Benefits of Kasiṇa Bhāvanā Practice

It can be confidently said that kasiṇa-bhāvanā is a right practice of concentration, and was taught and approved by the Buddha himself. It is a right way to achieve jhāna and (rightly) partakes of the alms offered by the country or the pious.

Depending on the level of the practitioner, it is possible to experience the joy, happiness or bliss of jhāna. The practices of kasiṇabhāvanā can certainly increase the focus and awareness of the mind, which are important mental qualities for those who work indirectly or directly in a way dependent on the level of awareness (sati).

One of the most important aspects of meditation is the development of concentration, the benefits of which for human health, especially ability to cope, are scientifically proven, and include: ¹⁶⁵

1. stress reduction; 2. anxiety control; 3. improved emotional health; 4. enhanced self-awareness; 5. longer attention span; 6. reduced age-related memory loss; 7. more generation of kindness; 8. improved ability to fight addictions; 9. improved sleep; 10. pain control; 11. decreased blood pressure.

The Aṅguttara commentary regards all ten kasiṇas as the bases of the rūpajhānas, vipassanā, higher knowledge (abhiññā) and the cessation or destruction of passion (rāganirodha). Furthermore, it is ¹⁶⁶ suggested that kasiṇa-bhāvanā is associated with development of:

1. the power of determination (adhitthān iddhi), i.e. the power of

becoming oneself manifold;

2. the power of transformation (vikubbana iddhi), i.e. the power

of adopting another form; 3. the power of spiritual creation (manomaya iddhi), i.e. the

power of letting issue from this body another mentally produced body; 4. the power of penetrating knowledge (ñāna-vipphara iddhi), i.e.

the power of inherent insight to remain unhurt in danger; 5. the power of penetrating concentration, i.e. (samādhivippharā

iddhi) producing the same result.

The term paṭhavi-kasiṇa is found in the first book of Abhidhamma, joined to each of the four stages of trance on the Form Plane, although it is unclear whether this kasiṇa was the artificial one described by Buddhaghosa, or a natural phenomena.

The Visuddhimagga gives an exposition concerning the special advantages that a meditator may expect to receive:

1. By practicing the earth-kasiṇa (paṭhavī-kasiṇa), meditators will

acquire: (1) the power of multiplying themselves, being one to appear as many (“Having been one, he becomes many”); (2) the ability to create the solidity of earth in the air or on the water, and to walk, stand, sit, or lie upon it; and (3) mastery over material objects (abhibhāyatana), both the limited and the unlimited. 2. By practicing the water-kasiṇa (āpo-kasiṇa), meditators become

able: (1) to dive into the earth as though into water; (2) to create rain, rivers, and seas; (3) to shake the earth and rocks, or the dwellings thereon, separately; and (4) to cause water to issue from all parts of the body as they choose. 3. By practicing the fire-kasiṇa (tejo-kasiṇa), meditators: (1)

acquire the power to cause smoke to issue from all parts of the body, and fire to come down from the sky like a shower; (2) by means of the heat that issues from their body, they can overpower that which comes from another person; (3) can cause anything to burn at will; (4) can create a light to see forms as though with divine eyes (dibba-cakkhu); and (5), when at the point of death, can cremate their own body spontaneously by means of the fire element. 4. By practicing the air-kasiṇa (vāyo-kasiṇa), meditators: (1)

acquire the power to move themselves as swiftly as the wind; (2) can cause the wind to blow and the rain to fall wherever

they wish; and (3) can cause any substance to move itself from one place to another (telekinesis). 5. By practicing the blue-kasiṇa (nīla-kasiṇa), meditators: (1) are

able to radiate the world, within the limit of their will, with the color blue; (2) can create blue forms; (3) can create darkness; (4) can acquire mastery over blue-colored objects, whether of a clean or an unclean appearance; and (5) can attain aesthetic release (subha-vimokkha). 6. By practicing the yellow-kasiṇa (pīta-kasiṇa), meditators: (1) can

radiate yellow color from their body and diffuse it over the world; (2) can create yellow forms; (3) can change any substance whatever into gold; (4) can acquire mastery over yellow-colored objects by the above method; and (5) can attain aesthetic release. 7. By practicing the red-kasiṇa (lohita-kasiṇa), meditators: (1) can

display red color in the same way as already described; (2) can attain mastery over red-colored objects; and (3) can attain aesthetic release. 8. By practicing the white-kasiṇa (odāta-kasiṇa), meditators: (1)

can create white forms; (2) can overcome sleepiness and sloth and torpor; (3) can dispel darkness; (4) can produce light to see forms as though with divine eyes; (5) can attain mastery over white-colored objects; and (6) can attain aesthetic release. 9. By practicing the light-kasiṇa (āloka-kasiṇa), meditators: (1) can

create illumination; (2) can make illuminated forms materialize; (3) can overcome sloth and torpor; and (4) can produce light to see forms as though with divine eyes. 10. By practicing the space-kasiṇa (ākāsa-kasiṇa), meditators: (1)

can discover objects that are concealed; (2) can cause things to appear that are lost or hidden; (3) can see into the middle of rocks and into the earth; (4) can penetrate into them and create space within them; and (5) can pass through walls and other solid masses. ¹⁶⁷

The visualization of all of them is divided in the Mahāsakuludāyi-sutta according to whether it is above, below, across, nondual and limitless. Thus, one may visualize the earth-kasiṇa (paṭhavī- ¹⁶⁸

kasiṇa) and expand it upward, up to the sky; another downward; another on all sides; and so on. One may spread out the kasiṇa for various reasons, such as, for example, one who desires to see forms with divine eyes diffuses the light. Visualization that is “in unity” or “non-dual” is intended to show that one kasiṇa does not mix with another - that is, in the case of visualization, although they are inseparable (avinibbhoga) in their elementary nature - or does not attain the state of another. For, just as a man who has entered the water finds water all about him, and not any other element, even so, the earth-kasiṇa is simply earth-kasiṇa — it does not mix with any other kasiṇas. In the mental diffusion of the kasiṇa, there is no measure or limit, for those who diffuse it know no bounds, but, instead, diffuse it to the entire universe. This universality accords with the original meaning ascribed to the word “kasiṇa”, “all, whole, entire”.

According to a study conducted by the author in 2018-2019, the following data on kasiṇa meditation practitioners emerged. ¹⁶⁹

The data collected by demographic questions showed that most of the practitioners of kasiṇa meditation were over 40 years old (92.0%) and the proportion of younger practitioners was significantly lower (8%). Kasiṇa meditation was practiced by women almost twice as much as men (accordingly 64.0% and 36.0%). Both, married and non-married people practice kasiṇa meditation almost equally (accordingly 40.0% and 44.0%), and there was no specific pattern with participators’ marital status. Almost half of the mediators (56.0%) had secondary education and the other half of the kasiṇa mediators (44.0%) had higher education. In Thailand, less than 10% of the population has higher education, so the share of practitioners with higher education in this kasiṇa meditation practitioner group was high relative to the general population.

The collected data showed that with respect to the frequency of use of kasiṇa types, the most used kasiṇas were red (48.0%) and white (28.0%). The data also showed that every third practitioner changes kasiṇas from time to time.

Most of the participants (92%) in the study had meditated for more than a year. 74,0% of practitioners practiced kasiṇa meditation in one session for either half an hour or longer, and 72% of practitioners practiced three or more times per week.

The research into the motivation of the meditators revealed three patterns. The practiced because they wanted to achieve peace of mind,

achieve better concentration, and attain jhāna, which included cessation of kilesas and awakening.

Most of the respondents had earlier practiced breathing meditation (ānāpānasati) or had practiced kasiṇa meditation and breathing meditation in parallel. 24.0% of practitioners were practicing vipassanā meditation (kayānussati) in jhāna. Most of practitioners also practiced walking meditation. Some practitioners were practicing asubha meditation, some practicing rising-falling meditation, and one practitioner confirmed that he could see the different elements (dhātu) of his body, and he could feel that these elements were warm or cold, soft or hard.

Very important information was provided in the responses to the sixth part of the questionnaire, in which participants answered the questions on 21 qualities of the mind. According to the study, most the practitioners had reduced or stopped: sensuous desire (kāmacchanda) including sexual lust; ill-will (vyāpāda), hostility and aversion or hatred; sloth and torpor (thīna-middha) and apathy; unrest, restlessness and remorse, worry, scruples, remorse (uddhacca-kukkucca) = tension, stress and anxiety; sceptical doubt, perplexity (vicikicchā); attachment to senseobjects (kāmarāgānusaya); pride (mānānusaya); wrong view (diṭṭhānusaya); ignorance (avijjānusaya); attachment to rūpa-/ arūpajhānas and worldly-existence; delusion (moha); lack of moral shame, impudence (ahirika) ; lack of moral dread, recklessness (anotappa); hatred, anger, aversion (dosa); envying others success, jealousy (issā); avarice, stinginess: concealing one’s property (macchariya); conceit, pride (māna); and covetousness and greed (lobha). None of the respondents experienced increase in unwholesome mind properties during kasiṇa meditation.

24.0% of all respondents achieved at least preparatory concentration, 20.0% of all respondents achieved neighbor-hood concentration and 56.0% of all respondents achieved attainment concentration. 44.0% of all respondents experienced in kasiṇa meditation the joy or/and happiness as maximum level of concentration and 56.0% of all respondents experienced in kasiṇa meditation the onepointedness as maximum level of concentration. On the basis of these data, it can be concluded that more than half of meditation practitioners (56%) achieved at least the first jhāna when doing kasiṇa meditation.

56.0% of all respondents always felt calmer or more peaceful after kasiṇa meditation practice and 44.0% of all respondents sometimes felt calmer or more peaceful after kasiṇa meditation practice. No respondent replied that he/she never felt calmer or more peaceful after kasiṇa meditation practice. 68.0% of all respondents always experienced more ease in their life while dealing with difficult situations because of kasiṇa

meditation and 32.0% of all respondents sometimes experienced more ease in their life while dealing with difficult situations because of kasiṇa meditation. No respondent replied that they never experienced more ease in their life while dealing with difficult situations because of kasiṇa meditation.

After synthesis of key findings, the following effects of the practice of kasiṇa meditation in daily life emerged. The practitioners reported that that their;

• determination had improved; • internal calmness had increased; • self-confidence has been boosted; • emotion management and control had improved; • control over what happened in their minds has increased; • immune system function had improved; • tolerance had increased; • ability to cope with conflict situations has improved; • ability to focus on priorities at work has been raised; • Specific wisdom had appeared; • ability to get the desired results has accelerated.

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Notes

1. Matthew Thorpe, “12 Science-Based Benefits of Meditation”, July 5, 2017, source: https:// 165 www.healthline.com/nutrition/12-benefits-of-meditation#section-11.
2. See details in Ps. 205.
3. Vim. 71-130; Paravahera Vajirañāṇa, Buddhist Meditation in Theory and Practice, pp. 167 126-127;
4. Sujato bhikkhu (tr.), “The Longer Discourse with Sakuludāyī”, March 24, 2020, source: 168 https://suttacentral.net/mn77/en/sujato.
5. Andrus Kahn (Ṭhitañāṇa bhikkhu), (March, 2019), “Kasiṇa Bhāvanā Theory and Practice in 169 Theravada School: A Case Study“, A Dissertation of Doctor of Philosophy in Buddhist Studies, Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University.