[영문 오디오북][앎과 봄]41-45

[웨싼따라]

41. HOW YOU DEVELOP SKELETON MEDITATION

To develop meditation on repulsiveness you take as object either all thirty-two parts of the body or only one part. Let us look at how to meditate on, for example, the skeleton, the bones, which is one of the thirty-two parts of the body.

You should first re-establish the fourth an-apana jhàna, so the light is bright, brilliant and radiant. Then use the light to discern the thirty-two parts in your own body, and then in a being nearby. Discern thus internally and externally once or twice. Then take the internal skeleton as a whole, and discern it with wisdom. When the whole skeleton is clear, take the repulsiveness of the skeleton as object, that is the concept, and note it again and again as either: repulsive - repulsive'; or repulsive skeleton - repulsive skeleton'; or skeleton - skeleton.

Note it in any language you like. You should try to keep your mind calmly concentrated on the object of repulsiveness of the skeleton for one or two hours. Be careful to see the colour, shape, position and delimitation of the skeleton, so that its repulsive nature can arise.

Because of the strength and momentum of the fourth-jhàna concentration based on anapanasati(mindfulness-of-breathing), you will find that this meditation will also become deep and fully established: you will be able to produce, sustain and develop the perception and knowledge of repulsiveness.

Once your concentration on the repulsiveness of the skeleton is established, you should drop the perception of skeleton', and just be mindful of the repulsiveness. According to the Visuddhi-Magga, seeing the colour, shape, position, and delimitation of a part is seeing the uggaha-nimitta.

Seeing and discerning the repulsiveness of that part is seeing the pañi- bhàga-nimitta.

By concentrating on the pañibhàga-nimitta of the repulsiveness of the skeleton, you can attain the first jhàna, at which time the five jhàna factors will be present. They are:

1)        Application (vitakka): directing and placing the mind on the pañibhàga- nimitta of the repulsiveness of the skeleton.

2)        Sustainment (vicàra): maintaining the mind on the pañibhàga-nimitta

of the repulsiveness of the skeleton.

3)        Joy (pãti): liking for the pañibhàga-nimitta of the repulsiveness of the skeleton.

4)        Bliss (sukha): happiness associated about the pañibhàga-nimitta of the repulsiveness of the skeleton.

5)        One-pointedness : one-pointedness of mind on the pañibhà- ganimitta of the repulsiveness of the skeleton.

You can, in a similar way, attain the first jhàna on the repulsiveness of one of the other parts of the body.

A question arises: How can joy and happiness arise with the repulsiveness of the skeleton as object?' The answer is that, although you are concentrating on the repulsiveness of the skeleton, and experience it as really repulsive, there is joy because you have undertaken this meditation, because you have understood the benefits of it, and because you have understood that it will help you to eventually attain freedom from ageing, sickness, and death. Joy and happiness can arise also because you have removed the defilements of the five hindrances, which make the mind hot and tired.

It is just like a scavenger would be delighted to see a big heap of garbage, thinking, I will earn a lot of money from this.' Or like a person who is severely ill would be happy and joyful when relieved by vomiting or having diarrhoea.

The Abhidhamma Commentary explains that whoever has attained the first jhàna on the repulsiveness of the skeleton should go on to develop the five masteries of the first jhàna. After that, the yogi should here too 

take the nearest being, best of all a person sitting in front of him, and with his light of concentration take that person's skeleton as object. He should concentrate on it as repulsive, and develop this until the jhàna factors be- come prominent. Even though they are prominent, it is, according to the commentary, neither access concentration nor absorption concentration , because the object is living. If, however, you concentrate on the external skeleton as if it were dead, you can, ac- cording to the sub-commentary to the Abhidhamma, the mulatika, attain access concentration.

When the jhàna factors are clear, you should again concentrate on the internal skeleton as repulsive. Do this alternately, once internally then once externally, again and again. When you have meditated like this on the repulsiveness of the skeleton, and it has become deep and fully developed, you should extend your field of discernment in all ten directions.

Taking one direction at a time, wherever your light of concentration reaches, develop each direction in the same way. You should apply your penetrating knowledge both near and far, in all directions, once internally and once externally. Practise until wherever you look in the ten directions, you see only skeletons. Once you have succeeded, you are ready to develop the white kasina meditation.

42. HOW YOU DEVELOP THE TEN KASINAS THE COLOUR KASINAS

There are four colours used for kasina meditation: blue, yellow, red, and white. Blue' can also be translated as black', or brown'. All four kasinas can be developed up to the fourth jhàna by using as object the colours of different parts of the body.

According to the Abhidhamma Commentary, the head hairs, body hairs, and irises of the eyes can be used for the blue, brown, or black kasina up to the fourth jhàna; fat and urine can be used for the yellow kasina; blood and flesh can be used for the red kasina; and the white parts, the bones, teeth, and nails can be used for the white kasina.

43. HOW YOU DEVELOP THE WHITE Kasina

It says in the suttas, that the white kasina is the best of the four colour kasinas, because it makes the mind clear and bright. For that reason, let us first discuss how to develop the white kasina.

You should first re-establish the fourth an-apana jhàna, so the light of concentration is bright, brilliant, and radiant. You should then use the light to discern the thirty-two parts of the body internally and then externally in a being nearby. Then discern just the skeleton. If you want to discern it as repulsive you can, if not, simply discern the external skeleton.

Then take either the whitest place in that skeleton, or, if the whole skeleton is white, the whole skeleton, or the back of the skull, and concentrate on it as white - white'.

Alternatively, if you want to, and your concentration is really sharp, you can, if you have seen the internal skeleton as repulsive and reached the first jhàna, take the skeleton as white, and use that as your preliminary object.

You can also discern first the repulsiveness in an external skeleton, and make that perception stable and firm, thus making the white of the skeleton more evident. Then, you can change to the perception of it to white - white', and instead develop the white kasina.

With one of the objects of white in the external skeleton as object, you should practise to keep the mind calmly concentrated for one or two hours.

Because of the strength and momentum of the fourth-jhàna concentra- tion based on anapanasati(mindfulness-of-breathing), you will find that your mind will stay calmly concentrated on the object of white. When you are able to concentrate on the white for one or two hours, you will find that the skeleton disappears and only a white circle remains.

When the white circle is white as cotton wool, it is the uggaha-nimitta (taken-up sign). When it is bright and clear like the morning star, it is the pañibhàga-nimitta (counterpart sign). Before the uggaha-nimitta arises, the skeleton nimitta from which it arises is the parikamma-nimitta (preparatory sign).

Continue to note the kasina as white - white' until it becomes the pañi- bhàga-nimitta. Continue concentrating on the pañibhàga-nimitta until you enter the first jhàna. You will find, however, that this concentration is not very stable and does not last long. In order to make it stable and last a long time, you need to expand the nimitta.

To do this, you should concentrate on the white pañibhàga-nimitta for one or two hours. Then determine to expand the white circle by one, two, three, or four inches, depending on how much you think you are able to expand it. See if you succeed, but do not try to expand the nimitta without first determining a limit: make sure to determine a limit of one, two, three, or four inches.

While expanding the white circle, you may find that it becomes unstable. Then go back to noting it as white - white' to make it stable. But as your concentration increases the nimitta will become stable and tranquil.

When the first expanded nimitta has become stable, you should repeat the process, that is, again determine to expand it by a few inches. This way you can expand the nimitta in stages, until it is one yard in size, then two yards, and so on. Do this until it extends in all ten directions around you, without limit, and so that wherever you look, you see only white. Do it till you see not even a trace of materiality, whether internal or external.

If you developed the white kasina in a past life, during this or a previous Buddha's dispensation, that is, if you have white kasina pàramã, then you will not need to expand the pañibhàga-nimitta, because as you concentrate on it, it will automatically expand in all ten directions.

You should in either case now keep your mind calmly concentrated on the expanded white kasina. And when it is stable, then just as if you were to hang a hat on a hook in a wall, put your mind on one place in that white kasina. Keep your mind there, and continue to note white - white'.

When your mind is tranquil and stable, the white kasina will also be tranquil and stable, and will be exceedingly white, bright, and clear. This too is a pañibhàga-nimitta, produced by expanding the original white kas- iõa pañibhàga-nimitta.

You must continue to meditate, until you can concentrate on that white kasina pañibhàga-nimitta continuously for one or two hours. Then the jhàna factors will become very prominent, clear, and strong in your mind, and you will have reached the first jhàna. The five jhàna factors are:

1)        Application (vitakka): directing and placing the mind on the pañibhàga- nimitta of the white kasina.

2)        Sustainment (vicàra): maintaining the mind on the pañibhàga-nimitta

of the white kasina.

3)        Joy (pãti): joy at the pañibhàga-nimitta of the white kasina.

4)        Bliss (sukha): blissful about the pañibhàga-nimitta of the white kasina.

5)        One-pointedness : one-pointedness of mind on the pañibhàga-nimitta of the white kasina.

The jhàna factors are together called jhàna. In the way described in the talk on anapanasati(mindfulness-of-breathing), develop the five masteries of the first white kasina jhàna, and then develop the second, third, and fourth jhànas, and the masteries of them too.

44. HOW YOU DEVELOP THE REMAINING COLOUR KasinaS

If you have developed the white kasina meditation up to the fourth jhàna using the white of an external skeleton, then you will also be able to develop the brown, blue, or black kasina using external head hairs, the yellow kasina using external fat or urine, and the red kasina using external blood, etc. You can also use those parts in your own body.

When you have succeeded, you can develop the colour kasinas using the colour of also flowers, or other external objects. All blue and brown flowers are calling out, inviting you to develop the blue kasina. All yellow flowers are calling out, inviting you to develop the yellow kasina. All red flowers are calling out, inviting you to develop the red kasina. All white flowers are calling out, inviting you to develop the white kasina.

Thus, a skilled yogi can use whatever he sees to develop kasina concentration and vipassanà, be it animate or inanimate, internal or external.

According to the Pali texts, The Buddha taught ten kasinas. They are the mentioned four colour kasinas, plus a further six: the earth, water, fire, wind, space, and light kasinas.

Now, let us discuss how to develop the remaining six types of kasina.

45. HOW YOU DEVELOP THE EARTH Kasina

To develop the earth kasina, you should find a piece of plain earth, which is reddish brown like the sky at dawn, and with no sticks, stones, or leaves. Then with a stick or some other instrument, draw a circle about one foot across. That is your meditation object: an earth kasina. You should concentrate on it, and note it as earth-earth'. Concentrate on it for a while with your eyes open, and then close them, and visualize the earth kasina. If unable to visualize the nimitta in this way, you should re- establish the fourth an-apana, or white kasina-jhàna. Then use the light of concentration to look at the earth kasina. When you see the nimitta of earth as clearly as if you were looking at it with your eyes open, and it is thus an uggaha-nimitta, you can go and develop it somewhere else.

You should not concentrate on the colour of the earth nimitta, or the characteristics of hardness, roughness, etc. of the. earth element, but concentrate on only the concept of earth. Continue to develop this uggaha- nimitta until it becomes pure and clear, and is the pañibhàga-nimitta.

You should then expand the pañibhàga-nimitta a little at a time, in all ten directions, and develop this meditation up to the fourth jhàna.

41. HOW YOU DEVELOP SKELETON MEDITATION

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42. HOW YOU DEVELOP THE TEN KASINAS THE COLOUR KASINAS

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43. HOW YOU DEVELOP THE WHITE Kasina

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44. HOW YOU DEVELOP THE REMAINING COLOUR KasinaS

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45. HOW YOU DEVELOP THE EARTH Kasina

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