V&V💭: vitakka & vicāra
Vitakka 💭 = directed
verbal thought.
Vicāra 🕵️ = the evaluation of that very same directed thought, not a separate train of thought (
SN 46.3).
Vicāra explores, inspects, discriminates, evaluates, ponders, scrutinizes, discerns, considers the very same thought initially fixed upon by vitakka.
Vitakka decides on a topic, then gives it to vicara to analyze it further,
KN Pe 7.72.
V&V are speech vocalization co-activities,
MN 44.5.
You need to think and evaluate with V&V before coherent speech can be vocalized.
vitakka & vicāra in 1st Jhāna🌘 is intrinsically the same in 1st jhāna as it is outside of it, with 2 conditions.
1. The content of those thoughts, unlike ordinary V&V, must be kusala (skillful) related to Dharma (
AN 6.73,
AN 6.74,
AN 6.75).
1b. The content of the Dhamma vitakka in first jhāna, often is just the meditator mentally reciting the oral instructions of the Dhamma (
SN 46.3).
For example, in
31asb🧟 body parts,
even in non
EBT following canonical Abhidhamma and
Vimt. ,
one mentally recites the body parts (kesa, loma, ...)
while in first jhāna.
2. The thinking is attenuated. The intensity and frequency of vitakka is reduced to the point where it would not tire the body
and/or block kāya-passaddhi (bodily pacification), pīti & sukha (rapture and pleasure) (
MN 19).
First jhāna
j1🌘 is vocal silence,
SN 36.11, where speech ceases, but thoughts connected to Dhamma continue (
MN 19,
MN 78.6.2.0,
MN 125.3.10.3,
AN 8.30).
Second jhāna
j2🌗 is noble silence,
👑😶 , where V&V ceases,
S&S🐘💭 takes over.
In third jhāna
j3🌖 ,
S&S🐘💭 does vipassana (
AN 4.41,
AN 9.36,
MN 111), a deeper version of first jhāna doing vipassana using V&V.
S&S and V&V correspond to sati and Dharma-vicaya of
7sb☀️ ,
SN 46.3.
Sammā-saṅkappo
2💭 (right-resolve) precedes vitakka (thinking), but in most contexts involving jhāna you can treat them as equivalent (
MN 117,
MN 78).
Even in Vism. and Abhidhamma
V&V still means mental recitation of speech. After exiting 2nd jhāna, one mentally chants, 'earth [kasina], earth', to get into third jhāna.