Path of Freedom [Vimuttimagga]

160 Vimuttimagga"Contacting": Having caused the arising of air perception, he dwells,attending to the contact of respiration at the nose-tip or on the lip. This iscalled contacting."Fixing": Having acquired facility in contacting, he should establishthe image, and he should establish joy and bliss and other states which arisehere. Thus should fixing be known.That counting suppresses uncertainty. It causes the abandoning of uncertainty.Connection removes gross discursive thinking and causes unbrokenmindfulness of respiration. Contacting removes distraction and makes forsteady perception. One attains to distinction through bliss.SIXTEEN WAYS OF TRAINING IN MINDFULNESSOF RESPIRATION(1) and (2) "Breathing in a long breath, breathing out a short breath,breathing in a short breath, thus he trains himself" 1Knowledge causes the arising of non-confusion and the object. Q. Whatis non-confusion and what is the object? A. The new yogin gains tranquillityof body and mind and abides in mindfulness of respiration. The respirationsbecome subtle. Because of subtility they are hard to lay hold of. If at thattime, the yogin's breathing is long, he, through fixing, knows it is long. If theimage arises he considers it through its own nature. Thus should non-confusionbe known. And again he should consider the breaths, whether long or short(as the case may be). Thus should he practise. And again, the yogin causesthe arising of the clear image through the object. Thus should one practise.(3) "Experiencing the whole body, I breathe in', thus he trains himself":In two ways he knows the whole body, through non-confusion and throughthe object. Q. What is the knowledge of the whole body through nonconfusion?A. A yogin practises mindfulness of respiration and developsconcentration through contact accompanied by joy and bliss. Owing to theexperiencing of contact accompanied by joy and bliss the whole body becomesnon-confused. Q. What is the knowledge of the whole body through theobject? A. The incoming breath and the outgoing breath comprise thebodily factors dwelling in one sphere. The object of respiration and the mindand the mental properties are called "body". These bodily factors are called"body". 2 Thus should the whole body be known. That yogin knows thewhole body thus: "Though there is the body, there is no being or soul". 31. This paragraph is not clear. Unintelligibility is not an uncommon feature of this Chinesetext. The quotations (1) and (2) are not in full. The rest, (3) to (16), are fromS. V, 311-12 quoted earlier.2. Cp. S. V, 329-30: Kdyannatardham Ananda etam vadami yad idam assasapassasam.3. As. 38, Sec. 93: Tasmim kho pana samaye dhammd honti dhammesu dhammdnupassiviharati ti ddisu nissattanijjivatdyam. Svdyam idhapi nissattanijjivatdyam eva vattati.