Commentary on the Samādhi Meditation Sūtra
Original text:问曰。云何除亲里觉。答曰。应如是念。世界生死中自业缘牵。何者是亲。何者非亲。但以愚痴故。横生着心。计为我亲。过去世非亲为亲。未来世非亲为亲。今世是亲。过去非亲。譬如鸟栖暮集一树。晨飞各随缘去。家属亲里亦复如是。生世界中。各各自异心。缘会故亲。缘散故疏。无有定实。因缘果报。共相亲近。
Explanation: Question: How does one remove the initial application and sustained examination (vitarka-vicāra) of longing for relatives? Answer: One should think thus: In the saha world of birth and death, everything is the result of being drawn along by one's own karmic conditions. Who is a relative and who is not — all of it is because of delusion that the mind forcibly grasps them as one's kin. In past lives they were not relatives, in this life they became relatives; in future lives they will not be relatives, in this life they are relatives; in this life they are relatives, in past lives they were not relatives. Just as birds gather at dusk on one tree and at dawn each flies away according to its conditions, so too are family relatives: born in one world, each person has a different mind that cannot be unified; when conditions converge they are relatives, when conditions disperse they become distant. There is no fixed, real cause-and-effect retribution that can make so-called relatives close to one another.
Original text:譬如干沙。缘手团握。缘捉故合。缘放故散。父母养子。老当得报。子蒙怀抱。养育故应报。若顺其意则亲。若逆其意是贼。有亲不能益而反害。有非亲无损而大益。人以因缘故而生爱。爱因缘故而更断。譬如画师作妇女像。还自爱着。此亦如是。自生染着。染著于外。
Explanation: For example, dry earth and sand are squeezed into a clump by the hand; due to the converging conditions of the hand's grasping they hold together, and when the condition of grasping ceases the clump disperses. Because parents raise children, in old age they should receive repayment from the children; because children have received the nurturing of their parents, they should repay their parents' kindness. If one complies with the other's wishes, they are relatives; if one goes against the other's wishes, they are bandits. Some relatives not only bring no benefit but even bring harm; some who are not relatives bring no harm but great benefit. People give rise to love because of certain conditions; because love is born of conditions, when conditions disperse it is severed. For example, a painter paints the image of a woman and then himself becomes attached to and cherishes the image; family relatives are like this too — all are one's own arising defiled love that defiledly grasps external conditions.
Original text:过去世中汝有亲里。今世于汝。复何所作。汝亦不能益过去亲。过去亲不益汝。两不相益。空念之为是亲非亲。世界中不定无边。如阿罗汉教新出家恋亲弟子言。如恶人吐食。更欲还啖。汝亦如是。汝已得出家。何以还欲爱着。剃发染衣是解脱相。汝着亲里不得解脱。还为爱所系。三界无常。流转不定。若亲非亲。虽今亲里。久久则灭。如是十方众生回转。亲里无定。是非我亲。
Explanation: In past lives you also had relatives; what can they do for you in this life? Nor can you bring any benefit to your past-life relatives, and your past-life relatives cannot bring you any benefit. Since neither can benefit the other, the mind vainly dwells on whether they are relatives or not, gaining nothing; the indeterminate factors in the world are immeasurable and boundless.
For example, an arhat teaches a newly ordained disciple who still longs for his relatives, saying: "It is like a person with an upset stomach who vomits up food and still wants to eat it again — you are like this. You have already left home; why do you still crave and cling to your relatives? Shaving off hair and beard and wearing dyed robes is the mark of liberation. If you cling to your relatives you cannot attain liberation and remain bound by craving." The worlds of the three realms are all impermanent dharmas, transmigrating through birth and death without fixity; whether relative or not is indeterminate — though they become relatives in this life, after a long time they no longer are. Therefore it is said that sentient beings of the ten directions transmigrate through birth and death, relatives are not fixed, and thus they are not truly kin.
Original text:人欲死时。无心无识。直视不转。闭气命绝。如堕闇坑。是时亲里。家属安在。若初生时先世非亲。今强和合作亲。若当死时复非亲。如是思惟。不当着亲。如人儿死。一时三处父母。俱时啼哭。诳天上父母妻子。人中亦为诳。龙中父母亦为诳。如是种种正观。除亲里觉。
Explanation: When a person is about to die, there is no mind or consciousness; the gaze stares fixedly without moving, breath stops and life ends, as if falling into a dark great pit — at that moment, where are your family relatives? At the moment of birth, in past lives they were not relatives; in this life they reluctantly gather together and become relatives, and at death they are no longer relatives. Contemplating thus, one should no longer cling to relatives. For example, when a person dies in childhood, parents in three realms weep at the same time: the parents, spouse, and children in the heaven realm are deceived; the parents, spouse, and children among humans are deceived; the parents, spouse, and children among nāgas are also deceived. Through such various correct contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā), the vitarka-vicāra concerning relatives can be removed.
Original text:问曰。云何除国土觉。答曰。行者若念。是国土丰乐安隐。多诸好人。恒为国土觉绳所牵。将去罪处。觉心如是。若有智人不应念着。何以故。国土种种过罪。所烧时节转故。亦有饥饿。身疲极故。一切国土无常安者。
Explanation: Question: How does one remove the vitarka-vicāra concerning homeland and country? Answer: If a practitioner keeps thinking in the mind that this land is prosperous, peaceful, and happy, with many good and virtuous people, then he is constantly dragged by the rope of vitarka-vicāra concerning the land and bound off to places of wrongdoing. Such is how the mind of vitarka-vicāra binds people. A person with wisdom should not dwell on the land. Why should one not dwell thus on the land? Because lands have various faults and transgressions: they may be burned down, or when conditions and kalpas change, the land changes; there are also times of famine when the people endure hunger and their bodies become weak and exhausted, and so on. In all lands and worlds there is nothing of lasting peace and happiness.
Original text:复次老病死苦。无国不有。从是间身苦。去得彼处身苦。一切国土去无不苦。假有国土安隐丰乐。而有结恼。心生苦患。是非好国土。能除杂恶国土。能薄结使。令心不恼。是谓好国土。
一切众生有二种苦。身苦心苦。常有苦恼。无有国土无此二恼。复次。有国土大寒。有国土大热。有国土饥饿。有国土多病。有国土多贼。有国土王法不理。如是种种国土之恶。心不应着。如是正观。除国土觉。
Explanation: Furthermore, the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness, and death exist in every land; one removes bodily suffering in one world only to have bodily suffering again in another world — there is no land without suffering. Even if there were a peaceful and happy land, if one's own mind has afflictive fetters (saṃyojana), one will still give rise to suffering; therefore such a land is not a good land. Only a land that can remove mixed evil karmic actions, that can make sentient beings' afflictive fetters of greed, hatred, and delusion grow thin, and that leaves sentient beings' minds without vexation, is a good land.
All sentient beings have two kinds of suffering: bodily suffering and mental suffering, and thus constantly have afflictions; there is no land where sentient beings lack these two afflictions. Furthermore, some lands have great heat, some lands have great cold, some lands have famine, some lands have much disease and calamity, some lands have many thieves and bandits, some lands have unreasonable national laws — such are the various faults and evils of lands; therefore the mind should not dwell on lands. Contemplating and observing lands with such correct thinking, one can remove the vitarka-vicāra concerning homeland.
Original text:问曰。云何除不死觉。答曰。应教行者。若好家生。若种族子才技力势胜人。一切莫念。何以故。一切死时。不观老少贵贱才技力势。是身是一切忧恼诸因缘。因自见少多寿。若得安隐。是为痴人。何以故。是谓忧恼因依是四大。四大造色如四毒蛇。共不相应。谁得安隐者。出息期入是不可信。
Explanation: How does one remove the vitarka-vicāra of hoping never to die? Answer: One should teach practitioners: if one is born into a good family, if the descendants of this family lineage surpass others in talent, skill, and power, none of this should be dwelt upon in the mind. Why not? Because when all people die, regardless of whether you are old or young, poor or rich, noble or lowly, talented, skilled, or powerful, all must die without exception. This body of the five aggregates (pañca-skandha) is the gathering place of the conditions for all sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress (śoka-parideva-duḥkha-daurmanasyopāyāsa). Therefore, if one believes that only by living longer can one be at peace and happy, that is a fool. Why say so? Because the conditions for sorrow and distress depend on the four great elements (mahābhūta); the four great elements create the material body, like four venomous snakes together, mutually discordant — who could find peace therein? When this breath goes out, to expect it to come back in is unreliable.
Original text:复次人睡时。欲期必觉。是事难信。受胎至老。死事恒来。求死时节。言常不死。云何可信。譬如杀贼。拔刀注箭。常求杀人。无怜愍心。人生世间。死力最大。一切无胜。死力强者。若过去世第一妙人。无能脱此死者。现在亦无大智人。能胜死者。亦非软语求。非巧言诳。可得避脱。亦非持戒精进。能却此死。以是故当知。人常危脆。不可怙恃。莫信计常。我寿久活。是诸死贼。常将人去。不付老竟。然后当杀。
Explanation: Furthermore, after a person falls asleep, to expect that one will certainly wake up is also hard to predict. From conception and birth to old age, the vexing matters of death keep arising; when it is time to die, one constantly hopes not to die — how can this be trusted? It is like a murderous bandit with drawn sword and drawn bow, constantly seeking to kill, without any compassion — the bandit of death is like this. For a person living in the world, the power of death is the greatest; nothing at all is stronger than the power of death. Even the most excellent people of past lives did not escape death, and even now no person of great wisdom can defeat death. Death cannot be begged off with soft words and clever speech, cannot be escaped by deceitful eloquence, nor can it be resisted through keeping precepts and diligent cultivation. Therefore one should know that human life is extremely fragile and cannot be relied upon; do not trust or hope that one will live long. The bandit of death constantly carries people off, killing them before they reach old age.
Original text:如阿罗汉教诸觉所恼弟子言。汝何以不知厌世入道。何以作此觉。有人未生便死。有生时死者。有乳餔时。有断乳时。有小儿时。有盛壮时。有老时。一切时中间死法界。譬如树华。华时便堕。有果时堕。有未熟时堕。是故当知。勤力精进求安隐道。
Explanation: As an arhat teaches disciples tormented by the bandit of vitarka-vicāra: "Why do you not know to weary of the world and quickly enter the Path? Why do you always have the vitarka-vicāra of hoping not to die and to live forever? Some people die before being born; some die at birth; some die while still nursing; some die just after weaning; some die in childhood; some die in the prime of life; some die only in old age. In all times, the time of death is indeterminate. It is like flowers on a tree: some fall while blooming, some fall when fruit has formed, some fall before the fruit ripens. Therefore one should diligently strive and seek the true path of peace."
Original text:大力贼共住不可信。此贼如虎巧覆藏身。如是死贼常求杀人。世界所有。空如水泡。云何当言。待时入道。阿谁能证言汝。必老可得行道。譬如险岸大树上有大风。下有大水崩其根土。谁当信此树得久住者。人命亦如是。少时不可信。父如谷子。母如好田。先世因缘。罪福如雨泽。众生如谷。生死如收刈。
Explanation: To dwell together with the powerful bandit of death is not to be trusted; this bandit, like a tiger, cleverly conceals its material body. Such a death-bandit constantly seeks people to kill. All that exists in the world is empty like water bubbles — how can one speak of cultivating the Path at some later time? Who can guarantee that you will certainly live to old age and only then cultivate the Path? It is like a great tree on a dangerous cliff, with great wind blowing above and great water below collapsing the soil of its roots — who could believe this tree would long remain? Human life is like this; there is not a moment to be trusted. The father is like a grain seed, the mother like good farmland; the karmic conditions of past-life offenses and merits are like rain and dew that moisten, and thus human life arises. Sentient beings are like grain; birth and death are like the harvest.
Original text:种种诸天子人王智德。如天王佐天。斗破诸阿须伦军。种种受乐。极高大明。还没在黑闇。以是故莫信命活言。我今日当作此。明后当作是。如是正观种种。除不死觉。如是先除粗思觉。却后除细思觉。心清净生得正道。一切结使尽。从是得安隐处。是谓出家果。心得自在。
Explanation: The wisdom and virtue of various heavenly sons and human kings — like the Trāyastriṃśa heaven-king leading the heavenly sons to defeat the asura armies — enjoy various pleasures, displaying wisdom most lofty and brilliant, yet they still sink just the same into the deep pit of darkness. Therefore do not believe a person whose life still remains when he says, "Today I shall do this; tomorrow I shall do that."
Through such various correct thinking and observation, one can remove the vitarka-vicāra of wishing not to die. Thus one first removes coarse vitarka-vicāra, then removes subtle vitarka-vicāra; after the mind becomes pure, one can realize the fruit of the Path, and all afflictive fetters (saṃyojana) can be extinguished. From then on one reaches a place of peace — this is the fruit-virtue of leaving home, with the mind attaining great freedom.
Original text:三业第一清净。不复受胎。读种种经多闻。是时得报果。如是得时。不空破魔王军。便得第一。勇猛名称。世界中烦恼将去。是不名健。能破烦恼贼。灭三毒火。凉乐清净。涅槃林中。安隐高枕。种种禅定。根力七觉。清风四起。顾念众生。没三毒海。德妙力如是。乃名为健。如是等散心。当念阿那般那。学六种法。断诸思觉。以是故念数息。
Explanation: When the three karmic actions of body, speech, and mind all reach utmost purity, one need no longer take rebirth through conception, because one no longer craves any dharma of the three realms and has no grasping; the karma of the three realms is eliminated, and without karma there is no need for rebirth. Reciting various sūtras and learning extensively, when cultivation reaches a certain degree one obtains the karmic retributive fruit of practice. When the retribution is obtained, cutting off greed and hatred, one can break the army of Māra, subdue Māra, and gain the foremost name of valor. Living in the world while bound by afflictions is not called a strong warrior; only one who can break the bandit of afflictions, extinguish the three-poison fire of greed, hatred, and delusion, with the mind attaining coolness and tranquility (praśama), dwelling at ease in the forest of nirvāṇa, sleeping without worry, endowed with various meditative concentrations (dhyāna), complete with the five faculties, five powers, and seven factors of enlightenment, and who still remembers and pities sentient beings drowning in the ocean of the three poisons — only when wondrous power of virtue reaches such a degree is one called truly valiant.
If there are various distracted thoughts, one should be mindful of ānāpāna (mindfulness of breathing in and out) and cultivate the six wondrous methods to cut off the various vitarka-vicāra; therefore one should practice mindfulness of counting the breath.
Original text:问曰。若余不净念佛四等观中。亦得断思觉。何以故独数息。答曰。余观法宽难失故。数息法急易转故。譬如放牛。以牛难失故。守之少事。如放猕猴易失故。守之多事。此亦如是。数息心数不得少时他念。少时他念则失数。以是故初断思觉应数息。
Explanation: Question: If other methods, such as the contemplation of impurity, recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti), and the four [immeasurables], can also cut off deliberation and vitarka-vicāra, why learn only the counting-of-breath method? Answer: The other contemplative methods are lax and it is hard to lose [the count], whereas the counting-of-breath method is urgent and easily turned around. It is like herding cattle: because cattle are hard to lose, guarding them requires little effort; but if herding macaques, since they easily run off, guarding them requires much care. The counting-of-breath method is like this: while counting the breath, for not even a short while may the mind dwell on other matters; if for a moment it dwells on something else, the count is lost. Therefore, for initially cutting off deliberation and vitarka-vicāra, one should use the counting-of-breath method.
Original text:已得数法。当行随法。断诸思觉。入息至竟。当随莫数一。出息至竟。当随莫数二。譬如负债人。债主随逐。初不舍离。如是思惟。是入息是还。出息更有异。出息是还。入息更有异。是时知入息异。出息异。何以故。出息暖入息冷。
Explanation: When counting the breath until the mind becomes pure and the numbers are no longer confused, one should then cultivate the method of following the breath to cut off vitarka-vicāra and deliberation. The method of following is: when the in-breath ends, follow along with the breath's movement and no longer count "one"; when the out-breath ends, follow along with the breath's movement and no longer count "two." It is like a debtor whom the creditor follows behind without leaving for a moment — the in-and-out breaths are like the debtor, and the mind's attention is like the creditor.
Following the in-breath and out-breath, deliberate and judge whether it is now an in-breath or an out-breath, what difference there is between them, whether it is now an out-breath or an in-breath, and what further differences there are. At this time one should know that the in-breath differs from the out-breath, and the out-breath differs from the in-breath. How does one know the two are not the same? Because the out-breath is warm and the in-breath is cool.
Original text:问曰。入出息是一息。何以故。出息还更入故。譬如含水。水暖吐水水冷。冷者还暖。暖者还冷故。答曰。不尔。内心动故有息出。出已即灭。鼻口引外。则有息入。入故息灭。亦无将出。亦无将入。复次少壮老人。少者入息长。壮者入出息等。老者出息长。是故非一息。
Explanation: Someone asks: one in-breath and one out-breath together make one breath — why say this? Because after the out-breath there is still an in-breath; after the out-breath it has not ended. It is like holding water in the mouth: the water becomes warm; spitting the water out, it becomes cold; cold water can become warm again, warm water can become cold again. Answer: It is not so. When the mind within stirs, the breath goes out; once out, the breath ceases. When the nose and mouth draw in outer air, the breath comes in; once in, the breath ceases. There is fundamentally no such thing as the same breath going out again or coming in again. Furthermore, the breathing of children, adults in their prime, and the elderly are all different: a child's in-breath is longer than the out-breath; a person in their prime has in-breath and out-breath equal; an elderly person's out-breath is longer than the in-breath. Therefore the in-and-out breaths are not one breath, not a single respiration.
Original text:复次脐边风发。相似相续。息出至口鼻边。出已便灭。譬如[夢-夕+棐]囊中风开时即灭。若以口鼻因缘引之则风入。是从新因缘边生。譬如扇众缘合故则有风。是时知入出息因缘。而有虚诳不真。生灭无常。
Explanation: Furthermore, when the wind at the side of the navel is stirred, it is continuously expelled upward — this is the out-breath; when it reaches the mouth and nose, going further out it ceases and is gone. It is like the wind in a bellows: when the bellows is opened, the wind ceases. If the mouth and nose draw the wind in, the wind enters the nose; then the in-breath arises from a new condition. It is like a fan: because many conditions converge together, wind arises. Contemplating and observing to this point, one then knows that both in-breath and out-breath are conditional, are dharmas born of conditions, are deceptive and unreal dharmas, subject to arising and ceasing, impermanent and mutable.
Original text:如是思惟。出息从口鼻因缘引之。而有入息因缘。心动令生。而惑者不知。以为我息。息者是风。与外风无异。地水火空。亦复如是。是五大因缘。合故生识。识亦如是。非我有也。五阴十二入十八持。亦复如是。
Explanation: One should deliberate thus: the out-breath is drawn out through the conditions of mouth and nose, and only then are there the conditions for the in-breath; all are fluctuations of mental attention that produce the phenomena of out-breath and in-breath. Yet those whose minds are deluded do not know this and still take the in-and-out breaths to be their own vital breath.
The so-called breath is wind, no different from the wind outside the body. The earth, water, fire, and space within the body are likewise no different from those outside the body. When the conditions of these five great elements converge, the six consciousnesses are born; because the five great elements can form form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas, when the six sense objects appear, the six consciousnesses arise from the faculties contacting the objects. Therefore the six consciousnesses are also born of conditions and are not possessed by self (the manas); the five aggregates (pañca-skandha), twelve sense bases (dvādaśa-āyatana), and eighteen realms (aṣṭādaśa-dhātu) are likewise born of conditions and not possessed by self (the manas).
Original text:如是知之。逐息入息出。是以名随。已得随法。当行止法。止法者。数随心极。住意风门。念入出息。
问曰。何以故止。答曰。断诸思觉故。心不散故。数随息时。心不定心多剧故。止则心闲少事故。心住一处故。念息出入。譬如守门人门边住。观人入出。止心亦尔。知息出时。从脐心胸咽至口鼻。息入时。从口鼻咽胸心至脐。如是系心一处。是名为止。
Explanation: One should know thus: when the mind's attention follows the in-breath and out-breath, it is called following the breath. After completing the method of following, one should cultivate the method of stopping (śamatha). The method of stopping is: after counting and following the breath for some time, when the mind feels fatigued and does not wish to move, one gathers all attention at the place where the breath enters and exits, fixing the mind single-pointedly on the in-and-out breath without moving, no longer following the breath's movement.
Someone asks: why stop the mind on the in-and-out breath? Answer: In order to cut off deliberation and vitarka-vicāra and prevent the mind from scattering. While counting and following the breath, the mind still moves about, wandering unsettled, with intense mental activity. When the mind is stopped at the place where the breath enters and exits, the mind within is at leisure and there is relatively little to do. Because the mind abides in one place, attending only to the breath's coming and going with no other matters, the mind easily stops and meditative concentration (samādhi) deepens. It is like a gatekeeper standing by the gate watching people come and go — without moving about, the mind can settle. Stopping the mind on the breath's coming and going is also like this: one knows that when the breath goes out, it starts from the navel and gradually ascends, passing through the heart, chest, and throat, then to the mouth and nose tip; when the breath comes in, it starts from the mouth and nose tip, reaches the throat, passes through the chest and heart, and finally arrives at the navel. Thus the mind is tied to one place — this is called stopping the breath.
Original text:复次心止法中住。观入息时五阴生灭异。出息时五阴生灭异。如是心乱便除却。一心思惟。令观增长。是名为观法。
舍风门住。离粗观法。离粗观法。知息无常。此名转观。观五阴无常。亦念入息出息。生灭无常。见初头息。无所从来。次观后息。亦无迹处。因缘合故有。因缘散故无。是名转观法。
Explanation: Furthermore, in the cultivation of the method of stopping, the mind should abide in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā): observing that when the in-breath occurs, the five aggregates (pañca-skandha) arise, cease, and change, and when the out-breath occurs, the five aggregates arise, cease, and change. Thus scattered thoughts are removed; then deliberating single-pointedly, the contemplative practice gradually deepens — this is called the fourth contemplation method.
Abandoning the place of the breath's coming and going at mouth and nose and abiding in the breath, one departs from the coarse contemplation method. After departing from the coarse contemplation, one knows the breath is impermanent — this is the fifth, the turning contemplation. Contemplating the impermanence of the five aggregates, one is also mindful of the arising-and-ceasing impermanence of the in-breath and out-breath; observing that the first breath at the front comes from nowhere, and further observing that the later breath also has no trace to be found — the in-and-out breaths appear only from the convergence of conditions, and when conditions disperse they are gone. This is the method of turning contemplation.
Original text:除灭五盖及诸烦恼。虽先得止。观烦恼不净心杂。今此净法。心独得清净。复次前观异学。相似行道。念息入出。今无漏道。相似行善有漏道。是谓清净。
复次初观身念止分。渐渐一切身念止。次行痛心念止。是中非清净。无漏道远故。今法念止中。观十六行。念入出息。得暖法、顶法、忍法、世间第一法、苦法忍乃至无学尽智。是名清净。
Explanation: Continuing cultivation, when meditative concentration and contemplative practice grow ever deeper, one gradually extinguishes the five hindrances of greed, hatred, sloth-and-torpor, restlessness, and scattering, along with all afflictions. Although one previously first attained stopping (śamatha) and could observe that afflictions, impure thoughts, and mental attention were defiled, now obtaining this pure dharma, the mind attains purity. Furthermore, the earlier method of cultivating observation of the arising-ceasing mutation of the in-and-out breath was a similar practice of the path, with attention on the breath's coming and going — not yet ultimate, not reaching the untainted (anāsrava). The untainted path now cultivated has subdued afflictions; it is a similar practice, a wholesome tainted (sāsrava) path-dharma — this is called the sixth gate of purity.
Furthermore, first cultivating contemplation of the material body as impure, after the mind's attention is stopped in the establishment of mindfulness of the body (kāya-smṛtyupasthāna), gradually all thoughts that the material body is pure are stopped, and the contemplation of the body's impurity is accomplished. Next, cultivating stopping the mind's attention on feeling and contemplating feeling as suffering, feeling is also impure, still far from the untainted path. Now cultivating the establishment of mindfulness of dharmas, letting the mind settle, realizing the dharma-non-self, one must contemplate the sixteen aspects, sequentially attaining the heat dharma, summit dharma, patience dharma, supreme worldly dharma, patience regarding the dharma of suffering (duḥkhe dharmajñāna-kṣānti), and so on, all the way to realizing the knowledge of exhaustion (kṣayajñāna) of the fourth fruit beyond training (aśaikṣa), having the wisdom to extinguish the body of the five aggregates, leave transmigration, and attain liberation — this is the pure contemplation.
Original text:是十六分中初入息分。六种安那般那行。出息分亦如是。一心念息入出。若长若短。譬如人怖走上山。若担负重若上气。如是比是息短。若人极时。得安息欢喜。又如得利。从狱中出。如是为息长。一切息随二处。若长若短处。是故言息长息短。
Explanation: Among these sixteen methods of cultivation, the first is the method of mindfulness of the in-breath; there are six sequential stages of ānāpāna (mindfulness of breathing) practice, and mindfulness of the out-breath also has six sequential stages of practice. Finally one attains the heat, summit, patience, and supreme worldly dharmas, eradicating the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) and realizing the fruit. In cultivation, one single-pointedly observes whether the breath is long or short when it enters and exits. For example, when a person flees in fear, climbs a mountain, carries a heavy load, or when the breath moves from below upward, the breath is short. When a person utterly exhausted obtains rest and rejoices in mind, or obtains benefit as if released from prison, the breath is long. All breaths exist in accordance with these two cases — either long or short; therefore it is said the breath divides into two kinds: long breath and short breath.
Original text:是中亦行安那般那六事。念诸息遍身。亦念息出入。悉观身中诸出息入息。觉知遍至身中乃至足指。遍诸毛孔。如水入沙。息出觉知。从足至发。遍诸毛孔。亦如水入沙。
譬如[夢-夕+棐]囊入出皆满。口鼻风入出亦尔。观身周遍。见风行处。如藕根孔。亦如鱼网。复次，心非独口鼻。观息入出。一切毛孔。及九孔中。亦见息入息出。是故知息遍诸身，除诸身行。亦念入出息。
Explanation: When observing the breath, one should also cultivate the six ānāpāna methods in sequence, observing all breath pervading the whole body. When observing whether the breath is going out or coming in, one observes all the out-breaths and in-breaths throughout the body; the mind's awareness must also pervade the whole body — wherever the breath travels, one must be aware of it, from head to toes, all the pores of the whole body must be known, just as water soaks into sand, wetting every grain. When the breath goes out, one must also be aware of it — the breath traveling from the toes to the hair, and through all the pores of the body, must all be known, like water soaking into sand, reaching every grain.
It is like a bellows: wind entering and exiting fills the whole bellows; the wind's coming and going at mouth and nose likewise fills the whole body. Observing that wind travels everywhere throughout the material body, the body is like the holes in a lotus root, and also like a fishing net, with the breath freely coming and going. Furthermore, the mind should not only contemplate the breath's coming and going at mouth and nose; one should contemplate the breath going out and coming in within all the pores of the body and the nine orifices of the material body. Thus one can know the breath pervades everywhere in the whole body; when the body has ceased its actions and activities, one should at this time continue contemplating the in-and-out breath.
Original text:初学息时。若身懈怠睡眠体重。悉除弃之。身轻柔软。随禅定心受喜。亦念息入出。除懈怠睡眠心重。得心轻柔软。随禅定心受喜。复次入息念止中竟。次行痛念止。已得身念止。实今更得痛念止。实受喜。复次已知身实相。今欲知心心数法实相。是故受喜。亦念息入出爱乐。亦念息入出。是喜增长。名为乐。
Explanation: In the initial cultivation of the six contemplative practices of the counting-of-breath method, if the material body is sluggish and lazy, with much sleep and heaviness of body, when meditative concentration arises all these can be cultivated away and abandoned. After these conditions are removed, one with heavy sleep can reduce sleep, the heavy body becomes light and nimble, the body becomes relaxed and supple; as meditative concentration strengthens, the mind becomes ever more tranquil and ever more joyful. When cultivating to the point where the mind's attention follows the breath in and out, one can remove the extremely heavy sluggishness, laziness, and sleep of the body; the mind becomes light and supple, and with the deepening of meditative concentration, the mind grows ever more joyful.
Furthermore, when the in-breath occurs, the mindfulness of body is stilled, attaining the establishment of mindfulness of the body; then one cultivates stilling feeling when the in-breath occurs. Attaining the establishment of mindfulness of feeling — having already attained the stilling of mindfulness of body, now cultivating and attaining the stilling of mindfulness of feeling, the mind within will be very joyful. When mindfulness of body is stilled, one knows the real nature of the body is emptiness (śūnyatā) and genuinely obtains joy. Furthermore, having already known what the real nature of the material body is, one now wishes to know the real nature of the several consciousness-minds; therefore the mind experiences joy. The mind's attention also gives rise to fond delight following the breath's entering and exiting, and the mind's attention also lets joy increase following the breath's entering and exiting — this is called bliss (sukha).
Original text:复次初心中生悦是名喜。后遍身喜是名乐。复次初禅二禅中乐痛名喜。三禅中乐痛名受乐。受诸心行。亦念息入出。诸心生灭法。心染法心不染法。心散法心摄法。心正法心邪法。如是等诸心相。名为心行。
Explanation: Furthermore, in the initial meditative concentration, when the mind gives rise to delight, it is called joy (prīti); later when the whole body is joyful, it is called bliss (sukha). Furthermore, the blissful feeling in the first dhyāna and second dhyāna is called joy; the blissful feeling in the third dhyāna is called experiencing bliss. Being able to experience all mental activities, one also contemplates the breath's coming and going, contemplates the arising-ceasing nature of the various mental activities, contemplates the mind's defiled and undefiled nature, contemplates the mind's scattering and gathering, contemplates whether the mind is correct or wrong — such mind-marks are mental activities (citta-caitta).
Original text:心作喜时。亦念息入出。先受喜自生。不故作念。心故作喜。问曰。何以故故作喜。答曰。欲治二种心。或散心或摄心。如是作心。得出烦恼。是故念法心作喜。复次若心不悦。劝勉令喜。心作摄时。亦念息入出。设心不定。强伏令定。如经中说。心定是道。心散非道。
心作解脱时。亦念息入出。若意不解。强伏令解。譬如羊入苍耳。苍耳着身。人为渐渐出之。心作解脱。诸烦恼结亦复如是。是名心念止作解脱。
Explanation: When the mind is joyful, one should also contemplate the breath's entering and exiting. The joy first felt arises spontaneously, not from deliberately generating intention and raising the thought to deliberately produce joy in the mind. Someone asks: why deliberately produce joy? Answer: In order to counteract two kinds of mind: one is the scattered mind, the other is the gathered mind. Counteracting the mind thus, one can cultivate away afflictions; therefore being mindful of the method of breath out and breath in, joy arises in the mind. Furthermore, if the mind is not joyful, one should exhort oneself to give rise to joy. When the mind's attention is gathered, one is also mindful of breath out and breath in; if the mind is not concentrated, one forcibly subdues it to make it concentrated. As the Buddhist sūtras say, a concentrated mind is the Path; a scattered mind is not the Path.
When the mind wishes for liberation, one is also mindful of breath out and breath in. If the mind within does not wish for liberation, one forcibly subdues it to make the mind liberated. It is like a sheep entering a thicket of prickly cocklebur, its body covered with cockleburs; the owner must little by little pull the sheep out of the thicket. When seeking liberation, the afflictive fetters bind body and mind; one must likewise little by little pull body and mind out of the bonds of afflictive fetters. This is called stilling the mind's attention to attain liberation.
Original text:观无常亦念息入出。观诸法无常。生灭空无吾我。生时诸法空生。灭时诸法空灭。是中无男无女无人无作无受。是名随无常观。观有为法出散。亦念息入出无常。是名出散。诸有为法现世中出。从过去因缘和合故集。因缘坏故散。如是随观是名出散观。
Explanation: When contemplating impermanent dharmas, one simultaneously observes the breath going out and coming in, contemplating all dharmas as impermanent, arising and ceasing, empty (śūnyatā), and without self. When they arise, the empty nature of all dharmas is born; when they cease, the empty nature of all dharmas ceases. Within this phenomenon of arising and ceasing, there is no mark of male, no mark of female, no mark of person, no doer, no experiencer — this is called the contemplation in accord with impermanence. When contemplating the arising and dispersal of conditioned dharmas, one must also observe the impermanence of the in-breath and out-breath — this is called the contemplation of arising and dispersal.
All conditioned dharmas are born in this present life; only from the convergence of past-life karmic causes and conditions can they appear; when conditions scatter and break, all conditioned dharmas disperse. Contemplating in accord thus is called the contemplation of the arising and dispersal of all dharmas.
Original text:观离欲结。亦念息入出。心离诸结。是法第一。是名随离欲观。观尽亦念息入出。诸结使苦在在处尽。是处安隐。是名随尽观。观弃舍亦念息入出。诸染爱烦恼。身心五阴诸有为法弃舍。是第一安隐。如是观是名随法意止观。是名十六分。
Explanation: When contemplating one's own mind departing from the fetter of greed, one must also observe the in-breath and out-breath. The dharma-gate that enables the mind to abandon the various bonds of afflictions is the foremost dharma-gate — this is the contemplation in accord with freedom from desire. When contemplating the exhaustion of all afflictive fetters, one must also observe the in-breath and out-breath. When the suffering feelings of all afflictive fetters are exhausted within the manifest activities of all dharmas, the place of all dharmas' manifest activity is the place of peace — this is called the contemplation in accord with the place of exhaustion of afflictions. When contemplating the abandonment of afflictions, one must also observe the out-breath and in-breath; when all tainted, craving-attached conditioned dharmas of the five aggregates of body and mind and their afflictions are abandoned, that is the foremost peace. Contemplating thus is called the dharma-gate of contemplation in accord with dharmas and the establishment of mindfulness.
The above is what is called the sixteen contemplative practice dharma-gates.
