Overview
Asubha (foulness or unattractiveness) meditation is the ultimate, direct antidote to sensual lust. In ancient India, monks would visit charnel grounds to observe corpses in various states of decay. By intensely visualizing these ten stages of decomposition, the meditator shatters the illusion of bodily beauty and attains the first jhāna.
The List
- Uddhumātaka - The Bloated Corpse: Contemplating a body swollen like a balloon.
- Vinīlaka - The Livid Corpse: Contemplating a body discolored with blue, red, and white patches.
- Vipubbaka - The Festering Corpse: Contemplating a body oozing with pus in broken places.
- Vicchiddaka - The Cut-up Corpse: Contemplating a body cut in two.
- Vikkhāditaka - The Gnawed Corpse: Contemplating a body being chewed by dogs, jackals, or crows.
- Vikkhittaka - The Scattered Corpse: Contemplating a body with its limbs detached and scattered around.
- Hatavikkhittaka - The Hacked and Scattered Corpse: Contemplating a body brutally chopped to pieces and thrown apart.
- Lohitaka - The Bleeding Corpse: Contemplating a body smeared and dripping with blood.
- Puḷavaka - The Worm-infested Corpse: Contemplating a body teeming with maggots.
- Aṭṭhika - The Skeleton: Contemplating a skeleton (ranging from bloody bones to bleached white bones).
Textual References
- Canonical: Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta (DN 22) – The Buddha details the cemetery contemplations as a primary method for observing the nature of the body.
- Commentary: Visuddhimagga (Chapter VI) – Explains exactly which corpse is suitable for which type of lustful temperament (e.g., the bloated corpse cures lust for body shape; the bleeding corpse cures lust for jewelry/adornment).