Fourth: The Method of Curing Discursive Thoughts
If discursive thoughts are predominant, one should practice the method of
the concentration on [mindful] inhalation and exhalation. (SauN 15.64) There
are three levels of practitioners: introductory, intermediate, and advanced.
If [the practitioner] is at the introductory level, [the master] should teach
him in the fol owing way: “Concentrate on mindful y counting inhalations and
exhalations. Whether the breathing is long or short, count it from one to ten.”
If [the practitioner] is at the intermediate level, [the master] should teach
him as fol ows: “Fol owing the breath coming in and out, you should count
[your breaths] from one to ten. Your mindfulness and your breathing should
be kept together, and your mind should be fixed on one point.”
If [the practitioner] is at the advanced level, [the master] should teach him
as fol ows: “Counting the breath, fol owing the breath, fixing the mind on one
point, contemplation, shifting, and purification. The concentration on [mindful]
inhalation and exhalation have these six methods and sixteen aspects.”
“What is the method of counting the breath? [The practitioner is] single-
mindedly aware of inhalations. When an inhalation is over, you should count
it as ‘one.’ When an exhalation is over, you should count it as ‘two.’ If you
count the number when the inhalation or exhalation is not over, it is miscount-
ing. If you count from two to nine and then miscount, you have to start over
from one. This is just like an accountant who gets two by adding one and one,
gets four by adding two and two, and then gets nine by adding three and
three.”
18
Fascicle One
Question: Why should one count [the breath]?
Answer: [Counting the breath] allows one to realize impermanence
easily, al ows one to sever discursive thoughts, and al ows one to at ain sin-
gle-mindedness. Although body and mind arise and cease and are imperma-
nent, since they continue in similar forms, their impermanence is hard to
perceive. [By contrast,] inhalation and exhalation arise and cease [palpably]
and their impermanence is easy to realize. Also, by fixing the mind on count-
ing, one can sever discursive thoughts. Discursive thoughts include thoughts
of lust, anger, harm, relatives, lands, and immortality.
One who wishes to purify one’s mind and enter the correct path should
first remove the three types of coarse thoughts, and then the three types of
subtle thoughts. After removing the six types of thoughts, one wil at ain al
pure elements. (SauN 15.67) It is just like a gold miner who first removes 273b
coarse pebbles, then fine sand, and final y gets refined gold dust. (SauN 15.66)
Question What are the coarse diseases, and what are the subtle diseases?
Answer: Thoughts of lust, anger, and harm; these three are cal ed coarse
diseases. Thoughts of relatives, land, and immortality; these three are cal ed
subtle diseases. After removing these thoughts, one at ains al pure elements.
Question One who has not at ained awakening has not severed binding
defilements. These six types of thoughts are powerful and disturb people at
wil . How can one sever them?
Answer: If the mind is averted from the world, correct observation can
suppress binding defilements, though it cannot uproot them. When one at ains
undefiled awakening later, one can uproot binding defilements. What is correct
observation?
One sees that, for a lustful person, seeking for something is painful;
at aining and guarding something is also painful; losing something
and regret ing it is also greatly painful. Even if the mind obtains the
desired object, the mind is not satisfied, which is painful. (SauN 15.9)
Desire is impermanent, vain, and conducive to distress. Everyone
has such [desire]; one should realize and abandon it. If a poisonous
snake enters one’s chamber, and if one does not remove it immedi-
ately, one wil certainly be harmed. (SauN 15.8)
19
The Sutra on the Concentration of Sit ing Meditation
Unstable, unreal, and valueless is the perverted pleasure of various
desires (SauN 15.11). As an arhat with six supernatural powers
taught his lustful disciple in the fol owing way: “You should not
break the precepts [but maintain] them in purity. Nor should you stay
with a woman in the same chamber. Poisonous snakes of binding
desires fil the chamber of your mind; entangling at achment wil
never leave.
“[Even though] you know that the precepts on bodily conduct
should not be broken, your mind constantly stays with the fire of
lust. You are a practitioner who has left your family and is seeking
awakening. How could you indulge your mind so much?
“Your parents gave birth to you, cherished you, and brought you up,
and your relatives had both favor and affection for you. Al of them
cried and tried to dissuade you [from leaving the family]. You could
even abandon and disregard [such great affection].
“Nevertheless your mind always entertains lustful thoughts; it
wishes to play with them without aversion. It always enjoys being
with the fire of lust; [the mind] rejoices in the pleasure of at achment
and does not leave it even for a moment.”
Thus one should fault lustful thoughts in various ways. These sorts of
correct observations remove lustful thoughts.
Question: How does one eliminate thoughts of anger?
Answer:
Since [the time] one was born from within the womb, [life] has
always been painful. In this [painful life], people should not develop
anger and harmful thoughts.
If you entertain anger and harmful thoughts, friendliness and compas-
sion disappear. Friendliness and compassion on the one hand and
anger and harmful thoughts on the other are not comparable. If you
cherish friendliness and compassion, anger and harmful thoughts
disappear, like brightness and darkness that cannot occupy the same
place. (SauN 15.12–13)
20
Fascicle One
If you keep the pure precepts but entertain anger, you destroy the
benefit of the Dharma by yourself. It is just like elephants that smear
their bodies with mud after bathing in water. (SauN 15.14)
People always have old age, disease, and death, and [experience]
hundreds of thousands of sufferings [as if beaten with] various
273c
whips and rods. How can a good person, while keeping sentient
beings in mind, add [his] anger and harmful thoughts to their suffer-
ing? (SauN 15.15)
If you give rise to anger and wish to harm someone, before reaching
that person [the anger] wil burn yourself. (SauN 15.16)
For these reasons, you should always apply your mind to practicing
friendliness and compassion. Do not let anger, harmful thoughts,
and evil intentions arise in your mind. (SauN 15.17)
If one always mindful y practices the good elements, one’s mind
always emulates the thoughts of the Buddha. (SauN 15.18)
For these reasons, one should not pay any regard to evil; [instead]
one should always reflect on good elements and gladden one’s mind.
Then one wil at ain happiness in this life as wel as in the next; one
wil further at ain the eternal happiness of awakening, which is
nirvana. (SauN 15.19)
If evil thoughts are accumulated in one’s mind, one loses one’s own
benefits and harms others. (SauN 15.20)
That is why people say that the evil is detrimental to both oneself and
others, because it effaces the pure minds of other people. (SauN 15.21)
It is just like a practitioner in the wilderness who raises his hands,
cries, and says, “A thief robbed me!”
Someone asks, “Who robs you?”
[The practitioner] replies, “Thieves of possessions I do not fear. I do not
col ect possessions or seek worldly benefits. What thieves of possessions
can rob me? I, however, do col ect roots of merit and Dharma jewels. Dis-
cursive thoughts, like thieves, come to me and destroy my benefits. Thieves
21
The Sutra on the Concentration of Sit ing Meditation
of possessions can be avoided, because there are many storehouses. When,
on the other hand, thieves of merit come, there is no way to avoid them.”
One should fault anger in these various ways. These sorts of various
correct observations remove thoughts of anger.
Question: How does one eliminate thoughts of harming others?
Answer: Hundreds of thousands of types of diseases constantly visit
in turn and torment sentient beings. Death, like an enemy, catches
people and always tries to kil them. Thus beings are plunged into
boundless suffering.
How can a good person cause beings additional harm [by] slander-
ing and plot ing to hurt them mercilessly? [If he does such a thing,]
the harm wil not reach the intended person but return to himself. If
a layman gives rise to harmful thoughts, that might be admissible.
This is a worldly practice and becomes a cause for bad karma, but [a
layman] does not claim that he cultivates good. If a practitioner who
has left his family and is seeking pure awakening gives rise to anger
and entertains envious mind,
He lights a violent fire in cool clouds. Know that the evil sin of this
act is extremely serious. If a practitioner in the wilderness gives rise
to envy, there is an arhat who can read other people’s minds.
[The arhat] gives [that practitioner] instructions and bit erly repri-
mands him, saying: “How foolish you are! Envy natural y destroys
your roots of merit. If you seek alms, you should by yourself col ect
roots of merit and adorn yourself [with them].
“If you do not keep the precepts, nor [practice] meditation or
[engage in] much learning, and if you destroy your Dharma body by
falsely wearing a dyed robe,12 you are just an evil beggar. How can
you seek alms and benefit yourself?
“Sentient beings are always harmed by hundreds of thousands of
sufferings, such as hunger, thirst, cold, and heat. Their bodily and
mental agonies are endless. How can a good person do additional
harm to them?
22
Fascicle One
“Doing so is just like piercing ailing wounds with a needle. It is also
274a
like a prisoner who is on trial but has not yet been sentenced. His
body is entangled in pain and agonies accumulate [in him]. How can
a friendly and compassionate [person] aggravate his agonies?”
Thus one should fault thoughts of harming others in various ways. These
sorts of various correct observations remove thoughts of harming others.
Question: How does one eliminate thoughts of relatives?
Answer: [The practitioner] should reflect in the fol owing way. Beings
in samsara are drawn by their own karma through the world-systems. Who
are relatives, and who are not? Merely owing to one’s ignorance, one erro-
neously develops attachment and believes someone to be one’s relative.
(SauN 15.31) Strangers in the past have become relatives, and strangers [in
this life] wil become relatives in the future. Relatives in this life were strangers
in the past. (SauN 15.32) It is just like birds that flock together on one tree
in the evening but fly away [from each other] the [next] morning according
to their respective conditions. (SauN 15.33) Families and relatives are the
same way. (SauN 15.34) Born in this world, individual people have separate
minds. They become relatives because conditions meet, and they become
distant because conditions disperse. There are no stable causes, conditions,
fruits, or retribution that keep people together. It is just like a lump of dry
sand grasped in the hand. Conditioned by grasping, it stays together; but con-
ditioned by releasing, it is scat ered. (SauN 15.35) Parents bring up children
[thinking that they] wil be rewarded in their old age. Children should repay
[their parents later] because they have been embraced and brought up [by
them]. (SauN 15.36) If [relatives] comply with one’s mind, they become
close, but if they are against one’s mind, they become enemies. (SauN 15.37)
There are relatives who do more harm than good, and there are strangers
who do great service and no harm. People develop affection due to causes
and conditions, and the affection is severed due to causes and conditions.
(SauN 15.38) Just like painters who paint women and are at ached to their
own [paintings], one develops one’s own at achments and is at ached to exter-
nal objects. (SauN 15.39) What can the relatives in your past lives do for
you in this life? You also cannot benefit your relatives in the past, nor can
they benefit you. Neither [you nor your former relatives] can benefit each
23
The Sutra on the Concentration of Sit ing Meditation
other. (SauN 15.40) In vain one regards others as relatives or strangers. In
these world-systems, [in fact the distinction between relatives and strangers]
is indefinite, and there is no [clear] boundary [between them]. (SauN 15.41)
As an arhat teaches a novice disciple who has at achment for his relatives,
saying: “You are like a foul person who vomits up food and wants to eat it
again. You have already left your family. How can you stil be at ached to it?
Your tonsured head and dyed robe are marks of deliverance. At ached to your
relatives, you cannot at ain deliverance and, on the contrary, are bound by the
at achment. The triple world is impermanent, ever changing, and indeterminate.
Whether [someone is] a relative or a stranger, [that distinction is only temporary].
Even if some people are relatives now, they wil cease to be so in the long run.
In this way the sentient beings in the ten directions transmigrate. Relatives are
indeterminate, and they are not [eternal y] your relatives.
“When a person is about to die, he has no mind or consciousness. He
looks straight ahead and does not turn [his eyes]. His breathing stops, and
the life expires. It is just like fal ing into a dark hole. At that time, where are
the relatives and family members?
“When a person is newly born, strangers in the past life have been forcibly
gathered to become relatives. When he dies, again they cease to be relatives.”
Thus contemplating, one should not be at ached to relatives.
When a child dies, parents in the three realms cry at the same time. The
parents, wife, and children in heaven consider those in the human realm to
nāga s consider those in the human realm to
be false.
These sorts of various correct observations remove thoughts of relatives.
Question: How does one eliminate thoughts of lands?
Answer: If a practitioner thinks that a land is prosperous, peaceful, and
is inhabited by many good people, he is constantly drawn, as by a rope, by
thoughts of lands that lead people to the place of transgressors.14 (SauN 15.42)
Realizing that one’s own mind is in such a state, if one is a wise person, one
should not be at ached to [thoughts of lands]. Why? It is because lands are
[always] burned by [people’s] various faults. (SauN 15.43) Because seasons
change, and because there are famines that exhaust [people’s] bodies, there
is no land whatsoever that is constantly peaceful. (SauN 15.44) In addition,
there is no land that is free from the suffering of old age, disease, and death.
24
Fascicle One
(SauN 15.46) Leaving the bodily suffering of this place, one wil encounter
[other] bodily suffering at another place. Any land one goes to, one wil not
be freed from suffering. (SauN 15.47) Even if there is a land that is peaceful
and prosperous, if there are binding agonies that cause suffering in one’s
mind, it is not a good land. (SauN 15.48) If a land could remove evil, if it
could at enuate binding defilements, and if it could free the mind from agonies,
[that land] would be cal ed a good land.15 Al sentient beings have two sorts
of suffering: bodily and mental suffering. [Since] constantly there are agonies,
[we know that] there is no land where these two sorts of suffering do not
exist. (SauN 15.49)
In addition, there are lands that are extremely cold, lands that are
extremely hot, lands that are stricken with famine, lands that are plagued
with diseases, lands that have many thieves, and lands that are not ruled prop-
erly. One should not be at ached to these sorts of evils of lands in one’s mind.
(SauN 15.45)
These sorts of various correct observations remove thoughts of lands.
Question: How does one eliminate thoughts of immortality?
Answer: [The master] should teach the practitioner as fol ows: If one is
born in a good family, if one belongs to an eminent clan, or if one’s talents
and skil s are superior to those of others, one should not pay any regards to
them. Why?
When death visits al people, it comes regardless of one’s age, status,
talents, or power. This body constitutes the causes and conditions of al [forms
of] distress and agony. Anyone who feels at peace by thinking that one is
young and has a long lifespan is foolish. (SauN 15.54–55) Why? This [body]
as the cause for distress and agony is based on the four gross elements. The
material elements composed of the four gross elements do not harmonize
with each other, like four poisonous snakes. Who can be peaceful? (SauN
15.56) Breathing out, one expects to breathe in, but there is no assurance of
this. (SauN 15.57) Further, when one goes to bed, one expects to wake up
without fail; this matter is also hard to rely on. (SauN 15.58) From the
[moment of] conception until old age, fatal accidents always come to seek
moments of death [for beings]. [Even if these accidents] say:16 “You wil
never die,” who can put faith in this? [Fatal accidents] are like murderers who
draw out swords and fit arrows, constantly seeking to kil people without
25
The Sutra on the Concentration of Sit ing Meditation
mercy. (SauN 15.59) To the people who are born in this world, nothing is
stronger than the power of death. Nothing wins over the strong power of death.
Even the most distinguished person of the past could not escape from death.
In the present also, there is no wise person who can win over death. (SauN
15.60) Neither gentle entreaty nor cunning deception can help one evade death.
274c Nor can keeping precepts or diligence turn away death. (SauN 15.61) For these
reasons, you should know that [the fate of] human beings is always precarious
and cannot be relied upon. Do not [erroneously] believe in permanence and
think that your life wil last long. Death, as a murderer, always takes people
away; it does not wait for old age to kil people. (SauN 15.62)
As an arhat teaches a disciple who is troubled by various thoughts by saying:
“Why do you not understand [the significance of] leaving the world and entering
religious life? Why do you generate these thoughts? Some people die before
birth. Some people die when being born. [There are also people who die] while
being nursed, in the weaning period, during childhood, in the prime of life, and
in old age. Al stages of life are mixed with the realm of death. It is just like a
blossom of a tree that sometimes fal s when in bloom, sometimes when its fruit
has ripened, sometimes when [the fruit] is stil immature. Therefore, know that
one should make effort and diligently seek for peaceful awakening. Since you
are in the company of a powerful murderer, [your life is] unreliable. This murderer
skil ful y hides himself like a tiger. Thus the murderer of death always seeks to
kil people. Everything in the world is empty like a bubble. How could one say
that one wil wait until the right time and enter religious life? Who could testify
that you wil definitely [live until you] become old and can practice the path?
It is just like a big tree on a cliff, which is being blown by heavy winds above
and whose foundation is eroded by big waves below. Who could trust that this
tree wil remain long? Human life is exactly the same; it is unreliable even for
a short period. Father is like a grain; mother like a good field; causes, conditions,
transgressions, and merits in the past are like rainfal . Sentient beings are like
grains, and samsara is like harvesting.
“Various deities and human kings have wisdom and virtue. For example,
Heavenly King [Indra] assists deities, defeats the army of combative demons
asura s), and enjoys various pleasures, highest honor, and great light. [Even
he] wil [eventual y] fal back to darkness. Therefore, do not rely on life and
say, ‘I wil do this today. I wil do that later.’”
26
Fascicle One
These types of various correct observations remove thoughts of immor-
tality.
Thus one first removes the coarse thoughts and then the subtle thoughts. The
mind is purified, and one at ains correct awakening. Al binding defilements
are exhausted, by which one at ains a peaceful abode. This is cal ed the fruit
of entering religious life. The mind becomes free, and the threefold karma
(i.e., bodily, verbal, and mental actions) becomes ultimately pure; thus one
wil not be reborn again. One wil read various sutras and become learned.
At that time, one wil at ain rewards. When one thus at ains rewards,
they are not empty. One defeats the army of demon kings and at ains a rep-
utation of the greatest bravery. If one is driven by defilements within the
world, one is not cal ed strong. If one can defeat the rogues of defilements,
and if one puts off the fire of the three poisons, one wil at ain cool pleasure,
be purified, and sleep peaceful y in the woods of nirvana. Pure winds of var-
ious types of meditation, moral faculties, powers, and the seven elements of
awakening arise in the four [directions]. One will reflect on the sentient
beings sunk in the sea of the three poisons. If one has such excel ent powers
of virtues, one is cal ed strong.
Thus if one’s mind is distracted in these ways, one should mindful y
inhale and exhale, learn the six methods [of meditation], and sever the [six
kinds of] thoughts. For this reason, one should mindful y count the breath.
Question: If one can also sever thoughts by the other four types of med- 275a
itations such as [the meditation on] the impurities and cal ing the Buddha to
mind, why does one only count the breath?
Answer: It is because [the objects of] the other meditations are slow and
hard to lose, but [the object of] counting the breath is quick and easy to turn
away. To il ustrate, when one releases cat le, since they are hard to lose, keeping
them is an easy business. When one releases monkeys, however, since they
are easy to lose, keeping them is a difficult task. The mat er is the same here.
When counting the breath, the mind cannot think of other things even for a
moment. Once the mind thinks of other things, it wil lose the number. For this
reason, when one first [at empts to] sever thoughts, one should count the breath.
When one has already at ained the method of counting, one should practice
the method of fol owing [the breath] and sever thoughts. When inhalation is
27
The Sutra on the Concentration of Sit ing Meditation
completed, one should fol ow it without counting “one.” When exhalation
is completed, one should fol ow it without counting “two.” It is just like a
creditor who fol ows a debtor and does not let him go. Think as fol ows:
“This inhaled air goes out again, but it is not the same thing. Exhaled air
comes in again, but it is not the same thing.” At that time, one wil know that
inhalation and exhalation are different. For what reason? Exhalation is warm,
but inhalation is cool.
Question: [Is it not that] inhalation and exhalation are one [continuous]
breath, because the exhaled air enters again? It is just like water that is warm
in one’s mouth but becomes cool when spit out; a cool thing gets warm again,
and a warm thing further gets cool.
Answer: This is not the case. Because the inner mind moves, breath goes
out. Once it has gone out, it ceases to exist. [Because] the nostrils draw in
the external air, breath comes in. Once it has come in, it ceases to exist. There
is no air that is about to move out, nor is there air that is about to move in.
Furthermore, [one should consider the cases of] young people, adults,
and old people. In the case of young people, inhalation is longer. In the case
of adults, inhalation and exhalation are of the same [length]. In the case of
old people, exhalation is longer. Therefore, [inhalation and exhalation] cannot
be one breath.
Also, wind arises near the navel and appears to keep going. Breath goes
out of the mouth and nose. Once it goes out, it ceases, just like the wind in
bel ows that ceases when the bel ows are opened. If [the air] is drawn in by
means of the mouth and nose, wind enters [the body]; this [wind] arises anew
based on causes and conditions. It is just like a fan that produces wind when
it meets with various conditions.
At that time, one knows that inhalation and exhalation depend on causes
and conditions and are delusive and unreal; they are impermanent [and not
free from] arising and ceasing. One should contemplate in the following
way: exhalation is drawn in by the mouth and nose as causes and conditions.
The causes and conditions of inhalation are brought about by the movement
of mind. A deluded person, however, does not know this and thinks that it
is his own breath.
Breath is none other than wind, which is not different from external wind.
Earth, water, fire, and space are also in the same way. Because these five gross
28
Fascicle One
elements come together as causes and conditions, consciousness arises. There-
fore, even consciousness is not one’s own possession. The five aggregates,
the twelve realms of cognition, and the eighteen constituent elements are also
in the same way. Knowing this, one fol ows the breath coming in and going
out. For this reason, [this method] is cal ed “fol owing [the breath].”
When one has mastered the method of fol owing, one should practice the
method of fixing. The fixing method is to fix the mind to the gates of wind
(i.e., the nostrils) and be mindful of inhalation and exhalation, after the mind
of counting and fol owing is completed.
Question: For what reason does one fix [one’s mind]?
Answer: It is because one [needs to] sever various discursive thoughts,
because one [should not] let the mind be distracted, because the mind is 275b
unfixed and preoccupied when one counts and fol ows the breath, because
when one fixes [the mind] the mind becomes restful and freed from preoc-
cupations, and because the mind rests at one point. Being mindful of inhalation
and exhalation is just like a gatekeeper who stays by the gate and who watches
the people going in and out. In the same way, the fixed mind knows that
when the breath goes out, it goes from the navel to the heart, chest, throat,
and then reaches the mouth and nose. [The fixed mind further knows] that
when the breath comes in, it comes from the mouth and nose to the throat,
chest, heart, and then reaches the navel. That way one fixes the mind to one
spot, and this [method] is cal ed “fixing.”
Then, while one practices the method of fixing the mind, one should dwel
in [the method of] “contemplation.” The five aggregates, which arise and
cease when one inhales, are different from those, which also arise and cease
when one exhales. Thus, when the mind is disturbed, one should remove the
disturbance immediately. One should contemplate single-mindedly and make
one’s contemplation more intense. This is cal ed the “contemplation” method.
One dispenses with abiding at the gates of wind (i.e., the nostrils) and gives
up the method of coarse contemplation. When one gives up the method of
coarse contemplation, one knows the impermanence of the breath. This is
cal ed the “shifting” contemplation. One contemplates the impermanence of
the five aggregates and also reflects on the impermanence of inhalation and
exhalation. One sees that the initial breath does not come from anywhere
29
The Sutra on the Concentration of Sit ing Meditation
and observes that the subsequent breath also leaves no trace. They come into
being because [their] causes and conditions meet, and they cease to exist
because [their] causes and conditions disperse. This is cal ed the method of
“shifting” contemplation, which removes the five obstacles [of meditation]
and various defilements.
Though one attained calming and contemplation before, they were com-
pounded with defilements and impure mind. Now in this pure method, the
mind only at ains purity [without any defilements mixed in]. Furthermore,
the previous contemplation was a practice similar to non-Buddhist teachings
of mindful inhalation and exhalation. The present one is a practice close to
undefiled wisdom, and, though [stil ] defiled, it is a good path. This is cal ed
“purification.”
Next, first one observes part of the application of mindfulness to the
body; gradual y [one observes] al the applications of mindfulness to the
body. Then one practices the application of mindfulness to sensation and to
the mind. In these [three types of applications of mindfulness, the practice
is] impure and far from undefiled wisdom. So, being mindful of inhalation
and exhalation, one observes their sixteen aspects. Thus one at ains the stages
of “heat,” “summit,” “recognition,” “supremacy in the mundane realm,” and
further “recognition of the elements of suffering” up to the “awareness of
extinction [of al defilements]” of an accomplished practitioner who has noth-
ing [more] to learn. This is cal ed “purification.”
Among the sixteen methods,
(1) the first practice of inhalation
Dīghaṃ vā assasanto ‘dīghaṃ assasāmī’ti pajānāti, |
(1) long ** breathing-in, 'long (I) am-breathing-in' (he) discerns; |
dīghaṃ vā passasanto ‘dīghaṃ passasāmī’ti pajānāti; |
long ** breathing-out, 'long (I) am-breathing-out' (he) discerns; |
(1) the first practice of inhalation [includes]
the sixfold practice of inhalation and exhalation (i.e., counting, fol owing,
fixing, contemplation, shifting, and purification).
(2) So does the practice of exhalation.
rassaṃ vā assasanto ‘rassaṃ assasāmī’ti pajānāti, |
(2) short ** breathing-in, 'short (I) am-breathing-in' (he) discerns; |
rassaṃ vā passasanto ‘rassaṃ passasāmī’ti pajānāti; |
short ** breathing-out, 'short (I) am-breathing-out' (he) discerns; |
(2) So does the practice of exhalation.
(3) Single-mindedly one is mindful of inhalation and exhalation [and
knows] whether they are long or short. For example, a person running in
terror, climbing a mountain, carrying a heavy load, or being upset; in such
situations, the breath becomes short. When in times of peril one at ains a
great relief and joy, acquires profit, or is released from jail, in such cases the
breath becomes long. Al breaths are classified into two categories: long and
short. For this reason it is said: “The breath is long,” “The breath is short.”
Thus [observing the length of the breath], one also practices the sixfold
practice of inhalation and exhalation.
Page 30, Fascicle One
(4) pervading the body
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‘sabba-kāya-p-paṭisaṃvedī assasissāmī’ti sikkhati, |
(3) '(the) entire-body: sensitive-to (it), (I) will-breathe-in.' (Thus he) trains. |
‘sabba-kāya-p-paṭisaṃvedī passasissāmī’ti sikkhati; |
(the) entire-body: sensitive-to (it), (I) will-breathe-out.' (Thus he) trains. |
(4) Being mindful of the breath pervading the body, one is stil mindful
of the breaths going out and coming in. One thoroughly observes the exha-
lations and inhalations within one’s body. One perceives the breath pervading
the body and filling all pores, down to those on the toes, just like water
soaking into sand. When the breath goes out, one perceives the breath per-
vading al pores, from those on the feet to those on the head, also like water
soaking into sand. Just like the air that fil s bel ows, whether it is going out
or coming in, the wind blowing in and out through the mouth and nose [fil s
the body]. One observes the whole body that the wind fil s, like holes of a
lotus root [fil ed with water] and a fishing net [soaked in water]. Further, it 275c
is not that the mind only observes the breath coming in and going out through
the mouth and nose. [The mind] sees the breath coming in and going out
through al pores and the nine apertures [of the body]. Thus one knows that
the breath pervades the body.
(5) Eliminating various [unfavorable] physical functions,
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‘passambhayaṃ kāya-saṅkhāraṃ assasissāmī’ti sikkhati, |
(4) 'calming bodily-fabrication, (I) will-breathe-in.' (Thus he) trains. |
‘passambhayaṃ kāya-saṅkhāraṃ passasissāmī’ti sikkhati. |
calming bodily-fabrication, (I) will-breathe-out.' (Thus he) trains. |
(5) Eliminating various [unfavorable] physical functions,17 one is again
mindful of inhalation and exhalation. When one first practices [mindful]
breathing, if one feels laziness, sleepiness, and heaviness in one’s body, one
should eliminate them al .
(6) mind experiences joy
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‘Pīti-p-paṭisaṃvedī assasissāmī’ti sikkhati, |
(5) 'rapture: -sensitive-to-it, (I) will-breathe-in.' (Thus he) trains. |
‘pīti-p-paṭisaṃvedī passasissāmī’ti sikkhati; |
rapture: -sensitive-to-it, (I) will-breathe-out.' (Thus he) trains. |
(6) The body becomes light, soft, and fit ing for meditation; thus the
mind experiences joy. Again by being mindful of inhalation and exhalation,
one eliminates laziness, sleepiness, and heaviness of mind. The mind becomes
light, soft, and fit ing for meditation; thus the mind experiences joy.
Having completed the application of mindfulness to breathing, next one
practices the application of mindfulness to sensation. [Namely,] having at ained
the application of mindfulness to the body, now one further at ains the application
of mindfulness to sensation; thus one truly experiences joy. Further, having
understood the reality of the body, one now wishes to know the reality of the
mind and mental functions. For this reason, one experiences joy.
(7) By being mindful of inhalation and exhalation, one experiences comfort-
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‘sukhap-paṭisaṃvedī assasissāmī’ti sikkhati, |
(6) 'pleasure: -sensitive-to-it, (I) will-breathe-in.' (Thus he) trains. |
‘sukhap-paṭisaṃvedī passasissāmī’ti sikkhati; |
pleasure: -sensitive-to-it, (I) will-breathe-out.' (Thus he) trains. |
(7) By being mindful of inhalation and exhalation, one experiences com-
fort. By being mindful of inhalation and exhalation, joy increases; it is cal ed
comfort.
Alternatively, the first pleasure that arises in the mind is cal ed joy. The
subsequent joy that fil s the body is cal ed comfort. Also, the comfortable
sensations in the first and second stages of meditation are cal ed joy. The
comfortable sensations in the third stage of meditation are cal ed comfort.
31
The Sutra on the Concentration of Sit ing Meditation
(8) When one experiences various mental phenomena, one should also
‘Citta-p-paṭisaṃvedī assasissāmī’ti sikkhati, |
(9) '(the)-mind: -sensitive-to-it, (I) will-breathe-in.' (Thus he) trains. |
‘citta-p-paṭisaṃvedī passasissāmī’ti sikkhati; |
(the)-mind: -sensitive-to-it, (I) will-breathe-out.' (Thus he) trains. |
be mindful of inhalation and exhalation. Various types of mind arise and
cease: pol uted mind, unpol uted mind, distracted mind, concentrated mind,
righteous mind, and evil mind. Such aspects of mind are cal ed mental phe-
nomena. When the mind experiences joy, one should still be mindful of
inhalation and exhalation.
(9) joy … aroused intentionally
‘abhip-pamodayaṃ cittaṃ assasissāmī’ti sikkhati, |
(10) 'satisfying (the)-mind, (I) will-breathe-in.' (Thus he) trains. |
‘abhip-pamodayaṃ cittaṃ passasissāmī’ti sikkhati; |
'satisfying (the)-mind, (I) will-breathe-out.' (Thus he) trains. |
(9) The joy experienced before arose spontaneously and was not aroused
intentional y. Because one is mindful of one’s own mind, one is gladdened.
Question: For what reason does one arouse joy intentional y?
Answer: It is because one wishes to cure two types of mind: distracted
and concentrated. By put ing the mind in such a state [of joy], one can be
liberated from defilements. For this reason, one applies one’s mindfulness
to the elements, and the mind arouses joy.
If the mind is not gladdened [spontaneously], one should diligently glad-
den the mind.
(10) When the mind is concentrated,
‘samādahaṃ cittaṃ assasissāmī’ti sikkhati, |
(11) 'steadying [samādhi verb] (the)-mind, (I) will-breathe-in.' (Thus he) trains. |
‘samādahaṃ cittaṃ passasissāmī’ti sikkhati; |
steadying [samādhi verb] (the)-mind, (I) will-breathe-out.' (Thus he) trains. |
(10) When the mind is concentrated, one should also be mindful of
inhalation and exhalation. If the mind is unset led, one should forcibly set le
it. As is stated in a sutra: “When the mind is set led, that is wisdom. When
the mind is scat ered, that is not wisdom.”
(11) When the mind is emancipated,-
‘vimocayaṃ cittaṃ assasissāmī’ti sikkhati, |
(12) 'releasing [vimutti verb] (the)-mind, (I) will-breathe-in.' (Thus he) trains. |
‘vimocayaṃ cittaṃ passasissāmī’ti sikkhati; |
releasing [vimutti verb] (the)-mind, (I) will-breathe-out.' (Thus he) trains. |
(11) When the mind is emancipated, one should also be mindful of inhala-
tion and exhalation. If the mind is not emancipated [spontaneously], one
should forcibly emancipate it. It is just like a sheep that has many cockle -
burs stuck to it, which one [is trying to] pull out of its wool one by one.
Releasing the mind from binding defilements is done in the same way.
This is cal ed emancipation by means of the application of mindfulness
to the mind.
(12) Observing impermanence
‘a-niccā-(a)nupassī assasissāmī’ti sikkhati. |
(13) 'im-permanence: -contemplating (it, I) will-breathe-in.' (Thus he) trains. |
‘A-niccā-(a)nupassī passasissāmī’ti sikkhati; |
im-permanence: -contemplating (it, I) will-breathe-out.' (Thus he) trains. |
(12) Observing impermanence, one should also be mindful of inhalation
and exhalation. One observes that the elements are impermanent; they arise
and cease; they are empty and without self; when they arise, the elements
arise in emptiness, and when they cease, they cease in emptiness; in these
[elements] there is no male, no female, no person, no agent, and no recipient.
This is the observation in conformity with impermanence.
(13) Observing the emergence and dispersal of conditioned elements,
one is mindful of inhalation and exhalation. This is cal ed “emergence and
dispersal.” [When] conditioned elements emerge in the world, they gather
32
Fascicle One
because causes and conditions met in the past, and they disperse because
those causes and conditions cease. Such observation is cal ed the observation
of emergence and dispersal.
(14) Observing release from binding desires
‘virāgā-(a)nupassī assasissāmī’ti sikkhati, |
(14) 'dispassion [literally, fading]: -contemplating (it, I) will-breathe-in.' (Thus he) trains. |
‘virāgā-(a)nupassī passasissāmī’ti sikkhati; |
dispassion [literally, fading]: -contemplating (it, I) will-breathe-out.' (Thus he) trains. |
(14) Observing release from binding desires, one is mindful of inhalation
and exhalation. [When] the mind is released from its binding defilements, it
wil be the supreme element. This is the observation in conformity with the 276a
release from desires.
(15) Observing extinction,
‘nirodhā-(a)nupassī assasissāmī’ti sikkhati, |
(15) 'cessation: -contemplating (it, I) will-breathe-in.' (Thus he) trains. |
‘nirodhā-(a)nupassī passasissāmī’ti sikkhati; |
cessation: -contemplating (it, I) will-breathe-out.' (Thus he) trains. |
(15) Observing extinction, one is mindful of inhalation and exhalation.
The suffering of binding defilements is exhausted wherever one is situated,
and the spot [of one’s present residence] becomes peaceful. This is the obser-
vation in conformity with extinction.
(16) Observing abandonment, -
‘paṭinissaggā-(a)nupassī assasissāmī’ti sikkhati, |
(16) 'relinquishment: -contemplating (it, I) will-breathe-in.' (Thus he) trains. |
‘paṭinissaggā-(a)nupassī passasissāmī’ti sikkhati. |
relinquishment: -contemplating (it, I) will-breathe-out.' (Thus he) trains. |
(16) Observing abandonment, one is also mindful of inhalation and exha-
lation. Abandonment of lust, defilements, the five aggregates consisting of
physical and mental [elements], and the conditioned elements: this is the
supreme serenity. Such observation is in conformity with the application of
mindfulness to the elements.
These are cal ed the sixteen methods.