The practice of mental concentration leading ultimately through a succession of stages to the final goal of spiritual freedom, nirvana. Meditation occupies a central place in Buddhism and combines, in its highest stages, the discipline of progressively increased introversion with the insight brought about by wisdom, or prajna.
The object of concentration (the kammatthana) may vary according to individual and situation. One Pali text lists 40 kammatthanas, including devices (such as a colour or a light), repulsive things (such as a corpse), recollections (as of the Buddha), and the brahmaviharas (virtues, such as friendliness).
Four stages (called in Sanskrit dhyanas; Pali jhanas) are distinguished in the shift of attention from the outward sensory world:
1.detachment from the external world and a consciousness of joy and ease;
2.concentration, with suppression of reasoning and investigation;
3.the passing away of joy, with the sense of ease remaining; and
4.the passing away of ease also, bringing about a state of pure self-possession and equanimity.
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