The Eight Steps in Anapanasati (Meditation on Breathing):
To help practitioners of anapanasati meditation, the
commentators and meditation masters have indicated eight graduated steps in the
practice. These eight steps will first be enumerated, and then they will be
explained in relation to the actual meditative process.The eight steps are
named: counting (ganana); following (anubandhana); contact (phusana); fixing
(thapana); observing (sallakkhana); turning away (vivattana), purification
(parisuddhi); and retrospection (patipassana). These eight cover the whole
course of meditative development up to the attainment of Arahatship.
(i) Counting: Counting is intended for those who have never
before practised anapanasati. It is not necessary for those who have practised
meditation for a considerable period of time. However, as it is expedient to
have knowledge of this, counting should be understood in the following manner.
When the meditator sits down for meditation, he fixes his attention
at the tip of his nose and consciously attends to the sequence of in-and-out
breathing. He notes the breath as it enters, and notes the breath as it leaves,
touching against the tip of the nose or the upper lip. At this time he begins
to count these movements.
There are a few methods of counting. The easiest is
explained thus: The first breath felt is counted as "one, one"; the
second as "two, two"; the third as "three, three"; the
fourth as "four, four"; the fifth as "five, five" and so on
up to the tenth breath which is counted as "ten, ten." Then he
returns to "one, one" and continues again up to "ten, ten."
This is repeated over and over from one to ten.
The mere counting is not itself meditation, but the counting
has become an essential aid to meditation. A person who has not practised
meditation before, finding it difficult to understand the nature of his mind,
may think he is meditating while his mind runs helter-skelter. Counting is an
easy method to control the wandering mind.
If a person fixes his
mind well on his meditation, he can maintain this counting correctly. If the
mind flees in all directions, and he misses the count, he becomes confused and
thus can realize that his mind has wandered about. If the mind has lost track
of the count, the meditator should begin the counting over again. In this way
he should start the counting again from the beginning, even if he has gone
wrong a thousand times.
As the practice develops, there may come a time when the
in-breathing and out breathing take a shorter course and it is not possible to
count the same number many times. Then the meditator has to count quickly
"one", "two," "three," etc. When he counts in
this manner he can comprehend the difference between a long in-breath and
out-breath and a short in-breath and out-breath.
(ii) Following: "Following" means following the
breath with the mind. When the mind has been subdued by counting and is fixed
on the in-breathing and out-breathing, the counting is stopped and replaced by
mentally keeping track of the course of the breath. This is explained by the
Buddha in this manner:
"When
the meditator breathes in a long breath, he
comprehends
that he is breathing in a long breath;
and when he
is breathing out a long breath, he
comprehends
that he is breathing out a long breath."
Herein, one does not deliberately take a long in-breath or a
long out-breath. One simply comprehends what actually takes place. The Buddha
has declared in the next passage that a meditator trains himself thinking:
"I shall breathe in experiencing the whole body, and I shall breathe out
experiencing the whole body." Here, what is meant as "the whole
body" is the entire cycle of breathing in and breathing out. The meditator
should fix his attention so as to see the beginning, the middle and the end of
each cycle of in-breathing and out-breathing. It is this practice that is
called "experiencing the whole body."
The beginning, middle
and end of the breath must be correctly understood. It is incorrect to consider
the tip of the nose to be the beginning of the breath, the chest to be the
middle, and the navel to be the end. If one attempts to trace the breath from
the nose through the chest to the belly, or to follow it out from the belly
through the chest to the nose, one's concentration will be disrupted and one's
mind will become agitated. The beginning of the in-breath, properly understood,
is the start of the inhalation, the middle is continued inhalation, and the end
is the completion of the inhalation. Likewise, in regard to the out breath, the
beginning is the start of the exhalation, the middle is the continued exhalation,
and the end is the completion of the exhalation. To "experience the whole
body" means to be aware of the entire cycle of each inhalation and
exhalation, keeping the mind fixed at the spot around the nostrils or on the
upper lip where the breath is felt entering and leaving the nose.
This work of contemplating the breath at the area around the
nostrils, without following it inside and outside the body, is illustrated by
the commentaries with the similes of the gatekeeper and the saw.
Just as a gatekeeper examines each person entering and
leaving the city only as he passes through the gate, without following him
inside or outside the city, so the meditator should be aware of each breath
only as it passes through the nostrils, without following it inside or outside
the body.
Just as a man sawing a log will keep his attention fixed on
the spot where the teeth of the saw cut through the wood, without following the
movement of the teeth back and forth, so the meditator should contemplate the
breath as it swings back and forth around the nostrils, without letting his
mindfulness be distracted by the breath's inward and outward passage through
the body.
When a person
meditates earnestly in this manner, seeing the entire process, a joyous thrill
pervades his mind. And since the mind does not wander about, the whole body
becomes calm and composed, cool and comfortable.
(iii) & (iv) Contact and Fixing: These two aspects of
the practice indicate the development of stronger concentration. When the
mindfulness of breathing is maintained, the breathing becomes more and more
subtle and tranquil. As a result the body becomes calm and ceases to feel
fatigued. Bodily pain and numbness disappear, and the body begins to feel an
exhilarating comfort, as if it were being fanned with a cool gentle breeze.
At that time, because of the tranquility of the mind, the
breathing becomes finer and finer until it seems that it has ceased. At times this condition lasts for many
minutes. This is when breathing ceases to be felt. At this time some become
alarmed thinking the breathing has ceased, but it is not so. The breathing
exists but in a very delicate and subtle form. No matter how subtle the
breathing becomes, one must still keep mindful of the contact (phusana) of the
breath in the area of the nostrils, without losing track of it. The mind then
becomes free from the five hindrances--sensual desire, anger, drowsiness,
restlessness and doubt. As a result one becomes calm and joyful.
It is at this stage
that the "signs" or mental images appear heralding the success of
concentration. First comes the learning sign (uggaha-nimitta), then the
counterpart sign (patibhaga-nimitta). To some the sign appears like a wad of
cotton, like an electric light, a sliver chain, a mist or a wheel. It appeared
to the Buddha like the clear and bright midday sun.
The learning sign is unsteady, it moves here and there, up
and down. But the counterpart sign appearing at the end of the nostrils is
steady, fixed and motionless. At this time there are no hindrances, the mind is
most active and extremely tranquil. This stage is expounded by the Buddha when
he states that one breathes in tranquilizing the activity of the body, one
breathes out tranquilizing the activity of the body.
The arising of the counterpart sign and the suppression of
the five hindrances marks the attainment of access concentration
(upacara-samadhi). As concentration is further developed, the meditator attains
full absorption (appana-samadhi) beginning with the first jhana (absorptions).
Four stages of absorption can be attained by the practice of anapana sati,
namely, the first, second, third and fourth jhanas.
These stages of deep concentration are called
"fixing" (thapana).
(v) To (viii) Observing to Retrospection: A person who has reached jhana should not
stop there but should go on to develop insight meditation (vipassana). The
stages of insight are called "observing" (sallakkhana). When insight
reaches its climax, the meditator attains the supramundane paths, starting with
the stage of stream entry. Because these paths turn away the fetters that bind
one to the cycle of birth and death, they are called "turning away"
(vivattana).
The paths are followed by their respective fruitions; this
stage is called "purification" (parisuddhi) because one has been
cleansed of defilements. Thereafter one realizes the final stage, reviewing
knowledge, called retrospection (patipassana) because one looks back upon one's
entire path of progress and one's attainments. This is a brief overview of the
main stages along the path to Nibbana, base on the meditation of anapana sati.
Now let us examine the course of practice in terms of the seven stages of
purification.
May all beings be well and happy & attain the fruits of
nibbana.
Suranda Weediyage
BA, Tripitakachariya, Dip in Pali/ Buddhism (Pali & Buddhist University of Sri Lanka), HNDBF,
surandalk@gmail.com
http://www.thebuddhadhamma.wordpress.com
