In the Buddha's Words - Bhikkhu Bodhi [238]
27 On the structure of the discourse to follow, see pp. 262–63.
28 The practice of mindfulness of breathing (ānāpānasati) does not involves a deliberate attempt to regulate the breath, as in hatha yoga, but an effort to fix awareness continuously on the breath as one breathes at a natural rhythm. Mindfulness is set up at the nostrils or the upper lip, wherever the impact of the breath is felt most distinctly. The length of the breath is noted but not consciously controlled.
The complete development of this meditation subject is explained in Text VIII,9. A detailed explanation of mindfulness of breathing according to the commentarial system is at Vism 266–93; Ppn 8:145–244. See too the collection of texts translated by Ñāṇamoli, Mindfulness of Breathing.
29 Ps, in line with other Pāli commentaries, explains “experiencing the whole body” (sabbakāyapaṭisaṃvedī) to mean that the meditator becomes aware of each in-breath and out-breath through its three phases of beginning, middle, and end. This interpretation is difficult to square with the literal words of the original text, which may have originally intended simply a global awareness of the entire body. It is also difficult to see how -paṭisaṃvedī could mean “is aware of”; this suffix is based on the verb paṭisaṃvedeti meaning “to experience” or “to feel,” which has a different nuance from “awareness.”
30 The “bodily formation” (kāyasaṅkhāra) is defined as in-and-out breathing at MN 44.13 (I 301) and SN 41:6 (IV 293). Thus, as Ps explains, with the successful development of this practice, the meditator’s breathing becomes increasingly more quiet, tranquil, and peaceful.
31 Ps: “Internally”: contemplating the breathing in his own body. “Externally”: contemplating the breathing taking place in the body of another. “Internally and externally”: contemplating the breathing in his own body and in the body of another alternately, with uninterrupted attention. A similar explanation applies to the refrain that follows each of the other sections, except that under the contemplation of feeling, mind, and phenomena, the contemplation externally, apart from those possessing telepathic powers, must be inferential. It is also impossible for those without telepathic powers to directly contemplate the breathing of another, apart from observation of the expansion and contraction of the chest, so contemplation in this case too must be inferential.
32 Ps explains that the arising nature (samudayadhamma) of the body can be observed in its conditioned origination through ignorance, craving, kamma, and food, as well as in the moment-by-moment origination of material phenomena in the body. In the case of mindfulness of breathing, an additional condition is the physiological apparatus of respiration. The “vanishing nature” (vayadhamma) of the body is seen in the cessation of bodily phenomena through the cessation of their conditions as well as in the momentary dissolution of bodily phenomena.
33 The understanding of the bodily postures referred to in this exercise is not our normal knowledge of our bodily activity, but a close, constant, and careful awareness of the body in every position, coupled with an analytical examination intended to dispel the delusion of a self as the agent of bodily movement.
34 Sampajañña, clear comprehension, is analyzed in the commentaries into four types: (1) clear comprehension of the purpose of one’s action; (2) clear comprehension of the suitability of one’s means to the achievement of one’s purpose; (3) clear comprehension of the domain, that is, not abandoning the subject of meditation during one’s daily routine; and (4) clear comprehension of reality, the awareness that behind one’s activities there is no abiding self. See Soma, The Way of Mindfulness, pp. 60