We next come to the jhânas with the help of material things as objects of concentration called the Kasi@nam. These objects of concentration may either be earth, water, fire, wind, blue colour, yellow colour, red colour, white colour, light or limited space (_parîcchinnâkâsa_). Thus the sage may take a brown ball of earth and concentrate his mind upon it as an earth ball, sometimes
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[Footnote 1: _Visuddhimagga_, pp. 295-314.]
with eyes open and sometimes with eyes shut. When he finds that even in shutting his eyes he can visualize the object in his mind, he may leave off the object and retire to another place to concentrate upon the image of the earth ball in his mind.
In the first stages of the first meditation (_pathamam jhânam_) the mind is concentrated on the object in the way of understanding it with its form and name and of comprehending it with its diverse relations. This state of concentration is called vitakka (discursive meditation). The next stage of the first meditation is that in which the mind does not move in the object in relational terms but becomes fixed and settled in it and penetrates into it without any quivering. This state is called vicâra (steadily moving). The first stage vitakka has been compared in Buddhagho@sa's _Visuddhimagga_ to the flying of a kite with its wings flapping, whereas the second stage is compared to its flying in a sweep without the least quiver of its wings. These two stages are associated with a buoyant exaltation (_pîti_) and a steady inward bliss called sukha [Footnote ref 1] instilling the mind. The formation of this first jhâna roots out five ties of avijjâ, kamacchando (dallying with desires), vyâpâdo (hatred), thinamiddham (sloth and torpor), uddhaccakukkuccam (pride and restlessness), and vicikicchâ (doubt). The five elements of which this jhâna is constituted are vitakka, vicâra, plti, sukham and ekaggata (one pointedness).
When the sage masters the first jhâna he finds it defective and wants to enter into the second meditation (_dutiyam jhânam_), where there is neither any vitakka nor vicâra of the first jhâna, but the mind is in one unruffled state (_ekodibhâvam_). It is a much steadier state and does not possess the movement which characterized the vitakka and the vicâra stages of the first jhâna and is therefore a very placid state (_vitakka-vicârakkhobha-virahe@na ativiya acalatâ suppasannatâ ca_). It is however associated with pîti, sukha and ekaggatâ as the first jhâna was.