English
Just as a chariot wheel, when moving, moves only by one part of its rim, and when standing, stands only by one part, even so is the life of beings momentary, lasting for a single thought-moment. When that thought ceases, the being is said to have ceased. As it is said: "In the past thought-moment, one lived, one does not live, one will not live. In the future thought-moment, one did not live, one does not live, one will live. In the present thought-moment, one did not live, one lives, one will not live. "Life and existence, And all joys and sorrows; Are conjoined with a single thought, That moment passes swiftly. "Those aggregates that ceased, For one dying, or for one living here; All are similar aggregates, Gone without rebirth. "By what is not yet arisen, one is not born; By what is present, one lives; By the breaking of thought, the world dies, This is a designation in the ultimate sense." Thus should death be recollected by way of the shortness of a moment. 177. Thus, by recollecting by any one of these eight modes, and by repeated attention, the mind gains familiarity, mindfulness regarding death as its object becomes established, the hindrances are suppressed, and the factors of jhāna appear. However, because of the inherent nature of the phenomenon and the stirring quality of the object, the jhāna does not reach absorption (appanā), but only attains access (upacāra). But supramundane jhāna, and the second and fourth immaterial jhānas, even with an inherent phenomenon as object, attain absorption through a special development. For supramundane jhāna attains absorption through the sequence of purification development. The immaterial jhānas attain it through development that transcends the object. For in the case of jhāna that has attained absorption, there is only the transcending of the object. But here, neither of these is present. Therefore, the jhāna only attains access. This recollection of death arising by the power of mindfulness, it is called mindfulness of death. And a bhikkhu devoted to this mindfulness of death is constantly diligent, attains the perception of non-delight in all existences, abandons craving for life, is blameless of evil, is not given to hoarding requisites, is free from defilement and stinginess, and the perception of impermanence becomes familiar to him, and in accordance with that, the perception of suffering and the perception of non-self arise. Just as beings who have not cultivated mindfulness of death, overcome suddenly as if by wild beasts, yakkhas, snakes, thieves, or executioners, fall into fear, terror, and delusion at the time of death, so, not falling into such, he makes an end without fear, without delusion. If he does not attain the deathless in this very life, upon the breaking up of the body, he is bound for a good destination. Therefore, indeed, the wise one should practice diligence; always with such greatly powerful mindfulness of death. This is the introduction to the detailed discourse on mindfulness of death. Discourse on Mindfulness of the Body 178. Now, that which, before the arising of a Buddha, had never arisen, and was beyond the scope of all other teachers, which in various suttas is said: “One thing, bhikkhus, when developed and frequently practiced, leads to great urgency, leads to great benefit, leads to great security from bondage, leads to great mindfulness and clear comprehension, leads to the acquisition of knowledge and vision, leads to a pleasant abiding in this very life, leads to the realization of the fruit of knowledge and liberation. What is that one thing? Mindfulness of the body...” (A.N. 1.563 onwards). “They partake of the deathless, bhikkhus, who partake of mindfulness of the body. They do not partake of the deathless, bhikkhus, who do not partake of mindfulness of the body. The deathless is partaken by them, bhikkhus... not partaken... lost... not lost... missed... not missed, by whom mindfulness of the body is undertaken.” (A.N. 1.603). Thus, having been praised by the Blessed One in many ways, [the question arises:] “How, bhikkhus, when developed, how, when frequently practiced, does mindfulness of the body become greatly fruitful, greatly... What are the benefits? Here, monks, a monk gone to the forest, etc., in this manner (MN 3.154), the meditation subject of mindfulness of the body is designated by means of these fourteen sections: the section on mindfulness of breathing, the section on postures, the section on four clear comprehensions, the section on repulsive contemplation, the section on contemplation of elements, and the nine charnel ground sections. The exposition of its development has now arrived. There, the section on postures, the section on four clear comprehensions, and the section on contemplation of elements—these three—are spoken of in terms of insight. The nine charnel ground sections are spoken of in terms of contemplating drawbacks, within insight knowledges themselves. And whatever development of concentration might be achieved here in the bloated corpse, etc., that is already explained in the exposition of foulness. But the section on mindfulness of breathing and the section on repulsive contemplation—these two here—are spoken of in terms of concentration. Among these, the section on mindfulness of breathing is a distinct meditation subject by way of mindfulness of breathing. But that which is taught as the thirty-two parts meditation subject, by way of repulsive contemplation, encompassing brain and bone marrow, as in "Furthermore, 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 impurity: 'There are in this body: hairs, body-hairs... urine'" (MN 3.154)—this is what is intended here by mindfulness of the body. 179. Here is the exposition of development, preceded by the Pāli commentary. "This very body" means this putrid body, made of the four great elements. "From the soles of the feet upwards" means above the soles of the feet. "From the top of the hair downwards" means below the tips of the hair. "Enclosed by skin" means bounded by skin on all sides. "Full of various kinds of impurity, he reflects" means he sees this body as filled with various impurities such as hairs. How? "There are in this body: hairs... urine." There, "there are" means they exist. "In this" refers to that which is called "from the soles of the feet upwards, from the top of the hair downwards, enclosed by skin, full of various kinds of impurity." "Body" means in the physical frame. Indeed, the body is a heap of impurities, of disgusting things like hair, and hundreds of diseases like eye diseases. Because it is the source, it is called "kāya" (body). Hair, body-hair – these are the thirty-two parts, beginning with hair. In this regard, there is hair in this body, there is body-hair in this body – this connection should be understood. Indeed, in this [body], from the soles of the feet upwards, from the crown of the head downwards, and from the skin inwards, in this one-fathom-long body, searching in every way, one does not see anything like a pearl, or a gem, or a beryl, or agarwood, or saffron, or camphor, or fragrant powder, not even a tiny bit of purity; but rather, one sees extremely foul-smelling, disgusting, unsightly, various kinds of impurities, such as hair and body-hair. Therefore it was said: "In this body there is hair, body-hair... etc. ...urine." This is the explanation according to the connection of words here. 180. However, by a beginner, a young man of good family, who wishes to develop this meditation subject, this meditation subject should be taken from a good friend of the kind mentioned. And by him who teaches this meditation subject, skill in apprehension in seven ways, and skill in attention in ten ways should be explained. There, by word, by mind, by color, by shape, by direction, by location, by delimitation – thus, skill in apprehension in seven ways should be explained. Indeed, in this meditation subject of contemplating repulsiveness, even one who knows the Tipiṭaka, should first recite aloud when practicing attention. For some, the meditation subject becomes clear simply by reciting, like the two elders who had learned meditation subjects from the Elder Mahādeva, who resided in Malaya. It is said that when asked for a meditation subject by them, the Elder gave them the Pāli text of the thirty-two parts, saying, "Recite this for four months." Although two or three Nikāyas were well-mastered by them, by taking it up correctly, they became stream-enterers simply by reciting the thirty-two parts for four months. Therefore, by the teacher who teaches the meditation subject, the pupil... First, recite it aloud. And while doing so, one should recite, distinguishing the five parts of the skin and so on, in forward and reverse order. Indeed, saying: hairs, body-hairs, nails, teeth, skin, then again in reverse: skin, teeth, nails, body-hairs, hairs, this should be said. After that, in the five parts of the kidneys: saying: flesh, sinews, bones, bone-marrow, kidneys, then again in reverse: kidneys, bone-marrow, bones, sinews, flesh, skin, teeth, nails, body-hairs, hairs, this should be said. Then, in the five parts of the lungs: saying: heart, liver, membranes, spleen, lungs, then again in reverse: lungs, spleen, membranes, liver, heart, kidneys, bone-marrow, bones, sinews, flesh, skin, teeth, nails, body-hairs, hairs, this should be said. Then, in the five parts of the brain: saying: intestines, intestinal mesentery, stomach, feces, brain, then again in reverse: brain, feces, stomach, intestinal mesentery, intestines, lungs, spleen, membranes, liver, heart, kidneys, bone-marrow, bones, sinews, flesh, skin, teeth, nails, body-hairs, hairs, this should be said. Then, in the six parts of the fat: saying: bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, then again in reverse: