釋禪波羅蜜次第法門 7.39

7.39

Regarding their correspondence to the four applications of mindfulness, there are further two different explanations. One master explains: "The first five correspond to the body, the middle three to sensations, the next two to the mind, and the final five to dharmas." This master clarifies the sixteen sublime practices by claiming to rely on what is taught in the Dhyāna Sūtra: (1) Contemplating the in-breath until the breath ceases. (2) Contemplating the out-breath, stopping at the tip of the nose. (3) Contemplating the length of the breath: if the body is not at ease and the mind is largely scattered, both in-breath and out-breath are short; if the body is at ease and the mind is calm, both in-breath and out-breath are long. (4) The breath pervading the body: when body and mind are at ease, the airways are unobstructed, like swallowing air so that it pervades the entire body. (5) Eliminating bodily activities: notions and sensations are mental activities, vitarka and vicāra are vocal activities, and in-and-out breaths are bodily activities. Once the breath pervades the entire body, one is troubled by those coarse thoughts of mental stirring; eliminating these coarse [thoughts] is called eliminating bodily activities. These five belong to the application of mindfulness to the body.