The Buddha's Teaching

SN 45:8; DN:22

"How does a bhikkhu abide contemplating the body as a body? Here a bhikkhu, gone to the forest or to the root of a tree or to a room that is void, sits down; having folded his legs crosswise, set his body erect, and established mindfulness in front of him, just mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes out.[19] As a skilled turner or his apprentice, when making a long turn, understands 'I make a long turn,' or when making a short turn, understands 'I make a short turn,' so, breathing in long, the bhikkhu understands 'I breathe in long,' or breathing out long, he understands 'I breathe out long'; breathing in short, he understands 'I breathe in short,' or breathing out short, he understands 'I breathe out short.' He trains thus: 'I shall breathe in experiencing the whole body (of breaths)'; he trains thus: 'I shall breathe out experiencing the whole body (of breaths).' He trains thus: 'I shall breathe in tranquillizing the bodily formation (function)'; he trains thus: 'I shall breathe out tranquillizing the bodily formation (function).'[20]

"He abides contemplating the body as a body in this way either in himself, or externally, or in himself and externally.[21]

"Or else he contemplates in the body either its factors of origination, or its factors of fall, or its factors of origination and fall.

"Or else mindfulness that 'There is a body' is established in him to the extent of bare knowledge and remembrance of it while he abides independent, not clinging to anything in the world.

"That is how a bhikkhu abides contemplating the body as a body.

"Again, when walking, a bhikkhu understands 'I am walking'; or when standing, he understands 'I am standing'; or when sitting, he understands 'I am sitting'; or when lying down, he understands 'I am lying down.' Or whatever position his body is in, he understands it to be so disposed.

"He abides contemplating the body as a body ... externally.

"Or else he contemplates ... the factors of origination and fall.

"Or else mindfulness ... not clinging to anything in the world.

"That also is how a bhikkhu abides contemplating the body as a body.

"Again, a bhikkhu is fully aware in moving to and fro, in looking ahead and away, in flexing and extending the limbs, in wearing the outer cloak of patches, the bowl and other robes, in eating, drinking, chewing, and tasting, in evacuating the bowels and making water, and he is fully aware and mindful in walking, standing, sitting, going to sleep, waking, talking, and keeping silent.

"He abides contemplating ...

"That also is how a bhikkhu abides contemplating the body as a body.

"Again, as though there were a bag with two openings full of many sorts of grain, such as hill rice, red rice, beans, peas, millet, and white rice, and a man with good sight had opened it and were reviewing it: 'This is hill rice, this is red rice, this is beans, this is peas, this is millet, this is white rice'; so too a bhikkhu reviews this body up from the soles of the feet and down from the top of the hair as full of many kinds of filth: 'There are in this body head-hairs, body-hairs, nails, teeth, skin; flesh, sinews, bones, bone-marrow, kidneys; heart, liver, midriff, spleen, lights; bowels, entrails, gorge, dung; bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat; tears, grease, spittle, snot, oil-of-the-joints, and urine.'

"He abides contemplating ...

"That also is how a bhikkhu abides contemplating the body as a body.

"Again, as though a skilled butcher or his apprentice had slaughtered a cow and were seated at the four crossroads with it cut up into pieces; so too, in whatever position a bhikkhu finds this body, he reviews it according to the elements: 'There are in this body earth element, water element, fire element, and air element.'

"He abides contemplating ...

"That also is how a bhikkhu abides contemplating the body as a body.

"Again, a bhikkhu judges this same body as though he were looking at a corpse thrown on a charnel ground, one-day dead, two-days dead, three-days dead, bloated, livid, and oozing with matter: 'This body too is of such a nature, will be like that, is not exempt from that.'

"He abides contemplating ...

"That also is how a bhikkhu abides contemplating the body as a body.

"Again, a bhikkhu judges this same body as though he were looking at a corpse thrown on a charnel ground, being devoured by crows, kites, vultures, dogs, jackals, and the multitudinous varieties of worms: ... as though he were looking at a corpse thrown on a charnel ground, a skeleton with flesh and blood, and held together by sinews: ... a fleshless skeleton smeared with blood and held together by sinews: ... a skeleton without flesh or blood, held together by sinews: ... bones without sinews, scattered in all directions, here a hand-bone, there a foot-bone, there a shin-bone, there a thigh-bone, there a hip-bone, there a back-bone, there a skull: ... bones bleached white, the colour of shells: ... bones heaped up, more than a year old: ... bones rotted and crumbled to dust: 'This body too is of such a nature, will be like that, is not exempt from that.'

"He abides contemplating ...

"That also is how a bhikkhu abides contemplating the body as a body.

"And how does a bhikkhu abide contemplating feelings as feelings?

"Here, when feeling a pleasant feeling, a bhikkhu understands 'I feel a pleasant feeling'; when feeling a painful feeling, he understands 'I feel a painful feeling'; when feeling a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling, he understands 'I feel a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling.' When feeling a materialistic pleasant feeling,[22] he understands 'I feel a materialistic pleasant feeling'; ... (and so with the other two). When feeling an unmaterialistic pleasant feeling, he understands 'I feel an unmaterialistic pleasant feeling'; ... (and so with the other two).

"He abides contemplating feelings as feelings in this way either in himself, or externally, or in himself and externally.

"Or else he contemplates in feelings either their factors of origination, or their factors of fall, or their factors of origination and fall.

"Or else mindfulness that 'There are feelings' is established in him to the extent of bare knowledge and remembrance of it while he abides independent, not clinging to anything in the world.

"That is how a bhikkhu abides contemplating feelings as feelings.

"And how does a bhikkhu abide contemplating consciousness as consciousness?

"Here a bhikkhu understands consciousness affected by lust as affected by lust, and that unaffected by lust as unaffected by lust. He understands consciousness affected by hate as affected by hate, and that unaffected by hate as unaffected by hate. He understands consciousness affected by delusion as affected by delusion, and that unaffected by delusion as unaffected by delusion. He understands contracted consciousness as contracted, and distracted consciousness as distracted. He understands exalted consciousness as exalted, and that unexalted as unexalted. He understands surpassed consciousness as surpassed, and that unsurpassed as unsurpassed.[23] He understands concentrated consciousness as concentrated, and that unconcentrated as unconcentrated. He understands liberated consciousness as liberated, and that unliberated as unliberated.

"He abides contemplating consciousness as consciousness in this way either in himself, or externally, or in himself and externally.

"Or else he contemplates in consciousness its factors of origination, or its factors of fall, or its factors of origination and fall.

"Or else mindfulness that 'There is consciousness' is established in him to the extent of bare knowledge and remembrance of it while he abides independent, not clinging to anything in the world.

"That is how a bhikkhu abides contemplating consciousness as consciousness.

"And how does a bhikkhu abide contemplating mental objects as mental objects?

"Here, a bhikkhu abides contemplating mental objects as mental objects in terms of the five hindrances.[24] How is that done? Here, when there is desire for sensuality in him he understands 'There is desire for sensuality in me'; or when there is no desire for sensuality in him, he understands 'There is no desire for sensuality in me'; and also he understands how there comes to be the arising of unarisen desire for sensuality, and how there comes to be the abandoning of arisen desire for sensuality, and how there comes to be the future non-arising of abandoned desire for sensuality. When there is ill will in him ... When there is lethargy and drowsiness in him ... When there is agitation and worry in him ... When there is uncertainty in him ... he understands how there comes to be the future non-arising of abandoned uncertainty.

"He abides contemplating mental objects as mental objects in himself, or externally, or in himself and externally.

"Or else he contemplates in mental objects either their factors of origination, or their factors of fall, or their factors of origination and fall.

"Or else mindfulness that 'There are mental objects' is established in him to the extent of bare knowledge and remembrance of it while he abides independent, not clinging to anything in the world.

"That is how a bhikkhu abides contemplating mental objects as mental objects in terms of the five hindrances.

"Again, a bhikkhu abides contemplating mental objects as mental objects in terms of the five aggregates affected by clinging. How is that done? Here a bhikkhu understands: 'Such is form, such its origin, such its disappearance; such is feeling, such its origin, such its disappearance; such is perception, such its origin, such its disappearance; such are formations, such their origin, such their disappearance; such is consciousness, such its origin, such its disappearance.'

"He abides contemplating ...

"That is how a bhikkhu abides contemplating mental objects as mental objects in terms of the five aggregates affected by clinging.

"Again, a bhikkhu abides contemplating mental objects as mental objects in terms of the six bases in oneself and external. How is that done? Here a bhikkhu understands the eye and visible forms and the fetter that arises owing to both; he understands how there comes to be the arising of the unarisen fetter, and how there comes to be the abandoning of the arisen fetter, and how there comes to be the future non-arising of the abandoned fetter. He understands the ear and sounds ... the nose and odours ... the tongue and flavours ... the body and tangibles ... the mind and mental objects and the fetter that arises owing to both; ... and he understands how there comes to be the future non-arising of the abandoned fetter.

"He abides contemplating ...

"That is how a bhikkhu abides contemplating mental objects as mental objects in terms of the six bases in oneself and external.

"Again, a bhikkhu abides contemplating mental objects as mental objects in terms of the seven enlightenment factors. How is that done? Here, when there is the mindfulness enlightenment factor in him, a bhikkhu understands 'There is the mindfulness enlightenment factor in me'; when there is no mindfulness enlightenment factor in him, he understands 'There is no mindfulness enlightenment factor in me'; and he understands how there comes to be the arising of the unarisen mindfulness enlightenment factor and how there comes to be the development and perfection of the arisen mindfulness enlightenment factor. When there is the investigation-of-states enlightenment factor in him ... the energy enlightenment factor in him ... the happiness enlightenment factor in him ... the tranquillity enlightenment factor in him ... the concentration enlightenment factor in him ... the equanimity enlightenment factor in him ... and he understands how there comes to be the arising of the unarisen equanimity enlightenment factor and how there comes to be the development and perfection of the arisen equanimity enlightenment factor.

"He abides contemplating ...

"That is how a bhikkhu abides contemplating mental objects as mental objects in terms of the seven enlightenment factors.

"Again, a bhikkhu abides contemplating mental objects as mental objects in terms of the Four Noble Truths. How is that done? Here a bhikkhu understands according as it actually is: 'This is suffering' and 'This is the origin of suffering' and 'This is the cessation of suffering' and 'This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering.'

"He abides contemplating mental objects as mental objects in himself, or externally, or in himself and externally.

"Or else he contemplates in mental objects either their factors of origination, or their factors of fall, or their factors of origination and fall.

"Or else mindfulness that 'There are mental objects' is established in him to the extent of bare knowledge and remembrance of it while he abides independent, not clinging to anything in the world.

"That is how a bhikkhu abides contemplating mental objects as mental objects in terms of the Four Noble Truths.

"Bhikkhus, were anyone to maintain in being these four foundations of mindfulness for seven years ... let alone for seven years ... for seven days, then one of two fruits could be expected of him: either final knowledge here and now, or else non-return."

DN 22; MN 10

"Bhikkhus, I shall expound to you the origin and disappearance of the four foundations of mindfulness: the body has nutriment for its origin, and it disappears with cessation of nutriment; feelings have contact for their origin, and they disappear with cessation of contact; consciousness has name-and-form for its origin, and it disappears with cessation of name-and-form; mental objects have attention for their origin, and they disappear with cessation of attention."

SN 47:42

"All things have desire for their root, attention provides their being, contact their origin, feeling their meeting-place, concentration confrontation with them, mindfulness control of them, understanding is the highest of them, and deliverance is their core."

AN 8:83

"Would one guard oneself, then the foundations of mindfulness should be cultivated; would one guard others, then the foundations of mindfulness should be cultivated. Who guards himself guards others; who guards others guards himself."

SN 47:19