"How, lord, is mindfulness of in-and-out breathing to be developed and
pursued so as to be of great fruit, or great benefit?"
"Rahula, {any form whatsoever that is past, future, or present;
internal or external; blatant or subtle; common or sublime; far or
near: every form is to be seen as it actually is with right
discernment as: 'This is not mine. This is not my self. This is not
what I am.'
There are these five properties, Rahula. Which five? The earth
property, the water property, the fire property, the wind property,
and the space property.
"And what is the earth property? The earth property can be either
internal or external. What is the internal earth property?}[3]
Anything internal, within oneself, that's hard, solid, and sustained
[by craving]: head hairs, body hairs, nails, teeth, skin, flesh,
tendons, bones, bone marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, membranes, spleen,
lungs, large intestines, small intestines, contents of the stomach,
feces, or anything else internal, within oneself, that's hard, solid,
and sustained: This is called the internal earth property. Now both
the internal earth property and the external earth property are simply
earth property. And that should be seen as it actually is present with
right discernment: 'This is not mine, this is not me, this is not my
self.' When one sees it thus as it actually is present with right
discernment, one becomes disenchanted with the earth property and
makes the earth property fade from the mind.
"And what is the water property? The water property may be either
internal or external. What is the internal water property? Anything
internal, belonging to oneself, that's water, watery, and sustained:
bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, oil, saliva, mucus,
oil-of-the-joints, urine, or anything else internal, within oneself,
that's water, watery, and sustained: This is called the internal water
property. Now both the internal water property and the external water
property are simply water property. And that should be seen as it
actually is present with right discernment: 'This is not mine, this is
not me, this is not my self.' When one sees it thus as it actually is
present with right discernment, one becomes disenchanted with the
water property and makes the water property fade from the mind.
"And what is the fire property? The fire property may be either
internal or external. What is the internal fire property? Anything
internal, belonging to oneself, that's fire, fiery, and sustained:
that by which [the body] is warmed, aged, and consumed with fever; and
that by which what is eaten, drunk, chewed, and savored gets properly
digested; or anything else internal, within oneself, that's fire,
fiery, and sustained: This is called the internal fire property. Now
both the internal fire property and the external fire property are
simply fire property. And that should be seen as it actually is
present with right discernment: 'This is not mine, this is not me,
this is not my self.' When one sees it thus as it actually is present
with right discernment, one becomes disenchanted with the fire
property and makes the fire property fade from the mind.
"And what is the wind property? The wind property may be either
internal or external. What is the internal wind property? Anything
internal, belonging to oneself, that's wind, windy, and sustained:
up-going winds, down-going winds, winds in the stomach, winds in the
intestines, winds that course through the body, in-and-out breathing,
or anything else internal, within oneself, that's wind, windy, and
sustained: This is called the internal wind property. Now both the
internal wind property and the external wind property are simply wind
property. And that should be seen as it actually is present with right
discernment: 'This is not mine, this is not me, this is not my self.'
When one sees it thus as it actually is present with right
discernment, one becomes disenchanted with the wind property and makes
the wind property fade from the mind.
"And what is the space property? The space property may be either
internal or external. What is the internal space property? Anything
internal, belonging to oneself, that's space, spatial, and sustained:
the holes of the ears, the nostrils, the mouth, the [passage] whereby
what is eaten, drunk, consumed, and tasted gets swallowed, and where
it collects, and whereby it is excreted from below, or anything else
internal, within oneself, that's space, spatial, and sustained: This
is called the internal space property. Now both the internal space
property and the external space property are simply space property.
And that should be seen as it actually is present with right
discernment: 'This is not mine, this is not me, this is not my self.'
When one sees it thus as it actually is present with right
discernment, one becomes disenchanted with the space property and
makes the space property fade from the mind.
"Rahula, develop the meditation in tune with earth. For when you are
developing the meditation in tune with earth, agreeable and
disagreeable sensory impressions that have arisen will not stay in
charge of your mind. Just as when people throw what is clean or
unclean on the earth — feces, urine, saliva, pus, or blood — the earth
is not horrified, humiliated, or disgusted by it; in the same way,
when you are developing the meditation in tune with earth, agreeable
and disagreeable sensory impressions that have arisen will not stay in
charge of your mind.
"Develop the meditation in tune with water. For when you are
developing the meditation in tune with water, agreeable and
disagreeable sensory impressions that have arisen will not stay in
charge of your mind. Just as when people wash what is clean or unclean
in water — feces, urine, saliva, pus, or blood — the water is not
horrified, humiliated, or disgusted by it; in the same way, when you
are developing the meditation in tune with water, agreeable and
disagreeable sensory impressions that have arisen will not stay in
charge of your mind.
"Develop the meditation in tune with fire. For when you are developing
the meditation in tune with fire, agreeable and disagreeable sensory
impressions that have arisen will not stay in charge of your mind.
Just as when fire burns what is clean or unclean — feces, urine,
saliva, pus, or blood — it is not horrified, humiliated, or disgusted
by it; in the same way, when you are developing the meditation in tune
with fire, agreeable and disagreeable sensory impressions that have
arisen will not stay in charge of your mind.
"Develop the meditation in tune with wind. For when you are developing
the meditation in tune with wind, agreeable and disagreeable sensory
impressions that have arisen will not stay in charge of your mind.
Just as when wind blows what is clean or unclean — feces, urine,
saliva, pus, or blood — it is not horrified, humiliated, or disgusted
by it; in the same way, when you are developing the meditation in tune
with wind, agreeable and disagreeable sensory impressions that have
arisen will not stay in charge of your mind.
"Develop the meditation in tune with space. For when you are
developing the meditation in tune with space, agreeable and
disagreeable sensory impressions that have arisen will not stay in
charge of your mind. Just as space is not established anywhere, in the
same way, when you are developing the meditation in tune with space,
agreeable and disagreeable sensory impressions that have arisen will
not stay in charge of your mind.
