Another passage cited to prove that one can be an arahant without
having attained jhana is in AN 4:87. Here, the Buddha lists four types of
contemplatives, two of them being the “white-lotus contemplative” and the
“red-lotus contemplative.”
“And which individual is the white-lotus contemplative? There is the case,
monks, where a monk—through the ending of the effluents—has entered
& remains in the effluent-free awareness-release & discernment-release,
directly knowing & realizing them for himself right in the here-&-now.
But he does not also remain touching with his body the eight
emancipations [vimokkha]. This is how an individual is a white-lotus
contemplative.
“And which individual is the red-lotus contemplative? There is the case,
monks, where a monk—through the ending of the effluents—has entered
& remains in the effluent-free awareness-release & discernment-release,
directly knowing & realizing them for himself right in the here-&-now.
And he remains touching with his body the eight emancipations. This is
how an individual is a red-lotus contemplative.” — AN 4:87
http://www.metta.lk/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pit ... ggo-e.html
The argument here is that the eight emancipations, while not identical to the
four jhanas and the formless attainments, are nevertheless equivalent to them.
This would mean that “white-lotus” arahants are those who have attained none
of the jhanas, whereas “red-lotus” arahants are those who have mastered all the
jhanas.
Now it is true that the last five of the eight emancipations are identical with
the four formless attainments plus the cessation of perception and feeling. From
this it could be argued that the first three emancipations are simply another
name for the four jhanas, in which case the “white-lotus” arahants would have to
be devoid of jhana. But there are two reasons for not accepting this argument.
The first reason comes from the description of the three emancipations
themselves:
“Possessed of form, one sees forms. This is the first emancipation.
“Not percipient of form internally, one sees forms externally. This is the
second emancipation.
“One is intent only on the beautiful. This is the third emancipation.” — DN 15
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html
These are not descriptions of the four jhanas, for they contain no mention of
the jhana factors. Their emphasis is on what one sees, which means that they are
types of meditative visionary experiences.
The mere fact that they can lead to the
formless attainments does not make them equivalent to the jhanas. They simply
provide an alternative route to the formless attainments. In fact, the existence of
this alternative route may explain why the Buddha, prior to his awakening, was
able to reach the formless attainments when studying under Alara Kalama and
Uddaka Ramaputta, without at the same time passing through the four jhanas.
So to say that an arahant doesn’t touch these emancipations with his/her body
doesn’t mean that he/she has not attained any of the four jhanas.