Auguste wrote:I wonder why some great monks like Ajahn Brahm or Ven Webu Sayadaw (who was friend with Saya Gyi U Ba Khin) instruct Anapana only and Goenka think the body scan is the primordial way to reach nibanna.. what are your thoughts about it ?
It confuses me sometimes, having done a Goenka retreat and reading Ajahn Brahm.. I don't know if I should do body scan or focus on the breath.
If you have the opportunity to take instruction from a skilled teacher, following their instruction is probably a good idea. However, these two ideas are not contradictory. They both can lead to the development of both calm and insight.
Thanissaro Bhikkhu's
A Guided Meditation suggests scanning the body to see how the breath sensations feel in various parts of the body, for example. This is both focusing on the breath and scanning the body simultaneously.
Thanissaro Bhikkhu wrote:
Now move your awareness up to the solar plexus ... and then to the right, to the right flank ... to the left flank ... to the middle of the chest ... After a while move up to the base of the throat ... and then to the middle of the head. Be very careful with the breath energy in the head. Think of it very gently coming in, not only through the nose but also through the eyes, the ears, down from the top of the head, in from the back of the neck, very gently working through and loosening up any tension you may feel, say, around your jaws, the back of your neck, around your eyes, or around your face ...
Body scan oriented instructions are sometimes derived from the Satipatthana Sutta, while breath oriented instructions may be derived from the Anapanasati Sutta. However, it's worth noting that the four tetrads of the Anapanasati Sutta correspond to the four foundations of mindfulness from the Satipatthana Sutta. Both of these techniques were taught by the Buddha, and the quotes to "Go, do jhana" do not tend to specify one versus the other. It's also worth noting that body scanning is a way to develop sensitivity to the entire body, which is specifically mentioned in the first component of both suttas.
MN 10
MN 10: Satipatthana Sutta wrote:
"There is the case where a monk — having gone to the wilderness, to the shade of a tree, or to an empty building — sits down folding his legs crosswise, holding his body erect and setting mindfulness to the fore [lit: the front of the chest]. Always mindful, he breathes in; mindful he breathes out.
"Breathing in long, he discerns, 'I am breathing in long'; or breathing out long, he discerns, 'I am breathing out long.' Or breathing in short, he discerns, 'I am breathing in short'; or breathing out short, he discerns, 'I am breathing out short.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to the entire body.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to the entire body.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe in calming bodily fabrication.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out calming bodily fabrication.'
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"And how does a monk remain focused on feelings in & of themselves?
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"And how does a monk remain focused on the mind in & of itself?
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And how does a monk remain focused on mental qualities in & of themselves with reference to the five hindrances?
MN 118
MN 118: Anapanasati Sutta wrote:
"[1] Breathing in long, he discerns, 'I am breathing in long'; or breathing out long, he discerns, 'I am breathing out long.' [2] Or breathing in short, he discerns, 'I am breathing in short'; or breathing out short, he discerns, 'I am breathing out short.' [3] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to the entire body.'[2] He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to the entire body.' [4] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in calming bodily fabrication.'[3] He trains himself, 'I will breathe out calming bodily fabrication.'
"[5] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to rapture.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to rapture.' [6] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to pleasure.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to pleasure.' [7] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to mental fabrication.'[4] He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to mental fabrication.' [8] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in calming mental fabrication.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out calming mental fabrication.'
"[9] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to the mind.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to the mind.' [10] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in satisfying the mind.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out satisfying the mind.' [11] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in steadying the mind.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out steadying the mind.' [12] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in releasing the mind.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out releasing the mind.'[5]
"[13] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in focusing on inconstancy.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out focusing on inconstancy.' [14] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in focusing on dispassion [literally, fading].' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out focusing on dispassion.' [15] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in focusing on cessation.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out focusing on cessation.' [16] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in focusing on relinquishment.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out focusing on relinquishment.'