What are the
40 Classic Meditation Objects?
The Buddha taught 40 principal
meditation objects =
kammatthāna:
Kammatthāna literally means:
Place of work, basis of action leading
to the various degrees of mental
meditational absorption:
jhāna.
These 40
classic and orthodox meditation subjects are:
I. The 10 Kasina exercises:
Kasina
= 'Entirety'. All 4
jhānas
possible..
1: Earth kasina, 2: Water kasina, 3: Fire kasina, 4: Wind kasina,
5: Blue kasina, 6: Yellow kasina, 7: Red kasina, 8: White kasina,
9: Light or consciousness kasina, 10: Space kasina.
II. The 10 perceptions of
disgust:
asubha-sañña: 1st
jhāna possible:
A swollen
and bloated corpse, a bluish livid corpse, a rotting corpse,
a cut-up and split corpse, a gnawed corpse, a hacked corpse, a spread
scattered corpse, a bloody corpse, a corpse of maggots, a skeleton.
III. The 10 contemplations:
remembrances or
recollections
anussati:
1: On the
Buddha,
2: The Dhamma, 3:
The Noble
Sangha
community,
4:
Morality,
5: Generosity, 6:
Heavenly
divine beings, 7:
Death,
8:
Body, 9:
In-and-out-breathing:
All 4
jhānas
possible!, 10:
Peace.
IV. The 4 divine abodes or
infinite states:
brahma-vihāra:
1: All-embracing friendliness =
mettā, 2: Pity =
karunā,
3: Mutual joy = muditā, 4: Equanimity =
upekkhā:
All 4
jhānas
successively possible.
V. The 4 formless spheres arūpāyatana: based on
the 4th jhāna:
1: The infinitude of space, 2: The infinitude of consciousness,
3: Empty nothingness, 4: Neither-perception-nor-non-perception.
VI. Perception of the loathsomeness of food
āhāre
patikkūla-saññā:
VII.
Defining Analysis of the
four
great elements dhātu-vavatthāna:.
More details on these 40 Early
Buddhist meditation objects:
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/l/DPPN/wtb/b_f/bhaavanaa.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/libraryibrary/DPPN/wtb/g_m/kasina.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/a/asubha.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/a/anussati.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/b/buddha.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/b_f/dhamma.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/s_t/sangha.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/b_f/caaga.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/s_t/siila.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/b_f/deva.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/g_m/marana.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/g_m/kaaya_gata_sati.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/a/anapana_sati.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/u_v/upasamaanussati.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/b_f/brahma_vihaara.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/g_m/jhaana.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/b_f/dhaatu_vavatthaana.htm
3 Excellent and Complete Meditation Manuals
are here:
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/pdfs/anapanasati.pdf
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/pdfs/Main_Meditation_Manual.pdf
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/pdfs/PathofPurification2011.pdf
Sound worldwide meditation centers can be
found here:
https://www.dhamma.org/en/bycountry
