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InBuddhism,kammaṭṭhāna (Pali:𑀓𑀫𑁆𑀫𑀝𑁆𑀞𑀸𑀦,Sanskrit:𑀓𑀭𑁆𑀫𑀲𑁆𑀣𑀸𑀦,romanized: karmasthāna) literally meansplace of work. Its original meaning was someone's occupation (farming, trading, cattle-tending, etc.) but this meaning has developed into severaldistinct but related usages all having to do withBuddhist meditation.
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Its most basic meaning is as a word for meditation, with meditation being the main occupation ofBuddhist monks. In Burma, senior meditation practitioners are known as "kammatthanacariyas" (meditation masters). TheThai Forest Tradition names itselfKammaṭṭhāna Forest tradition in reference to their practice of meditating in the forests.
In thePali literature, prior to the post-canonical Palicommentaries, the termkammaṭṭhāna comes up in only a handful of discourses and then in the context of "work" or "trade."[a]
Buddhaghosa useskammatthana to refer to each of his forty meditation objects listed in the third chapter of theVisuddhimagga, which are partially derived from thePāli Canon. In this sensekammatthana can be understood as "occupations" in the sense of "things to occupy the mind", or as "workplaces" in the sense of "places to focus the mind on during the work of meditation". Throughout his translation of theVisuddhimagga,Ñāṇamoli translates this term simply as "meditation subject".[1]
Kasina (Pali:𑀓𑀲𑀺𑀦,romanized: kasina,lit. 'a whole', Sanskrit:𑀓𑀾𑀢𑁆𑀲𑁆𑀦,romanized: kṛtsna) refers to a class of basic visual objects ofmeditation used inTheravada Buddhism. The objects are described in thePali Canon and summarized in the famousVisuddhimagga meditation treatise askammaṭṭhāna on which to focus the mind whenever attention drifts.[2]Kasina meditation is one of the most common types ofsamatha-vipassana, intended to settle the mind of the practitioner and create a foundation for further practices of meditation. This is similar to the yogic practice ofTrāṭaka.
TheVisuddhimagga concerns kasina meditation.[3] According to American scholar-monkṬhānissaro 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."[3] He argues that by emphasizing kasina meditation, theVisuddhimagga departs from the focus onjhāna 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."[3]
Although practice with kasiṇas is associated with the Theravāda tradition, it appears to have been more widely known among variousBuddhist schools in India at one time.Asanga makes reference to kasiṇas in theSamāhitabhūmi section of hisYogācārabhūmi-Śāstra.[4]Uppalavannā, one of the Buddha's chief female disciples, famously attainedarahantship using a fire (tejo) kasina as her object of meditation.[5][6][7]
Of the forty objects meditated upon as kammaṭṭhāna, the first ten are kasina described as 'things one can behold directly'. These are described in theVisuddhimagga, and also mentioned in the PaliTipitaka.[8]They are:
The kasinas are typically described as a coloured disk, with the particular colour, properties, dimensions and medium often specified according to the type of kasina. The earth kasina, 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.
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:
The next ten are recollections (anussati):
Four are 'divine abidings', which are the virtues of the "Brahma realm" (Pāli:Brahmaloka):
Four are formless states (fourarūpa-āyatana):
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).
| Table:Rūpa jhāna | ||||
| Cetasika (mental factors) | First jhāna | Second jhāna | Third jhāna | Fourth jhāna |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kāma / Akusala dhamma (sensuality / unskillful qualities) | secluded from; withdrawn | does not occur | does not occur | does not occur |
| Pīti (rapture) | seclusion-born; pervades body | samādhi-born; pervades body | fades away (along with distress) | does not occur |
| Sukha (non-sensual pleasure) | pervades physical body | abandoned (no pleasure nor pain) | ||
| Vitakka ("applied thought") | accompanies jhāna | unification of awareness free from vitakka and vicāra | does not occur | does not occur |
| Vicāra ("sustained thought") | ||||
| Upekkhāsatipārisuddhi | does not occur | internal confidence | equanimous; mindful | purity of equanimity and mindfulness |
| Sources:[10][11][12] | ||||
According to Gunaratana, following Buddhaghosa, due to the simplicity of subject matter, all fourjhanas can be induced throughānāpānasati (mindfulness of breathing) and the tenkasinas.[13]
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.[13]
Absorption in the firstjhana 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.[13]
Absorption in the first threejhanas can be realized by contemplating the first threebrahma-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 fourthbrahma-vihara (equanimity) arises.[13]
Each kammatthana can be suggested, especially by a spiritual friend (kalyāṇa-mitta), 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.[14]
All of the aforementioned meditation subjects can suppress theFive Hindrances, thus allowing one to fruitfully pursuewisdom. In addition, anyone can productively apply specific meditation subjects asantidotes, such as meditating on foulness to counteract lust or on the breath to abandon discursive thought.
ThePali commentaries further provide guidelines for suggesting meditation subjects based on one's general temperament:
The six non-colorkasinas and the four formless states are suitable for all temperaments.[13]
TheVisuddhimagga is one of the extremely rare texts within the enormous literature ofBuddhism to give explicit details about how spiritual masters are thought to actually manifestsupernormal abilities.[15] 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 oneelement, such as earth, into another element, such as air.[16] The individual must masterkasina meditation before this is possible.[16]Dipa Ma, who trained via theVisuddhimagga, was said to demonstrate these abilities.[17]
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