THE PATTERN OF ASUBHA MEDITATION DEVELOPMENT : A CASE STUDY OF WAT PA SRIVILAI, BANGMOONNAK DISTRICT, PICHIT PROVINCE

Abstract

This dissertation comprises 3 objectives: 1) to investigate the practice of Kammaṭṭhāna as delineated in Theravāda Buddhist scriptures; 2) to examine the cultivation of meditation through Asubhakammaṭṭhāna; and 3) to present a model for the practice of Asubha Kammaṭṭhāna as implemented at Wat Pa Si Wilai, Bang Mun Nak District, Phichit Province. This study employs a qualitative methodology, collating data from documentary sources, pertinent prior research, and in-depth interviews with experts on the principles and methods of Asubha Kammaṭṭhāna. The collected data were subsequently synthesized, analyzed, and explicated through a descriptive process.

          The research yields the following findings:

          1) The practice of Kammaṭṭhāna within Theravāda Buddhism revealed that Kammaṭṭhāna refers to the object or basis for meditative cultivation aimed at mental development. The Kammaṭṭhāna practice is classified as one of the two principal duties in Buddhism, alongside Ganthadhura or study duty and Vipassanādhura or insight practice. It is a discipline for training the mind to attain tranquility, seclusion, and one-pointedness, which suppresses the defilements, the root cause of suffering. There are 40 types of Kammaṭṭhāna, including the ten recollections (anussati), ten kasiṇas (universal concepts), and ten contemplations of foulness (asubha), which are suited to various individual temperaments (carita). Consequently, the practice serves as a preliminary form of mental management or development to pacify the five hindrances (nīvaraṇa). This pacification engenders tranquility, joy (pīti), and well-being in daily life, mitigating turmoil and reducing psychophysical stress. It fortifies the mind against disruptive sensory inputs, fosters serenity, and establishes a foundational state conducive to the facile attainment of higher levels of insight knowledge or Vipassanāñāṇa.

          2) Meditation according to the method of Asubha Kammaṭṭhāna finds that it is defined as the contemplation of a corpse as a meditative object. There are ten prescribed stages of decomposition for contemplation: 1) a bloated corpse; 2) a discolored, livid corpse; 3) a festering corpse; 4) a corpse bisected; 5) a corpse gnawed by animals; 6) a dismembered corpse; 7) a hacked and mangled corpse; 8) a bleeding corpse; 9) a worm-infested corpse; and 10) a skeleton. Should the practitioner successfully develop a mental image (nimitta) through this contemplation, this image can then be used as the focus of meditation. There are two categories of such images: the learning sign (uggaha-nimitta) and the counterpart sign (paṭibhāga-nimitta).