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Saṁyutta Nikāya — The Linked Discourses

Vol 1:
Verses
SN1-11
Vol 2:
Causation
SN12-21
Vol 3:
Aggregates
SN22-34
Vol 4:
Sense Bases
SN35-44
Vol 5:
Great Book
SN45-56

54. Ānāpānasaṁyutta: On Breath Meditation

II. The Second Chapter — SN54.12: In Doubt

1At one time Venerable Lomasavaṅgīsa was staying in the land of the Sakyans, near Kapilavatthu in the Banyan Tree Monastery. Then Mahānāma the Sakyan went up to Venerable Lomasavaṅgīsa, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him:

“Sir, is the meditation of a trainee just the same as the meditation of a Realized One? Or is the meditation of a trainee different from the meditation of a Realized One?”


2“Reverend Mahānāma, the meditation of a trainee and a realized one are not the same; they are different.

Those mendicants who are trainees haven’t achieved their heart’s desire, but live aspiring for the supreme sanctuary. They meditate after giving up the five hindrances. What five?

The hindrances of sensual desire, ill will, dullness and drowsiness, restlessness and remorse, and doubt.


3Those who are trainee mendicants … meditate after giving up the five hindrances.

4Those mendicants who are perfected — who have ended the defilements, completed the spiritual journey, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, achieved their own goal, utterly ended the fetters of rebirth, and are rightly freed through enlightenment — for them, the five hindrances are cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated, and unable to arise in the future. What five? The hindrances of sensual desire, ill will, dullness and drowsiness, restlessness and remorse, and doubt.

5Those mendicants who are perfected — who have ended the defilements … for them, the five hindrances are cut off at the root … and unable to arise in the future. And here’s another way to understand how the meditation of a trainee and a realized one are different.

6At one time the Buddha was staying in a forest near Icchānaṅgala. There he addressed the mendicants, ‘Mendicants, I wish to go on retreat for three months. No-one should approach me, except for the one who brings my alms-food.’

‘Yes, sir,’ replied those mendicants. And no-one approached him, except for the one who brought the alms-food.


7Then after three months had passed, the Buddha came out of retreat and addressed the mendicants:

‘Mendicants, if wanderers who follow another path were to ask you: “Reverends, what was the ascetic Gotama’s usual meditation during the rainy season residence?” You should answer them like this: “Reverends, the ascetic Gotama’s usual meditation during the rainy season residence was immersion due to mindfulness of breathing.”

In this regard: mindful, I breathe in. Mindful, I breathe out.

When breathing in heavily I know: ‘I’m breathing in heavily.’ When breathing out heavily I know: ‘I’m breathing out heavily.’ …

I know: “I’ll breathe in observing letting go.” I know: “I’ll breathe out observing letting go.”


8For if anything should be rightly called “the meditation of a noble one”, or else “the meditation of a Brahmā”, or else “the meditation of a realized one”, it’s immersion due to mindfulness of breathing.

9For those mendicants who are trainees — who haven’t achieved their heart’s desire, but live aspiring for the supreme sanctuary — the development and cultivation of immersion due to mindfulness of breathing leads to the ending of defilements.


10For those mendicants who are perfected — who have ended the defilements, completed the spiritual journey, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, achieved their own goal, utterly ended the fetters of rebirth, and are rightly freed through enlightenment — the development and cultivation of immersion due to mindfulness of breathing leads to blissful meditation in the present life, and to mindfulness and awareness.


11For if anything should be rightly called “the meditation of a noble one”, or else “the meditation of a Brahmā”, or else “the meditation of a realized one”, it’s immersion due to mindfulness of breathing.’

This is another way to understand how the meditation of a trainee and a realized one are different.”

1Ekaṁ samayaṁ āyasmā lomasakaṁbhiyo sakkesu vihārati kapilavatthusmiṁ nigrodhārāme. Atha kho mahānāmo sakko yenāyasmā lomasakaṁbhiyo tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā āyasmantaṁ lomasakaṁbhiyaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho mahānāmo sakko āyasmantaṁ lomasakaṁbhiyaṁ etadavoca:

"So eva nu kho, bhante, sekho vihāro so tathāgatavihāro, udāhu aññova sekho vihāro añño tathāgatavihāro"ti?


2"Na kho, āvuso mahānāma, sveva sekho vihāro, so tathāgatavihāro. Añño kho, āvuso mahānāma, sekho vihāro, añño tathāgatavihāro.

Ye te, āvuso mahānāma, bhikkhū sekhā appattamānasā anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ patthayamānā vihāranti, te pañca nīvaraṇe pahāya vihāranti. Katame pañca?

Kāmacchandanīvaraṇaṁ pahāya vihāranti, byā pāda nīvaraṇaṁ … pe … thinamiddhanīvaraṇaṁ … uddhaccakukkuccanīvaraṇaṁ … vicikicchānīvaraṇaṁ pahāya vihāranti.


3Yepi te, āvuso mahānāma, bhikkhū sekhā appattamānasā anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ patthayamānā vihāranti, te ime pañca nīvaraṇe pahāya vihāranti.

4Ye ca kho te, āvuso mahānāma, bhikkhū arahanto khīṇāsavā vusitavanto katakaraṇīyā ohitabhārā anuppattasadatthā parikkhīṇabhavasaṁyojanā sammadaññāvimuttā, tesaṁ pañca nīvaraṇā pahīnā ucchinnamūlā tālāvatthukatā anabhāvaṅkatā āyatiṁ anup pāda dhammā. Katame pañca? Kāmacchandanīvaraṇaṁ pahīnaṁ ucchinnamūlaṁ tālāvatthukataṁ anabhāvaṅkataṁ āyatiṁ anup pāda dhammaṁ; byā pāda nīvaraṇaṁ pahīnaṁ … pe … thinamiddhanīvaraṇaṁ … uddhaccakukkuccanīvaraṇaṁ … vicikicchānīvaraṇaṁ pahīnaṁ ucchinnamūlaṁ tālāvatthukataṁ anabhāvaṅkataṁ āyatiṁ anup pāda dhammaṁ.

5Ye te, āvuso mahānāma, bhikkhū arahanto khīṇāsavā vusitavanto katakaraṇīyā ohitabhārā anuppattasadatthā parikkhīṇabhavasaṁyojanā sammadaññāvimuttā, tesaṁ ime pañca nīvaraṇā pahīnā ucchinnamūlā tālāvatthukatā anabhāvaṅkatā āyatiṁ anup pāda dhammā. Tadamināpetaṁ, āvuso mahānāma, pariyāyena veditabbaṁ yathā – aññova sekho vihāro, añño tathāgatavihāro.

6Ekamidaṁ, āvuso mahānāma, samayaṁ bhagavā icchānaṅgale vihārati icchānaṅgalavanasaṇḍe. Tatra kho, āvuso mahānāma, bhagavā bhikkhū āmantesi: ‘icchāmahaṁ, bhikkhave, temāsaṁ paṭisallīyituṁ. Nāmhi kenaci upasaṅkamitabbo, aññatra ekena piṇḍapātanīhārakenā’ti.

‘Evaṁ, bhante’ti kho, āvuso mahānāma, te bhikkhū bhagavato paṭissutvā nāssudha koci bhagavantaṁ upasaṅkamati, aññatra ekena piṇḍapātanīhārakena.


7Atha kho, āvuso, bhagavā tassa temāsassa accayena paṭisallānā vuṭṭhito bhikkhū āmantesi:

‘sace kho, bhikkhave, aññatitthiyā paribbājakā evaṁ puccheyyuṁ: "katamenāvuso, vihārena samaṇo gotamo vassāvāsaṁ bahulaṁ vihāsī"ti, evaṁ puṭṭhā tumhe, bhikkhave, tesaṁ aññatitthiyānaṁ paribbājakānaṁ evaṁ byākareyyātha: "ānāpānassatisamādhinā kho, āvuso, bhagavā vassāvāsaṁ bahulaṁ vihāsī"’ti.

Idhāhaṁ, bhikkhave, sato assasāmi, sato passasāmi.

Dīghaṁ assasanto dīghaṁ assasāmīti pajānāmi, dīghaṁ passasanto dīghaṁ passasāmīti pajānāmi … pe … paṭinissaggānupassī assasissāmīti pajānāmi, paṭinissaggānupassī passasissāmīti pajānāmi.


8Yañhi taṁ, bhikkhave, sammā vadamāno vadeyya – ariyavihāro itipi, brahmavihāro itipi, tathāgatavihāro itipi. Ānāpānassatisamādhiṁ sammā vadamāno vadeyya – ariyavihāro itipi, brahmavihāro itipi, tathāgatavihāro itipi.

9Ye te, bhikkhave, bhikkhū sekhā appattamānasā anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ patthayamānā vihāranti, tesaṁ ānāpānassatisamādhi bhāvito bahulīkato āsavānaṁ khayāya saṁvattati.


10Ye ca kho te, bhikkhave, bhikkhū arahanto khīṇāsavā vusitavanto katakaraṇīyā ohitabhārā anuppattasadatthā parikkhīṇabhavasaṁyojanā sammadaññāvimuttā, tesaṁ ānāpānassatisamādhi bhāvito bahulīkato diṭṭheva dhamme sukhavihārāya ceva saṁvattati satisampajaññāya ca.


11Yañhi taṁ, bhikkhave, sammā vadamāno vadeyya – ariyavihāro itipi, brahmavihāro itipi, tathāgatavihāro itipi. Ānāpānassatisamādhiṁ sammā vadamāno vadeyya – ariyavihāro itipi, brahmavihāro itipi, tathāgatavihāro itipīti.

Iminā kho etaṁ, āvuso mahānāma, pariyāyena veditabbaṁ, yathā – aññova sekho vihāro, añño tathāgatavihāro"ti.

Dutiyaṁ.