翻譯名義集 6.58

6.58

[Apāna] Here it is translated as 'sent away', which is the outgoing breath (exhalation). The Ānāpānasmṛti-sūtra says: "Ān refers to the body, and pān refers to the breath; ān refers to arising, and pān refers to cessation; ān refers to mindfulness of the path, and pān refers to untying fetters." As for the reason why one counts the inhalation first: externally there are seven evils, and internally there are three evils; since using few cannot overcome many, one counts the inhalation first. Ān is named outgoing breath, and pān is named incoming breath. The breath has four aspects: first is wind, second is air, third is breath, and fourth is panting. Having sound is wind; having no sound is air. Outgoing and incoming is breath; air that exits and enters incompletely is panting. The exhalation is the skandha of birth-and-death; the inhalation is the skandha of thought. Some say: 'Counting the exhalation first, the air will not be agitated, the body will not become bloated, and body and mind will be light and nimble, making samādhi easy to attain.' Some say: 'Counting the inhalation first, one withdraws inward with the breath, making it easy to enter absorption.' Some say: 'One should count the exhalations or inhalations according to what is appropriate: if the mind is flighty, bind the mind to the cinnabar field and count the inhalations; if the mind is drowsy, bind the mind to the tip of the nose and count the exhalations.' None of these allows counting both exhalations and inhalations together. Bodhisattva Deva says: 'The gate to the deathless spoken of by the Buddha / is called ānāpāna; / among all teachings and practices, / it is the foremost path of tranquility.'"