1. One Thing

One Thing

sn54.1:1 At Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, when one thing is developed and cultivated it’s very fruitful and beneficial. What one thing? Mindfulness of breathing. And how is mindfulness of breathing developed and cultivated to be very fruitful and beneficial? It’s when a mendicant—gone to a wilderness, or to the root of a tree, or to an empty hut—sits down cross-legged, sets their body straight, and brings mindfulness to the present. Just mindful, they breathe in. Mindful, they breathe out.

sn54.1:2 Breathing in heavily they know: ‘I’m breathing in heavily.’ Breathing out heavily they know: ‘I’m breathing out heavily.’ Breathing in lightly they know: ‘I’m breathing in lightly.’ Breathing out lightly they know: ‘I’m breathing out lightly.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in experiencing the whole body.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out experiencing the whole body.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in stilling the physical process.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out stilling the physical process.’

sn54.1:3 They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in experiencing rapture.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out experiencing rapture.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in experiencing bliss.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out experiencing bliss.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in experiencing the mental process.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out experiencing the mental process.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in stilling the mental process.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out stilling the mental process.’

sn54.1:4 They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in experiencing the mind.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out experiencing the mind.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in gladdening the mind.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out gladdening the mind.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in immersing the mind in samādhi.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out immersing the mind in samādhi.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in freeing the mind.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out freeing the mind.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in observing impermanence.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out observing impermanence.’

sn54.1:5 They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in observing fading away.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out observing fading away.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in observing cessation.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out observing cessation.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in observing letting go.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out observing letting go.’

sn54.1:6 Mindfulness of breathing, when developed and cultivated in this way, is very fruitful and beneficial.”

1. One Thing

Awakening Factors

sn54.2:1 “Mendicants, when mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated it’s very fruitful and beneficial. And how is mindfulness of breathing developed and cultivated to be very fruitful and beneficial? It’s when a mendicant develops mindfulness of breathing together with the awakening factors of mindfulness, investigation of principles, energy, rapture, tranquility, immersion, and equanimity, which rely on seclusion, fading away, and cessation, and ripen as letting go. Mindfulness of breathing, when developed and cultivated in this way, is very fruitful and beneficial.”

1. One Thing

Plain Version

sn54.3:1 “Mendicants, when mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated it’s very fruitful and beneficial. And how is mindfulness of breathing developed and cultivated to be very fruitful and beneficial? It’s when a mendicant—gone to a wilderness, or to the root of a tree, or to an empty hut—sits down cross-legged, sets their body straight, and brings mindfulness to the present. Just mindful, they breathe in. Mindful, they breathe out. … They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in observing letting go.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out observing letting go.’ Mindfulness of breathing, when developed and cultivated in this way, is very fruitful and beneficial.”

1. One Thing

Fruits (1st)

sn54.4:1 “Mendicants, when mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated it’s very fruitful and beneficial. And how is mindfulness of breathing developed and cultivated to be very fruitful and beneficial? It’s when a mendicant—gone to a wilderness, or to the root of a tree, or to an empty hut—sits down cross-legged, sets their body straight, and brings mindfulness to the present. Just mindful, they breathe in. Mindful, they breathe out. … They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in observing letting go.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out observing letting go.’ Mindfulness of breathing, when developed and cultivated in this way, is very fruitful and beneficial. When mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated in this way you can expect one of two results: enlightenment in this very life, or if there’s residue left behind, non-return.”

1. One Thing

Fruits (2nd)

sn54.5:1 “Mendicants, when mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated it’s very fruitful and beneficial. And how is mindfulness of breathing developed and cultivated to be very fruitful and beneficial? It’s when a mendicant—gone to a wilderness, or to the root of a tree, or to an empty hut—sits down cross-legged, sets their body straight, and brings mindfulness to the present. Just mindful, they breathe in. Mindful, they breathe out. … They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in observing letting go.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out observing letting go.’ Mindfulness of breathing, when developed and cultivated in this way, is very fruitful and beneficial.

sn54.5:2 When mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated in this way you can expect seven fruits and benefits. What seven? You attain enlightenment early on in this very life. If not, you attain enlightenment at the time of death. If not, with the ending of the five lower fetters you’re extinguished in between one life and the next … you’re extinguished upon landing … you’re extinguished without extra effort … you’re extinguished with extra effort … you head upstream, going to the highest ranks of the Garden … When mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated in this way you can expect these seven fruits and benefits.”

1. One Thing

With Ariṭṭha

sn54.6:1 At Sāvatthī. There the Buddha … said: “Mendicants, do you develop mindfulness of breathing?” When he said this, Venerable Ariṭṭha said to him: “Sir, I develop mindfulness of breathing.” “But mendicant, how do you develop it?” “Sir, I’ve given up desire for sensual pleasures of the past. I’m rid of desire for sensual pleasures of the future. And I have eliminated perception of aversion regarding phenomena internally and externally. Just mindful, I will breathe in. Mindful, I will breathe out. That’s how I develop mindfulness of breathing.”

sn54.6:2 “That is mindfulness of breathing, Ariṭṭha; I don’t deny it. But as to how mindfulness of breathing is fulfilled in detail, listen and apply your mind well, I will speak.” “Yes, sir,” Ariṭṭha replied. The Buddha said this:

sn54.6:3 “And how is mindfulness of breathing fulfilled in detail? It’s when a mendicant—gone to a wilderness, or to the root of a tree, or to an empty hut—sits down cross-legged, sets their body straight, and brings mindfulness to the present. Just mindful, they breathe in. Mindful, they breathe out. Breathing in heavily they know: ‘I’m breathing in heavily.’ Breathing out heavily they know: ‘I’m breathing out heavily.’ … They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in observing letting go.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out observing letting go.’ This is how mindfulness of breathing is fulfilled in detail.”

1. One Thing

About Mahākappina

sn54.7:1 At Sāvatthī. Now at that time Venerable Mahākappina was sitting not far from the Buddha, cross-legged, his body set straight, and mindfulness brought to the present. The Buddha saw him, and addressed the mendicants:

sn54.7:2 “Mendicants, do you see any perturbation or trembling in that mendicant’s body?” “Sir, whenever we see that mendicant meditating—whether in the middle of the Saṅgha or alone in private—we never see any perturbation or trembling in his body.”

sn54.7:3 “Mendicants, when an immersion has been developed and cultivated there’s no perturbation or trembling of the body or mind. That mendicant gets such immersion when he wants, without trouble or difficulty. And what is that immersion?

sn54.7:4 When immersion due to mindfulness of breathing has been developed and cultivated there’s no perturbation or trembling of the body or mind. And how is immersion due to mindfulness of breathing developed and cultivated in such a way?

sn54.7:5 It’s when a mendicant—gone to a wilderness, or to the root of a tree, or to an empty hut—sits down cross-legged, sets their body straight, and brings mindfulness to the present. Just mindful, they breathe in. Mindful, they breathe out. … They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in observing letting go.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out observing letting go.’ That’s how immersion due to mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated so that there’s no perturbation or trembling of the body or mind.”

1. One Thing

The Simile of the Lamp

sn54.8:1 “Mendicants, when immersion due to mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated it’s very fruitful and beneficial. How so?

sn54.8:2 It’s when a mendicant—gone to a wilderness, or to the root of a tree, or to an empty hut—sits down cross-legged, sets their body straight, and brings mindfulness to the present. Just mindful, they breathe in. Mindful, they breathe out. Breathing in heavily they know: ‘I’m breathing in heavily.’ Breathing out heavily they know: ‘I’m breathing out heavily.’ … They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in observing letting go.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out observing letting go.’ That’s how immersion due to mindfulness of breathing, when developed and cultivated, is very fruitful and beneficial.

sn54.8:3 Before my awakening—when I was still unawakened but intent on awakening—I too usually practiced this kind of meditation. And while I was usually practicing this kind of meditation neither my body nor my eyes became fatigued. And my mind was freed from defilements by not grasping.

sn54.8:4 Now, a mendicant might wish: ‘May neither my body nor my eyes became fatigued. And may my mind be freed from the defilements by not grasping.’ So let them closely focus on this immersion due to mindfulness of breathing.

sn54.8:5 Now, a mendicant might wish: ‘May I give up memories and thoughts tied to domestic life.’ So let them closely focus on this immersion due to mindfulness of breathing.

sn54.8:6 Now, a mendicant might wish: ‘May I meditate perceiving the repulsive in the unrepulsive.’ So let them closely focus on this immersion due to mindfulness of breathing.

sn54.8:7 Now, a mendicant might wish: ‘May I meditate perceiving the unrepulsive in the repulsive.’ So let them closely focus on this immersion due to mindfulness of breathing.

sn54.8:8 Now, a mendicant might wish: ‘May I meditate perceiving the repulsive in the unrepulsive and the repulsive.’ So let them closely focus on this immersion due to mindfulness of breathing.

sn54.8:9 Now, a mendicant might wish: ‘May I meditate perceiving the unrepulsive in the repulsive and the unrepulsive.’ So let them closely focus on this immersion due to mindfulness of breathing.

sn54.8:10 Now, a mendicant might wish: ‘May I meditate staying equanimous, mindful and aware, shunning both the repulsive and the unrepulsive.’ So let them closely focus on this immersion due to mindfulness of breathing.

sn54.8:11 Now, a mendicant might wish: ‘Quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unskillful qualities, may I enter and remain in the first absorption, which has the rapture and bliss born of seclusion, while placing the mind and keeping it connected.’ So let them closely focus on this immersion due to mindfulness of breathing.

sn54.8:12 Now, a mendicant might wish: ‘As the placing of the mind and keeping it connected are stilled, may I enter and remain in the second absorption, which has the rapture and bliss born of immersion, with internal clarity and mind at one, without placing the mind and keeping it connected.’ So let them closely focus on this immersion due to mindfulness of breathing.

sn54.8:13 Now, a mendicant might wish: ‘With the fading away of rapture, may I enter and remain in the third absorption, where I will meditate with equanimity, mindful and aware, experiencing for themselves the bliss of which the noble ones declare, “Equanimous and mindful, one meditates in bliss.”’ So let them closely focus on this immersion due to mindfulness of breathing.

sn54.8:14 Now, a mendicant might wish: ‘With the giving up of pleasure and pain, and the disappearance of former happiness and sadness, may I enter and remain in the fourth absorption, without pleasure or pain, with pure equanimity and mindfulness.’ So let them closely focus on this immersion due to mindfulness of breathing.

sn54.8:15 Now, a mendicant might wish: ‘Going totally beyond perceptions of form, with the disappearance of perceptions of impingement, not focusing on perceptions of diversity, aware that “space is infinite”, may I enter and remain in the dimension of infinite space.’ So let them closely focus on this immersion due to mindfulness of breathing.

sn54.8:16 Now, a mendicant might wish: ‘Going totally beyond the dimension of infinite space, aware that “consciousness is infinite”, may I enter and remain in the dimension of infinite consciousness.’ So let them closely focus on this immersion due to mindfulness of breathing.

sn54.8:17 Now, a mendicant might wish: ‘Going totally beyond the dimension of infinite consciousness, aware that “there is nothing at all”, may I enter and remain in the dimension of nothingness.’ So let them closely focus on this immersion due to mindfulness of breathing.

sn54.8:18 Now, a mendicant might wish: ‘Going totally beyond the dimension of nothingness, may I enter and remain in the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception.’ So let them closely focus on this immersion due to mindfulness of breathing.

sn54.8:19 Now, a mendicant might wish: ‘Going totally beyond the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, may I enter and remain in the cessation of perception and feeling.’ So let them closely focus on this immersion due to mindfulness of breathing.

sn54.8:20 When immersion due to mindfulness of breathing has been developed and cultivated in this way, if they feel a pleasant feeling, they understand that it’s impermanent, that they’re not attached to it, and that they don’t take pleasure in it. If they feel a painful feeling, they understand that it’s impermanent, that they’re not attached to it, and that they don’t take pleasure in it. If they feel a neutral feeling, they understand that it’s impermanent, that they’re not attached to it, and that they don’t take pleasure in it.

sn54.8:21 If they feel a pleasant feeling, they feel it detached. If they feel a painful feeling, they feel it detached. If they feel a neutral feeling, they feel it detached. Feeling the end of the body draw close, they understand: ‘I feel the end of the body draw close.’ Feeling the end of life draw close, they understand: ‘I feel the end of life draw close.’ They understand: ‘When my body breaks up and my life has come to an end, everything that’s felt, since I no longer take pleasure in it, will become cool right here.’

sn54.8:22 Suppose an oil lamp depended on oil and a wick to burn. As the oil and the wick are used up, it would be extinguished due to not being fed. In the same way, feeling the end of the body draw close, they understand: ‘I feel the end of the body draw close.’ Feeling the end of life draw close, they understand: ‘I feel the end of life draw close.’ They understand: ‘When my body breaks up and my life has come to an end, everything that’s felt, since I no longer take pleasure in it, will become cool right here.’”

1. One Thing

At Vesālī

sn54.9:1 So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Vesālī, at the Great Wood, in the hall with the peaked roof. Now at that time the Buddha spoke in many ways to the mendicants about the meditation on ugliness. He praised the meditation on ugliness and its development.

sn54.9:2 Then the Buddha said to the mendicants, “Mendicants, I wish to go on retreat for a fortnight. No-one should approach me, except the one who brings my almsfood.” “Yes, sir,” replied those mendicants. And no-one approached him, except the one who brought the almsfood.

sn54.9:3 Then those mendicants thought, “The Buddha spoke in many ways about the meditation on ugliness. He praised the meditation on ugliness and its development.” They committed themselves to developing the many different facets of the meditation on ugliness. Becoming horrified, repelled, and disgusted with this body, they looked for a suicide weapon. Each day ten, twenty, or thirty mendicants committed suicide.

sn54.9:4 Then after a fortnight had passed, the Buddha came out of retreat and addressed Ānanda, “Ānanda, why does the mendicant Saṅgha seem so diminished?” Ānanda told the Buddha all that had happened, and said, “Sir, please explain another way the mendicant Saṅgha might be settled in enlightenment.”

sn54.9:5 “Well then, Ānanda, gather all the mendicants staying in the vicinity of Vesālī together in the assembly hall.” “Yes, sir,” replied Ānanda. He did what the Buddha asked, went up to him, and said, “Sir, the mendicant Saṅgha has assembled. Please, sir, come at your convenience.”

sn54.9:6 Then the Buddha went to the assembly hall, sat down on the seat spread out, and addressed the mendicants: “Mendicants, when this immersion due to mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated it’s peaceful and sublime, a delectable and blissful meditation. And it disperses and settles unskillful qualities on the spot whenever they arise.

sn54.9:7 In the last month of summer, when the dust and dirt is stirred up, a large storm out of season disperses and settles it on the spot. In the same way, when this immersion due to mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated it’s peaceful and sublime, a delectable and blissful meditation. And it disperses and settles unskillful qualities on the spot whenever they arise. And how is it so developed and cultivated?

sn54.9:8 It’s when a mendicant—gone to a wilderness, or to the root of a tree, or to an empty hut—sits down cross-legged, sets their body straight, and brings mindfulness to the present. Just mindful, they breathe in. Mindful, they breathe out. … They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in observing letting go.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out observing letting go.’ That’s how this immersion due to mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated so that it’s peaceful and sublime, a delectable and blissful meditation. And it disperses and settles unskillful qualities on the spot whenever they arise.”

1. One Thing

With Kimbila

sn54.10:1 So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Kimbilā in the Freshwater Mangrove Wood. Then the Buddha said to Venerable Kimbila, “Kimbila, how is immersion due to mindfulness of breathing developed and cultivated so that it is very fruitful and beneficial?”

sn54.10:2 When he said this, Kimbila kept silent. For a second time … And for a third time, the Buddha said to him, “How is immersion due to mindfulness of breathing developed and cultivated so that it is very fruitful and beneficial?” And a second time and a third time Kimbila kept silent.

sn54.10:3 When he said this, Venerable Ānanda said to the Buddha, “Now is the time, Blessed One! Now is the time, Holy One! Let the Buddha speak on immersion due to mindfulness of breathing. The mendicants will listen and remember it.”

sn54.10:4 “Well then, Ānanda, listen and apply your mind well, I will speak.” “Yes, sir,” Ānanda replied. The Buddha said this: “Ānanda, how is immersion due to mindfulness of breathing developed and cultivated so that it is very fruitful and beneficial? It’s when a mendicant—gone to a wilderness, or to the root of a tree, or to an empty hut—sits down cross-legged, sets their body straight, and brings mindfulness to the present. Just mindful, they breathe in. Mindful, they breathe out. … They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in observing letting go.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out observing letting go.’ That’s how immersion due to mindfulness of breathing, when developed and cultivated, is very fruitful and beneficial.

sn54.10:5 There’s a time when a mendicant is breathing in heavily, and they know: ‘I’m breathing in heavily.’ Breathing out heavily they know: ‘I’m breathing out heavily.’ Breathing in lightly they know: ‘I’m breathing in lightly.’ Breathing out lightly they know: ‘I’m breathing out lightly.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in experiencing the whole body.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out experiencing the whole body.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in stilling the physical process.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out stilling the physical process.’ At such a time a mendicant is meditating by observing an aspect of the body—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world. Why is that? Because the breath is a certain aspect of the body, I say. Therefore, at such a time a mendicant is meditating by observing an aspect of the body—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world.