The Emptiness of an Unencumbered Mind (3): Ādittapariyāyaṁ

In the introduction to his work The Earliest Recorded Discourses of the Buddha (from Lalitavistara, Mahākhandhaka & Mahāvastu), Ānandajoti Bhikkhu writes:

The first discourse deals with the Four Noble Truths; the second with the constituent parts [five skandhas] and the doctrine of non-self; the third with the sense-spheres and the three main pollutants; and the fourth with insight into the phenomena of rising and ceasing and conditional origination. As can be seen in this short collection are found some of the most foundational and distinctive teachings of the Buddha. 

I have retained the narrative framework, albeit in a somewhat abbreviated form, because it seems to me important that these teachings were not given in abstraction, but were taught to meet and convince real individuals who were questing for the Truth. It is not an accident that the middle way was taught to the group-of-five former ascetics, as that answered their most important doubt, which they expressed when they first met the Buddha at Ṛṣipatana. 

Similarly, that the third discourse was addressed to fire-worshippers and showed what a real fire was is not coincidental, but was meeting them on common ground, and was intended to show how their fire-imagery can still lead them to the truth if correctly applied. The discourse on Causation to the self-made men of Rājagṛha is also right on target, appealing to their sense of dynamism.

In one sense, then, the order of the first four discourses reflects the Buddha's appropriate response to three audiences on four occasions: the first discourse was for the group-of-five as ascetics; the second discourse was for the group-of-five once they had gone forth as bhikkus; the third discourse was suited to fire-worshippers; and the fourth discourse was suited to self-made Magadhans.

At the same time, the first discourse can be heard as laying down the overall plan, centred on the teaching of a middle path or middle practice. The second, third, and fourth discourses go on to supply the vital detail, each being a variation on the theme of emptiness.

In the second discourse, the Buddha has taught that the five aggregates which we cling to as if they were our self, are in fact empty of self.

The third discourse, then, delivered to the fire-worshippers of Uruvelā, shows that the fire which is truly worthy of our attention is the burning in our hearts – the burning that is filled with the fire of passion, the fire of hatred, and the fire of delusion. Far from leading to release, these fires are keeping us suffering in saṁsāra. A mind that, through not clinging, is empty of these afflictions -- and empty, again, of the three kinds of polluting influences -- is liberated. So this is a second aspect of emptiness, and this is The Instruction about Burning, Ādittapariyāyaṁ:

“Sabbaṁ bhikkhave ādittaṁ.
“Everything, monks, is burning.

Cakkhuṁ bhikkhave ādittaṁ, rūpā ādittā,
The eye is burning, monks, forms are burning, 

cakkhuviññāṇaṁ ādittaṁ, cakkhusamphasso āditto,
eye-consciousness is burning, eye-contact is burning,

yam-pidaṁ cakkhusamphassapaccayā uppajjati vedayitaṁ,
and whatever feeling arises dependent on eye-contact,

sukhaṁ vā dukkhaṁ vā adukkhamasukhaṁ vā, tam-pi ādittaṁ.
whether pleasant, unpleasant, or neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant, that also is burning.

Kena ādittaṁ?
With what is it burning?

Rāgagginā dosagginā mohagginā ādittaṁ.
It is burning with the fire of passion, with the fire of hatred, with the fire of delusion.

Jātiyā jarāya maraṇena,
It is burning with birth, with old age and death,

sokehi paridevehi dukkhehi domanassehi upāyāsehi ādittan-ti vadāmi. 
with griefs, with lamentations, with pains, with sorrows, and with despairs, I say.

[Similarly for each of the other of six senses...]

Sotaṁ ādittaṁ, saddā ādittā,
The ear is burning, sounds are burning...

Ghānaṁ ādittaṁ, gandhā ādittā,
The nose is burning, scents are burning...

Jivhā ādittā, rasā ādittā,
The tongue is burning, tastes are burning...

Kāyo āditto, phoṭṭhabbā ādittā,
The body is burning, tangibles are burning...

Mano āditto, dhammā ādittā,
The proprioceptive inner sense is burning, its objects are burning,

manoviññāṇaṁ ādittaṁ, manosamphasso āditto,
proprioceptive consciousness is burning, proprioceptive contact is burning,

yam-pidaṁ manosamphassapaccayā uppajjati vedayitaṁ,
and whatever feeling arises dependent on proprioceptive contact,

sukhaṁ vā dukkhaṁ vā adukkhamasukhaṁ vā, tam-pi ādittaṁ.
whether pleasant, unpleasant, or neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant, that also is burning.

Kena ādittaṁ?
With what is it burning?

Rāgagginā dosagginā mohagginā ādittaṁ.
It is burning with the fire of passion, with the fire of hatred, with the fire of delusion.

Jātiyā jarāya maraṇena,
It is burning with birth, with old age and death,

sokehi paridevehi dukkhehi domanassehi upāyāsehi ādittan-ti vadāmi. 
with griefs, with lamentations, with pains, with sorrows, and with despairs, I say.

Evaṁ passaṁ bhikkhave sutavā ariyasāvako 
Seeing this, monks, the learned noble disciple

cakkhusmiṁ pi nibbindati, rūpesu pi nibbindati, 
grows weary of the eye, grows weary of forms,

cakkhuviññāṇe pi nibbindati, cakkhusamphasse pi nibbindati, 
grows weary of eye-consciousness, grows weary of eye-contact,

yam-pidaṁ cakkhusamphassapaccayā uppajjati vedayitaṁ,
and whatever feeling that arises dependent on eye-contact,

sukhaṁ vā dukkhaṁ vā adukkhamasukhaṁ vā, tasmiṁ pi nibbindati.
whether pleasant, unpleasant, or neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant, he also grows weary of that.

[Similarly for each of the other of six senses...]

Sotasmiṁ pi nibbindati, saddesu pi nibbindati, 
He grows weary of the ear, grows weary of sounds...

Ghānasmiṁ pi nibbindati, gandhesu pi nibbindati, 
He grows weary of the nose, grows weary of scents...

Jivhāya pi nibbindati, rasesu pi nibbindati, 
He grows weary of the tongue, grows weary of tastes...

Kāyasmiṁ pi nibbindati, phoṭṭhabbesu pi nibbindati, 
He grows weary of the body, grows weary of tangibles...

Manasmiṁ pi nibbindati, dhammesu pi nibbindati, 
He grows weary of the proprioceptive inner sense, grows weary of its objects,

manoviññāṇe pi nibbindati, manosamphasse pi nibbindati, 
grows weary of proprioceptive consciousness, grows weary of proprioceptive contact,

yam-pidaṁ manosamphassapaccayā uppajjati vedayitaṁ,
and whatever feeling that arises dependent on proprioceptive contact,

sukhaṁ vā dukkhaṁ vā adukkhamasukhaṁ vā, tasmiṁ pi nibbindati,
whether pleasant, unpleasant, or neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant, he also grows weary of that;

nibbindaṁ virajjati, virāgā vimuccati,
through weariness he becomes dispassionate; through dispassion he is liberated;

vimuttasmiṁ vimuttam-iti ñāṇaṁ hoti:
in liberation, there is the knowledge that such is liberation:

‘Khīṇā jāti‘
Destroyed is (re)birth

vusitaṁ brahmacariyaṁ
accomplished is the spiritual life

kataṁ karaṇīyaṁ
done is what was to be done

nāparaṁ itthattāyā ti pajānātī’ ti.
there is no more of this mundane state - this he knows.’ "

Imasmiñ-ca pana veyyākaraṇasmiṁ bhaññamāne,
Moreover, as this sermon was being given,

tassa bhikkhusahassassa anupādāya āsavehi cittāni vimucciṁsu.
those one thousand monks' minds, through not clinging, were freed from the polluting influences.

The Emptiness of No Self (2): Anattalakkhaṇasuttaṁ

The Mahākhandhako, which serves as a kind of introduction to the Pali vinaya, records that after the Buddha's first turning of the Dharma-wheel, in which he expounded the four noble truths culminating in the middle path, Kauṇḍinya was the first to understand the Buddha's Dharma. The Buddha was thus prompted to observe:

“Aññāsi vata bho Koṇḍañño, aññāsi vata bho Koṇḍañño” ti.

“Koṇḍañña surely knows, Koṇḍañña surely knows.”

Iti hidaṁ āyasmato Koṇḍaññassa Aññā Koṇḍañño tveva nāmaṁ ahosi.
Thus to the venerable Koṇḍañña came the name Aññā Koṇḍañña 

(Sanskrit: Ājñāta-kauṇḍinya, “Knowing Kauṇḍinya”).

[None of the group-of-five, however, is yet affirmed as an arhat (worthy one). At this point there is only one who has no dust in his eyes, and that is the Buddha.

After the going forth of Kauṇḍinya, the Buddha teaches further:] 

“Yaṁ kiñci samudayadhammaṁ, sabban-taṁ nirodhadhamman”-ti.
“Whatever has the nature of arising, all that has the nature of ceasing.”

[And so the other four in the group-of-five follow Kauṇḍinya in understanding the Dharma and going forth as bhikhus under the Buddha.

After that, having caused those bhikkhus to understand what the middle path is, the Buddha proceeds to teach by the middle. And what he teaches by the middle, in short, is emptiness. Thus, on the subject of no self, the Buddha delivers the second discourse – Anattalakkhaṇasuttaṁ.] 

Atha kho Bhagavā pañcavaggiye bhikkhū āmantesi:
Then the Gracious One addressed the group-of-five monks (saying):

“Rūpaṁ bhikkhave anattā,
“Bodily form, monks, is not self...”

...na ca labbhati rūpe:

“It is not possible (to say), with regard to bodily form:

‘Evaṁ me rūpaṁ hotu, evaṁ me rūpaṁ mā ahosī.’ ti‘
Let my bodily form be thus, let my bodily form be not thus.’ ”

[Similarly for the other of the five bodily aggregates:] 

Vedanā anattā,

“Feeling is not Self...”

Saññā anattā,

“Perception is not self...”

Saṅkhārā anattā,

“Habitual doings are not self...”

Viññāṇaṁ anattā,

“Divided consciousness is not self...”

 na ca labbhati viññāṇe:

“It is not possible (to say), with regard to consciousness:

‘Evaṁ me viññāṇaṁ hotu, evaṁ me viññāṇaṁ mā ahosī.’ ti

‘Let my consciousness be thus, let my consciousness be not thus.’ ”

[The Buddha's first argument against the independent existence of a separate self is thus based on the fact that none of us has complete autonomy. The second argument appeals to the monks' sense of propriety. To identify with bodily aggregates that are implicated with suffering, does not befit one whose central task, as recently outlined in the four noble truths, is the alleviation of suffering.] 

Taṁ kiṁ maññatha bhikkhave:
What do you think of this, monks:

“Rūpaṁ niccaṁ vā aniccaṁ vā?” ti“
Is bodily form permanent or impermanent?”

“Aniccaṁ Bhante.”
“Impermanent, Venerable Sir.”

“Yaṁ panāniccaṁ dukkhaṁ vā taṁ sukhaṁ vā?” ti“
But that which is impermanent, is that full of suffering or ease?”

“Dukkhaṁ Bhante.”
“Full of suffering, Venerable Sir.”

“Yaṁ panāniccaṁ dukkhaṁ vipariṇāmadhammaṁ,
“But that which is impermanent, full of suffering and changeable,

kallaṁ nu taṁ samanupassituṁ:
is it proper to regard it thus:

‘Etaṁ mama esoham-asmi eso me attā?’ ” ti
‘This is mine, this I am, this is my self?’ ”

“No hetaṁ Bhante.”
“Certainly not, Venerable Sir.”

[Similarly, the Buddha asks:] 

“Vedanā niccā vā aniccā vā?” ti
“Is feeling permanent or impermanent?”...

“Saññā niccā vā aniccā vā?” ti
“Is perception permanent or impermanent?” ...

“Saṅkhārā niccā vā aniccā vā?” ti
“Are habitual doings permanent or impermanent?” ...

“Viññāṇaṁ niccaṁ vā aniccaṁ vā?” ti
“Is divided consciousness permanent or impermanent?” ...

[The answer in each case is:] 

“No hetaṁ Bhante.”
“Certainly not, Venerable Sir.”

“Tasmātiha bhikkhave yaṁ kiñci rūpaṁ atītānāgatapaccuppannaṁ,
“Therefore monks, whatever bodily form there is in the past, future or present,

ajjhattaṁ vā bahiddhā vā, oḷārikaṁ vā sukhumaṁ vā hīnaṁ vā paṇītaṁ vā,
inner or outer, gross or fine, inferior or excellent,

yaṁ dūre vā santike vā sabbaṁ rūpaṁ:
whether far or near, regarding all form:

‘Netaṁ mama, nesoham-asmi, na me so attā,’ ti‘
This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self,’

evam-etaṁ yathābhūtaṁ sammappaññāya daṭṭhabbaṁ.
in just this way, as it really is, it should be seen with full wisdom.

[And similarly for the other four bodily aggregates...]

Evaṁ passaṁ bhikkhave sutavā ariyasāvako rūpasmim-pi nibbindati,
Seeing in this way, monks, the learned, noble disciple, grows weary of bodily form,

vedanāya pi nibbindati, saññāya pi nibbindati,
and weary of feeling, and weary of perception,

saṅkhāresu pi nibbindati, viññāṇasmim-pi nibbindati,
and weary of habitual doings, and weary of divided consciousness;

nibbindaṁ virajjati, virāgā vimuccati,
through weariness he becomes dispassionate; through dispassion he is liberated;

vimuttasmiṁ vimuttam-iti ñāṇaṁ hoti:
in liberation, there is the knowledge that such is liberation:

‘Khīṇā jāti
‘Destroyed is (re)birth,

vusitaṁ brahmacariyaṁ
accomplished is the spiritual life,

kataṁ karaṇīyaṁ
done is what was to be done,

nāparaṁ itthattāyā’ ti pajānātī’ ti.
there is no more of this mundane state’ - this he knows.”

Idam-avoca Bhagavā,
The Glorious One said this,

attamanā pañcavaggiyā bhikkhū Bhagavato bhāsitaṁ abhinanduṁ.
and the group-of-five monks were uplifted and greatly rejoiced in what was said by the Glorious One.

Imasmiñ-ca pana veyyākaraṇasmiṁ bhaññamāne,
Moreover, as this sermon was being given,

pañcavaggiyānaṁ bhikkhūnaṁ anupādāya āsavehi cittāni vimucciṁsu,
the group-of-five monks' minds, through not clinging, were freed from the polluting influences,

tena kho pana samayena cha loke arahanto honti.
and at that time there were six worthy ones in the world.

True Mindfulness in the Middle Way: Mahāgosiṅgasuttaṁ

In Mahāgosiṅgasuttaṁ, The Greater Discourse in Gosiṅga, the Buddha is living in parkland in the Gosiṅga Sāla-tree Wood together with several excellent followers. Śariputra asks several of these venerable monks, one by one, the same question: What kind of a monk could illuminate that Gosiṅga Sāla-tree Wood. 

Ānanda tells Śariputra, for example, that learning and then remembering and consolodating what one has learned is important. 

Revata emphasizes the importance of solitary meditation practice. 

Anuruddha speaks of seeing with an eye, i.e., insight, that is pure and transcendent. 

Mahā-kaśyapa refers to virtues of a forest  monk like wanting little, being content, enjoying seclusion, being energetic, et cetera. 

Maudgalyāyana describes two monks talking together in accordance with the Dharma, answering each others' questions without foundering. 

When Maudgalyāyana in turn asks Śariputra, Śariputra describes a monk who wields mastery over his own mind, not letting his mind wield mastery over him. 

Then Śariputra and the others go to the Buddha to report the various answers to him. 

The Buddha affirms what Ānanda has said, noting that Ānanda practises what he preaches, being himself one who has remembered and consolidated what he has learned. 

The Buddha also affirms Revata's answer, noting hat Revata himself enjoys practising meditation in solitary huts. 

The Buddha, again, affirms Anuruddha's answer, since he, with his own transcendent eye, surveys a thousand worlds. 

Mahā-kaśyapa, similarly, is affirmed as a forest dweller who speaks in praise of forest dwelling; and Maudgalyāyana is affirmed as excellent in talking on the Dharma. 

Finally, the Buddha praises Śariputra as one who also practises what he preaches, in manifesting mastery of his own  mind. 

The Sutta concludes as follows: 

When this was said, the venerable Sāriputta asked the Glorious One: “Which of us, Venerable Sir, has spoken well?”

[The Glorious One said:] “All have spoken well, Sāriputta, each in his own way. Hear also from me what kind of bhikkhu could illuminate the Gosiṅga Sāla-tree Wood. Here, Sāriputta, when a bhikkhu has returned from his almsround, after his meal, he sits. Folding his legs into the lotus posture, directing his body up, establishing mindfulness to the fore, [he resolves]: 'I shall not break this sitting posture until, through not clinging, my mind is freed from the polluting influences.' That kind of bhikkhu, Sāriputta, could illuminate the Gosiṅga Sāla-tree Wood.”

Evaṁ vutte āyasmā Sāriputto Bhagavantaṁ etad-avoca: kassa nu kho bhante subhāsitan-ti
Sabbesaṁ vo Sāriputta subhāsitam pariyāyena. Api ca mama pi suṇatha yathārupena bhikkhunā Gosiṅgasālavanaṁ sobheyya. Idha Sāriputta bhikkhu pacchābhattaṁ piṇḍapātapaṭikkanto nisīdati. Pallaṅkaṁ ābhujitvā ujuṁ kāyaṁ paṇidāya parimukhaṁ satiṁ upaṭṭhapetvā: na tāvāham imaṁ pallaṅkaṁ bhindissāmi yāva me nānupādāya āsavehi cittaṁ vimuccissatīti. Evārupena kho Sāriputta bhikkhunā Gosiṅgasālavanaṁ sobheyyati.

Here then is evidence in the Pali Suttas that resonates with Aśvaghoṣa's ironic affirmations of anya, being different. The point is that the Buddha is willing to see and to accept individual differences, and to be different himself. 

At the same time, the concluding paragraph provides one of many examples of the formula of 

• sits down (nisīdati); 
• folding the legs into the lotus posture (pallaṅkaṁ ābhujitvā), 
• directing the body up (ujuṁ kāyaṁ paṇidāya), 
• and thereby establishing mindfulness to the fore (parimukhaṁ satiṁ upaṭṭhapetvā)... 

At the centre of the Buddha's teaching of the middle way, as a middle practice, or a middle path, is this sequence centred on centering the body -- because directing the body up is neither to slump nor to stiffen up. 

There again, the concluding paragraph of this sutta expresses the will to emptiness in the words na tāvāham imaṁ pallaṅkaṁ bhindissāmi yāva me nānupādāya āsavehi cittaṁ vimuccissatīti,  "I shall not break this sitting posture until, through not clinging, my mind is freed from the polluting influences." And this is a point we will return to shortly, in connection with the Buddha's third discourse, The Instruction about Burning (Ādittapariyāyaṁ). 

True Mindfulness in the Middle Way: Mahāsatipaṭṭhānasuttaṁ

In the opening verse of Saundarananda Canto 15, Aśvaghoṣa describes the Buddha telling Nanda:

yatra tatra vivikte tu

In whatever place of solitude you are,
baddhvā paryaṅkam uttamam 
cross the legs in the supreme manner,
ṛjuṁ kāyaṁ samādhāya 
And align the body so that it tends straight upward;
smṛtyābhimukhayānvitaḥ
thus attended by awareness/mindfulness that is directed...

In giving Nanda these instructions in this order, the Buddha is following a formula that appears again and again in the Pali Suttas --> finding a place of solitude, sitting with legs crossed, directing the body up, and thereby bringing mindfulness to the fore. Maybe the best known example is at the beginning of the section on in-and-out breathing in the Great Sutra on Ways of Attending to Mindfulness, Mahāsatipaṭṭhānasuttaṁ:


And how, monks, does a monk dwell in the body contemplating the body? 
Here, monks, a monk who has gone to the wilderness, or has gone to the root of a tree, or has gone to an empty place, sits. Folding his legs into the lotus posture, directing the body up, and thus establishing mindfulness to the fore, he, just being mindful breathes in, and just being mindful breathes out.

While breathing in long, he knows “I am breathing in long”,
or, while breathing out long, knows “I am breathing out long”;
or, while breathing in short, knows “I am breathing in short”,
or, while breathing out short, knows “I am breathing out short”.
“Being thoroughly aware of [or with] the whole body, I will breathe in”: like this he trains;
“being thoroughly aware of [or with] the whole body, I will breathe out”: like this he trains.
“Letting the contrivance of a body cease, I will breathe in”: like this he trains;
“letting the contrivance of a body cease, I will breathe out”: like this he trains.

Just as, monks, a skilled turner or turner's apprentice
while making a long turn knows “I am making a long turn”,
or, while making a short turn knows “I am making a short turn”,
just so, monks, a monk while breathing in long, knows “I am breathing in long”,
or, while breathing out long, knows “I am breathing out long”;
or, while breathing in short, knows “I am breathing in short”,
or, while breathing out short, knows “I am breathing out short”.
“Being thoroughly aware of [or with] the whole body, I will breathe in”: like this he trains;
“being thoroughly aware of [or with] the whole body, I will breathe out”: like this he trains.
“Letting the contrivance of a body cease, I will breathe in”: like this he trains;
“letting the contrivance of a body cease, I will breathe out”: like this he trains.

Thus he dwells in the body contemplating the body inwardly,
[he dwells in the body reflecting inwardly with the body]
or he dwells in the body contemplating the body outwardly,
[he dwells in the body reflecting outwardly with the body]
or he dwells in the body contemplating the body inwardly and outwardly,
[he dwells in the body reflecting inwardly and outwardly with the body]
or he dwells in the body contemplating the nature of arising,
or he dwells in the body contemplating the nature of passing away,
or he dwells in the body contemplating the nature of arising and passing away,
or else mindfulness that “there is a body” is established in him
just as far as (is necessary for) a full measure of knowing and a full measure of mindfulness,
and he dwells independent, and does not cling to anything in the world.
In this way, monks, a monk dwells in the body contemplating the body.
[In this way, monks, a monk dwells in the body reflecting with the body.]

Kathañ-ca, bhikkhave, bhikkhu kāye kāyānupassī viharati? Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu araññagato vā, rukkhamūlagato vā, suññāgāragato vā, nisīdati. Pallaṅkaṁ ābhujitvā, ujuṁ kāyaṁ paṇidhāya, parimukhaṁ satiṁ upaṭṭhapetvā, so sato va assasati, sato va passasati.

Dīghaṁ vā assasanto “dīghaṁ assasāmī” ti pajānāti,
dīghaṁ vā passasanto “dīghaṁ passasāmī” ti pajānāti;
rassaṁ vā assasanto “rassaṁ assasāmī” ti pajānāti,
rassaṁ vā passasanto “rassaṁ passasāmī” ti pajānāti.
Sabbakāyapaṭisaṁvedī assasissāmī ti sikkhati,
sabbakāyapaṭisaṁvedī passasissāmī ti sikkhati;
passambhayaṁ kāyasaṅkhāraṁ assasissāmī ti sikkhati,
passambhayaṁ kāyasaṅkhāraṁ passasissāmī ti sikkhati.

Seyyathā pi, bhikkhave, dakkho bhamakāro vā bhamakārantevāsī vā dīghaṁ vā añchanto “dīghaṁ añchāmī” ti pajānāti, rassaṁ vā añchanto “rassaṁ añchāmī” ti pajānāti,

evam-eva kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhu dīghaṁ vā assasanto “dīghaṁ assasāmī” ti pajānāti,
dīghaṁ vā passasanto “dīghaṁ passasāmī” ti pajānāti;
rassaṁ vā assasanto “rassaṁ assasāmī” ti pajānāti,
rassaṁ vā passasanto “rassaṁ passasāmī” ti pajānāti.
Sabbakāyapaṭisaṁvedī assasissāmī ti sikkhati,
sabbakāyapaṭisaṁvedī passasissāmī ti sikkhati;
passambhayaṁ kāyasaṅkhāraṁ assasissāmī ti sikkhati,
passambhayaṁ kāyasaṅkhāraṁ passasissāmī ti sikkhati.

Iti ajjhattaṁ vā kāye kāyānupassī viharati, bahiddhā vā kāye kāyānupassī viharati, ajjhattabahiddhā vā kāye kāyānupassī viharati, samudayadhammānupassī vā kāyasmiṁ viharati, vayadhammānupassī vā kāyasmiṁ viharati, samudayavayadhammānupassī vā kāyasmiṁ viharati, “atthi kāyo” ti vā panassa sati paccupaṭṭhitā hoti yāvad-eva ñāṇamattāya patissatimattāya, anissito ca viharati, na ca kiñci loke upādiyati.
Evam-pi kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhu kāye kāyānupassī viharati.


NOTES:

1. Nowhere does the Buddha speak of breathing as an object to be mindful of, or to concentrate on. The Buddha himself never speaks, at least not explicitly, of "mindfulness of breathing." Even the traditional (Skt.) phrase ānāpāna-smṛti (see e.g Saundarananda 15.64), lit. "in-out-breathing-mindfulness," which is usually translated "mindfulness of breathing," can equally literally be translated "mindfulness while breathing," or "mindfulness with breathing."

2. Pajānāti , "he knows," is present tense. So what is going on in the present, in the body/mind of the monk who is sitting, is simply a knowing -- akin to allowing, as opposed to intervening and trying to make things better already. So this knowing, as the example of the master wood turner demonstrates, is not the same as trying to concentrate on what one is doing right now, or on what one is feeling right now. The skilled wood turner does not need to concentrate on, or think about, whether he is turning long or short. Whether he is turning long or short is not his central focus but rather belongs to his peripheral awareness. In the case of the turner's apprentice who is still learning the job, however, more concentration may be in evidence. The apprentice, in other words, in a somewhat pejorative sense, is likely to be more mindful of, or to be more concentrated on, the length of the turn. But this kind of mindfulness or concentration -- i.e. the kind of trying to get it right that usually tends to accompany the learning of a new skill -- is likely to be associated with less smooth and efficient turning. It is likely to be associated with throwing a metaphorical spanner, the spanner of unduly sincere mindfulness, into the works.

3. Assasāmī, "I will breathe in," and passasāmī, "I will breathe out," are the future tense. Thus, whereas mindfulness tends to be taught as an effort to be present to (i.e. to feel out) what has in fact already passed, leaving its residue in sensory experience, in the Buddha's original teaching the focus is much more forward-looking or future-oriented -- like wishing for, or strongly looking forward to, something that cannot be got directly. This orientation might be compared to a fireman or a deck-hand leaning strongly forward when using a high-powered hose. (Very different from some depressed person more or less slumping back in a chair, trying to be mindful of sense impressions emanating from his or her flabby bottom. Different also from a monk who sits upright in lotus all day feeling his diaphragm go up and down.)

4. Sabbakāyapaṭisaṁvedī = sabba (all, whole) + kāya (body) + paṭi (prefix with a connotation of going back on itself, and hence in context reflectiveness) + saṁ (prefix denoting togetherness or thoroughness) + vedī (knowing -- nominative of vedin, knowing, being the knower). 

The compound sabbakāyapaṭisaṁvedī can thus be translated literally “Being thoroughly reflectively aware of the whole body... [I will breathe in/out]” and equally literally “Being thoroughly reflectively aware with the whole body... [I will breathe in/out]." 

In other words, the whole body (sabbakāya) can be understood not only as the object of being thoroughly reflectively aware (paṭisaṁvedī) but also as the instrument of reflection or indeed as the subject of reflection -- "The whole body being thoroughly reflective aware, I will breathe in. The whole body being thoroughly reflective aware, I will breathe out." 

In my own sitting practice, the Buddha's words sabbakāyapaṭisaṁvedī assasissāmī ti have come to translate themselves along the lines of "The whole body being informed with thought, I will breathe in." This phrasing reflects the effort of an Alexander teacher named Marjory  Barlow to teach me in practice what it might mean to inform the whole body with thought. 

5. Many translators and teachers seem to have understood the Buddha's words passambhayaṁ kāyasaṅkhāraṁ assasissāmī ti to mean something along the lines of "calming the breathing, I will breathe in." This is a fundamental misunderstanding. Truly to understand what the Buddha meant by "letting the body-saṅkhāra cease" (passambhayaṁ kāyasaṅkhāraṁ), it is necessary to understand what the Buddha meant by "saṅkhāra." It is primarily in this direction that I am planning, in due course, to do the best translation I can of Nāgārjuna's MMK. [Note: In 2018, having translated MMK and spent several months using the translation as the basis of further exploration, I changed the translation "from causing bodily doing to cease" to "causing the contrivance of a body to cease." I now see the Buddha's phrase as syonymous with the Zen teaching of dropping off body and mind.] 

6. On first listening/reading the progression in this section on breathing in and out is linear, but in practice it becomes more circular, and with interwoven strands. Thus the starting point is to go to some empty place, and the end point is also an empty place -- i.e. looking forward to breathing in and out as realisation of emptiness. 

The Middle Path in Sanskrit (1): Dharma-cakra-pravartana-sūtra

The same discourse in preserved in Sanskrit in the Lalita-vistara, as the Dharma-cakra-pravartana-sūtra. 

“There are these two extremes, monks, that one who has gone forth ought not to descend to; namely:

being joined, through a life of sensual luxury, to sense desires, which is low, vulgar, worldly, not very noble, meaningless, not conducive to spiritual growth in the long term, leading neither to world-weariness, nor to dispassion, nor to cessation, nor to deep knowledge, nor to the complete awakening of saṁbodhi, nor to the release from suffering of nirvāṇa;

and this, which also is not the middle path (amadhyamā pratipad):

devotion to privation of one's own body, which is painful, meaningless, painful in the present and having a painful consequence in the long run.

Not having approached either of these two extremes, monks, the tathāgata teaches the dharma solely by way of the middle path (madhyamayaiva pratipadā), which is this:

seeing straight, thinking straight, talking straight, true action, making a clean living, true endeavour , true mindfulness, balanced stillness.

dvāv imau bhikṣavaḥ pravrajitasyāntāvakramau,

yaś ca: kāmeṣu kāma-sukhallikā-yogo hīno grāmyaḥ pārthagjaniko,

nālam-āryo 'narthopasaṁhito nāyatyāṁ brahmacaryāya,

na nirvide na virāgāya na nirodhāya nābhijñāya,

na saṁbodhaye na nirvāṇāya saṁvartate;

yā ceyam amadhyamā pratipad ātma-kāya-klamathānuyogo duḥkho 'narthopasaṁhito,

dṛṣṭa-dharma-duḥkhaś cāyatyāṁ ca duḥkha-vipākaḥ.

etau ca bhikṣavo dvāv antāv anupagamya

madhyamayaiva pratipadā tathāgato dharmaṁ deśayati, yad uta:

samyag-dṛṣṭiḥ

samyak-saṁkalpaḥ

samyag-vāk

samyak-karmāntaḥ

samyag-ājīvaḥ

samyag-vyāyāmaḥ

samyak-smṛtiḥ

samyak-samādhir iti.

In these records of the Buddha's first teaching, the middle is a practice ( Pali paṭipad = means of reaching a goal or destination, path, way, means, method, mode of progress, course, practice), or a path (Sanskrit pratipad = the path to be walked, the right path). And the two extremes which the middle way does not approach are sensuality and extreme self-denial, or hedonism and asceticism. 

This first teaching of the middle way is tailored to the Buddha's first audience, his former companions in the kind of severe ascetic practices which (as described in Buddhacarita Canto 12), the bodhisattva found to fail the pragmatic test of truth -- they didn't work. 

In the fourth discourse, delivered to the self-made men of Māgadha, the Buddha will again speak of teaching the Dharma by way of the middle. But in this case he will describe the two extremes that are not approached as the eternity-view and the annihilation-view. 

The Middle Practice in Pali (1): Dhammacakkappavattanasuttaṁ

The enlightened Buddha's first mention of the middle, in his teaching to the group of five ascetic practitioners, is recorded in Pali in the Dhammacakkappavattanasuttaṁ, The Discourse that Set the Dhamma Wheel Rolling. 

“There are these two extremes, monks, that one who has gone forth ought not to associate with,
namely:

devotion to the pleasure and happiness in sense pleasures, which is low, vulgar, worldly, ignoble, and not connected with the goal; and this: devotion to self-mortification,which is painful, ignoble, and not connected with the goal.

Not having approached either of these two extremes, monks, the middle practice has been fully and transcendentally realized by the tathāgata, producing vision, producing knowledge, leading to peace, to deep knowledge, to the complete awakening of sambodhi, and to the release from suffering of nirvāṇa.

Now what is this middle practice (majjhimā paṭipadā), monks, that has been fully and transcendentally realized by the tathāgata, producing vision, producing knowledge, leading to peace, to deep knowledge, to the complete awakening of sambodhi, and to the release from suffering of nirvāṇa?

It is this noble path with eight factors, as follows:

seeing straight, thinking straight, talking straight, true action, making a clean living, true endeavour, true mindfulness, balanced stillness.

This is the middle practice (majjhimā paṭipadā), monks, that was fully and transcendentally realized by the tathāgata, producing vision, producing knowledge, leading to peace, to deep knowledge, to the complete awakening of sambodhi, and to the release from suffering of nirvāṇa.” 

...atha kho bhagavā pañcavaggiye bhikkhū āmantesi:

dveme bhikkhave antā pabbajitena na sevitabbā,

yo cāyaṁ: kāmesu kāmasukhallikānuyogo,

hīno, gammo, pothujjaniko, anariyo, anatthasaṁhito;

yo cāyaṁ: attakilamathānuyogo,

dukkho, anariyo, anatthasaṁhito.

Ete te bhikkhave ubho ante anupagamma, majjhimā paṭipadā

tathāgatena abhisambuddhā, cakkhukaraṇī, ñāṇakaraṇī,

upasamāya abhiññāya sambodhāya Nibbānāya saṁvattati.

katamā ca sā bhikkhave majjhimā paṭipadā,

tathagatena abhisambuddhā, cakkhukaraṇī, ñāṇakaraṇī,

upasamāya abhiññāya Sambodhāya Nibbānāya saṁvattati?

Ayam eva ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo, seyyathīdaṁ:

i. sammādiṭṭhi

ii. sammāsaṅkappo

iii. sammāvācā

iv. sammākammanto

v. sammā-ājīvo

vi. sammāvāyāmo

vii. sammāsati

viii. sammāsamādhi.

Ayaṁ kho sā bhikkhave majjhimā paṭipadā,

tathagatena abhisambuddhā, cakkhukaraṇī, ñāṇakaraṇī,

upasamāya abhiññāya Sambodhāya Nibbānāya saṁvattati.

MMK26.10: Nāgārjuna for Non-Doers

saṁsāra-mūlaṁ saṁskārān avidvān saṁskaroty ataḥ |

avidvān kārakas tasmān na vidvāṁs tattva-darśanāt ||MMK26.10||

The doings which are the root of saṁsāra

Thus does the ignorant one do.

The ignorant one therefore is the doer;

The wise one is not, 

because of the act of realizing the truth.