Mindfulness of Breathing (Ānāpānassati)
One who resorts to empty dwellings,
He is a sage, self-controlled.
He should live there, letting go of everything,
That is what is proper for him.
— SN 4.6 Sappa Sutta
The development of mental calm (samathabhāvanā) requires sustained and dedicated practice over an extended period of time. And along with sitting meditation, this practice is aided by maintaining ethical conduct (sīla), living a life of voluntary simplicity and renunciation (nekkhamma), employing sense restraint (indriya saṃvara), and thorough reflection (yoniso manasikāra). With a consistent and dedicated practice supported by the five or eight precepts, and much meditation retreat, these supporting conditions will eventually lead to the actual refined recognition of joy and pleasure born of seclusion (vivekajapītisukhasukhumasaccasaññā). With this, one has developed their meditation practice to the entryway of the first jhāna.
In SN 54.9 Vesālī Sutta, the Buddha compares the development of meditative composure through mindfulness of breathing (ānāpānassatisamādhi) to a cool rain cloud dispelling the heat and dust of the hot season:
Just as, monks, 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, meditative composure through mindfulness of breathing, when developed and cultivated, is peaceful and sublime, an ambrosial pleasant dwelling, and it disperses and quells on the spot worthless unskillful phenomena whenever they arise.
He then goes on to give the basic instruction for developing meditative composure through mindfulness of breathing as follows:
Here monks, a monk, having gone to the forest, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty place, sits down. Folding his legs crosswise, he holds his body upright and brings mindfulness to the fore. Always mindful, he breathes in; mindful he breathes out.
The development of calm is a process of unifying and centering the mind to calm it down and release it from its habitual discursiveness, and the practice of mindful breathing can help us do just that. But it’s important to acknowledge from the outset that this is best approached without any preconceptions or expectations. This is a practice of simply softening and opening. Softening the judgmental heart-mind and opening ourselves to the unmediated experience of the mind’s natural clarity, and even beginning to recognize the expansiveness of mind (mahaggatā citta) experienced when integral mindfulness (sammāsati) develops into integral meditative composure (sammāsamādhi).
Two qualities essential for the development of calm are those of nonjudgmental “effortless exertion” and non-striving “surrender” to the object of meditation. The initial object in this case is the nostril area (for one breathing through their nose) or upper lip (for one breathing through their mouth) where the tactual sensation of the in and out-breaths can be felt.
Begin by sitting (either on a chair or cross-legged on the floor) with your back straight but not forced or rigid. Next, simplify matters by recognizing that your experience at this time consists of four simple processes: seeing (visual consciousness), hearing (auditory consciousness), tactual sensation (tactile consciousness), and thinking (mental consciousness). And if you gently close your eyes you’ve simplified your experience to three. Now you can begin to enter into this experience of tactual sensation by paying attention to either the nostril area or the upper lip as the breath contacts this area. This is the first step toward unifying the mind using the breath as an object-support.
In the Vesālī Sutta the Buddha then gives the first specific instruction regarding mindful breathing as follows:
Breathing in long, he discerns, ‘I am breathing in long;’ or breathing out long, he discerns, ‘I am breathing out long.’ Breathing in short, he discerns, ‘I am breathing in short;’ or breathing out short, he discerns, ‘I am breathing out short.’
Now we can turn to the Paṭisambhidāmagga Ānāpānassatikathā to see how it explains the object-support of mindfulness and where we are advised to station our mindful attention. It states:
Sign (nimitta), in-breath, and out-breath, are not objects of a single mind; one who knows these three phenomena well can thereby obtain development.
The monk sits, having established mindfulness at the tip of the nose or on the upper lip....
And so the suggested area for the placing of our mindful attention is the nostril area for one breathing through the nose, or the upper lip of the mouth for one, who for whatever reason, is unable to breathe through their nose at this time — if one has a cold for example.
(Because nasal breathing seems to be somewhat more effective for establishing mindfulness and thereby calming the mind, I’m going to explain the “sign” only in terms of nasal breathing, but keep in mind that if you’re not able to breathe freely through your nose at any time you can simply locate the sign on the upper lip, and proceed from there.)
The nostril area is called the sign for the anchoring of mindfulness. As such, this area is the focus of our attention while we remain mindful of the sensations of the in-breath and out-breath as we breathe, as well as the the felt-sense of this area during the gap that is experienced between the out-breath and the next in-breath when breathing naturally.
Because this area of attention is obviously fairly small (the entire area at the base of the nose surrounding the nostrils), the tactual sensation experienced here between out-breath and subsequent in-breath is fairly subtle, but as the tactual sensations of the in-breath and out-breath are slightly less subtle in comparison, these sensations of the in and out-breath are what aid us to remain focused on this spot between breaths. If you have difficulty at first sensing any tactual sensation between out-breath and in-breath that’s okay. Experience shows that over time one’s awareness of this area increases in sensitivity, and then this will no longer be an issue.
Now the sutta states that the meditator should discern whether an in-breath and out-breath are long or short. The Paṭisambhidāmagga commentary indicates that this just refers to the relative duration of each breath. The injunction is to simply recognize that each breath is unique — no two breaths have exactly the same duration. The idea here isn’t to attempt to control the breath in any way, but to just remain attentive to the natural involuntary breathing process that is occurring.
Of course, as soon as that is said one becomes self-conscious and it seems impossible to know if the breath is occurring as it usually does as an involuntary process when we aren’t aware of it, or if we really are manipulating it in some way. So to remain aware of the basic involuntary process, simply exhale normally, and wait for the next inhalation. Just watch and wait — and sure enough — there it is. Unprompted by you, the breath breathes, reaches its own level of fullness, and naturally exhales again. The entire process is effortless.
This is a very straightforward and direct form of meditation. There is no effort to manipulate the breath in any way. There is no expectation whatsoever of experiencing anything any more spectacular, or mystical, or ecstatic than the bare tactual sensation just described. Any such notions that one is going to attain or become something spectacular is just more saṃsāric craving (taṇhā) that feeds becoming (bhava), which is the antithesis of the third noble truth — the cessation of unsatisfactoriness. To practice mindful breathing one needs nothing more than a somewhat peaceful environment, working lungs, and air, preferably somewhat clean air. These are the only “paraphernalia” one ever needs to practice the pragmatic meditation that the Buddha taught as mindfulness of in and out breathing. And when practiced over some period of time, this mindfulness of breathing will naturally lead to a unified state of mind, without any added manipulation on our part.
And so returning to the process of meditation: when you’re able to remain attentive to each in-breath and out-breath and the sign between each breath, as they occur in sequence, for some period of time (twenty to thirty minutes — you have to judge for yourself what is right for you), without becoming completely distracted by discursive thinking and thereby losing awareness of the object-support as it is presently occurring, you can then expand this area of the sign to include awareness of the felt-sense of the entire body as a whole, as experienced from within.
It’s important to mention at this juncture that we’re not trying to forcibly suppress discursive thinking so as to remain with our object of mindfulness. Again, attempts at forcible manipulation or suppression are not very helpful. Unless the discursive thoughts that are arising are tainted by one of the hindrances they should simply be left alone. Just remain attentive to the tactual sensation of the present object, while not intentionally giving attention to any sounds or thoughts.
Remember what was said at the outset about simplifying your present experience to tactual sensing, hearing, and thinking, and thereby recognizing that the only spheres that presently interest you are the tactual object sphere (phoṭṭhabbāyatana) and the body sphere (kāyāyatana). These other spheres related to hearing and thinking can in no way block or hinder your full awareness of the tactual sphere and the inner felt-sense of the body unless you intentionally give attention to them. The Vesālī Sutta continues:
He trains thus, ‘Experiencing the whole body, I will breathe in;’ he trains thus, ‘Experiencing the whole body, I will breathe out.’
Simply expand your sphere of attention to include the awareness of the felt-sense of your whole body as you experience it from within, including the tip of the nose, and including the tactual sensation experienced as the breath. Remain attentive to this expanded awareness of the whole body (sabbakāya).1
As you continue to breathe mindfully, you can begin to experience the total sphere of the entire body as a flowing inner energy field. Experience this inner field/sphere as a vibrational “whole” without allowing your awareness to collapse by focusing attention on any particular point within the felt-sense of the entire sphere. Recognize that the shape of your body represents the shape and expanse of this inner field. Relax into this experience without being either for or against any particular inner sensation that’s arising. Just go deeply into this experience of the inner felt-sense of the body. When either “hearing” or “thinking” arise simply let them go by remaining with this ongoing internal flux — this inner felt-sense of the whole body.
While remaining aware of the entire felt-sense of this inner energy sphere, and without forcing the breath in any way, simply notice a subtle expansion of the whole body as you breathe in, and then a very slight deflation as you breathe out. The body is like a three-quarters filled balloon inflating slightly and deflating slightly. The inner felt-sense of the body is the airy space inside the balloon. Just remain aware of this natural process as it is occurring. Once again, this is a very straightforward and direct form of meditation. There is no effort to manipulate the breath in any way.
There is a subtle shift occurring at this stage, away from the external tactual sensations resulting from the breath contacting the nostril area, and deeper and deeper into the inner felt-sense of the body. Specifically, this is a movement away from tactile consciousness (kāyaviññāṇa, which is dependent upon external sensory contact for its arising), toward experiencing the inner body through mental consciousness (manoviññāṇa).
And with some practice, one recognizes that this expansive experience of the entire inner felt-sense of the body is one of the most rewarding, naturally satisfying, healthful, and serene states of awareness possible. With this simple recognition one naturally chooses to enter into this inner felt-sense as often as possible, and thereby experience tranquility and calm. In this way the development of calm, very naturally, over time, leads to more and more subtle and refined states of bodily and mental ease. And during sitting practice, the experience of the breath becomes more and more refined. The Buddha expresses this with the next instruction in the Vesālī Sutta:
He trains thus, ‘Tranquilizing the bodily fabrication, I will breathe in;’ he trains thus, ‘Tranquilizing the bodily fabrication, I will breathe out.’
This concise introduction covers the basic development of calm using the breath as object, as the initial steps toward unifying the mind and developing the mental factors of the first jhāna. Exactly where the preliminary development of calm ends and jhāna begins is subjective, and therefore a matter for each meditator to discern for him or herself. That said, there are some specific mental factors that we can become aware of, which are clear indications of the first jhāna. We will investigate this more refined stage of the development of calm on the next page.
Mindfulness of Breathing and the Seven Factors of Awakening (Satta Bojjhaṅgā)
Sustained, dedicated practice of mindfulness of breathing will gradually create the optimal conditions for the arising of all seven factors of awakening. SN 46.66 Ānāpāna Sutta (abridged):
Here monks, a monk develops the awakening factor of mindfulness accompanied by mindfulness of breathing, dependent upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, resulting in letting go. He develops the awakening factor of dhamma-investigation accompanied by mindfulness of breathing, dependent upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, resulting in letting go. He develops the awakening factor of energy accompanied by mindfulness of breathing, dependent upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, resulting in letting go. He develops the awakening factor of joy accompanied by mindfulness of breathing, dependent upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, resulting in letting go. He develops the awakening factor of tranquility accompanied by mindfulness of breathing, dependent upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, resulting in letting go. He develops the awakening factor of meditative composure accompanied by mindfulness of breathing, dependent upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, resulting in letting go. He develops the awakening factor of equanimity accompanied by mindfulness of breathing, dependent upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, resulting in letting go.
It is in this way that mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated so that it is of great fruit and benefit. It is in this way that mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated so that one of two fruits is to be expected: either final gnosis in this very life or, if there is a residue of clinging, the state of nonreturning. It is in this way that mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated so that it leads to great good. It is in this way that mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated so that it leads to great security from bondage. It is in this way that mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated so that it leads to a great sense of urgency. It is in this way that mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated so that it leads to dwelling in great comfort.
Notes
- There are differing interpretations of this third step of the first tetrad of ānāpānassati regarding ‘experiencing the whole body’ (sabbakāya-paṭisaṃvedī). Ven. Bodhi’s footnote to this step in the Ānāpānassati Sutta is relevant here. From The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, 2001 ed.:
“MA [Majjhima Nikāya Aṭṭhakathā] explains ‘experiencing the whole body’ (sabbakāya-paṭisaṃvedī) as signifying that the meditator becomes aware of each in-breath and out-breath through its three phases of beginning, middle, and end. In the first edition I followed this explanation and added in brackets ‘of breath’ after ‘the whole body.’ In retrospect, however, this interpretation seems forced, and I now prefer to take the phrase quite literally. It is also difficult to see how paṭisaṃvedī could mean ‘is aware of,’ as it is based on a verb meaning ‘to experience.’”
Ven. Bodhi expands on this point in his Majjhima Nikāya Lectures: A Systematic Study of the Majjhima Nikāya ‘Exploring the Word of the Buddha,’ Lecture On MN 118: Ānāpānasati Sutta:
“I used to think that the commentary was completely correct on this, but then it struck me to just focus on the Pāli words sabbakāya, which simply means ‘whole body,’ and also the word that comes after that, paṭisaṃvedī. Now the word paṭisaṃvedī has the sense of ‘experiencing’ rather than the sense of awareness or knowing. It’s more akin to what you might call the feeling aspect of experience than to the knowing aspect of experience. In fact, the root of this word is related to the word vedanā which means feeling. And so what seems to me to be taking place here is that while breathing in and breathing out one’s awareness (or range of experience) is now expanding to the point that it can encompass the whole body and take in the whole body while one’s attention is still fixed at this particular point at the nostrils where one feels the breath most distinctly coming in and going out.
“And I think this can be related to one’s experience in the jhānas in that it might be suggesting a stage in the development of mindfulness of breathing either approaching close to the jhāna or within the jhāna itself. I find some support for this if one takes a look at the Mahā-Assapura Sutta, which gives a standard way of explaining the four jhānas. The text describes a monk who has abandoned the five hindrances and who ‘enters upon and abides in the first jhāna, which is accompanied by applied and sustained thought, with rapture and pleasure born of seclusion. He makes the rapture and pleasure born of seclusion drench, steep, fill, and pervade this body, so that there is no part of his whole body...’ (it uses the expression sabbakāya), ‘... unpervaded by the rapture and pleasure born of seclusion.’ And then the text goes on to use the simile of the barber or barber's apprentice who prepares a ball of bathing powder or shaving powder in a metal basin, sprinkles it with water, and then mixes it so that the water entirely pervades the soap powder inside and out. We get a similar simile in each of the next three paragraphs. Each paragraph includes the expression of the ‘whole body’ being completely pervaded by the qualities within each particular jhānic attainment.
“Coming back to the Ānāpānasati Sutta, I don’t think this sentence necessarily indicates that the meditator has already reached the jhāna, but it seems to indicate what I would call a widening or expanding of the range of experience so that as the pīti and sukha — the rapture and happiness, the joy and happiness — are building up along with the development of concentration, they’re now experienced as pervading the whole body. And so with attention still focused at the nostrils, or around the nostrils, he’s experiencing that joy and happiness extending through the whole body.”
And Ven. Ṭhānissaro’s footnote on the same line from the Ānāpānassati Sutta:
“The commentaries insist that ‘body’ here means the breath, but this is unlikely in this context, for the next step — without further explanation — refers to the breath as ‘bodily fabrication.’ If the Buddha were using two different terms to refer to the breath in such close proximity, he would have been careful to signal that he was redefining his terms (as he does below, when explaining that the first four steps in breath meditation correspond to the practice of focusing on the body in and of itself as a frame of reference). The step of breathing in and out sensitive to the entire body relates to the many similes in the suttas depicting jhāna as a state of whole-body awareness (see MN 119).” ↩
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