singthung
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Asubha-kammatthana (or Asubha-bhavana)
The meaning and the purpose:
Asubha means un-beauty. Kammatthana means meditation exercise. So Asubha-Kammatthana means meditation exercise by using unloveliness of body as the object of meditation. Concentrate on the temperament of that there is nothing beautiful, there is only dirtiness and disgust in and of the body.
The power of Asubha-kammatthana:
To one who thinks thus of the unlovely (nature of the body), the greed connected with living beings is cast out. During the 30 minutes of asubha-bhavana (contemplation of the body's foulness), lust has simply dropped out. If you now return to your routine life, the tendency developed during your practice will produce an after-effect which will grow more and more beneficial in proportion to the intensity and duration of the practice. Gradually, with strengthened mindfulness (sati), that noble tendency will permeate almost whole thought-process, always ready to step in with its beneficial effect whenever Mara (like bad thought) wishes to intrude.
Ten Kinds of Foulness (asubha):
1. Uddhumataka- the bloated corpse counteracting delight in beauty of proportions.
It shows the fact that the shape of the body is not permanent. Finally, when being dead, that beautiful body will be bloated, foul. There is nothing pleasant or lovely.
2. Vinilaka- the livid corpse counteracting delight in beauty of skin/complexion.
It shows the fact that when being dead, that skin of beautiful body is not really beautiful. It will be mixed of lividity, red and white color; red in thick flesh; white in flesh area full of lymph and pus. There will be only foul fluid coming out of the skin.
3. Vipubbaka- the festering corpse counteracting delight in skin covered by scents and perfumes.
It shows the fact that cosmetic that covers skin is useless because, finally, the make-up can't resist foul things inside the body.
4. Vicchiddaka- the cut-up corpse counteracting delight in wholeness or compactness.
It shows the fact that the body is not a solid lump as someone may forget. The body actually is hollow and full of disgusting things.
5. Vikkhayitaka- the gnawed corpse counteracting delight in well-fleshed body.
It shows the fact that some part of the body you and other people may like, such as breast, will be probably joined or taken away by animals like dogs, rats, etc. soon.
6. Vikkhittaka- the scattered corpse counteracting delight in grace of limbs.
This Asubha is for people who are consumed with passion from watching dancing, movement of body, hands, bending arms/legs, stretching arms/legs of opposite sex. But, at last, those parts will be scattered in different directions as the pictures.
7. Hatavikkhittaka- the hacked and scattered corpse in small and large pieces counteracting delight in grace of body as a whole.
This Asubha is for people who have sexual response to anyone, just having 32 body parts completely, no defect. The Asubah shows that all connections of parts of the body are not permanent. At last, they will be separated soon as natural law.
8. Lohitaka- the bleeding corpse counteracting delight in ornaments and jewelry.
This meditation exercise shows that ornaments and jewelry can't hide disgusting things in the body. At last and soon, they will will come out, flow out.
9. Puluvaka- the worm-infested corpse counteracting delight in ownership of the body.
It shows the fact that our body really is not ours. It is public to those worms. If our body really is ours, we won't let those worms eat the body as their foods.
10. Atthika- the skeleton corpse counteracting delight in having fine bones and teeth.
Need more pictures
It should be enough!