Ānāpānasati Sutta

The Theravada Pali Canon version of the Anapanasati Sutta lists sixteen steps to relax and compose the mind and body. The Anapanasati Sutta is a celebrated text among Theravada Buddhists.[2] In the Theravada Pali Canon, this discourse is the 118th discourse in the Majjhima Nikaya (MN) and is thus frequently represented as "MN 118".[3] In addition, in the Pali Text Society edition of the Pali Canon, this discourse is in the Majjhima Nikaya (M)'s third volume, starting on the 78th page and is thus sometimes referenced as "M iii 78".

The Buddha states that mindfulness of the breath, "developed and repeatedly practiced, is of great fruit, great benefit."[4] It fulfills the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (satipatthana).[5] When these are developed and cultivated, they fulfill the Seven Factors of Enlightenment (bojjhanga). And when these are developed and cultivated, they fulfill "knowledge and freedom" (Bhikkhu Sujato), "true knowledge and deliverance" (Bhikkhu Bodhi), or "clear vision and deliverance" (Nanamoli).[6]

To develop and cultivate mindfulness of breathing, a monk goes to the wilderness or forest, or to the root of a tree, or to an empty hut, sits down with crossed legs and the body erect, and establishes mindfulness in front or right there (parimukham),[7][note 1] and mindfully breathes in and out.[note 2]

The Ānāpānasati Sutta then describes the monitoring of the breath, and relates this to various experiences and practices. Following the classification of the four satipatthanas, these experiences and practices are grouped into a list of sixteen objects or steps of instructions, generally broken into four tetrads.[note 3] These core sixteen steps are one of the most widely taught meditation instructions in the early Buddhist texts. They appear in various Pali suttas like the Ananada sutta, not just the Anapanasati sutta. They also appear in various Chinese translations of the Agamas (such as in a parallel version of the Ananada sutta in the Samyukta-Agama, SA 8.10) with minor differences as well as in the Vinayas of different schools.[9] They are as follows:[10][note 4]

1. First Tetrad: Contemplation of the Body (kāya)
   1. Breathing in long he knows (pajanati)[11] 'I am breathing in long.'
      Breathing in short he knows 'I am breathing in short.'
   2. Breathing out long he knows 'I am breathing out long.'
      Breathing out short he knows 'I am breathing out short.'[note 5]
   3. He trains himself 'breathing in, I experience the whole body' (sabbakāya).[note 6]
      'breathing out, I experience the whole body.'
   4. He trains himself, 'breathing in, I calm the bodily formation.'
      'breathing out, I calm the bodily formation.' (kāya-saṃskāra)
2. Second Tetrad: Contemplation of the Feeling (vedanā)
   1. He trains himself, 'I will breathe in experiencing joy.'(pīti, also translated as "rapture"[13][14])
      He trains himself, 'I will breathe out experiencing joy.'
   2. He trains himself, 'I will breathe in experiencing pleasure.' (sukha).
      He trains himself, 'I will breathe out experiencing pleasure.'
   3. He trains himself, 'I will breathe in experiencing mental formation.' (citta-saṃskāra)
      He trains himself, 'I will breathe out experiencing mental formation.'
   4. He trains himself, 'I will breathe in calming the mental formation.'
      He trains himself, 'I will breathe out calming the mental formation.'
3. Third Tetrad: Contemplation of the Mind (citta)
   1. He trains himself, 'I will breathe in experiencing the mind.'
      He trains himself, 'I will breathe out experiencing the mind.'
   2. He trains himself, 'I will breathe in pleasing the mind.'
      He trains himself, 'I will breathe out pleasing the mind.'
   3. He trains himself, 'I will breathe in concentrating (samādhi) the mind.'
      He trains himself, 'I will breathe out concentrating the mind.'
   4. He trains himself, 'I will breathe in releasing the mind.'
      He trains himself, 'I will breathe out releasing the mind.'
4. Fourth Tetrad: Contemplation of the Mental Objects (dhammā)
   1. He trains himself, 'I will breathe in observing (anupassi) impermanence.' (anicca)
      He trains himself, 'I will breath out observing impermanence.'
   2. He trains himself, 'I will breathe in observing dispassion.' (virāga)[note 7]
      He trains himself, 'I will breath out observing dispassion.
   3. He trains himself, 'I will breathe in observing cessation.' (nirodha)[note 8]
      He trains himself, 'I will breath out observing cessation.'
   4. He trains himself, 'I will breathe in observing relinquishment.' (paṭinissaggā)[note 9]
      He trains himself, 'I will breath out observing relinquishment.'

The sutra then explains how the four tetrads are correlated to the four satipatthanas. Next, the sutra explicates how contemplation[15] of the four satipatthanas[note 10] sets in the seven factors of awakening, which bring "clear knowing"[13] and release.

The Ānāpānasmṛti Sūtra, as the text was known to Sanskritic early Buddhist schools in India, exists in several forms. There is a version of the Ānāpānasmṛti Sutra in the Ekottara Āgama preserved in the Chinese Buddhist canon. This version also teaches about the Four Dhyānas, recalling past lives, and the Divine Eye. The earliest translation of Ānāpānasmṛti instructions, however, was by An Shigao as a separate sutra (T602) in the 2nd century CE.[17] It is not part of the Sarvastivada Madhyama Āgama, but is instead an isolated text, although the sixteen steps are found elsewhere in the Madhyama and Samyukta Āgamas.[18] The versions preserved in the Samyukta Agama are SA 815, SA 803, SA 810–812 and these three sutras have been translated into English by Thich Nhat Hanh.[19]

In addition to being in the Anapanasati Sutta, all four of the aforementioned core instructional tetrads can also be found in the following canonical discourses:

• the "Greater Exhortation to Rahula Discourse" (Maha-Rahulovada Sutta, MN 62);[21]
• sixteen discourses of the Samyutta Nikaya's (SN) chapter 54 (Anapana-samyutta): SN 54.1, SN 54.3–SN 54.16, SN 54.20;[22]
• the "To Girimananda Discourse" (Girimananda Sutta, AN 10.60); and,[23]
• the Khuddaka Nikaya's Patisambhidamagga's section on the breath, Anapanakatha.[24]

The first tetrad identified above (relating to bodily mindfulness) can also be found in the following discourses:

• the "Great Mindfulness Arousing Discourse" (Mahasatipatthana Sutta, DN 22)[25] and, similarly, the "Mindfulness Arousing Discourse" (Satipatthana Sutta, MN 10),[26] in the section on Body Contemplation; and,
• the "Mindfulness concerning the Body Discourse" (Kayagatasati Sutta, MN 119) as the first type of body-centered meditation described.[27]

The Saṃyukta Āgama contains a section titled Ānāpānasmṛti Saṃyukta (安那般那念相應) which contains various sutras on the theme of anapanasati including the sixteen steps.[28]

In a discourse variously entitled "At Vesali Discourse"[29] and "Foulness Discourse"[30] (SN 54.9), the Buddha describes "concentration by mindfulness of breathing" (ānāpānassatisamādhi)[31] in the following manner:

"Just as, bhikkhus, in the last month of the hot season, when a mass of dust and dirt has swirled up, a great rain cloud out of season disperses it and quells it on the spot, so too concentration by mindfulness of breathing, when developed and cultivated, is peaceful and sublime, an ambrosial pleasant dwelling, and it disperses and quells on the spot evil unwholesome states whenever they arise..."[32]

After stating this, the Buddha states that such an "ambrosial pleasant dwelling" is achieved by pursuing the sixteen core instructions identified famously in the Anapanasati Sutta.

In the "Great Mindfulness Arousing Discourse" (Mahasatipatthana Sutta, DN 22) and the "Mindfulness Arousing Discourse" (Satipatthana Sutta, MN 10), the Buddha uses the following metaphor for elaborating upon the first two core instructions:

Just as a skillful turner[33] or turner's apprentice, making a long turn, knows, "I am making a long turn," or making a short turn, knows, "I am making a short turn," just so the monk, breathing in a long breath, knows, "I am breathing in a long breath"; breathing out a long breath, he knows, "I am breathing out a long breath"; breathing in a short breath, he knows, "I am breathing in a short breath"; breathing out a short breath, he knows, "I am breathing out a short breath."[34]

The Anapanasati Sutta refers to sixteenfold breath-mindfulness as being of "great fruit" (mahapphalo) and "great benefit" (mahānisaṃso). "The Simile of the Lamp Discourse" (SN 54.8) states this as well and expands on the various fruits and benefits, including:

• unlike with other meditation subjects, with the breath one's body and eyes do not tire and one's mind, through non-clinging, becomes free of taints[35]
• householder memories and aspirations are abandoned[36]
• one dwells with equanimity towards repulsive and unrepulsive objects
• one enters and dwells in the four material absorptions (rupajhana) and the four immaterial absorptions (arupajhana)
• all feelings (vedana) are seen as impermanent, are detached from and, upon the death of the body, "will become cool right here."[37]

In traditional Pali literature, the 5th-century CE commentary (atthakatha) for this discourse can be found in two works, both attributed to Ven. Buddhaghosa:

• the Visuddhimagga provides commentary on the four tetrads, focusing on "concentration through mindfulness of breathing" (ānāpānassati-samādhi).[38]
• the Papañcasūdanī provides commentary on the remainder of this discourse.[39]

The earlier Vimuttimagga also provides a commentary on Anapanasati, as does the late canonical Pali Paṭisambhidāmagga (ca. 2nd c. BCE).

Likewise, the sub-commentary to the Visuddhimagga, Paramatthamañjusā (ca. 12th c. BCE), provides additional elaborations related to Buddhaghosa's treatment of this discourse. For instance, the Paramatthamañjusā maintains that a distinction between Buddhists and non-Buddhists is that Buddhists alone practice the latter twelve instructions (or "modes") described in this sutta: "When outsiders know mindfulness of breathing, they only know the first four modes [instructions]" (Pm. 257, trans. Ñāṇamoli).[40]

The Śrāvakabhūmi chapter of the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra and Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakośa both contain expositions on the practice outlined in the Ānāpānasmṛti Sūtra.

The Chinese Buddhist monk An Shigao translated a version of the Ānāpānasmṛti Sūtra into Chinese (148-170 CE) known as the Anban shouyi jing (安般守意經, Scripture on the ānāpānasmŗti) as well as other works dealing with Anapanasati. The practice was a central feature of his teaching and that of his students who wrote various commentaries on the sutra.[41]

One work which survives from the tradition of An Shigao is the Da anban shouyi jing (佛說大安般守意經, Taishō Tripitaka No.602) which seems to include the translated sutra of anapanasmrti as well as original added commentary amalgamated within the translation.[41]

According to Ajahn Sujato, the ultimate goal of Anapanasati is to bear insight and understanding into the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (Satipaṭṭhāna), the Seven Factors of Awakening (Bojjhangas), and ultimately Nibbana.[42]

Different traditions (such as Sri Lankan practitioners who follow the Visuddhimagga versus Thai forest monks) interpret a number of aspects of this sutta in different ways. Below are some of the matters that have multiple interpretations:

• Are the 16 core instructions to be followed sequentially or concurrently (Bodhi, 2000, p. 1516; Brahm, 2006, pp. 83–101; Rosenberg, 2004)?
• Must one have reached the first jhana before (or in tandem with) pursuing the second tetrad (Rosenberg, 2004)?
• In the preparatory instructions, does the word "parimukham" mean: around the mouth (as favored by Goenka, 1998, p. 28), in the chest area (as supported by a use of the word in the Vinaya), in the forefront of one's mind (as favored at times by Thanissaro) or simply "sets up mindfulness before him" (per Bodhi in Wallace & Bodhi, 2006, p. 5) or "to the fore" (Thanissaro, 2006d) or "mindfulness alive" (Piyadassi, 1999) ?
• In the first tetrad's third instruction, does the word "sabbakaya" mean: the whole "breath body" (as indicated in the sutta itself [Nanamoli, 1998, p. 7: "I say that this, bhikkhus, is a certain body among the bodies, namely, respiration."], as perhaps supported by the Patisambhidamagga [Nanamoli, 1998, p. 75], the Visuddhimagga [1991, pp. 266–267], Nyanaponika [1965, pp. 109–110], Buddhadasa [1988, p. 35], and Brahm [2006, p. 84]) or the whole "flesh body" (as supported by Bhikkhu Bodhi's revised second translation of the sutta [in Nanamoli & Bodhi, 2001, see relevant footnote to MN 118], Goenka [1988, pp. 29–30], Nhat Hanh [1988, p. 26] and Rosenberg [1998, pp. 40, 43]), and the commentary, which explains that the "body among bodies" refers to the wind element as opposed to other ways of relating to the body?