All types of Kammatthana - dhamma are for controlling the "outgoing exuberance" of the heart. The heart which is not controlled by a Kammathana is liable to the arising of outgoing exuberance throughout life. This is so from infancy to old age, it is so with the rich and the poor, with the clever and the stupid, with those in high and low position in life, with the blind, deaf, paralysed, maimed, deformed, and so on endlessly.
In Buddhism such people are considered to be still at the age of a heart with outgoing exuberance. Their hearts have no greatness, they find no contentment, they are ill fated as regards happiness of heart, and when they die they lose in all ways like a tree which may have many branches, flowers, and fruit, but if its main root is damaged it will die and lose its greatness and everything else. But unlike the body of a human being who has died, the trunk or branches of the tree may still be useful for some other purpose.
The baneful effect of the outgoing exuberance of a heart which does not have Dhamma as its guardian, is that it never finds true happiness, and even if happiness does arise due to the outgoing exuberance of the heart searching for it and finding it, it will be happiness of the type in which one is (like an actor) playing a part, which increases the outgoing exuberance, making the heart go increasingly in the wrong direction, and not the type of happiness which is truly satisfying.
SAMADHI - which means calm or stability of heart, The heart on the other hand, does not want to take the medicine, and the MEDICINE is the KAMMATIHANA.
"Outgoing exuberance" of the heart has been the enemy of all beings for countless ages, and a person who wants to subdue the outgoing exuberance of his own heart will need to compel his heart to take the MEDICINE which is the KAMMATTHANA.
Taking the medicine means training ones heart in Dhamma and not allowing it to go its own way, for the heart always likes to have outgoing exuberance as a companion. In other words, taking the medicine means that the heart brings Dhamma into itself as its guardian.
The Dhamma which is the guardian of the heart is called the kammatthana.
There are forty types of Kammatthana which variously accord with the different temperaments of people. They include:
1. The 10 Kasina (Devices for gazing at and concentrating upon)
2. The 10 Asubha (Contemplation of the states of the decomposition of a dead body)
3. The 10 Anussati (Various objects of contemplation)
4. The 4 Brahmavihara (Friendliness, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity)
5. The 1 Aharapatikkulasanna (Recollecting the loathsomeness of food)
6. The 1 Catudhatuvavatthana (Defining the four elements)
7. The 4 Arupa (Developing the four form less Jhanas)
The Dhamma which is the guardian of the heart is called the kammatthana.
There are forty types of Kammatthana which variously accord with the different temperaments of people. They include:
1. The 10 Kasina (Devices for gazing at and concentrating upon)
2. The 10 Asubha (Contemplation of the states of the decomposition of a dead body)
3. The 10 Anussati (Various objects of contemplation)
4. The 4 Brahmavihara (Friendliness, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity)
5. The 1 Aharapatikkulasanna (Recollecting the loathsomeness of food)
6. The 1 Catudhatuvavatthana (Defining the four elements)
7. The 4 Arupa (Developing the four form less Jhanas)
Here we will confine ourselves to the consideration of a few of these methods which are in general use and which are found to give satisfactory results. They include:
1. Contemplation of the thirty-two parts of the body, including: Kesa (hair of the head), Loma (hair of the body), Nakha (nails), Danta (teeth), Taco (skin),...etc. This first group of parts is called the Five Kammatthana .
2. Contemplation of the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha .
3. Anapanasati (Mindfulness on breathing).
Whichever method is used it should suit one's character, for characters differ, and to teach that everyone should use only one type of Kammathana may well prove to be a hindrance to some people, thus preventing their attainment of the results which they should attain.
When one finds the type of meditation that suits one's character, one should set one's mind to begin doing the practice with a preparatory repetition (Parikamma), such as, Kesa (hair of the head). One should then repeat the word Kesa, but one should repeat it mentally and not loud, and at the same time one should keep one's attention fixed upon the hair of the head.
If however, one finds that thinking, on its own, is not able to capture the heart, one may repeat the preparatory repetition in the manner of a chant so that the sound captivates the heart and it becomes calm and quiet. One should continue repeating the preparatory repetition until the heart has become calm and then one can stop. But whichever preparatory repetition is used, one should retain conscious awareness of that Kammatthana. Thus in the foregoing example of Kesa , one should retain conscious awareness of the hair on one's head.
