Starting Contemplation

27. So, after seating himself in the way stated, he should review the dangers in sense desires in the way beginning, “Sense desires give little enjoyment” (M I 91) and arouse longing for the escape from sense desires, for the renunciation that is the means to the surmounting of all suffering. He should next arouse joy of happiness by recollecting the special qualities of the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha; then awe by thinking, “Now, this is the way of renunciation entered upon by all Buddhas, Paccekabuddhas and noble disciples”;and then eagerness by thinking, “In this way I shall surely come to know the taste of the bliss of seclusion.” [125] After that he should open his eyes moderately, apprehend the sign, and so proceed to develop it.^[1]

28. If he opens his eyes too wide, they get fatigued and the disk becomes too obvious, which prevents the sign becoming apparent to him. If he opens them too little, the disk is not obvious enough, and his mind becomes drowsy, which also prevents the sign becoming apparent to him. So he should develop it by apprehending the sign (nimitta), keeping his eyes open moderately, as if he were seeing the reflection of his face (mukha-nimitta) on the surface of a lookingglass.^[2]

29. The colour should not be reviewed. The characteristic should not be given attention.^[3] But rather, while not ignoring the colour, attention should be given by setting the mind on the [name] concept as the most outstanding mental datum, relegating the colour to the position of a property of its physical support. That [conceptual state] can be called by anyone he likes among the names for earth (pathavī) such as “earth” (pathavī), “the Great One” (mahī), “the Friendly One” (medinī), “ground” (bhūmi), “the Provider of Wealth” (vasudhā), “the Bearer of Wealth” (vasudharā), etc., whichever suits his manner of perception. Still “earth” is also a name that is obvious, so it can be developed with the obvious one by saying “earth, earth.” It should be adverted to now with eyes open, now with eyes shut. And he should go on developing it in this way a hundred times, a thousand times, and even more than that, until the learning sign arises.

30. When, while he is developing it in this way, it comes into focus^[4] as he adverts with his eyes shut exactly as it does with his eyes open, then the learning sign is said to have been produced. After its production he should no longer sit in that place;^[5] he should return to his own quarters and go on developing it sitting there. But in order to avoid the delay of foot washing, a pair of singlesoled sandals and a walking stick are desirable. Then if the new concentration vanishes through some unsuitable encounter, he can put his sandals on, take his walking stick, and go back to the place to re-apprehend the sign there. When he returns he should seat himself comfortably and develop it by reiterated reaction to it and by striking at it with thought and applied thought.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

“‘Apprehend the sign’: apprehend with the mind the sign apprehended by the eye in the earth kasiṇa. ‘And develop it’: the apprehending of the sign as it occurs should be continued intensively and constantly practiced” (Vism-mhṭ 120).

[2]:

“Just as one who sees his reflection (mukha-nimitta—lit. “face-sign”) on the surface of a looking-glass does not open his eyes too widely or too little (in order to get the effect), nor does he review the colour of the looking-glass or give attention to its characteristic, but rather looks with moderately opened eyes and sees only the sign of his face, so too this meditator looks with moderately opened eyes at the earth kasiṇa and is occupied only with the sign” (Vism-mhṭ 121).

[3]:

“The dawn colour that is there in the kasiṇa should not be thought about, though it cannot be denied that it is apprehended by eye-consciousness. That is why, instead of saying here, ‘should not be looked at,’ he says that it should not be apprehended by reviewing. Also the earth element’s characteristic of hardness, which is there, should not be given attention because the apprehension has to be done through the channel of seeing. And after saying, ‘while not ignoring the colour’ he said, ‘relegating the colour to the position of a property of the physical support,’ showing that here the concern is not with the colour, which is the channel, but rather that this colour should be treated as an accessory of the physical support; the meaning is that the kasiṇa (disk) should be given attention with awareness of both the accompanying earthaspect and its ancillary colour-aspect, but taking the earth-aspect with its ancillary concomitant colour as both supported equally by that physical support [the disk]. ‘On the concept as the mental datum since that is what is outstanding’: the term of ordinary usage ‘earth’ (pathavī) as applied to earth with its accessories, since the prominence of its individual effect is due to outstandingness of the earth element: ‘setting the mind’ on that mental datum consisting of a [name-] concept (paññatti-dhamma), the kasiṇa should be given attention as ‘earth, earth.’—If the mind is to be set on a mere concept by means of a term of common usage, ought earth to be given attention by means of different names?—It can be. What is wrong? It is to show that that is done he said, ‘Mahī, medinī,’ and so on” (Vism-mhṭ 122).

[4]:

“‘Comes into focus’: becomes the resort of mind-door impulsion” (Vism-mhṭ 122).

[5]:

“Why should he not? If, after the learning sign was produced, he went on developing it by looking at the disk of the earth, there would be no arising of the counterpart sign” (Vism-mhṭ 122).