Thus I have heard: One time, the Buddha traveled to the country of Śrāvastī and stayed at Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park in Jeta’s Grove.
It was then that the Bhagavān addressed the monks, “Junior monks who’ve recently accomplished the precepts should frequently resort to the path of calming by contemplating these signs: signs of bones, blueness, rot, being eaten, and the skeleton. Once these signs have been well perceived and retained, they should return to their residence. They should then wash their hands and feet, spread out their sitting mat, sit down cross-legged on that seat, and recollect these signs: signs of bones, blueness, rot, being eaten, and the skeleton. Why is that? If that monk develops these signs, he will quickly rid his mind of the illnesses of desire and dislike.”
Thereupon, the Bhagavān spoke these verses:
“If a junior monk’s training
Has yet to yield a calm mind,
He should resort to the path of calming
Wanting to get rid of his lust.
With no hateful disputes in his heart,
He has compassion for sentient beings.
Everywhere in all directions,
He goes to contemplate their bodies.
He should observe the sign of blueness
And being rotten, putrid, and scattered.
Observe them eaten by birds and insects
And their bones linked together with sinews.
Having developed these signs,
[Junior monks] return to their homes,
Wash their hands and feet,
Prepare a seat, and sit upright.
They should contemplate truly
Their own body and other bodies,
The feces and urine filling them,
And their hearts, kidneys, livers, and lungs.
If they want a serving of food,
They go among people in a village.
Like officers marching in armor,
Their attention is on what’s ahead of them.
If they see a form that’s lovely
And associated with desire for purity,
They observe its reality upon seeing it,
Mindful of the Buddha’s Dharma and Vinaya.
There are no bones or sinews,
Neither flesh nor blood,
No heart, kidneys, liver, or lungs,
And no tears, spit, or brains.
The whole earth is empty,
And likewise is the water element.
Empty is all that is fire element;
Likewise is the air element empty.
Whatever feelings they have
That are associated with the desire for purity,
They are all calmed
And observed the way a sage observes them.
They practice in this way diligently,
Recollecting perceptions of the impure.
Ending lust, hate, and delusion forever,
They are rid of all ignorance.
When they produce pure insight,
A monk reaches the end of suffering.”
This is what the Buddha said. Those monks who heard what the Buddha taught rejoiced and approved.