Last week we embarked on a journey into the wonderful teaching of Mindfulness of Breathing or in Pali Anapanasati as taught in the Anapansati Sutta (MN118). This practice, referred to variously as mindfulness of breathing, paying attention to the breath, breath awareness, is where this practice began for many meditators and is where the ground of practice rests - with the simple in and out of the breath.
This is an ancient practice - probably older than the Buddha’s time, but its grounding in the present moment makes it as fresh and alive as this bright moment of experience.
The 16 steps of this teaching describe the path from sitting down to observe the first breath all the way to enlightenment. It is a very compact, rich teaching in which each phrase encompasses elements of practice that take years to develop and yet, can also be found in this very moment of practice.
Beginners and experienced meditators alike find this practice accessible and filled with wisdom and insight, tranquillity and joy. In fact, the Buddha himself was practicing Anapanasati when he died. And it encompasses the two basic forms of meditation found in early Buddhism - concentration practice including the jhanas and insight practice.
The Anapanasati teaching is structured on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness as found in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta. It is composed of 16 steps divided into four tetrads. Each tetrad is devoted to one of the foundations of mindfulness - mindfulness of body, mindfulness of feelings, mindfulness of mind, and mindfulness of the way things are, or mindfulness of dharmas. These foundations will be familiar to many of you.
The instructions begin very simply:
"Now how is mindfulness of in-&-out breathing developed & pursued so as to be of great fruit, of great benefit?
"There is the case where a monk, having gone to the wilderness, to the shade of a tree, or to an empty building, sits down folding his legs crosswise, holding his body erect, and setting mindfulness to the fore.[1] Always mindful, he breathes in; mindful he breathes out.
In this first instruction, we learn that finding a physical space of seclusion and assumed an erect posture are important. Then we set mindfulness to the fore. And keeping mindfulness to the fore, we breathe and breathe out.
One thing to note carefully throughout the teaching is how the Buddha teaches us to practice. In this first tetrad, the first two instructions are to “discern", the second two to "train oneself…” So the first two tetrads are about simply observing whereas the second two tetrads have a bit more instruction to practice in a certain way.
"[1] Breathing in long, he discerns, 'I am breathing in long'; or breathing out long, he discerns, 'I am breathing out long.' [2] Or breathing in short, he discerns, 'I am breathing in short'; or breathing out short, he discerns, 'I am breathing out short.' [3] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to the entire body.'[2] He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to the entire body.' [4] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in calming bodily fabrication.'[3] He trains himself, 'I will breathe out calming bodily fabrication.'
These instructions seem simple but a world of practice opens up as we learn to pay closer and closer attention to the present moment with each breath that arises. We can perhaps see that an instant later than the present moment is already the past and an instant before the present moment has not arrived yet. When we are in the present moment, we might see it as a pinpoint of time, an instant of experience. Impermanence. But we might also begin to experience how this moment of awareness expands into an entire universe of vibrant being, ephemeral and memorable.
Last week we listened to Venerable Analayo’s guided Meditation I in his six meditation series Mindfulness of Breathing. I listened to it again this morning and, even though I had heard it many times before, the present moment of listening and following the guidance came alive for me with a rich intensity. This week we will listen to his Meditation II which moves deeper into the teaching. https://www.buddhistinquiry.org/resources/breathing-audio/
One of the beauties of Ven. Analayo’s guided meditation is that he interweaves the seven factors of enlightenment throughout the meditation so the practitioner can experience for themselves how these beautiful qualities of mind manifest in this basic, all encompassing process of meditation by mindfulness of breathing. These factors are as follows: mindfulness, investigation, energy, joy, tranquillity, concentration, and equanimity. And they develop along with our meditation, each one conditioning the arising of the next as we touched on in the Transcendent Dependent Origination - mindfulness being the condition for investigation to arise which is the condition for energy to arise. Mindfulness, investigation, and energy condition the arising of joy. And all condition the arising of tranquillity, then concentration, and equanimity. We may not experience them is an orderly progression as they manifest in more or less subtle ways. But they all condition each other and all condition awakening.
As I said before and reiterate here, we have arrived at this teaching inevitably - at the very teaching that instructs us how to meditate using awareness of our own breath. And as we practice with the simple mindfulness of the “in" and the “out" of breathing, we encounter the four foundations of mindfulness and create conditions for the seven factors of enlightenment to arise which leads us step-by-step out of suffering and to awakening.
This teaching, thus, is an essential guide to practice from the very beginning all the way to the ultimate freedom from suffering. And as the Buddha said, it is good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good at the end.
I have included the heart of the Anapanasati Sutta below for your reference this week as well.
Mindfulness of In-&-Out Breathing
"Now how is mindfulness of in-&-out breathing developed & pursued so as to be of great fruit, of great benefit?
"There is the case where a monk, having gone to the wilderness, to the shade of a tree, or to an empty building, sits down folding his legs crosswise, holding his body erect, and setting mindfulness to the fore.[1] Always mindful, he breathes in; mindful he breathes out.
"[1] Breathing in long, he discerns, 'I am breathing in long'; or breathing out long, he discerns, 'I am breathing out long.' [2] Or breathing in short, he discerns, 'I am breathing in short'; or breathing out short, he discerns, 'I am breathing out short.' [3] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to the entire body.'[2] He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to the entire body.' [4] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in calming bodily fabrication.'[3] He trains himself, 'I will breathe out calming bodily fabrication.'
"[5] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to rapture.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to rapture.' [6] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to pleasure.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to pleasure.' [7] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to mental fabrication.'[4] He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to mental fabrication.' [8] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in calming mental fabrication.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out calming mental fabrication.'
"[9] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to the mind.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to the mind.' [10] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in satisfying the mind.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out satisfying the mind.' [11] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in steadying the mind.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out steadying the mind.' [12] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in releasing the mind.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out releasing the mind.'[5]
"[13] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in focusing on inconstancy.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out focusing on inconstancy.' [14] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in focusing on dispassion [literally, fading].' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out focusing on dispassion.' [15] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in focusing on cessation.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out focusing on cessation.' [16] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in focusing on relinquishment.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out focusing on relinquishment.'
"This is how mindfulness of in-&-out breathing is developed & pursued so as to be of great fruit, of great benefit.