The Practice Which leads to Nibbana - A Buddhist Library

w 70Alternately, if your mind is really sharp and you have paid attentionto the internal skeleton as repulsive and reached the first jhŒna.Then when the skeleton appears white you can use that white colouras an object for preliminary development. But if you are unableto use an internal part as a kasiöa to reach jhŒna you should take anexternal skeleton and use the white colour of that to continue todevelop and meditate with.Or in another way, you might discern the repulsiveness in anexternal skeleton and by developing this make the perception of theskeleton stable and firm and thus also make the white colour of theskeleton become more evident. Then having achieved that, insteadof continuing to pay attention to the skeleton as repulsive you couldpay attention to it as "white, white" and thus change to the developmentof the white kasiöa.Having taken the white colour of the external skeleton as an objectand paying special attention to the white colour of the skull youshould practise to keep the mind calmly concentrated on that whiteobject for one or two hours at a time.Because of the assistance and support of the concentration of thefourth jhŒna based on mindfulness of breathing you will find thatyour mind will also stay calmly concentrated on the object of thewhite colour. When you are able to concentrate on the white colourfor one or two hours you will find that only a white circle remainsand the skeleton disappears.The white circle when it is white like cotton wool is the learningsign (uggahanimitta). When it becomes bright and clear like themorning star it is the paÊibhŒga nimitta. Before the learning sign hasarisen the skeleton nimitta is the preliminary sign.If you have white kasiöa pŒrami from your past lives because ofhaving developed the white kasiöa in a past life during this present