Hi, Pali friends,

DC> I seem to remember reading somewhere that Mrs Carolyn Rhys Davids had
DC> put forward a theory that there once was a 10-fold path, but even
DC> after looking through my books I can't find a reference for you.

See, for example:
Janavasabha sutta DN 18 (Ro: 2.217)
Sangiiti sutta DN 33 (Ro: 3.271)
Dasuttara sutta DN 34 (Ro: 3.292)

and my favorite

Mahaacataariisaka sutta MN 117 (Ro: 3.76)
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/majjhima/mn117.html

as well as multiple suttas from AN 10

The exact terms are sammaa~naa.na and sammavimutti

However they denote rather the abilities of the Arahant than the path
of the learner, and stem naturally from jhanas of sammaasamaadhi.

DC> The debate about whether the jhaana-s are necessary seems to have
DC> begun possibly even during the Buddha's own lifetime. Certainly it's
DC> still hotly contested today. I doubt that anything I could say would
DC> bring this 2,500-year-old debate to an end! But if you're looking for
DC> practical instruction, there is an Australian monk named Ajahn
DC> Brahmavamso (sp?) who gives courses on "how to jhaana."

I know three distinct modern approaches: commentarial one, represented
by Ajahn Brahmavamso, http://watthai.net , some approach taught by Leigh
Brasington, a student of Ayya Khema's
http://members.home.net/lnblnb/meditate.htm
and a sutta-based approach of Thanissaro Bhikkhu
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/modern/wings/3e.html

However Thanissaro Bhikkhu tells that jhanas arise by themselves in
due time. According to my knowledge, they are mastered intentionally
(See AN 5.28
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/anguttara/an5-28.html )

There's still a lot to investigate.

Metta,
Dimitry