387 LESSON 27 09 2011
Arittha Sutta To Arittha
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SN 54.6
PTS: S v 314
CDB ii
1768
Arittha
Sutta: To Arittha
(On
Mindfulness of Breathing)
translated
from the Pali by
Thanissaro
Bhikkhu
At Savatthi. There the Blessed One said, “Monks, do you
develop mindfulness of in-&-out breathing?”
When this was said, Ven. Arittha replied to the Blessed One, “I
develop mindfulness of in-&-out breathing, lord.”
“But how do you develop mindfulness of in-&-out
breathing, Arittha?”
“Having abandoned sensual desire for past sensual
pleasures, lord, having done away with sensual desire for future sensual
pleasures, and having thoroughly subdued perceptions of irritation with regard
to internal & external events, I breathe in mindfully and breathe out
mindfully.”[1]
“There is that mindfulness of in-&-out breathing,
Arittha. I don’t say that there isn’t. But as to how mindfulness of
in-&-out breathing is brought in detail to its culmination, listen and pay
close attention. I will speak.”
“As you say, lord,” Ven. Arittha responded to the
Blessed One.
The Blessed One said, “And how, Arittha, is mindfulness of
in-&-out breathing brought in detail to its culmination? 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.[2]
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.’[3]
He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out sensitive to the entire body.’ [4] He
trains himself, ‘I will breathe in calming bodily fabrication.’[4]
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.’[5]
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.’[6]
“[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.’[7]
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, Arittha, is how mindfulness of in-&-out
breathing is brought in detail to its culmination.”
Notes
1.
The Commentary reads this statement as indicating that
Arittha has attained the third level of Awakening, non-return, but it is also
possible to interpret the statement on a more mundane level: Arittha is simply
practicing mindfulness in the present moment, having temporarily subdued desire
for past and future sensual pleasures, and having temporarily subdued any
thought of irritation with regard to the present.
2.
To the fore (parimukham): The Abhidhamma takes an
etymological approach to this term, defining it as around (pari-) the
mouth (mukham). In the Vinaya, however, it is used in a context
(Cv.V.27.4) where it undoubtedly means the front of the chest. There is also
the possibility that the term could be used idiomatically as “to the
front,” which is how I have translated it here.
3.
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 jhana as a
state of whole-body awareness (see MN 119).
4.
“In-&-out breaths are bodily; these are things tied
up with the body. That’s why in-&-out breaths are bodily
fabrications.” — MN 44.
5.
“Perceptions & feelings are mental; these are
things tied up with the mind. That’s why perceptions & feelings are mental
fabrications.” — MN 44.
6.
AN 9.34 shows how the mind,
step by step, is temporarily released from burdensome mental states of greater
and greater refinement as it advances through the stages of jhana.
7.
Lit., “fading.”
DOB 510 Mind
and its World II: Mental Events & Causality -
2 credits
Delivery
Mode: Residential & Online
Course
Description:
This
course begins with the analysis of mind and its functions, or mental events,
followed
by
a detailed phenomenological account of causes and results from Abhidharma and
the
presentation
of the twelve links of dependent origination which is Buddha’s response to
the
perennial questions of where we come from, where we are now and where we are
heading.
Prerequisites:
DOB 501, DOB 502