The Practice Which leads to Nibbana - A Buddhist Library

w 68Internally And ExternallyThe Abhidhamma commentary explains that whoever has attainedthe first jhŒna by paying attention to the repulsiveness of theskeleton should go on to develop the five masteries of the first jhŒna.Then after that the meditator should take a being sitting in front ofhim or the nearest being that he can see with his light of concentrationand take that being's skeleton as an object and pay attention to that asrepulsive and develop this perception until the jhŒna factors becomeprominent. According to the commentary even though the jhŒnafactors are prominent you cannot call this concentration upacŒra orappanŒ concentration because the object is living, but according tothe explanation of the Sub-commentary to the Abhidhamma, calledMèlaÊ´ka, if you pay attention to the external bones as if they were adead skeleton you can attain upacŒra concentration. When the jhŒnafactors become clear in this way then you should again pay attentionto the internal skeleton as repulsive. You should pay attentionalternately once internally and then once externally. When you havepaid attention to the repulsiveness of the skeleton like this bothinternally and externally many times and when your meditation onrepulsiveness has become very strong and complete, then you shouldstart to discern the skeleton externally in all ten directions. Youshould take one direction at a time, wherever your light of concentrationreaches, and develop each direction in the same way.You should apply your knowledge both far and near and in alldirections in this way once internally and once externally. Practiseuntil wherever you look in the ten directions you only see skeletons.When you have succeeded in doing this you are now ready toproceed to the development of the white kasiöa.Colour KasiöaThere are four colours used as a basis for kasiöa meditation andthey are blue, red, yellow, and white. Of these four colours the one