The Four Guardian Meditations: where from?

The Four Guardian Meditations: where from?

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Post by Kumara » Tue May 21, 2019 7:04 pm

Any idea where this set is derived from? Is it from a sutta?

sarathw  links, excerpt from

https://buddhismforbeginnersgroup.wordpress.com/2016/09/10/title-four-guardian-meditations-caturarakkha-kammatthana/amp/

In the Teachings of the Buddha, throughout the ages, meditators keep up the practice of the Four Guardian Meditations to protect themselves from internal and external dangers. Nowadays meditators keep up this tradition.

The Four Guardian Meditations are:

(1) Reflection on the attributes of the Buddha (Buddhanussati),
(2) Radiation of Loving-kindness (Metta Kammathana),
(3) Contemplation on the loathsomeness of a corpse (Asubha Kammathana), and
(4) Reflection on the nature of death (Marananussati).

Those who practice the four types of meditation mentioned above will be protected from grief (soka), lamentation (parideva), etc, in this life, and will be also free from miseries such as be falling into woeful abodes in future existences. So, these meditations are called Four Guardian Meditations.

frankk comment:

Perhaps a later Theravada composition (just a guess) inspired by sutta passages like this one:

(4 indispensable practices from AN 9.1 excerpt)

a-subhā bhāvetabbā	Non-beautiful [foulness perceptions] (he) should-develop,
rāgassa pahānāya,	(for) [lustful] passion's removal,
mettā bhāvetabbā	Good-will (he) should-develop,
byāpādassa pahānāya,	(for) ill-will's removal,
ānā-pānas-sati bhāvetabbā	inhale-exhale-mindfulness (he) should-develop,
vitakk-upac­che­dāya,	(for) [distractive] thinking's-cutting-off,
a-nicca-saññā bhāvetabbā	im-permanence-perception (he) should-develop,
asmi­māna­samug­ghātāya.	(for) pride-(and)-conceit's-uprooting.
A-nicca-saññino, bhikkhave,	(for one who has) Im-permanence-perception, monks,
an-atta-saññā saṇṭhāti.	not-self-perception (is) established.
An-atta-saññī	(for one who has) not-self-perception,
asmi­māna­samug­ghātaṃ pāpuṇāti	pride-(and)-conceit's-uprooting (is) attained,
diṭṭheva dhamme nibbānan”ti.	here-and-now (is) Nirvana."