The Practice Which leads to Nibbana - A Buddhist Library

w 6As he continues to concentrate on this white circle it progressivelybecomes whiter and brighter and he can use it to attain thefirst, second, third, and fourth jhŒnas based on this white nimitta.A meditator who can attain the fourth jhŒna using the white kasiöacan then easily use that concentration and the light associated with itas a basis for the development of the "Four Protections" (caturakkha):Loving-kindness meditation (mettŒ), Recollection of the qualitiesof the Buddha (Buddhanussati), meditation on the repulsiveness ofcorpses (asubha), and Recollection of death. (Marananussati). Themeditator will find that he will be able to learn and develop thesemeditations very easily, and quickly because of the momentum andassistance of the fourth jhŒna concentration using the white kasiöa.The path of practise of the meditator that we have described sofar constitutes the development of concentration that is generallyfollowed by meditators at Pa Auk Tawya who begin by developingmindfulness of breathing.Alternate Way of Developing ConcentrationBased On Four Elements MeditationIn the beginning of this overview we also mentioned that themeditator can begin by developing the Four Elements Meditation.If a meditator begins to develop his concentration by using the FourElements Meditation then his path of practise will be as follows:Firstly he learns to discern in the body each of the 12 characteristicsof the four elements one at a time. The 12 characteristics are:Hardness, roughness, heaviness,Softness, smoothness, lightness,Cohesion, flowingHeat, cold,Supporting, and pushing.(Earth element).(Earth element).(Water element).(Fire element).(Air element).