10 kasinas

In Theravada Buddhism, kasiṇa is the Pali word for class of basic visual objects of meditation. There are ten kasiṇa mentioned in the Pali Tipitaka:
#earth (paṭhavī kasiṇa),
#water (āpo kasiṇa),
#air, wind (vāyo kasiṇa),
#fire (tejo kasiṇa),
#blue, green (nīla kasiṇa),
#yellow (pīta kasiṇa),
#red (lohita kasiṇa),
#white (odāta kasiṇa),
#enclosed space, hole, aperture (ākāsa kasiṇa),
#bright light (āloka kasiṇa).
The kasiṇa are typically described as a colored disk, with the particular color, properties, dimensions and medium often specified according to the type of kasiṇa. The earth kasiṇa, for instance, is a disk in a red-brown color formed by spreading earth or clay (or another medium producing similar color and texture) on a screen of canvas or another backing material.
Kasina meditation is a concentration meditation (variously known in different traditions as samatha, dhyana, or jhana meditations), intended to settle the mind of the practitioner and create a foundation for further practices of meditation. In the early stages of kasina meditation, a physical object is used as the object of meditation, being focused upon by the practitioner until an eidetic (after-image) image of the object forms in the practitioners mind. In more advanced levels of kasina meditation, only a mental image of the kasina is used as an object of meditation. Unlike the breath, Buddhist tradition indicates that some kasina are not appropriate objects for certain higher levels of meditation, nor for meditation of the vipassana (insight) type.
The ten kasina are part of the forty kammatthana: objects of meditation. They are described in detail by Buddhaghosa in the meditation section of the Visuddhimagga. A survey of meditation techniques in the UK found that those who do Kasina practice form about 3-15% of total meditators.
==References==
*The Complete Book of Buddha's Lists -- Explained. David N. Snyder, Ph.D., 2006.
*http://www.thedhamma.com/
*Kruawan Sookcharoen (1998) Meditation: A Therapeutic Tool For Managing Stress, M.Sc. Nursing Studies thesis (King's College, London). 3% for Kasina alone, 15% if those practising the aloka kasina practice of Dhammakaya meditation are included.
Category:Buddha's Lists