The Four Contemplations

To overcome desire, practice the contemplation on a corpse, looking deeply at the nine stages of the body's decay from the time the breathing ceases to the time the bones turn to dust.

To overcome anger and hatred, practice the contemplation on compassion. It illuminates the causes of anger and hatred within our own minds and in the minds of those who have precipitated it.

To overcome craving, practice the contemplation on impermanence, illuminating the birth and death of all things.

To overcome confusion and dispersion, practice the contemplation on the full awareness of breathing.

If you regularly practice these four contemplations, you will attain liberation and enlightenment.

---Old Path White Clouds, by Thich Nhat Hanh---