Patikulamanasikara

Paṭik(k)ūlamanasikāra is a Pāli term that is generally translated as "reflections on repulsiveness". It refers to a traditional Buddhist meditation whereby thirty-one parts of the body are contemplated in a variety of ways. In addition to developing sati (mindfulness) and samādhi (concentration), this form of meditation is considered conducive to overcoming desire and lust. Along with cemetery contemplations, this type of meditation is one of the two meditations on "the foul" or "unattractive" (Pāli: ''asubha'').

Translation

''Paikkūla'' (Pāli) literally means "against" (''pai'') "the slope" or "embankment" (''kūla'') and has been translated adjectivally as "averse, objectionable, contrary, disagreeable" and, in its nounal form, as "loathsomeness, impurity".

''Manasikāra'' (Pāli), derived from ''manasi'' (locative of ''mana'' thus, loosely, "in mind" or "in thought") and ''karoti'' ("to make" or "to bring into") and has been translated as "attention" or "pondering" or "fixed thought".

In contemporary translations, the compound term ''paikkūla-manasikāra'' is generally translated as "reflections on repulsiveness" or, adding contextual clarity at the expense of literal accuracy, "reflections on repulsiveness of the body". Alternate translations include "attention directed to repulsiveness" and "realisation of the impurity of the body".

Benefits

This type of meditation is traditionally mentioned as an "antidote" to sensual passion. This is also one of the "four protective meditations", along with anussati (recollection of the Buddha), mettā (benevolence) practice and recollection of death.

In individual discourses, this type of contemplation is identified as a contributor to a variety of mundane and transcendental goals. For instance, in the ''Girimananda Sutta'' ( AN 10.60), Ananda's recitation of this and other contemplations immediately cures an ailing monk. In the ''Sampasadaniya Sutta'' (DN 28), Ven. Sariputta declares that meditating on these 31 body parts leads to "the attainment of vision, in four ways", and briefly outlines how this method can be used as a springboard by which one "comes to know the unbroken stream of human consciousness that is not established either in this world or in the next". In addition, in the ''Iddhipāda-samyutta'''s ''Vibhanga Sutta'' ( SN 51.20), this meditation subject is used to develop the four bases of power (''iddhipāda'') by which one is able to achieve liberation from suffering.Bodhi (2000), pp. 1736-40; Thanissaro (1997b).

While the Pali Canon invariably includes this form of contemplation in its various lists of mindfulness meditation techniques, the compendious fifth-century ''Visuddhimagga'' identifies this type of contemplation (along with anapanasati) as one of the few body-directed meditations particularly suited to the development of samādhi ( Vism. VIII, 43).

Practice

In Buddhist scriptures, this practice involves mentally identifying 31 parts of the body, contemplated upon in various ways.

Objects of contemplation

This meditation involves meditating on 31 different body parts:
: head hairs (Pali: ''kesā''), body hairs (''lomā''), nails (''nakhā''), teeth (''dantā''), skin (''taco''),
:flesh (''masa''), tendons (''nahāru''), bones (''ahi''), bone marrow (''ahimiñja''), kidneys (''vakka''),
: heart (''hadaya''), liver (''yakana''), pleura (''kilomaka''), spleen (''pihaka''), lungs (''papphāsa''),
: entrails (''anta''), mesentery (''antagu''), undigested food (''udariya''), feces (''karīsa''),
:bile (''pitta''), phlegm (''semha''), pus (''pubbo''), blood (''lohita''), sweat (''sedo''), fat (''medo''),
: tears (''assu''), skin-oil (''vasā''), saliva (''kheo''), mucus (''siṅghānikā''), fluid in the joints (''lasikā''), urine (''mutta'').

In a few discourses, these 31 body parts are contextualized within the framework of the mahābhūta (the elements) so that the earth element is exemplified by the body parts from head hair to feces, and the water element is exemplified by bile through urine.

A few other discourses preface contemplation of these 31 body parts in the following manner: "Herein ... a monk contemplates this body upward from the soles of the feet, downward from the top of the hair, enclosed in skin, as being full of many impurities."

The 31 identified body parts in ''pātikūlamanasikāra'' contemplation are the same as the first 31 body parts identified in the "Dvattimsakara" ("32 Parts f the Body) verse ( Khp. 3) regularly recited by monks. The thirty-second body part identified in the latter verse is the brain (''matthaluga''). The Visuddhimagga suggests the enumeration of the 31 body parts implicitly includes the brain in ''ahimiñja'', which is traditionally translated as "bone marrow".

Methods of contemplation

A canonical formulation of how to meditate on these is:

:"Just as if a sack with openings at both ends were full of various kinds of grain – wheat, rice, mung beans, kidney beans, sesame seeds, husked rice – and a man with good eyesight, pouring it out, were to reflect, 'This is wheat. This is rice. These are mung beans. These are kidney beans. These are sesame seeds. This is husked rice'; in the same way, the monk reflects on this very body from the soles of the feet on up, from the crown of the head on down, surrounded by skin and full of various kinds of unclean things s identified in the above enumeration of bodily organs and fluids..."Thanissaro (1997c).

In regards to this and other body-centered meditation objects, the '' Satipatthana Sutta'' ( DN 22) provides the following additional context and expected results:

According to the post-canonical Pali atthakatha (commentary) on the ''Satipatthana Sutta'', one can develop "seven kinds of skill in study" regarding these meditation objects through:
# repetition of the body parts verbally
# repetition of the body parts mentally
# discerning the body parts individually in terms of each one's color
# discerning the body parts individually in terms of each one's shape
# discerning if a body part is above or below the navel (or both)
# discerning the body part's spatial location
# spatially and functionally juxtaposing two body parts

Traditional sources

The name for this type of meditation is found in the sectional titles used in the ''Mahasatipatthana Sutta'' ('' Dīgha Nikāya'' 22) and the ''Satipatthana Sutta'' ( MN 10), where the contemplation of the 32 body parts is entitled, ''Paikkūla-manasikāra-pabba'' (which, word-for-word, can be translated as "repulsiveness-reflection-section"). Subsequently, in the post-canonical ''Visuddhimagga'' and other atthakatha works, ''paikkūlamanasikāra'' is explicitly used when referring to this technique.

This form of meditation is mentioned in the following suttas in the Pāli Canon (listed in order of nikāya and then sutta number within nikaya):Three of these discourses – MN 28, MN 62 and MN 140 – mention the 31 bodily organs in the context of either four or five great elements ('' mahābhūta''), which, strictly speaking, in the ''(Mahā)Satipahāna Sutta'' is the basis for a separate meditation from ''paṭikkūla-manasikāra'' contemplation. For example, based on commentarial statements, ''paṭikkūla-manasikāra'' contemplation could entail spatial awareness of each of the bodily organs or fluids, and is traditionally used as an antidote to lust; on the other hand, contemplation on the elements emphasizes the tactile experiences of solidity, liquidity, heat and air, and serves as a basis for developing equanimity and insight into not-self ('' anatta'') (e.g., see MN 28).
* Mahasatipatthana Sutta ("The Great Frames of Reference", ''Dīgha Nikāya'' 22)
* Sampasadaniya Sutta ("Serene Faith", DN 28)
* Satipatthana Sutta ("Frames of References", '' Majjhima Nikaya'' 10).
* Mahahattipadopama Sutta ("The Great Elephant Footprint Simile", MN 28)
* Maharahulovada Sutta ("The Greater Exhortation to Rahula", MN 62)
* Kayagatasati Sutta ("Mindfulness Immersed in the Body", MN 119)
* Dhatu-vibhanga Sutta ("An Analysis of the Properties", MN 140)
* In the '' Saṃyutta Nikāya''s collection regarding the four bases of power ('' iddhipada''), in a sutta called ''Vibhanga'' ("Analysis", ''Saṃyutta Nikāya'' 51.20)
* Udayi Sutta ("To Udayi", '' Aṅguttara Nikāya'' 6.29)
* Girimananda Sutta ("To Girimananda", AN 10.60)
Elsewhere in Pali literature, this type of meditation is discussed extensively in the post-canonical Visuddhimagga (Vism. VIII, 44-145).

In several of these sources, this meditation is identified as one of a variety of meditations on the body along with, for instance, the mindfulness of breathing (see Anapanasati Sutta).E.g., DN 22, MN 10, MN 119, Vism. VIII, 42.

See also

*Ānāpānasati Sutta
*Kāyagatāsati Sutta
* Satipatthana Sutta
* Upajjhatthana Sutta
* Jarāmaraṇa
* Anussati
*Metta
* Buddhist meditation

Notes

References

* Anālayo (2017), ''Early Buddhist Meditation Studies''. Barre, MA: Barre Center for Buddhist Studies. .
* Bodhi, Bhikkhu (trans.) (2000). ''The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya''. Boston: Wisdom Pubs. .
*Bodhi, Bhikkhu (Fall 2002). ''Climbing to the Top of the Mountain: An Interview with Bhikkhu Bodhi,'' Insight Journal, Vol. 19. Barre, MA: Barre Center for Buddhist Studies. Also available on-line at https://www.buddhistinquiry.org/article/climbing-to-the-top-of-the-mountain/.
*Buddhaghosa, Bhadantācariya (trans. from Pāli by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli) (1999). ''The Path of Purification: Visuddhimagga''. Seattle, WA: BPS Pariyatti Editions. .
* Goenka, S.N. (n.d.). ''Discourses on Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta: Condensed from the discourses during a course in Mahā-satipaṭṭhāna Sutta''. Available on-line at http://www.vri.dhamma.org/publications/webversion/english/dstp.html. The section dealing specifically with ''patikulamanasikara'' is at http://www.vri.dhamma.org/publications/webversion/english/dstp.html#15.
* Hamilton, Sue (2001). ''Identity and Experience: The Constitution of the Human Being according to Early Buddhism''. Oxford: Luzac Oriental. .
*Nanamoli, Bhikkhu (trans.) (1998). ''Mindfulness of Breathing (Anapanasati): Buddhist Texts from the Pali Canon and Extracts from the Pali Commentaries''. Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society. .
*Nyanasatta Thera (1994). ''Satipatthana Sutta: The Foundations of Mindfulness'' ( MN 10). Retrieved 2008-02-02 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.010.nysa.html.
* Piyadassi Thera (trans.) (1999a). ''Girimananda Sutta: Discourse to Girimananda Thera'' ( AN 10.60). Retrieved 2008-02-02 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an10/an10.060.piya.html.
*Piyadassi Thera (trans.) (1999b). ''Khuddakapatha Suttas (Selections)'' ( Khp 1-6,9). Retrieved from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/khp/khp.1-9x.piya.html.
* Rhys Davids, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5). ''The Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary'' (PED). London: Pali Text Society. A general on-line search engine for the PED is available at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/.
*Soma Thera (2003) (6th reprint). ''The Way of Mindfulness''. Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society. . A 1998 edition is available on-line from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/soma/wayof.html.
*Sri Lanka Tripitaka Project (SLTP) (n.d.). ''Anuttariyavaggo'' ( AN 6.21 - 6.30). Retrieved 2008-02-01 from "MettaNet-Lanka" at http://www.metta.lk/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/4Anguttara-Nikaya/Anguttara4/6-chakkanipata/003-anuttariyavaggo-p.html. The ''Udāyi Sutta'' (AN 6.29) is identified in this section as "6. 1. 3. 9".
* Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1994). ''Khuddakapatha Suttas (Complete)'' (Khp 1-9). Retrieved from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/khp/khp.1-9.than.html.
*Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1996). ''Vijaya Sutta: Victory'' ( Sn 1.11). Retrieved 2008-03-23 from "Access to Insight" (1997) at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.1.11.than.html.
*Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997a). ''Dhatu-vibhanga Sutta: An Analysis of the Properties'' ( MN 140). Retrieved 2008-02-02 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.140.than.html.
*Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997b). ''Iddhipada-vibhanga Sutta: Analysis of the Bases of Power'' ( SN 51.20). Retrieved 2008-02-02 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn51/sn51.020.than.html.
*Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997c). ''Kayagata-sati Sutta: Mindfulness Immersed in the Body'' ( MN 119). Retrieved from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.119.than.html.
*Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2000). ''Maha-satipatthana Sutta: The Great Frames of Reference'' ( DN 22). Retrieved from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.22.0.than.html.
*Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2003). ''Maha-hatthipadopama Sutta: The Great Elephant Footprint Simile'' (MN 28). Retrieved 2008-02-02 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.028.than.html.
*Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2006). ''Maha-Rahulovada Sutta: The Greater Exhortation to Rahula'' (MN 62). Retrieved 2008-02-02 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.062.than.html.
*Vipassana Research Institute (VRI) (1996). ''Mahasatipatthana Sutta: The Great Discourse on the Establishing of Awareness''. Seattle, WA: Vipassana Research Publications of America. .
*Walshe, Maurice (trans.) (1995). ''The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Digha Nikaya''. Boston: Wisdom Pubs. .

External links

"The Section of Reflection on Repulsiveness"
from: Soma Thera (trans.) (''undated''). ''The Commentary to the Discourse on the Arousing of Mindfulness with Marginal Notes''. Available on-line at http://www.abhidhamma.org/SomaTheraTheCommentary.htm.

by Dhamma Viro

{{Buddhism topics

Buddhist meditation
Pali words and phrases