This guide is largely oriented around the practice of the 16-step mindfulness while breathing in and out (ānapānasati) described by the Buddha in MN 118 and related suttas. The approach to ānapānasati taken in this guide is based on the cultivation of continuity of wise attention, interest and tranquility; then working with the layers of satipaṭṭhāna (4 holdings of mindfulness) through intuition and instinct resulting in the development of liberating wisdom.
*This guide is best used in combination with:
- Direct practice
- Study of the source sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 118 and related texts)
- Patience
- Direct guidance from a seasoned ānapānasati practitioner
- Notes for advanced cultivators are in italics.
In stages 1 and 2, continuity and stability of awareness are developed and strengthened up to a level where they can then be utilized to work on the various trainings mentioned in stages 3-16. (Advanced: Breathing is unleashed and returned to nature until awareness of qi/breath energy arises. Awareness of breath energy then may replace awareness of the physical act of respiration through the nose and mouth.)
After stages 1 and 2 mature, the stability of mind from then on is cultivated and maintained by continuous awareness divided between the training at that stage of the practice and awareness of breathing. This is accomplished, not so much by alternating the focus of awareness, but by “zooming” (to use the analogy of a camera) out until both are present within awareness simultaneously. (Advanced: Natural breathing brings up awareness of the arising and circulation of breath energy. From this point forward, awareness may be maintained on the breath energy and how each step relates to it.)
After stage 12 matures, the mind is left in a stable, bright, clear and agile state released from desire. Continuously contemplating or observing what is not “me”, or what changes or does not last throughout the experiences occurring in all layers of satipaṭṭhāna is done in stage 13, employing the purified clarity, energy and brightness of mind that has been uncovered through the previous training steps.
This method of practice can help to highlight how the act of attending to phenomena changes the experience. Where “ask or wish” is referenced, this can be done in synchronization with the breathing, or less often as needed, letting intuition, experimentation and feedback from observation serve as guides.
Preliminaries, posture and breathing
- Activities that circulate breath energy, and bring awareness, warmth and gentle stretch to the diaphragm and tissues between the ribs can be a helpful way to prepare for practice of ānapānasati. (Taking a walk, yoga poses, chanting, qigong and deep breathing exercises are all examples.)
- The selected meditation posture should ideally be relaxed, aligned, alert, and stable.
- Take a sitting position that does not create concerns tied to circulation or potential injury to the body regardless of how long the position is maintained.
- The parts of the body touching the ground, and the parts touching a chair or cushion should form a stable base for the upper body to align comfortably over, ideally a pyramid structure. (This for most, will bring greater benefit than sitting in a position that is less familiar to the body.)
- Examples of seated positions to work with include: full lotus, half lotus, quarter lotus, easy/burmese pose, kneeling using a kneeling bench, sitting on a chair or high bench with the back preferably not resting on the back rest.
- Knees below the hips, regardless of sitting posture
- Rest the weight on the sit bones themselves, then vertically align with gravity over them.
- Natural curve in the lower back. Make adjustments with layers of towels on the sitting area to fine tune the correct height.
- Chin slightly tucked back and in.
- Hands in diamond fist mudra, cosmic mudra or simply resting comfortably on the lap close to the body.
- Abdominal breathing (2 options)
- Breathe down into the belly where the diamond fist mudra is resting and allow the lower abdomen to gently expand outwards on inhalation, and gently recede inwards as the exhalation is released.
- Breathe down into the belly where the diamond fist mudra is resting and very gently brace the abdomen from expanding outwards during inhalation. Instead, the lower abdomen behind the hands will pull in slightly as the solar plexus, ribs, and back gently expand and the sternum lifts. The lower abdomen gently expands outwards on exhalation and the sternum falls.
How to learn abdominal breathing
Lay flat on your back with left palm on your solar plexus, and right palm on your lower abdomen a few inches below the belly button. Breath naturally and notice the hands as they rise and fall. Allow the breathing to change until the right hand (on the lower abdomen) is rising and falling and the left is moving up and down far less. Move the left hand down over the right hand and continue to let the breathing gently make the lower abdomen and hands rise and fall. Transition to sitting posture and continue breathing into the lower abdomen with hands in diamond fist mudra or chosen hand position.
The 16 stages of ānapānasati
- Patiently allow the breath to happen without trying to push air out or pull more air in.
- (Advanced: When the exhalation has begun, quietly say the sound “Ah” over the course of the out-breath, gently releasing the exhalation so that it reaches about twice the length of the inhalation. Patiently wait for the inhalation to happen on its own.) Over time this process will bring increasing calm.
- Once the experienced has calmed, and the breath cycle has naturally reached around 6 or less breaths per 60 seconds, while breathing in and out, notice any tendencies to control or influence the breath and release them. Allow the breathing to become more and more natural regardless of how long, short, coarse or fine it becomes. Continuously returning to noticing the quality and length of each inhalation and exhalation.
- (Advanced: Synchronization of natural breathing and awareness tends to transition the experience of breathing from coarse to fine and sensations of breath energy may begin to appear. Keep doing this until awareness stays on the cycle of breathing and any breath energy sensations fairly easily and in a relaxed stable manner.)
- While aware of breathing in and out, begin to notice sensations throughout the whole body. Alternately, ask or wish to experience the whole body of breathing. Expand awareness out to the whole experience of the body at the same time.
- (Advanced: Notice the sensations of breath energy as it arises within, circulates through, and suffuses the body experience. Maintain continuous awareness of breath energy for the remainder of the practice of ānapānasati.)
- While aware of breathing, begin noticing any parts of the breathing or body experience that have grown more calm or still. Alternately, ask or wish to calm the body conditioner. Continue, observing what changes lead to this taking place until the body experience deeply calms.
- (Advanced: Continually noticing the breath energy and natural breathing will often lead to the physical breathing growing increasingly fine while the breath energy grows more noticeable. Eventually the physical breathing may grow quite subtle and then may vanish. Continue noticing the “breathing” of the breath energy throughout the whole body even though the experience of physical breathing may have ceased. Observing breathing phenomena happening without anyone “doing the breathing” will also calm the body conditioner. Allow this training to mature until the experience of body relaxes and falls away into the background as if into a nap.
- While aware of breathing, begin to notice the more active pleasant feeling-tone of healthy breathing and a calm body. Alternately, ask or wish to observe piti vedanā (the feeling-tone of rapture). Observing piti vedanā marks out clearly the vedanā layer of experience. (Allow to mature and bring clarity to the experience of the entire vedanā layer.)
- (Advanced: As the body falls away into the background, the more subtle experience of breath energy remains. Notice the direct experience of this circulating vital energy, and grow familiar with the pleasant feeling-tone it generates.)
- While aware of breathing, begin to notice the more passive pleasant feeling tone of healthy breathing and a calm body. Alternately, ask or wish to observe the more subtle sukha vedanā across the entire vedanā layer. (This experience is more subtle and brings greater clarity to the experience of the vedanā layer.)
- (Advanced: As the breath energy and its feeling-tone are directly experienced, the energy will naturally refine and calm. Notice the direct experience of this calmed energy, and grow familiar with the pleasant feeling-tone it generates.)
- While aware of breathing, begin to notice how feeling tone conditions the mental experience. Alternately, ask or wish to observe the entire vedanā layer of experience. (Allow awareness to expand to include all vedanā occurring.)
- (Advanced: As the breath energy and its feeling-tone are directly experienced, notice how the occurrence and experience of thoughts and mind-states are influenced by the breathing, breath energy and feeling-tone.)
- While aware of breathing, begin to notice any calm or quieted activities of feeling-tone on the mental experience. Alternately, ask or wish to calm the entire (mind conditioner) vedanā experience. (Again here the feeling of vedanā activity calming as if falling into a nap can be used.
- (Advanced: As the breath energy and its feeling-tone are directly experienced, the breathing and breath energy will naturally continue to refine and calm further and further. Observing feeling-tone happening without anyone “doing the feeling-tone” will also calm the mind conditioner. Allow this training to mature until vedanā calms and falls away as if into a nap.)
- While aware of breathing, begin to notice the climate and content of mind. Alternately, ask or wish to experience the citta (mind layer) of experience. Give the more subtle citta layer time to become clear, then observe all phenomena in the citta layer. Allow this training to mature.
- (Advanced: As the refined breath energy is experienced, notice the mind-layer of experience. Notice the reduced presence of thoughts as well as the lack of mental movement in relation to thoughts and moods that still occur.)
- While aware of breathing, begin to notice aspects of the mental experience that are uplifting. Alternately, ask or wish to uplift citta/mind. Allow to mature until uplifting stabilizes, mind brightens and/or is fully suffused with being uplifted. (Breathing and uplifting may merge into beautiful breathing.)
- (Advanced: As the refined breath energy and the mind layer are experienced, notice the relief and uplifting nature that comes from this experience as well as from the lack of thoughts and the lack of mental movement in relation to thoughts and moods that occur.)
- While aware of breathing, begin to notice aspects of the mental experience that are bright, calm, clear, collected, and malleable. Alternately, ask or wish to unify/concentrate mind, directly experience samadhi. If the mind enters jhana, let them flow naturally. Citta when uplifted may incline toward jhana.
- (Advanced: As the refined breath energy and the mind layer are experienced, notice the deep calm and clarity that comes from this experience. Allow this to mature and play out naturally.)
- While aware of breathing, begin to notice aspects of the mental experience that are released or free of clinging. Alternately, ask or wish to release citta/mind. Release any desire or hindrance activity until a dukkha-free samadhi-release or wisdom-release comes to fruition. (Deep 4th jhana is mentioned as awareness release in MN 43 as well as various other awareness releases of varying “heights”, AN 2.30 points to samatha release being release from rāga. “Signless” release may also occur at this stage.)
- (Advanced: As the refined breath energy and the mind layer are experienced, notice the release from vexation and clinging that comes from this experience. Allow this training to mature until mental movement and activity fall away as if into a nap.)
- While aware of breathing, begin to notice what aspects of all experience cannot be “me”. Alternately, ask or wish to observe “What doesn’t last?” or “What changes?” and then diligently and continuously notice the fleeting and fluxing nature of all phenomena that can be experienced across all layers of satipaṭṭhāna.
- (Advanced: As the refined breath energy and all phenomena are experienced, notice what all takes place on its own within the calm silence.)
- Once the “not me” and changing nature of phenomena being observed reaches the stage where clinging and resistance begins to fade; while aware of breathing, begin to notice what clinging and phenomena are fading. Alternately, ask or wish to observe “What is fading?” and continue to observe these phenomena diligently and
continuously.- (Advanced: As the refined breath energy and all phenomena are experienced, notice how increasingly easefully it can all play out on its own within the calm silence.)
- As the activity of “not me”, and arising and passing away of phenomena being observed quenches or ceases completely, while aware of breathing, begin to notice what clinging and phenomena are quenched. Alternately, ask or wish to observe “What has quenched or ceased?”. (This can lead to or include “path” moment.)
- (Advanced: As the refined breath energy and all phenomena are experienced, notice how “all that plays out on its own” vanishes or ceases to move mind.)
- While aware of breathing, begin to notice what phenomena are no longer clung to. Alternately, ask or wish to observe “What has been tossed back or given up?”. Notice what flows through without grasping or moving mind.
- (Advanced: As the refined breath energy and all phenomena are experienced, notice what flows through without moving mind. Let everything flow through without creating any new karma.)
Tips for practice
- Wherever possible, use less effort.
- Ānapānasati tends to move from gross to extremely subtle, relaxing body and mind helps a great deal.
- Too much tension and effort can lead to headaches. Practice in a patient, soft and light manner.
- Develop and mature each stage, cultivate patience. This will make practice deeper and easier as well.
- Stay focused on the current stage in the process, don’t worry about or focus on the destination. The destination is reached by simply passing through each stage skillfully.
- Use ānapānasati as a whole-day practice.
- A formal practice session is generally at least 2 hours. Make practice simple by moving through sitting, standing, and laying down as needed mindfully, continuing practice as you do so. *Stage 11 is best done seated or lying down.
- Stage 3 is also a good practice while walking and being active. It guards the sense doors and serves as a form of mindfulness and clear comprehension.
- Spend the time in stage 4 to deeply calm the body experience. I often spend longer here than any other step prior to starting stage 13.
- Being active before or after practice is recommended to help keep the body healthy and in balance.
- If resuming ongoing practice or time is shorter, you may wish to just go through stages 1-4, then start on stage 13.
- Once liberating wisdom is developed far enough, observation through the perspective of “not me” or change can be sufficient to calm the experience of what is being observed. Try this from time to time.
- Bringing the chin back and in slightly after stage 4 gets deeper and let the energy create natural erect posture if the body is slumping.