vitakka  -  thinking; directed thought; (initial attention in commentaries)
vicara  -  pondering; applied thought; (sustained attention in commentaries)
piti  -  glee, delight, rapture, euphoria, ecstasy; interest
sukkha  -  joy, happiness

The Factors of the 8 Jhanas
bold = traditional; italics = suttas; strikeout = abandoned

Rupa Jhanas

  1. "Quite secluded from sense desires, secluded from unwholesome states of mind -- one enters and remains in the first Jhana which is with vitakka and vicara and is filled with piti and sukkha born of seclusion.

  2. "Further, with the stilling of vitakka and vicara, by gaining inner tranquillity and unification of mind, one enters and remains in the second Jhana which is free from vitakka and vicara and is filled with piti and sukkha born of concentration.

  3. "Further, with the fading away of piti, remaining imperturbable, mindful, and clearly aware, one enters the third jhana and experiences within himself the sukkha of which the Noble Ones declare, "Happy is he who dwells with equanimity and mindfulness."

  4. "Further, with the abandoning of pleasure and pain -- as with the earlier disappearance of joy and sorrow -- one enters and remains in the fourth Jhana which is beyond pleasure and pain; and purified by equanimity and mindfulness.

Arupa Jhanas

  1. "With the complete transcending of bodily sensations, with the disappearance of all sense of resistance, and not heeding perceptions of diversity, thinking, 'space is infinite,' one enters and remains in the Sphere of Infinite Space.

  2. "With the complete transcending of the Sphere of Infinite Space, thinking, 'consciousness is infinite,' one enters and remains in the Sphere of Infinite Consciousness.

  3. "With the complete transcending of the Sphere of Infinite Consciousness, thinking, 'There is no-thing,' one enters and remains in the Sphere of No-thingness.

  4. "With the complete transcending of the Sphere of No-thingness, one enters and remains in the Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-perception."