Human Development
Subjects for meditation
Description:
Hinayana Buddhism enumerates forty subjects as suitable for meditation. These are:Ten kasinas (universals) or devices: earth kasina; water kasina; fire kasina; air kasina; blue kasina; yellow kasina; red kasina; white kasina; light kasina; limited or separated space kasina.
Ten kinds of foulness: swollen or bloated; discoloured or livid; festering; fissured or cut-up; gnawed or mangled; dismembered or scattered; hacked and dismembered or scattered; bleeding; worm-infested; skeleton.
Ten recollections: of the Buddha (the enlightened one); of the law (dhamma); of the order or community (sangha); of morality or virtue; of generosity or liberality; of the deities (deva); mindfulness of death; mindfulness of the body; mindfulness of breathing or respiration; of calm or peace.
Four divine states or abidings: lovingkindness; pity or compassion; sympathy or gladness; equanimity.
The four immaterial states or formless realms: sphere of boundless or unlimited space; sphere of boundless or unlimited consciousness; sphere of nothingness; sphere of neither perception nor non-perception.
One perception: that of the abominableness or repulsiveness of food.
One definition or specification: that of the four elements.
They cannot be developed by those hindered by karma, those of wrong view, those hindered by karma-result (birth through no or two moral causes), those lacking faith, zeal or understanding.
Some of these subjects bring "access" only, in other words unification of mind but not absorption. These are the recollections, except for those of body or breathing, and the one perception and one definition. The others bring absorption or ecstatic concentration, giving rise to the four jhanas as follows: the ten kasinas and mindfulness of breathing bring all four jhanas; the ten kinds of foulness and mindfulness of body bring the first jhana; the first three divine abidings bring three jhanas; the fourth divine abiding and the four immaterial states bring the fourth jhana.
There are two ways of transcending or surmounting: of factors and of objects. Those subjects bringing three or four jhanas imply transcending factors, as the second jhana has to be reached in the same object by transcending the previous jhana factors (applied thought and sustained thought), the third by transcending the second, and so on. Similarly in the fourth divine abiding, as this is reached by surmounting the other abidings in the same object. Transcending of objects is as in the case of the four immaterial states, where boundless space is reached by transcending one of the first nine kasinas as object, this is then transcended as object by boundless consciousness, and so on. There is no transcending with the rest.
Another development is the extension or not of the subject of meditation. This refers only to the ten kasinas, when hearing with the divine ear, seeing with the divine eve, knowing the minds of other beings with the mind depends upon the amount of space on which one is intent. In the case of the other subjects, it may be possible to extend the subject (perceiving a large skeleton as opposed to a small) but, as there is no advantage, this is not recommended. Other subjects (formless objects, for example) cannot, of their nature, be extended.
The subjects of meditation may or may not have "counterpart signs" as object, or individual essence as object. There maybe moving objects in the early stage (although the counterpart is not moving). Again, some of the subjects do not occur among deities, in the Brahma world or in formless existence, although all may arise among human beings - but the divine abiding of equanimity and the four formless states are not for beginners. The means of apprehension in the early stages may be sight, touch or hearsay, or some combination of these. A meditation subject may be conditional on another, for example: the kasinas (except the space kasina) are conditions for the immaterial state; three divine abidings are conditional for the fourth, and so on. All cause blissful life, insight and fortunate rebirth.
Particular meditation subjects are more suited to particular temperaments. The ten kinds of foulness and mindfulness of body are suited to the lustful or greedy person. The divine abidings and the four colour kasinas are suitable for one who hates. Mindfulness of breathing is suited to the deluded or the speculative. The first six recollections are suited to the faithful. Mindfulness of death, recollection of peace, specification of the four elements, perception of repulsiveness in food are suitable for the intelligent. Additionally, the kasinas should be limited in the case of the speculative and extended for the deluded. Again, development of foulness assists in suppressing lust and greed, of lovingkindness in abandoning ill will, mindfulness of breath in cutting off applied thought, impermanence in eliminating pride in "I am".
Broader:
Meditation Narrower:
Eight masteriesKasina meditationSivathikaRecollections as meditation subjectsDivine abidings as meditation subjectsImmaterial states as meditation subjects Related:
RememberingTenfold powers