1.
The Discourse on One Thing
977.
At Sāvatthī.
There, etc.
said this -
"One thing, monks, when developed and cultivated, is of great fruit and great benefit.
What is that one thing?
Mindfulness of breathing.
And how, monks, is mindfulness of breathing developed, how is it cultivated, so that it is of great fruit and great benefit?
Here, monks, a monk, having gone to the forest, or having gone to the root of a tree, or having gone to an empty house, sits down, folding his legs crosswise, directing his body upright, having established mindfulness in front of him.
He, mindful, breathes in; mindful, he breathes out.
Breathing in long, he understands: 'I breathe in long'; or breathing out long, he understands: 'I breathe out long';
or breathing in short, he understands: 'I breathe in short'; or breathing out short, he understands: 'I breathe out short';
he trains: 'Experiencing the whole body, I shall breathe in'; he trains: 'Experiencing the whole body, I shall breathe out';
he trains: 'Calming the bodily activity, I shall breathe in'; he trains: 'Calming the bodily activity, I shall breathe out';
he trains: 'Experiencing rapture, I shall breathe in'; he trains: 'Experiencing rapture, I shall breathe out';
he trains: 'Experiencing happiness, I shall breathe in'; he trains: 'Experiencing happiness, I shall breathe out';
he trains: 'Experiencing mental activity, I shall breathe in'; he trains: 'Experiencing mental activity, I shall breathe out';
trains: 'Calming mental activity, I shall breathe in'; trains: 'Calming mental activity, I shall breathe out';
he trains: 'Experiencing the mind, I shall breathe in'; he trains: 'Experiencing the mind, I shall breathe out';
he trains: 'Gladdening the mind, I shall breathe in'; he trains: 'Gladdening the mind, I shall breathe out';
he trains: 'Concentrating the mind, I shall breathe in'; he trains: 'Concentrating the mind, I shall breathe out';
trains: 'Releasing the mind, I shall breathe in'; trains: 'Releasing the mind, I shall breathe out';
he trains: 'Observing impermanence, I shall breathe in'; he trains: 'Observing impermanence, I shall breathe out';
he trains: 'Observing dispassion, I shall breathe in'; he trains: 'Observing dispassion, I shall breathe out';
he trains: 'Observing cessation, I shall breathe in'; he trains: 'Observing cessation, I shall breathe out';
he trains: 'Observing relinquishment, I shall breathe in'; he trains: 'Observing relinquishment, I shall breathe out.'
Thus developed, monks, mindfulness of breathing, thus cultivated, is of great fruit and great benefit."
The first.