Kammaṭṭhāna (Meditation)
Kammaṭṭhāna, the methods for calming the mind according to Buddhist teaching, are of two kinds:
• Samatha kammaṭṭhāna: meditation aimed at bringing the mind to tranquility
• Vipassanā kammaṭṭhāna: meditation aimed at developing wisdom (insight)
Samatha Kammaṭṭhāna: Meditation Aimed at Tranquility
Samatha meditation is a way of restraining the mind into stillness. When the mind wants to think, you don't think. When it wants to move, you don't move. When it wants to get up, you don't. When you itch, you don't scratch. Whatever the mind wants to do, you don't follow it. You resist the mind and go against the current of what it wants to think and do. Not acting on desire is what is meant by restraining the mind into calm.
The method of samatha binds the mind and fixes it on a single object or word. If you meditate on earth, water, wind, or fire, you keep the mind fixed on that one element alone. You pay no attention to anything else, including your thoughts. If the mind wants to think about something else, don't follow it. If you use a meditation word (parikamma), you keep the mind fixed on that word.
In short, samatha calms the mind without attending to its details. You do not seek to know what the mind is like, how it behaves, what it likes, or what it dislikes. There is only one aim: the mind must stop thinking, become calm, and be made to submit and stay in place. Through this method, the mind grows tired, and the practitioner ultimately reaches a still, concentrated state (samādhi).
Vipassanā Kammaṭṭhāna: Meditation Aimed at Wisdom
Vipassanā meditation means following and knowing what the mind is like. It calms the mind by observing it: what it is thinking, how it behaves, what it likes and dislikes, and why it dislikes things. If the mind wants to think, you let it think, and know what it is thinking.
Through this method, the practitioner develops wisdom and sees the mind clearly as it is. This leads to self-understanding and, from there, to a still, concentrated state.
Samatha Mixed with Vipassanā
Although there are two methods of meditation, they cannot be completely separated. This is called "samatha mixed with vipassanā." When we say we practice vipassanā, we are in fact also practicing samatha. The mind must reach a certain level of samatha calm before it has enough mindfulness and wisdom to follow and know itself, which is what we call vipassanā. Likewise, a mind practicing vipassanā to the point where it can know itself at every moment must also enter a certain level of samatha calm.
Samatha and vipassanā are separate terms only in academic theory, where the distinction helps show the mind's subtleties. In practice, they cannot be fully separated, because each method depends on the other. You could say samatha and vipassanā are separate in theory but bound together in practice.
An Analogy: Two Ways of Traveling
It is like people traveling the same road, each seeing it from a different perspective, but all arriving at the same destination: peace of mind.
Samatha is like a traveler in a hurry. Once he sets out, he keeps his head down and trudges straight toward his destination, paying no attention to what is around him. He reaches the end of the journey without knowing what the road was like or what lay along the way. Still, once he has arrived, he can always go back later and explore the route.
Vipassanā is like someone who studies the route. He is in no hurry as he travels. He tries to learn and understand the road, looking at everything along the way until he truly knows it and remembers it well. Then he, too, reaches the destination.