Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

, ' is a

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...

word (Sanskrit: ''karmasthana'') which literally means ''place of work''. Its original meaning was someone's occupation (farming, trading, cattle-tending, etc.) but this meaning has developed into several distinct but related usages all having to do with Buddhist meditation.

Etymology and meanings

Its most basic meaning is as a word for meditation, with meditation being the main occupation of

Buddhist monks A ''bhikkhu'' (Pali: भिक्खु, Sanskrit: भिक्षु, ''bhikṣu'') is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male and female monastics (" nun", ''bhikkhunī'', Sanskrit ''bhikṣuṇī'') are members of the Sangha (Buddhist ...

. In Burma, senior meditation practitioners are known as "kammatthanacariyas" (meditation masters). The Thai Forest Tradition names itself ''Kammaṭṭhāna Forest tradition'' in reference to their practice of meditating in the forests. In the

Pali literature Pali literature is concerned mainly with Theravada Buddhism, of which Pali is the traditional language. The earliest and most important Pali literature constitutes the Pāli Canon, the authoritative scriptures of Theravada school. Pali literat ...

, prior to the post-canonical Pali commentaries, the term ' comes up in only a handful of discourses and then in the context of "work" or "trade." Buddhaghosa uses "kammatthana" to refer to each of his forty meditation objects listed in the third chapter of the '' Visuddhimagga'', which are partially derived from the

Pāli Canon The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school. During ...

. In this sense "kammatthana" can be understood as "occupations" in the sense of "things to occupy the mind" or "workplaces" in the sense of "places to focus the mind on during the work of meditation". Throughout his translation of the ''Visuddhimagga'', Nanamoli translates this term simply as "meditation subject".

Buddhaghosa's forty meditation subjects

''Kasiṇa''s as ''kammaṭṭhāna''

''Kasiṇa'' (

: कसिण ''kasiṇa''; Sanskrit: कृत्स्न ''kṛtsna''; literally, a "whole") refers to a class of basic visual objects of

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

used in Theravada Buddhism. The objects are described in the

Pali Canon The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school. During ...

and summarized in the famous '' Visuddhimagga'' meditation treatise as ''kammaṭṭhāna'' on which to focus the mind whenever attention drifts. ''Kasiṇa'' meditation is one of the most common types of samatha meditation, intended to settle the mind of the practitioner and create a foundation for further practices of meditation. The '' Visuddhimagga'' concerns ''kasina''-meditation.Bhikkhu Thanissaro
''Concentration and Discernment''
According to American scholar monk Thanissaro Bhikkhu, "the text then tries to fit all other meditation methods into the mold of kasina practice, so that they too give rise to countersigns, but even by its own admission, breath meditation does not fit well into the mold." He argues that by emphasizing ''kasina''-meditation, the ''Visuddhimagga'' departs from the focus on '' dhyana'' in the Pali Canon. Thanissaro Bhikkhu states this indicates that what "jhana means in the commentaries is something quite different from what it means in the Canon." Although practice with kasiṇas is associated with the Theravāda tradition, it appears to have been more widely known among various Buddhist schools in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

at one time. Asanga makes reference to kasiṇas in the ''Samāhitabhūmi'' section of his '' Yogācārabhūmi''.

Uppalavanna Uppalavanna (Pali: Uppalavaṇṇā; Sanskrit: Utpalavarṇā) was a Buddhist ''bhikkhuni'' (Pali; Sanskrit: Bhikshuni), or nun, who was considered one of the top female disciples of the Buddha. She is considered the second of the Buddha's two ...

, one of the Buddha's chief female disciples, famously attained

arahantship In Buddhism, an ''arhat'' ( Sanskrit: अर्हत्) or ''arahant'' (Pali: अरहन्त्, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana'' and liberated ...

using a fire (''tejo'') kasina as her object of meditation. Of the forty objects meditated upon as ''kammatthana'', the first ten are ''kasiṇa'' described as 'things one can behold directly'. These are described in the ''Visuddhimagga'', and also mentioned in the Pali Tipitaka. They are: # earth (; Pali: ''paṭhavī kasiṇa'', Sanskrit: ''pṛthivī kṛtsna'') # water (; ''āpo kasiṇa'', ''ap kṛtsna'') # fire (; ''tejo kasiṇa'', ''tejas kṛtsna'') # air/wind (; ''vāyo kasiṇa'', ''vāyu kṛtsna'') # blue (; ''nīla kasiṇa'', ''nīla kṛtsna'') # yellow ; ''pīta kasiṇa'', ''pīta kṛtsna'') # red (; ''lohita kasiṇa'', ''lohita kṛtsna'') # white (; ''odāta kasiṇa'', ''avadāta kṛtsna'') # enclosed space, hole, aperture (; ''ākāsa kasiṇa'', ''ākāśa kṛtsna'') # consciousness (; ''viññāṇa kasiṇa'', ''vijñāna kṛtsna'') in the Pali suttas and some other texts; the bright light (of the luminous mind) (; ''āloka kasiṇa'') according to later sources such as Buddhaghosa's '' Visuddhimagga''. The ''kasiṇa''s are typically described as a colored disk, with the particular color, properties, dimensions and medium often specified according to the type of ''kasiṇa''. The earth ''kasiṇa'', for instance, is a disk in a red-brown color formed by spreading earth or clay (or another medium producing similar color and texture) on a screen of canvas or another backing material.

''Paṭikkūla-manasikāra''

The next ten are impure (''asubha'') objects of repulsion (''paṭikkūla''), specifically 'cemetery contemplations' (''sīvathikā-manasikāra'') on ten stages of human decomposition which aim to cultivate mindfulness of body (''kāyagatāsati''). They are: # a swollen corpse # a discolored, bluish, corpse # a festering corpse # a fissured corpse # a gnawed corpse # a dismembered corpse # a hacked and scattered corpse # a bleeding corpse # a worm-eaten corpse # a skeleton

''Anussati''

The next ten are recollections ('' anussati''): # First three recollections are of the virtues of the Three Jewels: ##

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

Dharma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...

## Sangha # Next three are recollections of the virtues of: ## morality (''

śīla Buddhist ethics are traditionally based on what Buddhists view as the enlightened perspective of the Buddha. The term for ethics or morality used in Buddhism is ''Śīla'' or ''sīla'' (Pāli). ''Śīla'' in Buddhism is one of three sections of ...

'') ## liberality (''cāga'') ## the wholesome attributes of Devas # The additional four recollections of: ## the body (''kāya'') ## death (see

Upajjhatthana Sutta The Upajjhatthana Sutta ("Subjects for Contemplation"), also known as the Abhiṇhapaccavekkhitabbaṭhānasutta in the Chaṭṭha Saṅgāyana Tipiṭaka, is a Buddhist discourse (Pali: ''sutta''; Skt.: ''sutra'') famous for its inclusion of fi ...

) ## the breath ('' prāna'') or breathing ('' ānāpāna'') ## peace (see '' Nibbana'')

''Brahma-vihārā''

Four are 'stations of Brahma', which are the virtues of the "

Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp ...

realm" (Pāli: ''Brahmaloka''): # unconditional kindness and goodwill ('' mettā'') # compassion ('' karuna'') # sympathetic joy over another's success ('' mudita'') # evenmindedness, equanimity ('' upekkha'')

''Āyatana''

Four are formless states (four '' arūpa-āyatana''): # infinite space (Pāḷi ''ākāsānañcāyatana'', Skt. ''ākāśānantyāyatana'') # infinite consciousness (Pāḷi ''viññāṇañcāyatana'', Skt. ''vijñānānantyāyatana'') # infinite nothingness (Pāḷi ''ākiñcaññāyatana'', Skt. ''ākiṃcanyāyatana'') # neither perception nor non-perception (Pāḷi ''nevasaññānāsaññāyatana'', Skt. ''naivasaṃjñānāsaṃjñāyatana'')

Others

Of the remaining five, one is of perception of disgust of food (''aharepatikulasanna'') and the last four are the 'four great elements' ('' catudhatuvavatthana''): earth (''pathavi''), water (''apo''), fire (''tejo''), air (''vayo'').

Meditation subjects and the four ''jhāna''s

According to Gunaratana, following Buddhaghosa, due to the simplicity of subject matter, all four ''jhanas'' can be induced through ''

ānāpānasati Ānāpānasati (Pali; Sanskrit ''ānāpānasmṛti''), meaning "mindfulness of breathing" ("sati" means mindfulness; "ānāpāna" refers to inhalation and exhalation), paying attention to the breath. It is the quintessential form of Buddhist me ...

'' (mindfulness of breathing) and the ten '' kasinas''.Gunaratana (1988)
According to Gunaratana, the following meditation subjects only lead to "access concentration" (''upacara samadhi''), due to their complexity: the recollection of the Buddha, dharma, sangha, morality, liberality, wholesome attributes of Devas, death, and peace; the perception of disgust of food; and the analysis of the four elements. Absorption in the first ''jhana'' can be realized by mindfulness on the ten kinds of foulness and mindfulness of the body. However, these meditations cannot go beyond the first jhana due to their involving applied thought ('' vitaka''), which is absent from the higher jhanas. Absorption in the first three ''jhanas'' can be realized by contemplating the first three ''brahma-viharas''. However, these meditations cannot aid in attaining the fourth jhana due to the pleasant feelings associated with them. Conversely, once the fourth jhana is induced, the fourth ''brahma-vihara'' (equanimity) arises.

Meditation subjects and temperaments

Each kammatthana can be suggested, especially by a spiritual friend ('' ''), to a certain individual student at some specific point, by assessing what would be best for that student's temperament and the present state of his or her mind. All of the aforementioned meditation subjects can suppress the

Five Hindrances In the Buddhist tradition, the five hindrances ( Sinhala: ''පඤ්ච නීවරණ pañca nīvaraṇa''; Pali: ') are identified as mental factors that hinder progress in meditation and in our daily lives. In the Theravada tradition, the ...

, thus allowing one to fruitfully pursue

wisdom Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledg ...

. In addition, anyone can productively apply specific meditation subjects as antidotes, such as meditating on foulness to counteract lust or on the breath to abandon discursive thought. The Pali commentaries further provide guidelines for suggesting meditation subjects based on one's general temperament: * Greedy: the ten foulness meditations; or, body contemplation. * Hating: the four ''brahma-viharas''; or, the four color ''kasinas''. * Deluded: mindfulness of breath. * Faithful: the first six recollections. * Intelligent: recollection of marana or Nibbana; the perception of disgust of food; or, the analysis of the four elements. * Speculative: mindfulness of breath. The six non-color ''kasinas'' and the four formless states are suitable for all temperaments.

Supernormal abilities

The '' Visuddhimagga'' is one of the extremely rare texts within the enormous literature of

to give explicit details about how spiritual masters are thought to actually manifest supernormal abilities. Abilities such as flying through the air, walking through solid obstructions, diving into the ground, walking on water and so forth are performed by changing one element, such as earth, into another element, such as air. The individual must master ''kasina'' meditation before this is possible. Dipa Ma, who trained via the ''Visuddhimagga'', was said to demonstrate these abilities.

Notes

References

External links

In search of a teacher
by Dr. Tin Htut

by Sayadaw U Uttamasara

a guide by Ven. K. Nyanananda
The Forty Meditation Objects: Who Should Use Which?
by Karen Andrews
Dharmathai Kammathana Blog
Chinawangso Bhikkhu

by Thitapu Bhikkhu, includes instructions for use and construction of the ''kasiṇa'' object. Via Archive.org.

by Sotapanna Jhanananda (Jeffrey S. Brooks), describes the context for ''kasiṇa'' objects in the pursuit of Nibbana and discusses the color of an "earth" ''kasiṇa''.
"Kasiṇa(2),"
PTS Pali-English Dictionary entry, includes Tipitaka references and related terms. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kammatthana Buddhist meditation Buddhist philosophical concepts Pali words and phrases