Meditation and Vipassana---4

Meditation and Vipassana---4

Bhikkhu Dhammavaro
Buddharatana Monastery of Australia

Mindfulness of breathing (Anapanasati)

Of all those forty different types of meditation mentioned above, breathing meditation is considered of prime importance, the Blessed One taught this in two different ways; in the Satipatthāna Sutta (MN 10, DN 22) (sati means memorizing) and elsewhere, four steps of practice are given, which also leads one to insights.

1. “Consciously (sato) he inhales; consciously he exhales. Inhaling a long breath, he knows, - ‘ I am inhaling a long breath’. Exhaling a long breath, he knows . ‘I am exhaling a long breath.’ ”

2. “Inhaling a short breath, he knows - ‘I am inhaling a short breath’. Exhaling a short breath, he knows - ‘I am exhaling a short breath.’”

3. “Experiencing the entire (breathing) process (sabbakayapatisamvedt) ‘I will inhale’, thus he trains himself. Experiencing the entire (breathing) process ‘I will exhale’ - thus he trains himself.”

4. “Calming the body of respirations (passambhayam kayasamkharam), ‘I will inhale’ - thus he trains himself. Calming the body of respirations, ‘I will exhale’ - thus he trains himself.” (Satipatthana Sutta)

The 'Discourse on Mindfulness of Breathing' (Ānāpānasati Sutta, MN 118) and other suttas have 16 steps of practice, which divide the practice into four groups of four steps. The first three apply to both tranquility (samatha) and insight meditation (vipassana), while the fourth refers to pure insight meditation only. The second and the third group require the attainment of the absorptions (samadhi).