1. Human development
  2. Sivathika (Buddhism / Pali)

Sivathika (Buddhism / Pali)

  • Meditation on death
  • Meditation on foulness
  • Charnel ground contemplation

Description

In the framework of [satipatthana]

(practice of the presence of mindfulness) contemplation of a corpse in various stages of decomposition is recommended as part of the practice of mindfulness of body, body contemplation on the body. Among the forty subjects enumerated by Hinayana Buddhism as suitable for meditation are ten kinds of such 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. Meditation on one of these subjects leads to the first jhana and is particularly suited to the lustful or greedy person, since development of foulness assists in suppressing lust and greed.

Context

An exercise sometimes included in one of the four foundations of mindfulness, body contemplation on the body.

Broader

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Metadata

Database
Human development
Type
(H) Concepts of human development
Content quality
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Language
English
Last update
Dec 3, 2024