Kammaṭṭhāna

In Buddhism, kammaṭṭhāna is a Pali word (Sanskrit: karmasthana) which literally means the place of work. Its original meaning was someone's occupation (farming, trading, cattle-tending, etc). It has several distinct but related usages, all having to do with Buddhist meditation.

Its most basic meaning is as a word for meditation. In Burma senior meditation practitioners are known as "kammatthanacariyas" (meditation masters). Buddhaghosa uses "kammatthana" to refer to each of his forty meditation objects listed in the third chapter of the Visuddhimagga, which are partially derived from the Pāli Canon.

In the Thai Forest Tradition, kammatthana has a historical usage synonymous with mindfulness immersed in the body, and instructions for this practice were taught by the preceptor at each monks ordination. For this reason, the Forest monks in this lineage were (and are still) known in Thailand as "kammatthana" monks to distinguish them from monks who practiced meditation techniques associated with Thai folk religions.