“Bhikkhus, if one thing is developed and cultivated, it leads to the realization of the fruit of knowledge and liberation. What is that one thing? It is Kayagatasati (mindfulness directed to the body). This one thing, bhikkhus, if developed and cultivated, leads to the realization of the fruit of knowledge and liberation.”
Eka-dhammo, bhikkhave, bhāvito bahulī-kato vijjā-vimutti-phala-sacchikiriyāya saṃvattati. Katamo eka-dhammo? Kāyagatā sati. Ayaṃ kho, bhikkhave, eka-dhammo bhāvito bahulī-kato vijjā-vimutti-phala-sacchikiriyāya saṃvattatī ti.Anguttara Nikaya, Eka Nipata, Kayagatasati Vagga (AN 1.570)
“Develop and cultivate Kayagatasati, make it your vehicle, make it your basis, stabilize it, exercise yourselves in it, and fully perfect it”.
— SN 35.247 The Simile of the Six Animals
1. AN 8.63 — Mahā Cunda Sutta
“Bhāvitā ca kho, āvuso, kāyagatāsati bahulīkatā chandarāgaṁ pahāya na puna upādiyati. Anupādā vimutto hoti. ‘Khīṇā jāti, vusitaṁ brahmacariyaṁ, kataṁ karaṇīyaṁ, nāparaṁ itthatāyā’ti pajānāti.”
“When, friends, Mindfulness Directed to the Body is developed and cultivated, it abandons desire and lust [for the body] and one does not cling again. Without clinging, one is liberated. One understands: ‘Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more of this state of being.’”
2. SN 47.20 — Bāhiya Sutta
“Kāyagatāsati, bhikkhave, bhāvitā bahulīkatā amatogadha hoti amataparāyana, amatapariyosāna.”
“Bhikkhus, when Mindfulness Directed to the Body is developed and cultivated, it is immersed in the deathless, it has the deathless as its destination, it ends in the deathless.”
3. AN 1.576
“Kāyagatāsati, bhikkhave, bhāvitā bahulīkatā amataṁ adhigacchati, amataṁ sacchikaroti.”
“Bhikkhus, when Mindfulness Directed to the Body is developed and cultivated, it attains the deathless, it realizes the deathless.”
4. AN 1.577
“Kāyagatāsati, bhikkhave, bhāvitā bahulīkatā āsavānaṁ khayaṁ pāpuṇāti, āsavānaṁ khayaṁ sacchikaroti.”
“Bhikkhus, when Mindfulness Directed to the Body is developed and cultivated, it reaches the destruction of the taints, it realizes the destruction of the taints.”
5. DN 22 — Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta (Kāyānupassanā section)
“Ekāyano ayaṁ, bhikkhave, maggo sattānaṁ visuddhiyā… dukkhassa antakiriyāya… nibbānassa sacchikiriyāya, yadidaṁ cattāro satipaṭṭhānā.”
“This, bhikkhus, is the direct path for the purification of beings… for the cessation of suffering… for the realization of Nibbāna — namely, the four establishments of mindfulness.”
(Kāyagatāsati is the first foundation — mindfulness of the body — making it a direct factor in realizing Nibbāna.)
Kayagatasati is a mindfulness practice endorsed by the Buddha in key sutras such as “The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha” and “The Connected Discourses of the Buddha.” This specialized technique focuses on turning attention inward to enhance concentration and ultimately leads to the destruction of rāga, dosa, and moha; and to nibbāna-dhātu.
During our sitting meditation, we use kayagatasati to guide our practice. By redirecting our focus from external worldly distractions, we scan different parts of the body, , allowing them to relaxs. We then settle our awareness on a comfortable area within our body, observing the sensations, feelings, and how our mind responds to them in the present moment. We acknowledge the rise and fall of thoughts and emotions without attempting to change or suppress them, practicing the art of letting go.
Letting go involves breaking free from habitual reactions to internal stimuli, releasing attachment to external sources of happiness. It is a conscious effort to purify and calm the mind, leading to inner contentment and compassion. This happiness is not from emotional excitement, and the kindness expressed is not rooted in attachment. True happiness and kindness stem from a calm mind, which our meditation aims to cultivate by promoting physical and mental relaxation.
Releasing our attachment to habitual patterns of responding to internal thoughts and emotions is a crucial aspect of the practice of letting go. This process involves freeing ourselves from the constant need for external stimuli to bring us happiness. By consciously purifying and calming the mind, we can experience a newfound inner happiness, physical comfort, and a sense of kindness and compassion that we may not have felt before.
True happiness and kindness are not dependent on emotional excitement or attachment. They are the natural attributes of a calm and clear mind. Our meditation practice is focused on cultivating a relaxed body and a calm mind, which in turn leads to the experience of genuine happiness and a compassionate heart.
Beyond our formal sitting meditation practice, we strive to maintain mindfulness throughout our daily lives by directly observing and analyzing our experiences in the present moment. By breaking down our subjective reactions to environmental stimuli into their components of sensory perception, thought, emotion, and action, we begin to see our experiences as impersonal processes of activity.
The ability to choose our responses and act in a rational manner is known as willpower (Manas). The capacity to exercise free will and behave in alignment with our intentions is a skill that can be cultivated through mindfulness practice. By training our minds to act rationally rather than impulsively, we can develop the ability to make choices that are in line with our values and goals.
Our primary objective within this practice is to achieve a state of freedom from stress, cultivate peace of mind, foster healthy relationships, nurture self-confidence, and enhance efficiency in the workplace. This involves developing the ability to regulate emotions that may hinder rational thinking and intelligent decision-making. Emotional challenges such as anger, lust, worries, fears, and anxieties can be addressed by focusing on mindfulness within the body, allowing one to release emotional disturbances and promote clear thinking and rational actions. This process is designed to facilitate personal growth, evolution, and transformation. The extent of transformation and the overall quality of life experienced serve as indicators of progress in this journey.
SN 43.1 Kāyagatāsati Sutta – Mindfulness Directed to the Body
At Sāvatthı̄.
Sāvatthinidānaṁ.
“Bhikkhus, I will teach you the unconditioned and the path leading to the unconditioned. Listen to that.
“Asaṅkhatañca vo, bhikkhave, desessāmi asaṅkhatagāmiñca maggaṁ. Taṁ suṇātha.
“And what, bhikkhus, is the unconditioned?
Katamañca, bhikkhave, asaṅkhataṁ?
The destruction of lust, the destruction of hatred, the destruction of delusion: this is called the unconditioned.
Yo, bhikkhave, rāgakkhayo dosakkhayo mohakkhayo— idaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, asaṅkhataṁ.
“And what, bhikkhus, is the path leading to the unconditioned?
Katamo ca, bhikkhave, asaṅkhatagāmimaggo?
Mindfulness directed to the body: this is called the path leading to the unconditioned.
Kāyagatāsati.
“Thus, bhikkhus, I have taught you the unconditioned and the path leading to the unconditioned.
Iti kho, bhikkhave, desitaṁ vo mayā asaṅkhataṁ, desito asaṅkhatagāmimaggo.
Whatever should be done, bhikkhus, by a compassionate teacher out of compassion for his disciples, desiring their welfare, that I have done for you.
Yaṁ, bhikkhave, satthārā karaṇīyaṁ sāvakānaṁ hitesinā anukampakena anukampaṁ upādāya, kataṁ vo taṁ mayā.
These are the feet of trees, bhikkhus, these are empty huts. Meditate, bhikkhus, do not be negligent, lest you regret it later. This is our instruction to you.”
Etāni, bhikkhave, rukkhamūlāni, etāni suññāgārāni. Jhāyatha, bhikkhave, mā pamādattha; mā pacchā vippaṭisārino ahuvattha. Ayaṁ vo amhākaṁ anusāsanī”ti.
SN 47.20 The Most Beautiful Girl of the Land
Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was living among the Sumbhas, where there was a town of the Sumbhas named Sedaka. There the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus thus: “Bhikkhus!”
“Venerable sir!” the bhikkhus replied. The Blessed One said this:
“Bhikkhus, suppose that on hearing, ‘The most beautiful girl of the land! The most beautiful girl of the land!’ a great crowd of people would assemble. Now that most beautiful girl of the land would dance exquisitely and sing exquisitely. On hearing, ‘The most beautiful girl of the land is dancing! The most beautiful girl of the land is singing!’ an even larger crowd of people would assemble. Then a man would come along, wishing to live, not wishing to die, wishing for happiness, averse to suffering. Someone would say to him: ‘Good man, you must carry around this bowl of oil filled to the brim between the crowd and the most beautiful girl of the land. A man with a drawn sword will be following right behind you, and wherever you spill even a little of it, right there he will fell your head.’
“What do you think, bhikkhus, would that man stop attending to that bowl of oil and out of negligence turn his attention outwards?”
“No, venerable sir.”
“I have made up this simile, bhikkhus, in order to convey a meaning. This here is the meaning: ‘The bowl of oil filled to the brim’: this is a designation for mindfulness directed to the body. Therefore, bhikkhus, you should train yourselves thus: ‘We will develop and cultivate mindfulness directed to the body, make it our vehicle, make it our basis, stabilize it, exercise ourselves in it, and fully perfect it.’ Thus, bhikkhus, should you train yourselves.”
SN 35.247 The Simile of the Six Animals
“Bhikkhus, suppose a man with limbs wounded and festering would enter a wood of thorny reeds, and the Kusa thorns would prick his feet and the reed blades would slash his limbs. Thus that man would thereby experience even more pain and displeasure. So too, bhikkhus, some bhikkhu here, gone to the village or the forest, meets someone who reproaches him thus: ‘This venerable one, acting in such a way, behaving in such a way, is a foul village thorn.’ Having understood him thus as a ‘thorn,’ one should understand restraint and nonrestraint.
“And how, bhikkhus is there nonrestraint? Here, having seen a form with the eye, a bhikkhu is intent upon a pleasing form and repelled by a displeasing form. He dwells without having set up mindfulness of the body, with a limited mind, and he does not understand as it really is that liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, wherein those evil unwholesome states cease without remainder. Having heard a sound with the ear … Having cognized a mental phenomenon with the mind, he is intent upon a pleasing mental phenomenon and repelled by a displeasing mental phenomenon. He dwells without having set up mindfulness of the body, with a limited mind (parittacetasa), and he does not understand as it really is that liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, wherein those evil unwholesome states cease without remainder.
“Suppose, bhikkhus, a man would catch six animals—with different domains and different feeding grounds—and tie them by a strong rope. He would catch a snake, a crocodile, a bird, a dog, a jackal, and a monkey, and tie each by a strong rope. Having done so, he would tie the ropes together with a knot in the middle and release them. Then those six animals with different domains and different feeding grounds would each pull in the direction of its own feeding ground and domain. The snake would pull one way, thinking, ‘Let me enter an anthill.’ The crocodile would pull another way, thinking, ‘Let me enter the water.’ The bird would pull another way, thinking, ‘Let me fly up into the sky.’ The dog would pull another way, thinking, ‘Let me enter a village.’ The jackal would pull another way, thinking, ‘Let me enter a charnel ground.’ The monkey would pull another way, thinking, ‘Let me enter a forest.’
“Now when these six animals become worn out and fatigued, they would be dominated by the one among them that was strongest; they would submit to it and come under its control. So too, bhikkhus, when a bhikkhu has not developed and cultivated mindfulness directed to the body, the eye pulls in the direction of agreeable forms and disagreeable forms are repulsive; the ear pulls in the direction of agreeable sounds and disagreeable sounds are repulsive; the nose pulls in the direction of agreeable odours and disagreeable odours are repulsive; the tongue pulls in the direction of agreeable tastes and disagreeable tastes are repulsive; the body pulls in the direction of agreeable tactile objects and disagreeable tactile objects are repulsive; the mind pulls in the direction of agreeable mental phenomena and disagreeable mental phenomena are repulsive.
“It is in such a way that there is nonrestraint.
“And how, bhikkhus, is there restraint? Here, having seen a form with the eye, a bhikkhu is not intent upon a pleasing form and not repelled by a displeasing form. He dwells having set up mindfulness of the body, with a measureless mind, and he understands as it really is that liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, wherein those evil unwholesome states cease without remainder. Having heard a sound with the ear … Having cognized a mental phenomenon with the mind, he is not intent upon a pleasing mental phenomenon and not repelled by a displeasing mental phenomenon. He dwells having set up mindfulness of the body, with a measureless mind (appamanacetasa), and he understands as it really is that liberation of mind (cetovimutti), liberation by wisdom (paññāvimutti), wherein those evil unwholesome states cease without remainder. It is in such a way that there is restraint.
“Suppose, bhikkhus, a man would catch six animals—with different domains and different feeding grounds—and tie them by a strong rope. He would catch a snake, a crocodile, a bird, a dog, a jackal, and a monkey, and tie each by a strong rope. Having done so, he would bind them to a strong post or pillar. Then those six animals with different domains and different feeding grounds would each pull in the direction of its own feeding ground and domain. The snake would pull one way, thinking, ‘Let me enter an anthill’ … (as above) … The monkey would pull another way, thinking, ‘Let me enter a forest.’
“Now when these six animals become worn out and fatigued, they would stand close to that post or pillar, they would sit down there, they would lie down there. So too, bhikkhus, when a bhikkhu has developed and cultivated mindfulness directed to the body, the eye does not pull in the direction of agreeable forms nor are disagreeable forms repulsive; the ear does not pull in the direction of agreeable sounds nor are disagreeable sounds repulsive; the nose does not pull in the direction of agreeable odours nor are disagreeable odours repulsive; the tongue does not pull in the direction of agreeable tastes nor are disagreeable tastes repulsive; the body does not pull in the direction of agreeable tactile objects nor are disagreeable tactile objects repulsive; the mind does not pull in the direction of agreeable mental phenomena nor are disagreeable mental phenomena repulsive.
“It is in such a way that there is restraint.
“‘A strong post or pillar’: this, bhikkhus, is a designation for mindfulness directed to the body. Therefore, bhikkhus, you should train yourselves thus: ‘We will develop and cultivate mindfulness directed to the body, make it our vehicle, make it our basis, stabilize it, exercise ourselves in it, and fully perfect it.’ Thus should you train yourselves.”
Gautama Dhamma 
Leave a comment