A request for a meditation subject: the Pali words said before a period of practice, from offering yourself to the Buddha to asking for a subject
A request for a meditation subject is a short set of Pali words said before sitting or before a retreat, to settle the intention to train in earnest. In the traditional order you offer yourself to the Buddha, offer yourself to your teacher, and ask for a kammaṭṭhāna, a meditation subject to train the mind on. Then you spread loving-kindness and recollect death.
What the request for a meditation subject is for
These words are not a spell and have no power of their own. Their value is in what they mean. Offering yourself means setting pride aside and agreeing to train as you are guided, even through pain or boredom. The Visuddhimagga also describes handing oneself over to the Buddha or to a teacher before receiving a subject. Asking for a subject 'for the realisation of nibbāna' tells you what this sitting is for, just as the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta says the four kinds of mindfulness are the way to realise nibbāna. Loving-kindness softens the heart, and recollecting death stops you putting practice off.
Saying the kammatthana request alone at home
Yes. Traditionally the words are said before a teacher, but if you practise at home you can say them before a Buddha image or simply in a quiet place, taking the Buddha as your teacher. You can leave out the line to the teacher, or think of a teacher who has taught you. When you are alone, the request becomes a commitment to the subject you have already chosen, such as noting the rising and falling of the abdomen, or the breath. You do not need to know all the Pali; saying the meaning in your own language is fine. What matters is understanding and meaning what you say.
The order of a kammatthana request
- Homage to the Buddha, three times
- Offering yourself to the Buddha
- Offering yourself to the teacher
- Asking for a meditation subject
- Loving-kindness for yourself and all beings
- Recollecting death
- Honouring the Buddha, Dhamma and Saṅgha by practice
Some places begin with the refuges and the precepts (see the eight precepts), and some order the loving-kindness and death lines differently or add other passages. No single order is the only right one. The words here are a common form; if you have a teacher, follow your teacher.
After the request
When you finish, sit still for a moment, then begin walking or sitting as planned. A step-by-step guide is in how to do vipassana. At the end of the session you may spread loving-kindness again with the loving-kindness chant.
The chant
Homage to the Buddha
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammāsambuddhassa.
Say 3 timesMeaning
Homage to the Blessed One, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha.
Offering yourself to the Buddha
Imāhaṁ bhagavā attabhāvaṁ tumhākaṁ pariccajāmi.
Meaning
Blessed One, I give up this self, this body and mind, to you. It means: I hand myself over to train in the way you taught, and will not turn back out of fear or hardship while I practise.
Offering yourself to the teacher
Imāhaṁ ācariya attabhāvaṁ tumhākaṁ pariccajāmi.
Meaning
Teacher, I give up this self to you. It means: I am willing to accept the guidance and correction of the one who teaches me, rather than going my own way.
The kammatthana request
Nibbānassa me bhante sacchikaraṇatthāya kammaṭṭhānaṁ dehi.
Meaning
Venerable sir, please give me a meditation subject, for the realisation of nibbāna. This line is the heart of the request, because it says both what is asked for and why.
Loving-kindness
Ahaṁ sukhito homi, niddukkho homi,
avero homi, abyāpajjho homi, anīgho homi,
sukhī attānaṁ pariharāmi.
Sabbe sattā averā hontu, abyāpajjhā hontu,
anīghā hontu, sukhī attānaṁ pariharantu.
Meaning
May I be happy and free from suffering, free from enmity, free from ill will, free from distress, and may I look after myself with ease. May all beings be free from enmity, free from ill will, free from distress, and may they look after themselves with ease. Kindness before sitting keeps you from being harsh with yourself when practice does not go as you hoped.
Recollecting death
Adhuvaṁ me jīvitaṁ,
dhuvaṁ me maraṇaṁ,
avassaṁ mayā maritabbaṁ,
maraṇapariyosānaṁ me jīvitaṁ,
jīvitaṁ me aniyataṁ,
maraṇaṁ me niyataṁ.
Meaning
My life is not lasting; my death is certain. I will surely die. My life ends in death. How long my life will be is uncertain; that I will die is certain. This is not meant to frighten or depress you, but to remind you that the time for practice is limited, so this sitting is worth using fully.
Honouring by practice
Imāya dhammānudhammapaṭipattiyā buddhaṁ pūjemi.
Imāya dhammānudhammapaṭipattiyā dhammaṁ pūjemi.
Imāya dhammānudhammapaṭipattiyā saṅghaṁ pūjemi.
Meaning
With this practice of the Dhamma in line with the Dhamma, I honour the Buddha, I honour the Dhamma, I honour the Saṅgha. In the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta the Buddha says that whoever practises in line with the Dhamma honours him with the highest honour; this closing turns that saying into a resolve.
Machine translation from: Traditional words for requesting a meditation subject, author unknown · Visuddhimagga, by Buddhaghosa · Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (MN 10) · Mahāparinibbāna Sutta (DN 16)
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