Visuddhimagga - THE REMAINING KASINAS

THE PATH
OF PURIFICATION
(VISUDDHIMAGGA)
BY
BHADANTACARIYA BUDDHAGHOSA
Translated from the Pali
by
BHIKKHU NANAMOLI
FIFTH EDITION
BUDDHIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY
Kandy Sri Lanka


CHAPTER V
THE REMAINING KASINAS
(Sesa-kasina-niddesa)

[THE WATER KASINA]
1. [170] Now the water kasina comes next after the earth kasina (Ch.
HI, §105). Here is the detailed explanation.
One who wants to develop the water kasina should, as in the case of
the earth kasina, seat himself comfortably and apprehend the sign in
water that 'is either made up or not made up', etc.; and so all the rest
should be repeated in detail (Ch. IV, §22). And as in this case, so with
all those that follow [in this chapter]. We shall in fact not repeat even
this much and shall only point out what is different.
2. Here too, when someone has had practice in previous [lives], the
sign arises for him in water that is not made up, such as a pool, a lake, a
lagoon, or the ocean as in the case of the Elder Cula-SIva. The venerable
one, it seems, thought to abandon gain and honour and live a secluded
life. He boarded a ship at Mahatittha (Mannar) and sailed to Jambudipa
(India). As he gazed at the ocean meanwhile the kasina sign, the counter-
part of that ocean, arose in him.
3. Someone with no such previous practice should guard against the
four faults of a kasina (Ch. IV, §24) and not apprehend the water as one
of the colours, blue, yellow, red or white. He should fill a bowl or a four-
footed water pot
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to the brim with water uncontaminated by soil, taken
in the open through a clean cloth [strainer], or with any other clear
unturbid water. He should put it in a screened place on the outskirts of
the monastery as already described and seat himself comfortably. He
should neither review its colour nor bring its characteristic to mind.
Apprehending the colour as belonging to its physical support, he should
set his mind on the [name] concept as the most outstanding mental
datum, and using any among the [various] names for water (dpo) such
as 'rain' (ambu), 'liquid' (udaka)y 'dew' (vdri), 'fluid' (salila)? he should
develop [the kasina] by using [preferably] the obvious 'water, water'.
4. As he develops it in this way, the two signs eventually arise in him
in the way already described. Here, however, the learning sign has the
appearance of moving. [171] If the water has bubbles of froth mixed
with it, the learning sign has the same appearance, and it is evident as a
fault in the kasina. But the counterpart sign appears inactive, like a
crystal fan set in space, like the disk of a looking-glass made of crystal.


With the appearance of that sign he reaches access jhana and the jhana
tetrad and pentad in the way already described.
[THE FIRE KASINA]
5. Anyone who wants to develop the fire kasina should apprehend the
sign in fire. Herein, when someone with merit, having had previous
practice, is apprehending the sign, it arises in him in any sort of fire, not
made up, as he looks at the fiery combustion in a lamp's flame or in a
furnace or in a place for baking bowls or in a forest conflagration, as in
the Elder Cittagutta's case. The sign arose in that elder as he was looking
at a lamp's flame while he was in the Uposatha house on the day of
preaching the Dhamma.
6. Anyone else should make one up. Here are the directions for making
it. He should split up some damp heartwood, dry it, and break it up into
short lengths. He should go to a suitable tree root or to a shed and there
make a pile in the way done for baking bowls, and have it lit. He should
make a hole a span and four fingers wide in a rush mat or a piece of
leather or a cloth, and after hanging it in front of the fire, he should sit
down in the way already described. Instead of giving attention to the
grass and sticks below or the smoke above, he should apprehend the sign
in the dense combustion in the middle.
7. He should not review the colour as blue or yellow, etc., or give
attention to its characteristic as heat, etc., but taking the colour as be-
longing to its physical support, and setting his mind on the [name] con-
cept as the most outstanding mental datum, and using any among the
names for fire (tejo) such as *the Bright One' (pdvaka), 'the Leaver of
the Black Trail' (kanhavattani), 'the Knower of Creatures' (jdtaveda),
'the Altar of Sacrifice' (hutdsana), etc., he should develop [the kasina]
by using [preferably] the obvious 'fire, fire'.
8. As he develops it in this way the two signs eventually arise in him
as already described. Herein, the learning sign appears like [the fire to
keep] sinking down as the flame keeps detaching itself. [172] But when
someone apprehends it in a kasina that is not made up, any fault in the
kasina is evident [in the learning sign], and any firebrand, or pile of
embers or ashes, or smoke appears in it. The counterpart sign appears
motionless like a piece of red cloth set in space, like a gold fan, like a
gold column. With its appearance he reaches access jhana and the jhana
tetrad and pentad in the way already described.
[THE AIR KASINA]
9. Anyone who wants to develop the air kasina should apprehend the
sign in air. And that is done either by sight or by touch. For this is said in


the Commentaries: 'One who is learning the air kasina apprehends the
sign in air. He notices the tops of [growing] sugarcane moving to and
fro; or he notices the tops of bamboos, or the tops of trees, or the ends of
the hair, moving to and fro; or he notices the touch of it on the body'.
10. So when he sees sugarcanes with dense foliage standing with tops
level or bamboos or trees, or else hair four fingers long on a man's head,
being struck by the wind, he should establish mindfulness in this way:
This wind is striking on this place'. Or he can establish mindfulness
where the wind strikes a part of his body after entering by a window
opening or by a crack in a wall, and using any among the names for
wind {ydta) beginning with 'wind' (ydta), 'breeze' (mdluta\ 'blowing'
(anila\ he should develop [the kasina] by using [preferably] the obvious
'air, air'.
11. Here the learning sign appears to move like the swirl of hot [steam]
on rice gruel just withdrawn from an oven. The counterpart sign is quiet
and motionless. The rest should be understood in the way already de-
scribed.
[THE BLUE KASINA]
12. Next it is said [in the Commentaries]: 'One who is learning the blue
kasina apprehends the sign in blue, whether in a flower or in a cloth or in
a colour element'.
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Firstly, when someone has merit, having had previ-
ous practice, the sign arises in him when he sees a bush with blue
flowers, or such flowers spread out on a place of offering, or any blue
cloth or gem.
13. [173] But anyone else should take flowers such as blue lotuses,
girikannikd (morning glory) flowers, etc., and spread them out to fill a
tray or a flat basket completely so that no stamen or stalk shows or with
only their petals. Or he can fill it with blue cloth bunched up together, or
he can fasten the cloth over the rim of the tray or basket like the cover-
ing of a drum. Or he can make a kasina disk, either portable as described
under the earth kasina or on a wall, with one of the colour elements such
as bronze-green, leaf-green, anjana-ointment black, surrounding it with a
different colour. After that, he should bring it to mind as 'blue, blue' in
the way already described under the earth kasina.
14. And here too any fault in the kasina is evident in the learning sign;
the stamens and stalks and the gaps between the petals, etc., are appar-
ent. The counterpart sign appears like a crystal fan in space, free from
the kasina disk. The rest should be understood as already described.
[THE YELLOW KASINA]
15. Likewise with the yellow kasina; for this is said: 'One who is learn-


ing the yellow kasina apprehends the sign in yellow, either in a flower or
in a cloth or in a colour element'. Therefore here too, when someone has
merit, having had previous practice, the sign arises in him when he sees
a flowering bush or flowers spread out, or yellow cloth or colour ele-
ment, as in the case of the Elder Cittagutta. That venerable one, it seems,
saw an offering being made on the flower altar, with pattanga flowers
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at Cittalapabbata, and as soon as he saw it the sign arose in him the size
of the flower altar.
16. Anyone else should make a kasina, in the way described for the blue
kasina, with kanikdra flowers, etc., or with yellow cloth or with a colour
element. He should bring it to mind as 'yellow, yellow'. The rest is as
before.
[THE RED KASINA]
17. Likewise with the red kasina; for this is said: *One who is learning
the red kasina apprehends the sign in red, [174] either in a flower or in a
cloth or in a colour element'. Therefore here too, when someone has
merit, having had previous practice, the sign arises in him when he sees
a bandhujivaka (hibiscus) bush, etc., in flower, or such flowers spread
out, or a red cloth or gem or colour element.
18. But anyone else should make a kasina, in the way already described
for the blue kasina, with jayasumana flowers or bandhujivaka or red
korandaka flowers, etc., or with red cloth or with a colour element. He
should bring it to mind as 'red, red'. The rest is as before.
[THE WHITE KASINA]
19. Of the white kasina it is said: 'One who is learning the white kasina
apprehends the sign in white, either in a flower or in a cloth or in a
colour element'. So firstly, when someone has merit, having had previ-
ous practice, the sign arises in him when he sees a flowering bush of
such a kind or vassikasumana (jasmine) flowers, etc., spread out, or a
heap of white lotuses or lilies, white cloth or colour element; and it also
arises in a tin disk, a silver disk, and the moon's disk.
20. Anyone else should make a kasina, in the way already described for
the blue kasina, with the white flowers already mentioned, or with cloth
or colour element. He should bring it to mind as *white, white'. The rest
is as before.
[THE LIGHT KASINA]
21. Of the light kasina it is said: 'One who is learning the light kasina
apprehends the sign in light in a hole in a wall, or in a keyhole, or in a
window opening'. So firstly, when someone has merit, having had previ-


ous practice, the sign arises in him when he sees the circle thrown on a
wall or a floor by sunlight or moonlight entering through a hole in a
wall, etc., or when he sees a circle thrown on the ground by sunlight or
moonlight coming through a gap in the branches of a dense-leaved tree
or through a gap in a hut made of closely packed branches.
22. Anyone else should use that same kind of circle of luminosity just
described, developing it as 'luminosity, luminosity' or 'light, light*. If he
cannot do so, he can light a lamp inside a pot, close the pot's mouth,
make a hole in it and place it with the hole facing a wall. The lamplight
coming out of the hole throws a circle on the wall. He should develop
that [175] as 'light, light'. This lasts longer than the other kinds.
23. Here the learning sign is like the circle thrown on the wall or the
ground. The counterpart sign is like a compact bright cluster of lights.
The rest is as before.
[THE LIMITED-SPACE KASINA]
24. Of the limited-space kasina it is said: 'One who is learning the space
kasina apprehends the sign in a hole in a wall, or in a keyhole, or in a
window opening'. So firstly, when someone has merit, having had previ-
ous practice, the sign arises in him when he sees any [such gap as a] hole
in a wall.
25. Anyone else should make a hole a span and four fingers broad in a
well-thatched hut, or in a piece of leather, or in a rush mat, and so on.
He should develop one of these, or a hole such as a hole in a wall, as
'space, space'.
26. Here the learning sign resembles the hole together with the wall,
etc., that surrounds it. Attempts to extend it fail. The counterpart sign ap-
pears only as a circle of space. Attempts to extend it succeed. The rest
should be understood as described under the earth kasina.
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[GENERAL]
27. He with Ten Powers, who all things did see,
Tells ten kasinas, each of which can be
The cause of fourfold and of fivefold jhana,
The fine-material sphere's own master key.
Now knowing their descriptions and the way
To tackle each and how they are developed,
There are some further points that will repay
Study, each with its special part to play.
28. Of these, the earth kasina is the basis for such powers as the state
described as 'Having been one, he becomes many' (D.i,78), etc., and
stepping or standing or sitting on space or on water by creating earth,


and the acquisition of the bases of mastery (M.ii,13) by the limited and
measureless method.
29. The water kasina is the basis for such powers as diving in and out of
the earth (D.i,78), causing rain, storms, creating rivers and seas, making
the earth and rocks and palaces quake (M.i,253).
30. The fire kasina is the basis for such powers as smoking, flaming,
causing showers of sparks, countering fire with fire, ability to burn only
what one wants to burn (S,iv,290), [176] causing light for the purpose of
seeing visible objects with the divine eye, burning up the body by means
of the fire element at the time of attaining nibbana (MA.iv,196).
31. The air kasina is the basis for such powers as going with the speed
of the wind, causing wind storms.
32. The blue kasina is the basis for such powers as creating black forms,
causing darkness, acquisition of the bases of mastery by the method of
fairness and ugliness, and attainment of the liberation by the beautiful
(see M.ii,12).
33. The yellow kasina is the basis for such powers as creating yellow
forms, resolving that something shall be gold (S.i,l 16), acquisition of the
bases of mastery in the way stated, and attainment of the liberation by
the beautiful.
34. The red kasina is the basis for such powers as creating red forms,
acquisition of the bases of mastery in the way stated, and attainment of
the liberation by the beautiful.
35. The white kasina is the basis for such powers as creating white
forms, banishing stiffness and torpor, dispelling darkness, causing light
for the purpose of seeing visible objects with the divine eye.
36. The light kasina is the basis for such powers as creating luminous
forms, banishing stiffness and torpor, dispelling darkness, causing light
for the purpose of seeing visible objects with the divine eye.
37. The space kasina is the basis for such powers as revealing the hid-
den, maintaining postures inside the earth and rocks by creating space
inside them, travelling unobstructed through walls, and so on.
38. The classification 'above, below, around, exclusive, measureless'
applies to all kasinas; for this is said: 'He perceives the earth kasina
above, below, around, exclusive, measureless' (M.ii,14), and so on.
39. Herein, above is upwards towards the sky's level. Below is down-
wards towards the earth's level. Around is marked off all around like the
perimeter of a field. For one extends a kasina upwards only, another
downwards, another all round; or for some reason another projects it
thus as one who wants to see visible objects with the divine eye projects
light. [177] Hence 'above, below, around' is said. The word exclusive,
however, shows that any one such state has nothing to do with any other.


Just as there is water and nothing else in all directions for one who is
actually in water, so too, the earth kasina is the earth kasina only; it has
nothing in common with any other kasina. Similarly in each instance.
Measureless means measureless intentness. He is intent upon the entirety
with his mind, taking no measurements in this way: 'This is its begin-
ning, this is its middle'.
40. No kasina can be developed by any living being described as fol-
lows: 'Beings hindered by kamma, by defilement or by kamma-result,
who lack faith, zeal and understanding, will be incapable of entering into
the certainty of lightness in profitable states' (Vbh. 341).
41. Herein, the words hindered by kamma refer to those who possess
bad kamma entailing immediate effect [on rebirth].
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By defilement: who
have fixed wrong view7
or are hermaphrodites or eunuchs. By kamma-
result: who have had a rebirth-linking with no [profitable] root-cause or
with only two [profitable] root-causes. Lack faith: are destitute of faith in
the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. Zeal: are destitute of zeal for the
unopposed way. Understanding: are destitute of mundane and supra-
mundane right view. Will be incapable of entering into the certainty of
rightness in profitable states means that they are incapable of entering
into the noble path called 'certainty' and 'rightness in profitable states'.
42. And this does not apply only to kasinas; for none of them will
succeed in developing any meditation subject at all. So the task of devo-
tion to a meditation subject must be undertaken by a clansman who has
no hindrance by kamma-result, who shuns hindrance by kamma and by
defilement, and who fosters faith, zeal and understanding by listening to
the Dhamma, frequenting good men, and so on.
The fifth chapter called 'The Description of
the Remaining Kasinas' in the Treatise on the
Development of Concentration in the Path of Pu-
rification composed for the purpose of gladdening
good people.