Kinds of Buddhist meditation practices for the development of a relaxed, stable, and clear mind. Shamatha involves the stages of meditation proposed by Kamalashila in the eighth century. The stages start with a mind, which cannot focus for more than a few seconds (stage 1), culminating in a state of stability and vividness which can be sustained for hours (stage 9). Excitation and laxity are seen as imbalances and their effects are reduced during the progress in these stages.