Great Fruit and Benefit of Breathing Mindfulness Meditation (Anāpānasati)

Monks, Mindfulness of Breathing (Breathing Mindfulness Meditation), when developed and cultivated, is of great fruit and benefit. And how, Monks, is Mindfulness of Breathing (Breathing Mindfulness Meditation) developed and cultivated so that it is of great fruit and benefit?

Here, Monks, a Monk, having gone to the forest, to the foot of a tree, or an empty hut, sits down. Having folded his legs crosswise, straightened his body, and set up mindfulness in front of him, just mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes out.

Breathing in long, he knows: I breathe in long;

or breathing out long, he knows: I breathe out long.

Breathing in short, he knows: I breathe in short;

or breathing out short, he knows: I breathe out short.

He trains thus: Experiencing the whole body, I will breathe in; he trains thus: Experiencing the whole body, I will breathe out.

He trains thus: Calming the bodily sensations, I will breathe in;

he trains thus: Calming the bodily sensations, I will breathe out.

He trains thus: Experiencing joy, I will breathe in;

he trains thus: Experiencing joy, I will breathe out.

He trains thus: Experiencing peacefulness, I will breathe in;

he trains thus: Experiencing peacefulness, I will breathe out.

He trains thus: Experiencing the mental activity, I will breathe in;

he trains thus: Experiencing the mental activity, I will breathe out.

He trains thus: Calming the mental activity, I will breathe in;

he trains thus: Calming the mental activity, I will breathe out.

He trains thus: Experiencing the mind, I will breathe in;

he trains thus: Experiencing the mind, I will breathe out.

He trains thus: Gladdening the mind, I will breathe in;

he trains thus: Gladdening the mind, I will breathe out.

He trains thus: Concentrating the mind, I will breathe in;

he trains thus: Concentrating the mind, I will breathe out.

He trains thus: Liberating the mind, I will breathe in;

he trains thus: Liberating the mind, I will breathe out.

He trains thus: Reflecting on impermanence, I will breathe in;

he trains thus: Reflecting on impermanence, I will breathe out.

He trains thus: Reflecting on fading away, I will breathe in;

he trains thus: Reflecting on fading away, I will breathe out.

He trains thus: Reflecting on elimination, I will breathe in;

he trains thus: Reflecting on elimination, I will breathe out.

He trains thus: Reflecting on letting go, I will breathe in;

he trains thus: Reflecting on letting go, I will breathe out.

It is, Monks, when Mindfulness of Breathing (Breathing Mindfulness Meditation) is developed and cultivated in this way that it is of great fruit and benefit.

When, Monks, Mindfulness of Breathing (Breathing Mindfulness Meditation) has been developed and cultivated in this way, one of two fruits may be predicted: either final knowledge (wisdom) in this very life or, if there is a residue of clinging, the state of Non-Returner.

(Reference: SN 54.4)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares how important Breathing Mindfulness Meditation is to the development of the mind to attain Enlightenment.

The Buddha guides his Students to go “to the forest, to the foot of a tree, or an empty hut, sits down”. Then, fold the “legs crosswise, straightened his body, and set up mindfulness in front of him”. While this was the guidance from The Buddha during his lifetime as a place to meditate, this may or may not be practical today. There are many different places one might choose to meditate, and “in the forest at the foot of a tree” is one of those places you might find to meditate.

The legs should be lightly crossed allowing circulation to flow through the lower body but the upper body (i.e. torso) should be erect or straight. Maintaining the erectness of the upper body keeps the mind attentive and alert during meditation. The mind will need to be actively involved in the meditation session.

A Practitioner will need to “setup mindfulness in front of” them prior to entering meditation. Mindfulness is generally described as “awareness of mind” but truly relates to The Four Foundations of Mindfulness. So, a Practitioner will need to develop “awareness of mind” or become mindful prior to and as one enters meditation. This awareness of mind allows a Practitioner to train the mind through an active, dedicated, independent, purposeful training session.

Meditation is a technique to actively train the mind during dedicated, independent, purposeful training sessions to eliminate unwholesome qualities of the mind and/or cultivate wholesome qualities of the mind in the positions of seated, lying, standing, or walking.

While The Buddha provides guidance in this Teaching for seated meditation, there are other options available that he taught. Seated, lying, standing, and walking are all positions The Buddha taught during his lifetime. You might even choose to meditate in a chair.

Detailed explanation of developing a meditation practice is available in this same book series found in Chapter 11 of the book “Developing a Life Practice: The Path That Leads to Enlightenment” (Volume 1).

There is detailed guidance located in that book to help you get well established in your meditation practice. The guidance shared here is to help a Practitioner who has already learned with the book and other resources at that location to further develop their meditation practice. I do not suggest a Practitioner use this book to start their meditation practice but instead, use this book to enhance an existing meditation practice that is based on The Teachings found in Chapter 11 of the book “Developing a Life Practice: The Path That Leads to Enlightenment” (Volume 1).

Just mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes out: Once the body is in position, the Practitioner needs to start becoming aware of the mind, they then need to bring their awareness of mind to the breath focusing on the sound of the breath or the sensation of air moving over the skin into the nose. The breath is the present moment. The mind can be peaceful and calm when it is in the present moment. One aspect of this meditation is to train the mind to reside in the present moment, and fixating the mind on the breath during meditation will help accomplish that goal.

The Buddha provides guidance for meditation using the remaining following statements. These are not statements one should recite during meditation but instead, this is guidance of what one is working to accomplish during meditation. Through training the mind in this way, a Practitioner develops the necessary training to be applied in daily life towards the elimination of discontentedness. Without training the mind in Breathing Mindfulness Meditation on a consistent ongoing basis, a Practitioner would be unable to attain Enlightenment. But also, attaining Enlightenment is much more than only meditation. There is an entire path to Enlightenment that a Practitioner will need to learn and practice to train the mind in and out of meditation.

Breathing in long, he knows: I breathe in long; or breathing out long, he knows: I breathe out long: A Practitioner should have awareness of the breath to know that they are breathing in either long or short. It is best to have a gradual breath that is not controlled or forced, just a natural full breath in through the nose and out through the nose. The mind should be fixated on the breath to gradually experience the full inhale and exhale. The mind can be fixated on the sound of the breath or the sensation of air moving over the skin and into the nose.

Breathing in short, he knows: I breathe in short; or breathing out short, he knows: I breathe out short: A Practitioner should have awareness of the breath to know that they are breathing in either long or short. It is best to have a gradual breath that is not controlled or forced, just a natural full breath in through the nose and out through the nose. The mind should be fixated on the breath to gradually experience the full inhale and exhale. The mind can be fixated on the sound of the breath or the sensation of air moving over the skin and into the nose.

He trains thus: Experiencing the whole body, I will breathe in; he trains thus: Experiencing the whole body, I will breathe out: A Practitioner will need to develop Right Mindfulness using The Four Foundations of Mindfulness so that the mind is aware of any bodily sensations that arise during meditation but does not allow those to affect the mind.

He trains thus: Calming the bodily sensations, I will breathe in; he trains thus: Calming the bodily sensations, I will breathe out: The mind needs to be unaffected by any arising bodily sensations during meditation “cutting them off and letting them go” observing the impermanent nature of all bodily sensations. This will calm the bodily sensations training the mind to be unaffected.

In daily life, as the mind becomes aware of the arising bodily sensations generated by arising discontentedness (i.e. pleasant feelings, painful feelings, or feelings that are neither painful-nor-pleasant) a Practitioner will need to “cut them off and let them go”. Once aware of these bodily sensations, the Practitioner should apply Right Effort to “cut them off and let them go” so that the arising discontentedness does not come into the mind creating discontent feelings. Allowing arising discontentedness to enter the mind will make it more difficult to eliminate the discontentedness. So if a Practitioner is able to catch the arising bodily sensations, then the discontentedness never enters the mind allowing you to reside peaceful, calm, serene, and content with joy.

He trains thus: Experiencing joy, I will breathe in; he trains thus: Experiencing joy, I will breathe out: As a Practitioner trains the mind in meditation, one might experience joy. As the mind is trained to let go fixating on the breath through consistent ongoing meditation sessions, there may be occasional experiences of bliss or joy. The mind needs to reside unaffected by the arisen joy training the mind to reside in “the middle”. A Practitioner should not expect the joy to occur, as if they do, it will not occur. The guidance is that as one experiences joy, just continue to breathe in and out residing unaffected by the joy experienced.

He trains thus: Experiencing peacefulness, I will breathe in; he trains thus: Experiencing peacefulness, I will breathe out: As a Practitioner trains the mind in meditation, one might experience peacefulness. As the mind is trained to let go fixating on the breath through consistent ongoing meditation sessions, there may be experiences of peacefulness. The mind needs to reside unaffected by the arisen peacefulness training the mind to reside in “the middle”.

A Practitioner should not expect the peacefulness to occur, as if they do, it will not occur. The guidance is that as one experiences peacefulness, just continue to breathe in and out residing unaffected by the peacefulness experienced.

He trains thus: Experiencing the mental activity, I will breathe in; he trains thus: Experiencing the mental activity, I will breathe out: As the mind experiences mental activity during meditation, reside continuing to focus on the breath.

He trains thus: Calming the mental activity, I will breathe in; he trains thus: Calming the mental activity, I will breathe out: To calm the mental activity, when the mind is not on the breath, “cut that off and let it go”. Do not attempt to figure out why the mind is having thoughts during meditation, where they are coming from, judge the thoughts, or label the thoughts in any way. You have not done anything wrong, this is just the unEnlightened mind having craving/desire/attachment being uncomfortable to reside in the present moment.

Once the mind is aware of the mental activity with the mind no longer focused on the breath, just “cut off and let go” of those feelings, perceptions, or volitional formations (choices/decisions), no longer allowing the mind to drift or wander. Instead, “cut those off and let them go” bringing the mind back to the breath, the present moment.

This is training that one employs during meditation. During daily life, a Practitioner should cut off and let go of any arising unwholesome feelings, unwholesome perceptions, or unwholesome volitional formations (choices/decisions) but, wholesome feelings, wholesome perceptions, or wholesome volitional formations (choices/decisions) will be needed to conduct life. This is normal and you should not approach daily life in the exact same way as you do in meditation.

In meditation, all feelings, perceptions, or volitional formations (choices/decisions) are being “cut off and they should be let go”. The mind is developing Right Mindfulness (awareness of mind) through The Four Foundations of Mindfulness, applying Right Effort to “cut off and let go” of feelings, perceptions, or volitional formations (choices/decisions), eliminating craving/desire/attachment so that the mind will reside in the present moment, and as a result, the mind develops Right Concentration or “singleness of mind”. A Practitioner should train the mind to focus on only one thing at a time during daily activities in daily life. With Breathing Mindfulness Meditation and practicing “singleness of mind” during daily life as part of Right Concentration, the mind can develop focus, concentration, deep memory and clarity of thought bringing the mind closer to Enlightenment.

In daily life, a Practitioner will need to have awareness to know what is wholesome and unwholesome applying these same skills and abilities developed during meditation in daily life to eliminate unwholesome feelings, perceptions, or volitional formations (choices/decisions). As you train the mind in meditation and in daily life, eventually, there will not be any unwholesome feelings, perceptions, or volitional formations (choices/ decisions) that arise. This is a gradual process that will be observed as they gradually diminish in meditation and in daily life through doing the work to apply these Teachings.

He trains thus: Experiencing the mind, I will breathe in; he trains thus: Experiencing the mind, I will breathe out: Allow the mind to develop awareness during meditation while continuing to focus solely on the breath - inhaling and exhaling.

The mind is going to move off the breath, even when the mind is close to Enlightenment. This is normal. You are not attempting to eliminate the arising of feelings, perceptions, or volitional formations (choices/decisions) but instead, you are quieting the mind, stilling the activity of the mind so that it can develop awareness and concentration while residing in the present moment.

A mind that resides in the present moment can be peaceful, calm, serene, and content with joy. But, the mind is not going to do that at the beginning. You will not experience complete and total peacefulness until the mind is Enlightened. So even in the first, second, and third Stage of Enlightenment, the mind will still be moving off the breath occasionally and when it does, you pull it back to the breath training the mind to easily “let go” of any arisen feelings, perceptions, or volitional formations (choices/decisions).

It is impossible to eliminate thoughts and ideas from arising in the mind. Even stilling the mind to the point of complete peacefulness, the mind will think, “Ahh, the mind is so peaceful”. But that is by itself, a thought. So you will not eliminate thoughts and ideas from the mind during meditation even once the mind is Enlightened but instead, you are training the mind to be able to control the thoughts and ideas having well developed mental discipline so that this can benefit you in daily life.

He trains thus: Gladdening the mind, I will breathe in; he trains thus: Gladdening the mind, I will breathe out: Train the mind to be glad, not sad. Uplift the mind with gladness not based on any specific object. Train the mind to be glad just because it is glad. Train the mind to be “satisfied with what is” while in meditation and in daily life.

The mind may not like meditation or enjoy it when a Practitioner first starts to meditate. Some people enjoy it from the beginning, others are very challenged by the stillness not being comfortable to meditate. The more uncomfortable the mind is with meditation provides the reason why one needs to dedicate themselves to meditation.

If the mind is unsatisfied with the stillness and calmness that is being cultivated during mediation, this means there is much work to do and one should not shrink back from the struggle and challenge of establishing a meditation practice.

You are not going to be an expert at meditation when you first start. You may not even be an expert at meditation after a few months or years of meditation. But, each day and each breath, gradually work towards improving your meditation practice not allowing the mind to become discouraged as a result of challenges that arise during meditation.

He trains thus: Concentrating the mind, I will breathe in; he trains thus: Concentrating the mind, I will breathe out: Focus the mind on the breath and only the breath. Again, this is the goal but is not going to be possible 100% of the time while meditating. Even an Enlightened mind cannot focus on the breath permanently without any arising of thoughts or ideas. You cannot permanently fixate the mind on the breath. This is not possible.

You are training the mind to have awareness (i.e. Right Mindfulness) when it is off the breath and training it to easily “let go” whenever it is not on the breath so that it can return back to the breath. This develops a Practitioner’s ability to control the mind so that it can be concentrated.

Concentrate the mind on the breath as you breathe in and out.

He trains thus: Liberating the mind, I will breathe in; he trains thus: Liberating the mind, I will breathe out: Liberation or liberating is to be “free”. Free the mind from its constant struggles and difficulties by just focusing solely on the breath.

There is nothing magical or mystical that you should be expecting to occur while meditating. Instead, you are training the mind so that you can gain control over the mind. Rather than letting it continue to be overactive and wander about as it pleases, you are applying discipline and training so that you can then better control the mind during meditation and in daily life.

He trains thus: Reflecting on impermanence, I will breathe in; he trains thus: Reflecting on impermanence, I will breathe out: As feelings, perceptions, or volitional formations (choices/decisions) arise in the mind, observe how they are impermanent. Notice how you can “cut them off and let them go” focusing solely on the breath.

As the bodily sensations arise, notice how you can continue to stay focused solely on the breath being unaffected by the bodily sensations. All bodily sensations are impermanent. They are temporary and will cease to exist. Form, feelings, perceptions, volitional formations (choices/decisions), and consciousness (i.e. The Five Aggregates) are all impermanent.

The Five Aggregates

Form: the physical body.

Feelings: results of experiences in the mind through The Six Sense Bases.

Perceptions: a belief or opinion based on how things seem.

Volitional Formations: choices or decisions that are made.

Consciousness: the mind.

Soak this into the mind how all of these things are impermanent and there is no reason to cling to any of these. Clinging to these only causes discontentedness so, let them go.

He trains thus: Reflecting on fading away, I will breathe in; he trains thus: Reflecting on fading away, I will breathe out: As you train the mind in this way, notice how these things all just fade away. Bring the mind back to the breath no longer allowing it to roam and wander uncontrolled. Notice how all that is in the mind can fade away into silence where the mind is focused solely on the breath, breathing in and out.

He trains thus: Reflecting on elimination, I will breathe in; he trains thus: Reflecting on elimination, I will breathe out: Focus on the elimination, or stilling, of all feelings, perceptions, or volitional formations (choices/decisions) during meditation. As mentioned, it will be impossible to completely eliminate 100% of all thoughts and ideas during meditation, but you can train the mind to work in that direction in order to still the mind and quiet it.

He trains thus: Reflecting on letting go, I will breathe in; he trains thus: Reflecting on letting go, I will breathe out: Train the mind to “let go” of everything and anything that it is holding on to during meditation. As you get started in meditation, you may be interested to repeat in the mind a few times, “let go, let go, let go”. Continue to stay focused solely on the breath, breathing in and out.

Allow the sound of the breath or the sensation of air entering into the nose to be the focus during meditation. The breath is the present moment. The mind can be peaceful, calm, serene, and content with joy when it is focused on the breath and only the breath.

Sooner and sooner, observe when the mind is off the breath and then cut that off, let it go. Bring the mind back to the breath, breathing in and out.

Seek guidance from a Teacher to develop your meditation practice. It is highly important to have guidance on the journey to Enlightenment and developing your meditation practice is just one area where a Teacher will be beneficial.

You can contact the author of this book using this link to seek guidance. Personalized guidance is available openly and freely to all.

https://www.buddhadailywisdom.com/

When, Monks, Mindfulness of Breathing (Breathing Mindfulness Meditation) has been developed and cultivated in this way, one of two fruits may be predicted: either final knowledge (wisdom) in this very life or, if there is a residue of clinging, the state of Non-Returner: The Buddha explains that through developing a Breathing Mindfulness Meditation practice, there are two results that can be predicted. Either a Practitioner will experience Enlightenment in this very life or if they have a small amount of residual clinging, they will attain the third Stage of Enlightenment as a Non-Returner.

If a Practitioner attains Enlightenment, all discontentedness is eliminated from the mind. They will never again experience any discontentedness or rebirth in The Cycle of Rebirth.

If a Practitioner attains the third Stage of Enlightenment as a Non-Returner, they will be reborn into the heavenly realm and attain Enlightenment from that realm. That will be their last existence.

Detailed explanation of developing a meditation practice is available in this same book series found in Chapter 11 of the book “Developing a Life Practice: The Path That Leads to Enlightenment” (Volume 1).