有一次，佛陀來到跋祇國的毘舍離城，住在跋耆族村落附近，一條名叫跋求摩河河邊的薩羅梨林中。

那時，佛陀教導比丘們不淨觀，鼓勵比丘們修不淨觀，說修不淨觀能有大成就、大福利。

教導了這個法門後，佛陀就作了半個月的閉關禪修，除了一位照顧飲食的護關者外，佛陀不希望有任何其他人到他的住處去，而大家也都遵照佛陀的意思，在這期間沒有人去打擾。

比丘們在這段期間，勤修不淨觀，以致許多比丘對自己的身體感到厭惡，結果有拿刀自殺的，有服毒自殺的，有上吊、跳崖自殺的，也有請求其他比丘為自己結束性命的。

有一位厭惡自己身體的比丘，找了一位名叫鹿林的外道，以自己隨身衣物贈送為交換條件，要求鹿林外道殺他。

鹿林外道殺了這位比丘後，到跋求摩河河邊洗刀，邊洗邊想：「我就貪圖這點小利而殺人？」不禁有了悔意。

這時，空中正好有位魔界天眾，知道了鹿林外道的想法，反而鼓勵他說：

「善哉！善哉！大賢人！你這麼做，可以得到無量的功德，因為你幫助了一個持戒有德的釋迦弟子，使他未解脫涅槃而得解脫涅槃，而且，你還可以得到他的隨身衣物呢。」

鹿林外道聽了這樣的讚歎與鼓勵，真以為他這麼做，有大功德可得，於是，他就帶著刀子，到比丘們住的房舍、經行處、禪房等處，主動出擊，見了比丘就問，哪裡有未得解脫涅槃的持戒有德比丘，需要他服務的。這時，一些厭惡自己身體的比丘，紛紛出來，要求鹿林外道殺他們。結果，半個月內一共死了六十位比丘。

半個月過去了，佛陀結束他的閉關禪修，出來主持每月十五日的布薩說戒。布薩會中，佛陀發現與會的比丘減少了很多，就詢問尊者阿難。尊者阿難就將事情的原委，向佛陀報告，並請求佛陀再教導不淨觀以外的修法。

於是，佛陀說：

「比丘們！為此，今天我來為大家說安那般那念。這是一個從細微處下手學習，以開展自己的覺察力，而達到止息一切已起、未起的惡不善法，其威力，就像能洗滌一切已起、未起塵埃的大雨。如何修呢？

比丘若住在城郊、村外，早上進入村落乞食時，應好好守護著六根，看住自己的心念。餐後，就到林中、樹下、空地，或安靜的房舍中，端身正坐，將注意力集中在當前，不去想過去、未來的事，暫時將貪欲、瞋恚、瞌睡、不安、疑問等修學障礙排除，然後學習覺察自己的每一個吸氣與呼氣；覺察每個長、短氣息；覺察吸氣、呼氣的每一個過程；覺察吸氣、呼氣漸趨細緩的變化；於每個吸氣、呼氣中，覺察踊動之喜、溫馨之樂、覺知感受之心行、心行的止息等感受上不同的強、淡變化；於每個吸氣、呼氣中，覺察愉悅、止定、解脫等心念的變化；於每個吸氣、呼氣中，觀察無常、斷、無欲、寂滅等現象法的變化，這就叫做修安那般那念，是一種能讓身、心得到止息，有覺、有觀、寂滅、純一，成就離無明的明分想修學。」

On one occasion, the Buddha arrived at Vesali in the state of Varca, dwelling in Sarali Forest at the riverbank of Varmati River near the village of Vrji.

At that time, the Buddha was giving a talk to the bhikkhus on the meditation of uncleanliness in many ways; he was speaking in praise of this method, saying that practicing it could have great achievement and great benefit.

After teaching this Dharma-gate, the Buddha announced that he would enter into seclusion for half a month, with the exception of the bhikkhu who brought him alms food, he expressed his wish not to be disturbed, and everyone complied with the Bhddha’s wish, nobody disturbed him during his seclusion.

During this time, the bhikkhus devoted to the development of uncleanliness meditation, a large number of them felt so disgusted in their body resulting some killed themselves with knife, some committed suicide with poison, some hung themselves, jumped off the cliff, and some asked other bhikkhu to end their lives.

Having been so disgusted in his body, one bhikkhu offered his belongings to Mava, who studied doctrines different from Buddhism, and asked Mava to kill him.

After killing this bhikkhu, Mava went to riverbank of Varmati River to clean his knife, thinking: “Did I kill someone for craving of a small benefit?” He could not help but repent.

At that time, a heavenly being of the Mera realm happened to be in the sky, knowing Mava’s thinking, encouraging him instead:

“Very well! Very well! Great virtuous person! What you have done can obtain numerous merits, because you helped a disciple of Sakyamuni, who is upholding the precepts and virtuous, enable him who has yet to realize liberation nirvana to attain liberation nirvana, in addition, you also are able to possess his belongs.”

Listening to such praise and encouragement, Mava believed that he could obtain great merit, hence, he carried a knife to the dormitory, the venue for walking meditation, and meditation hall of the bhikkhus, proactively asking any bhikkhus he encountered whether there is a bhikkhu who is upholding the precepts and virtuous but has yet to achieve liberation nirvana and needs his service. At that time, some of the bhikkhus who were disgusted in their bodies came out one after another, requesting Mava to kill them. Finally, a total of 60 bhikkhus were killed in half a month.

After half a month, the Buddha completed his seclusion, emerged to hold the Posadha on fifteenth of each month for bhikkhus to confess their guilt of breaching the precepts. The Buddha discovered that the number of participating bhikkhus had sharply reduced, and asked the Venerable Ananda. The Venerable Ananda reported to the Buddha what had happened, and asked the Buddha to teach a technique other than foulness for practice.

Hence, the Buddha said:

“Bhikkhus! For that, today I speak to you about Anapana-sati. This is a technique, which starts to learn from subtleties, to develop one’s ability of awareness, to cease all unwholesome elements that has arisen and has yet to arise, its power just like a downpour that will wash off all dusts that have developed and yet to developed. How to practice such technique?

If a bhikkhu dwells in the suburb or outskirt of a village, when entering into the village for elms food in the morning, one should carefully guard one’s six faculties, watch one’s thoughts, after the meal, having gone into the forest, to the foot of the tree, empty lot, or to a quiet hut, sit down, having cross-folded his legs, straightened his body, just set up mindfulness in front of him, not the past, not the future, temporarily get rid of such obstacles as craving, anger, drowsiness, uneasy and doubt, then start to practice the awareness of each time he breathes in, breathes out; aware of each time he breathes long, breathes short; aware of each process of breathing in, breathing out; aware of the changes of gradually becoming subtle and slowing down of the breathes in, breathes out; aware of the rapture, the happiness, in each of the breathes in, breathes out; aware of the changes of heavy and light in the mental formation of feeling and mental formation of tranquilizing; in each of the breathes in, breathes out, be aware of the change of thoughts in pleasant, tranquility and liberation; in each of the breathes in, breathes out, aware of the changing phenomenon of impermanence, abolition, no-craving, and become tranquil, this is called Ananpana-sita--mindfulness of breathing. It is a training of understanding the discriminative thought, which allows the mind and body to gain cessation, enlightenment and mindfulness, become tranquil, and practice non-duality, and achieve ignorance severance.

一、本則故事取材自《雜阿含第八○九經》、《相應部第五四相應第九經》、《雜阿含第八○三經》、《相應部第五四相應第一經》。

二、這個故事，除了成為佛陀教導安那般那念修學法門的因緣外，也是佛陀為出家眾制定「殺戒」的因緣，廣為各部律典所記載。事件的發生地，多數典籍都略為毘舍離，而《雜阿含第八○九經》作「金剛聚落跋求摩河側薩羅梨林中」。其中，「金剛」即「跋耆」的另譯，而毘舍離一帶的居民，大半是跋耆族人（參考印順法師《以佛法研究佛法》第六一頁），《雜阿含第九八○經》就稱毘舍離為「跋耆人間」。所以，《雜阿含第八○九經》的記載，只是詳略之別，而實無不同。

三、依各部律典，幫助別人自殺，或鼓勵、讚歎別人自殺，都等同於親手殺人，而包含在喪失出家資格的殺罪中，但卻不包括自殺。不過，從本則故事知道，自殺並不為佛陀所鼓勵，否則也不會有安那般那念的教導了。另，《四分律》、《五分律》與《薩婆多部毘尼摩得勒伽》等律典，將自殺歸於「偷羅（蘭）遮罪」（大正大藏經二二冊第七、九八三頁，二三冊第六四一頁），這在僧團中，也算是種重罪了。不過，「偷蘭遮罪」一項，是七種犯罪歸類（七犯聚）所特有的。七犯聚的分類，並不屬於佛陀時代，而是約為西元前二七○年前後，部派開始再分化時代才成立的（參考印順法師《原始佛教聖典之集成》第二二二頁、《印度佛教思想史》第四五頁）。

四、安那般那，意思是「入、出息」，也就是指我們的呼吸。安那般那念也作「入出息念」，或略為「安般念」，就是「緣於呼吸的心念修學」。《出曜經》、《五事毘婆沙論》將安般念與不淨觀，並譽為佛法修學的「二甘露門」（大正大藏經四冊第六九八頁、二八冊第九八九頁），不過，就適用的廣度、方便性與副作用來看，安般念有可能是略勝一籌的，因為呼吸一直伴隨著我們，只要還有一口氣在，隨時隨地都可以成為自己觀照的對象（所緣）。

五、佛陀教導安般念，是從一早入城乞食的「守護六根」說起的，可見得安般念的修學，不是坐下來觀呼吸才開始，事先的心念收攝等準備功課，是其重要基礎。

1. This story was derived from Samyuktagama 809th Sutra, Samyuktta-nikaya 54th, Nikaya 9th Sutra, Samyuktagama 803th Sutra and Samyuktta-nikaya 54th, Nikaya 1st Sutra.

2. In addition to the causes and conditions of why the Buddha taught Anapana-sita, this story also marked the causes and conditions of the Buddha establishing the precept of “not killing” for the monastic, which was widely recorded in the disciplinary codes of all schools in Buddhism. As to the venue of the event, majority of the canons noted as Vesali in abbreviation, but text in Samyuktagama 809th Sutra was found to be in longhand: “Sarali Forest at the riverbank of Varmati River where the Vrji dwell”. “Vrji” is the other translation of “Vajra”. Majority of Vesali residents were Vrji (See Using Buddha Dharma to Study Buddha Dharma, the Venerable Yin Shun p. 61) and Samyuktagama 980th Sutra called Vesali as “the Vrji country”. Hence, there is no different in documenting the venue between Samyuktagama 809th Sutra and other canons except that one recorded the name in abbreviation and the other was recorded in longhand.

3. According to the disciplinary codes of all schools in Buddhism, assists, encourages and praises other to commit suicide equal to kill by one’s own hands, punishable by forfeiting qualification of monastic, but exclude one commits suicide. However, one can learn from this story that the Buddha did not encourage committing suicide; otherwise there would not have been the teaching of Anapana-sati. Also, the disciplinary codes in “Vinaya of the four categories of the Dharmagupta sect”, “Vinaya of the five categories of the Mahisasaka sect” and “Sarvaya Vinaya of the Sarastivada sect” categorize commit suicide is guilty of Sthatyaya (Taisho Tripitaka Vol 22, p. 7983, and Vol 23, p. 641), which is a felony in monastic. However, “committing an offence of Sthatyaya” is unique in the category of “seven offences”. The category of seven offences did not exist in the Buddha’s time; instead, it was established about 270 B.C. when the different Buddhist sects began to split again. (See Assembly of the Original Buddhism Canon”, the Venerable Yin Shun, p.222 and “History of Buddhism Ideology In India”, the Venerable Yin Shun, p. 45.)

4. Anapana-sati means, “breathes in and breathes out”, i.e., breathing. It also written as “mindfulness of breathing in and out” or abbreviated as “mindfulness of breathing”, which means “practice of mindfulness derived from breathing”. “Jetaka Sutra” and “Vibhasa Sutra” praised Anapana-sita and Foulness as the “two gates to the nectar of the Buddha’s teaching” (Taisho Tripitaka Vol 4, p. 698, and Vol 28, p. 989), however, from the degree of applicability, convenience and side-effects, Anapana-sita perhaps has the edge because breathing is always with us, as long as one is living, it could become the object of observations.

5. The Anapana-sita taught by Buddha started from “guard the six faculties” when one goes to the village for alms food early in the morning. Perceptibly, practicing Anapana-sita is not started from sitting down and observing breathing. The preparation of collecting one’s thoughts beforehand is its important foundation in practicing.