Ānāpānasati is not "thinking about the breath" but continuous, immediate mindfulness of the natural in-breath and out-breath — practised in sixteen steps, arranged in four groups of four (catukka). Their structure is no accident: the four tetrads fulfil exactly the four foundations of mindfulness (satipaṭṭhāna); these fulfil the seven factors of awakening (bojjhaṅga); and these fulfil knowledge and liberation (vijjā-vimutti). The breath is thus the one object of practice that carries the entire path.
The sutta first describes place, posture and basic orientation. They are the same for all sixteen steps and form the frame within which the practice becomes possible at all.
"Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu araññagato vā rukkhamūlagato vā suññāgāragato vā nisīdati pallaṅkaṃ ābhujitvā ujuṃ kāyaṃ paṇidhāya parimukhaṃ satiṃ upaṭṭhapetvā. So satova assasati, satova passasati."
"Here a monk goes to the forest, to the root of a tree or to an empty hut, sits down, folds his legs crosswise, holds his body upright and establishes mindfulness in front of him (parimukhaṃ). Mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes out."
Three things are already settled here: a secluded place (freedom from disturbance), an upright, stable posture (alertness without tension) and the collected presence of mindfulness. Parimukhaṃ is traditionally understood as "around the mouth / in the region of the nostrils and the upper lip" — the point where the breath is felt most distinctly; in a wider sense: "directed forward, held present".
The sixteen steps (soḷasavatthuka) are arranged in four groups of four. Each group corresponds to one of the four foundations of mindfulness. One point matters: the first two steps are pure pajānāti ("he knows / discerns") — nothing is done, something is merely noticed. From the third step on it reads sikkhati ("he trains") — a deliberate turning towards, which lets something ripen.
| Tetrad | Steps | Subject | Fulfils the foundation of mindfulness |
|---|---|---|---|
| I. | 1–4 | The breath as a bodily process | kāyānupassanā — contemplation of the body |
| II. | 5–8 | Rapture, bliss, the felt tone of the mind | vedanānupassanā — contemplation of feeling |
| III. | 9–12 | The state of the mind and how it is guided | cittānupassanā — contemplation of consciousness |
| IV. | 13–16 | Impermanence, fading away, cessation, letting go | dhammānupassanā — contemplation of phenomena |
| # | Pāli formula | Translation | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
1 |
dīghaṃ assasāmi … dīghaṃ passasāmi (pajānāti) |
"Breathing in long, he knows: I breathe in long; breathing out long, he knows: I breathe out long." | Bare recognition of the long breath. No steering — only the length is noticed. |
2 |
rassaṃ assasāmi … rassaṃ passasāmi (pajānāti) |
"Breathing in short, he knows: I breathe in short; breathing out short, he knows: I breathe out short." | The same for the short breath. Mindfulness follows the breath as it naturally is. |
3 |
sabbakāyapaṭisaṃvedī assasissāmi … passasissāmi (sikkhati) |
"Experiencing the whole body (of the breath) I shall breathe in / breathe out — thus he trains." | sabbakāya = the whole body of the breath: the beginning, middle and end of every breath are clearly felt. (Commentary: the whole physical body as well.) |
4 |
passambhayaṃ kāyasaṅkhāraṃ assasissāmi … passasissāmi (sikkhati) |
"Calming the bodily formation I shall breathe in / breathe out — thus he trains." | The kāyasaṅkhāra is the breath itself. It becomes finer, calmer, quieter — the body comes to rest. The gateway to concentration. |
| # | Pāli formula | Translation | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
5 |
pītipaṭisaṃvedī assasissāmi … passasissāmi | "Experiencing rapture I shall breathe in / out — thus he trains." | pīti = joyful arousal, delight, which rises as concentration deepens (it accompanies the first two jhānas). |
6 |
sukhapaṭisaṃvedī assasissāmi … passasissāmi | "Experiencing bliss I shall breathe in / out — thus he trains." | sukha = quiet well-being, a settled contentment — finer and more stable than pīti. |
7 |
cittasaṅkhārapaṭisaṃvedī assasissāmi … passasissāmi | "Experiencing the mental formation I shall breathe in / out — thus he trains." | cittasaṅkhāra = feeling (vedanā) and perception (saññā); the felt tone of the mind is clearly recognised. |
8 |
passambhayaṃ cittasaṅkhāraṃ assasissāmi … passasissāmi | "Calming the mental formation I shall breathe in / out — thus he trains." | The inner stirring of joy and feeling is gently calmed — the crossing into equanimity and depth. |
| # | Pāli formula | Translation | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
9 |
cittapaṭisaṃvedī assasissāmi … passasissāmi | "Experiencing the mind I shall breathe in / out — thus he trains." | The current state of the mind itself becomes the object: collected or scattered, bright or dull. |
10 |
abhippamodayaṃ cittaṃ assasissāmi … passasissāmi | "Gladdening the mind I shall breathe in / out — thus he trains." | The mind is brightened, encouraged — sluggishness and narrowness are released. |
11 |
samādahaṃ cittaṃ assasissāmi … passasissāmi | "Concentrating the mind I shall breathe in / out — thus he trains." | samādhi: the mind is gathered to one point and rests steadily on the object. |
12 |
vimocayaṃ cittaṃ assasissāmi … passasissāmi | "Liberating the mind I shall breathe in / out — thus he trains." | The mind is released from what binds it (the hindrances, clinging) — it becomes open and pliant. |
| # | Pāli formula | Translation | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
13 |
aniccānupassī assasissāmi … passasissāmi | "Contemplating impermanence I shall breathe in / out — thus he trains." | anicca: the ceaseless arising and passing of breath, feeling and mind is seen directly. Here concentration becomes insight (vipassanā). |
14 |
virāgānupassī assasissāmi … passasissāmi | "Contemplating fading away I shall breathe in / out — thus he trains." | virāga: the dwindling of desire, the fading of allure — passion comes undone. |
15 |
nirodhānupassī assasissāmi … passasissāmi | "Contemplating cessation I shall breathe in / out — thus he trains." | nirodha: the ceasing of conditioned processes is contemplated — the direction points towards the unbecome. |
16 |
paṭinissaggānupassī assasissāmi … passasissāmi | "Contemplating relinquishment I shall breathe in / out — thus he trains." | paṭinissagga: the final giving over, letting go — the relinquishing of all grasping. The point where the path ripens. |
Steps 3 to 16 all carry the same frame:
"… assasissāmī'ti sikkhati; … passasissāmī'ti sikkhati."
"… thus he trains: 'I shall breathe in'; … thus he trains: 'I shall breathe out'."
Two fine points: (1) steps 1–2 say pajānāti ("he knows"), and only from step 3 on sikkhati ("he trains") — the beginning is bare noticing, what follows is directed training. (2) The phrase "I shall breathe in / out" does not mean effort applied to the breath, but an orientation of the practice that lets the respective quality (stillness, pīti, concentration, impermanence …) come forward of itself.
In general usage and for most translators assāsa = in-breath and passāsa = out-breath. The Visuddhimagga (VIII) expressly reverses this (assāsa = out-breath), citing the Vinaya commentary. For practice the direction makes no difference — what counts is unbroken mindfulness of both phases. In this document assāsa is rendered as the in-breath.
The real point of MN 118 lies in one immense statement of the Buddha: plain mindfulness of breathing, developed and often practised, carries the whole path to awakening.
"Ānāpānassati, bhikkhave, bhāvitā bahulīkatā cattāro satipaṭṭhāne paripūreti. Cattāro satipaṭṭhānā bhāvitā bahulīkatā satta bojjhaṅge paripūrenti. Satta bojjhaṅgā bhāvitā bahulīkatā vijjāvimuttiṃ paripūrenti."
"Mindfulness of breathing, monks, developed and often practised, fulfils the four foundations of mindfulness. The four foundations of mindfulness, developed and often practised, fulfil the seven factors of awakening. The seven factors of awakening, developed and often practised, fulfil knowledge and liberation."
The Buddha states the reason for the correspondence explicitly:
Out of ripened mindfulness the seven bojjhaṅga arise in turn: mindfulness (sati), investigation of states (dhammavicaya), energy (vīriya), rapture (pīti), tranquillity (passaddhi), concentration (samādhi) and equanimity (upekkhā). Each of them, says the sutta's closing formula, is developed "supported by seclusion, by fading away and by cessation, ripening in letting go" (vivekanissitaṃ virāganissitaṃ nirodhanissitaṃ vossaggapariṇāmiṃ).
The sutta names the stages, not the handholds. The guidance that follows summarises the tested commentarial practice (above all Visuddhimagga / Paṭisambhidāmagga) — as an aid, not as scripture.
Tetrad I calms the body, tetrad II clarifies feeling, tetrad III guides the mind, tetrad IV opens towards liberation. Samatha (calm) and vipassanā (insight) are not two practices here but two phases of one continuous movement at the same breath.
A companion document in the study section: "The four satipaṭṭhānas" — there ānāpānasati is placed as one part of the contemplation of the body; this document unfolds it in full.
The 45 technical terms of this text, in alphabetical order — linked terms lead to a fuller term page.