gtan dang-po'i dngos-gzhi tsam-po-ba), one still has gross detection (rtog-pa) of attachment and desire for the desirable sense objects of the plane of sensory desires as being inferior and the subtle discernment (dpyod-pa) of the state of their temporary blockage as superior. With a distinguished actual state of the first level of mental constancy (bsam-gtan dang-po'i dngos-gzhi khyad-par-can), one no longer has this coarse discrimination, but still has the subtle one.
Tibetan: བསམ་གཏན་དང་པོའི་དངོས་གཞི། bsam-gtan dang-po'i dngos-gzhi
Synonyms: Actual state of the first dhyana
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