Buddha Abhidhamma - Ultimate Science - BuddhaNet

Chapter 9
KAMMAòòHâNA
Meditation Subjects
Introductory
In ‘kammaññhàna’, ‘kamma’ means the act of meditation and ‘ñhàna’
means station, ground or place, implying subject or exercise.
So ‘kammaññhàna’ means ‘working-ground’ (for meditation)
or ‘subject of meditation’.
This ‘working ground’ or ‘subject of meditation’ will serve as
the training ground or the training tool for mental culture. There
are two aspects of mental culture – one dealing with ‘calm’ and
the other with ‘insight’. Both aspects will be treated in the present
chapter.
The methods of mental training, i.e. meditation, as taught
by Buddha are unique in that they can stop worry, relax mental
tension, eradicate mental depression, offer instant peace or mind,
and lead to samàdhi (concentration), jhàna (ecstatic absorption),
vipassanà-¤àõa (insight), and the four paths and their fruits
(maggas and phalas) which are the highest and noblest attainment
in life.
This chapter will give a brief but authentic and fruitful
account of samatha-bhàvanà (calm-meditation) and vipassanàbhàvanà
(insight-meditation).