English
a monk reflects on this very body, from the soles of the feet upwards, from the top of the hair downwards, enclosed by skin, full of various kinds of impurities: ‘In this body there are hair, body-hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, bone-marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, diaphragm, spleen, lungs, intestines, intestinal mesentery, stomach, feces, bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, grease, saliva, snot, joint-fluid, urine.’ Just as, monks, if there were a double-mouthed provision bag, full of various kinds of grain, that is, of rice, of paddy, of mung beans, of kidney beans, of sesame, of husked rice, and a sharp-eyed man were to untie it and examine it: ‘These are rice, these are paddy, these are mung beans, these are kidney beans, these are sesame, these are husked rice’; in the same way, monks, a monk reflects on this very body, from the soles of the feet upwards, from the top of the hair downwards, enclosed by skin, full of various kinds of impurities: ‘In this body there are hair, body-hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, bone-marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, diaphragm, spleen, lungs, intestines, intestinal mesentery, stomach, feces, bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, pus, lymph, snot, joint-fluid, urine. As he dwells thus, diligent, ardent, resolute, the household-based thoughts of desire are abandoned. With their abandonment, his mind becomes established, settled, unified, concentrated within. Thus too, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu develops mindfulness of the body. Again, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu reflects on this very body, however it is placed, however disposed, by way of its elements: ‘In this body there is the earth element, the water element, the fire element, the air element.’ Just as, bhikkhus, a skilled butcher or a butcher’s apprentice, having slaughtered a cow, and having divided it into portions, might be seated at a crossroads; even so, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu reflects on this very body, however it is placed, however disposed, by way of its elements: ‘In this body there is the earth element, the water element, the fire element, the air element.’ As he dwells thus, diligent, ardent, resolute, the household-based thoughts of desire are abandoned. With their abandonment, his mind becomes established, settled, unified, concentrated within. Thus too, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu develops mindfulness of the body. Again, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu might see a body discarded in a charnel ground, one day dead, two days dead, or three days dead, bloated, livid, and festering. He then applies this to his own body: ‘This body too is of the same nature, will become like this, and cannot escape this.’ As he dwells thus, diligent, ardent, resolute, the household-based thoughts of desire are abandoned. With their abandonment, his mind becomes established, settled, unified, concentrated within. Thus too, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu develops mindfulness of the body. Again, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu might see Just as he might see a body cast away in a charnel ground, being eaten by crows, or being eaten by kites, or being eaten by vultures, or being eaten by buzzards, or being eaten by dogs, or being eaten by tigers, or being eaten by leopards, or being eaten by jackals, or being eaten by various kinds of creatures. He then applies this very body to himself: 'This body too is of such a nature, is of such a character, is not exempt from this fate.' For him, thus diligent... ...so too, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu develops mindfulness of the body. Again, further, bhikkhus, just as a bhikkhu might see a body cast away in a charnel ground, a skeleton with flesh and blood, held together by sinews... ...a skeleton without flesh, smeared with blood, held together by sinews... ...a skeleton without flesh and blood, held together by sinews... ...bones separated from their connections, scattered in all directions and intermediate directions: a hand bone in one place, a foot bone in another, an ankle bone in another, a shin bone in another, a thigh bone in another, a hip bone in another, a rib bone in another, a back bone in another, a shoulder bone in another, a neck bone in another, a jaw bone in another, a tooth bone in another, a skull in another. He then applies this very body to himself: 'This body too is of such a nature, is of such a character, is not exempt from this fate.' For him, thus diligent... ...so too, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu develops mindfulness of the body. Again, further, bhikkhus, A monk, just as if he were to see a body cast away in a charnel ground – bones white, resembling the color of a conch shell; bones piled up, more than a year old; bones rotten, crumbled into dust. He applies this very body to himself – 'This body too is of such a nature, will become like that, is not exempt from that.' For him, thus diligent, Thus too, monks, a monk develops mindfulness of the body. 155. Furthermore, monks, a monk, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, enters and dwells in the first jhana. He drenches, steeps, fills, and pervades this very body with the rapture and pleasure born of seclusion, so that there is no part of his entire body not pervaded by the rapture and pleasure born of seclusion. Just as, monks, a skilled bath attendant or his apprentice, having sprinkled bath powder into a brass basin, would moisten it again and again with water, so that the ball of bath powder becomes saturated, permeated, thoroughly moistened inside and out with moisture, yet without oozing; even so, monks, a monk drenches, steeps, fills, and pervades this very body with the rapture and pleasure born of seclusion, so that there is no part of his entire body not pervaded by the rapture and pleasure born of seclusion. For him, thus diligent, Thus too, monks, a monk develops mindfulness of the body. Furthermore, monks, a monk, with the stilling of applied thought and sustained thought, enters and dwells in the second jhana. He drenches, steeps, fills, and pervades this very body with the rapture and pleasure born of concentration, so that there is no part of his entire body not pervaded by the rapture and pleasure born of concentration. Just as, monks, there might be a deep lake with water welling up from below. Its There is no inlet for water from the eastern direction, no inlet for water from the western direction, no inlet for water from the northern direction, no inlet for water from the southern direction; and the sky would not send down proper showers from time to time; yet from that very water-lake, cool streams of water would well up, and would drench, pervade, fill, and suffuse that very water-lake with cool water. There would be no part of that entire water-lake untouched by cool water. In the same way, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu drenches, pervades, fills, and suffuses this very body with rapture-and-happiness born of concentration. There is no part of this entire body untouched by rapture-and-happiness born of concentration. For one who is thus diligent... ...in this way too, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu develops mindfulness of the body. And further, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu, with the fading of rapture... ...enters and abides in the third jhana. He drenches, pervades, fills, and suffuses this very body with happiness free from rapture. There is no part of this entire body untouched by happiness free from rapture. Just as, bhikkhus, in a pond of blue lotuses, or red lotuses, or white lotuses, some blue lotuses, or red lotuses, or white lotuses, born in the water, grown in the water, remaining submerged in the water, nourished from within the water, these are drenched, pervaded, filled, and suffused with cool water from their tips to their roots. There would be no part of those entire blue lotuses, or red lotuses, or white lotuses, untouched by cool water. In the same way, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu drenches, pervades, fills, and suffuses this very body with happiness free from rapture. There is no part of this entire body untouched by happiness free from rapture. For one who is thus diligent... ...in this way too, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu develops mindfulness of the body. He develops mindfulness of the body. "Again, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu, with the giving up of pleasure... enters and abides in the fourth jhana. He sits pervading this very body with a pure mind, with a cleansed mind; there is no part of his entire body that is not pervaded by his pure, cleansed mind. Just as, bhikkhus, a man might sit having covered himself from head to foot with a white cloth, and there would be no part of his entire body that was not covered by the white cloth; even so, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu sits pervading this very body with a pure mind, with a cleansed mind; there is no part of his entire body that is not pervaded by his pure, cleansed mind. While he dwells thus, diligent, ardent, resolute, those thoughts connected with the home are abandoned. With their abandonment, his mind becomes established internally, settles down, becomes unified, and concentrated. In this way too, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu develops mindfulness of the body. 156. "Whoever, bhikkhus, has developed mindfulness of the body, has made it a practice, all wholesome states that are conducive to knowledge are included within it. Just as, bhikkhus, whoever has pervaded the great ocean with his mind, all the small rivers that flow into the ocean are included within it; even so, bhikkhus, whoever has developed mindfulness of the body, has made it a practice, all wholesome states that are conducive to knowledge are included within it. "Whoever, bhikkhus, has not developed mindfulness of the body, has not made it a practice, Mara finds an opening in him, Mara finds a foothold in him. Just as, bhikkhus, a man might throw a heavy lump of rock into a pile of wet clay. What do you think, bhikkhus, would that heavy lump of rock find an opening in the pile of wet clay?" "Yes, venerable sir." "Even so, bhikkhus, whoever has not developed mindfulness of the body, has not made it a practice, Mara finds an opening in him,