SN 54.6

Ariṭṭhasutta

Sāvatthinidānaṁ. Tatra kho bhagavā …pe… etadavoca: “bhāvetha no tumhe bhikkhave, ānāpānassatin”ti? Evaṁ vutte, āyasmā ariṭṭho bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: “ahaṁ kho, bhante, bhāvemi ānāpānassatin”ti. “Yathā kathaṁ pana tvaṁ, ariṭṭha, bhāvesi ānāpānassatin”ti? “Atītesu me, bhante, kāmesu kāmacchando pahīno, anāgatesu me kāmesu kāmacchando vigato, ajjhattabahiddhā ca me dhammesu paṭighasaññā suppaṭivinītā. So satova assasissāmi, satova passasissāmi. Evaṁ khvāhaṁ, bhante, bhāvemi ānāpānassatin”ti.

With Ariṭṭha

At Sāvatthī. There the Buddha … said: “Mendicants, do you develop mindfulness of breathing?” When he said this, Venerable Ariṭṭha said to him: “Sir, I develop mindfulness of breathing.” “But mendicant, how do you develop it?” “Sir, I’ve given up desire for sensual pleasures of the past. I’m rid of desire for sensual pleasures of the future. And I have eliminated perception of aversion regarding phenomena internally and externally. Just mindful, I will breathe in. Mindful, I will breathe out. That’s how I develop mindfulness of breathing.”

“‘Atthesā, ariṭṭha, ānāpānassati, nesā natthī’ti vadāmi. Api ca, ariṭṭha, yathā ānāpānassati vitthārena paripuṇṇā hoti taṁ suṇāhi, sādhukaṁ manasi karohi; bhāsissāmī”ti. “Evaṁ, bhante”ti kho āyasmā ariṭṭho bhagavato paccassosi. Bhagavā etadavoca:

“That is mindfulness of breathing, Ariṭṭha; I don’t deny it. But as to how mindfulness of breathing is fulfilled in detail, listen and apply your mind well, I will speak.” “Yes, sir,” Ariṭṭha replied. The Buddha said this:

“Kathañca, ariṭṭha, ānāpānassati vitthārena paripuṇṇā hoti? Idha, ariṭṭha, bhikkhu araññagato vā rukkhamūlagato vā suññāgāragato vā nisīdati pallaṅkaṁ ābhujitvā ujuṁ kāyaṁ paṇidhāya parimukhaṁ satiṁ upaṭṭhapetvā. So satova assasati, satova passasati. Dīghaṁ vā assasanto ‘dīghaṁ assasāmī’ti pajānāti …pe… ‘paṭinissaggānupassī assasissāmī’ti sikkhati, ‘paṭinissaggānupassī passasissāmī’ti sikkhati. Evaṁ kho, ariṭṭha, ānāpānassati vitthārena paripuṇṇā hotī”ti.

“And how is mindfulness of breathing fulfilled in detail? It’s when a mendicant—gone to a wilderness, or to the root of a tree, or to an empty hut—sits down cross-legged, sets their body straight, and brings mindfulness to the present. Just mindful, they breathe in. Mindful, they breathe out. Breathing in heavily they know: ‘I’m breathing in heavily.’ Breathing out heavily they know: ‘I’m breathing out heavily.’ … They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in observing letting go.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out observing letting go.’ This is how mindfulness of breathing is fulfilled in detail.”