解脫道論 念身總說與三十二行

The doorway of mindfulness of the body first gives its definition and benefits, then lists hair of the head, body hair, nails, teeth, skin, and the other things within the body. Its method first says “one should constantly recite and constantly observe,” and later “one should apprehend with mind alone.” The two statements are retained in their original order; this passage does not explain their relation.

The benefits likewise remain in their original order: endurance of fear, cold, and heat; fulfillment of four perceptions; obtaining the four meditations at will; clearly discerning dhammas and completing cultivation; proceeding toward a good destination and toward cream.

The three kinds of apprehension are color, aversion, and emptiness. The three conditional statements that follow instead concern the color kasiṇa, foulness, and elements; three kinds of meditation depend on kasiṇa, an object of foulness, and an object of elements; and three kinds of practitioners arouse signs or attend through color, aversion, and elements. The third item changes from “emptiness” to “elements.” The passage does not say that the two are identical and does not further explain the relation among the groups.

The passage also has three places where a stated number does not match the list: thirty-two against twenty-five, four against five, and thirteen against fourteen. The original numbers, the original lists, and the repeated “by place” are all retained without forced deletion or supplementation.

Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · General Account of Mindfulness of the Body and the Thirty-Two Items · Doorway · Summer 2026

Questions and Definition

Question: What is mindfulness of the body? What is its cultivation? What is its characteristic? What is its function? What are its benefits? How is it cultivated?

Answer: The source says, “cultivating mindfulness of the nature of the body”: cultivating mindfulness directed to the nature of the body. It then places “mindfulness, recollection, right mindfulness” side by side and calls this mindfulness of the body.

When this mindfulness abides without distraction, it is called cultivation. The source says that “causing the nature of the body to arise” is its characteristic, disaffection is its function, and “seeing the absence of reality” is its “arising.” This doorway does not ask “what is its basis?” and its answer says “as its arising,” rather than the “as its basis” common in other doorways. The source terms are retained here.

Benefits

What are the benefits of cultivating mindfulness of the body? It makes one capable of endurance: capable of bearing fear and “capable of enduring cold and heat,” among other things. The perceptions of impermanence, not-self, foulness, and danger are fulfilled. One can obtain the four meditations at will, clearly discern dhammas and complete the cultivation, proceed toward a good destination, and proceed toward cream. The source lists these benefits in this order and gives no total number.

The Thirty-Two Items

How is it cultivated? A beginning meditator enters a secluded place and sits, gathers the whole mind, and with an undistracted mind cultivates only “the nature of mind.” At the opening of the doorway the text has “the nature of the body,” while here it reads “the nature of mind.” The wording is not silently made uniform.

How does one cultivate the nature of mind? One observes in this body: hair of the head, body hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, marrow, brain, liver, heart, 脾胇, gall, stomach, fat and grease, brain membrane, large intestine, small intestine, feces, urine, pus and blood, 淡污, saliva, tears, nasal mucus and spittle, observing them as foul. The forms 脾胇 and 淡污 are retained because each has a textual variant discussed in the apparatus.

The source calls this list the “thirty-two items,” but the punctuation of the base text actually divides it into twenty-five entries. Seven entries are two-character compounds; dividing each into two would yield thirty-two, but the treatise does not say that they should be divided in that way. The stated number thirty-two and the base text’s division into twenty-five are therefore both retained. The beginner proceeds through this list “first upward in sequence, then downward in sequence.” At minimum, this can be read as proceeding upward and then downward in order; the passage does not explain the exact method.

The source first says, “Good! With words spoken by the mouth, one should constantly recite and constantly observe.” It then says, “Good! Through constantly observing words spoken by the mouth.” The passage does not further explain how the two sentences are to be divided. At this point it speaks of “each of four modes” and says that one should apprehend with mind alone, yet five items actually follow: by color, by movement, by shape, by location, and by discrimination. Through these a coarse sign arises; whether one, two, or many, one skillfully grasps the corresponding sign. Four are announced and five listed. Nothing is added or removed here, and no allocation is imposed.

Three Kinds of Apprehension and Their Allocation to Practitioners

The meditator brings the practice forth through three kinds of apprehension: by color, by aversion, and by emptiness.

If a sign arises through color, one should attend through mastery of the color kasiṇa. If a sign arises through aversion, one should attend to foulness. If a sign arises through emptiness, the source says that one “should attend to the elements.”

Depending on a kasiṇa, one can arouse the four meditations; depending on an object of foulness, one can arouse the first meditation; depending on an object of elements, one can arouse access meditation.

The source then assigns three kinds of practitioners: a practitioner of angry temperament arouses a sign through color, one of lustful temperament through aversion, and one of wisdom temperament through elements. The third item here is “arouses a sign through elements,” which differs from “through emptiness” in the preceding list of three apprehensions. The text does not explain the relation between the two terms.

It then repeats the allocation: a practitioner of angry temperament should attend to color, one of lustful temperament to aversion, and one of wisdom temperament to elements. The first list says “arouses a sign”; the second says “should attend.” The passage does not state the difference between the two occurrences.

The Thirteen Modes

The source further says that one should recollect the nature of the body through “thirteen modes,” then lists: by origin, by place, by condition, by flow, by sequence, by shape, by kinds of worms, by their resting places, by aggregation, by what is repellent, by foulness, by place, by ingratitude, and by having a boundary. As the received text stands, there are fourteen items, and “by place” occurs twice. The stated number thirteen, all fourteen entries, and the repeated “by place” are retained without deletion or supplementation.

Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · General Account of Mindfulness of the Body and the Thirty-Two Items · Vernacular · Summer 2026

This passage first answers the definition, cultivation, characteristic, function, and benefits of mindfulness of the body. It then lists the things within the body and the order of observation, followed by three kinds of apprehension, three groups of conditional statements, and three kinds of practitioners; it ends by announcing thirteen modes. The crucial observation is that the names in these groups are not completely identical. The three apprehensions are “color, aversion, emptiness,” but the third item in the later groups becomes “elements.” Read each group separately in its own order. The first group expressly has “emptiness” as its third item, while the later conditional statements, supporting objects, and practitioner groups expressly have “elements.” This verbal mismatch must be preserved in full.

Definition and Benefits

“Question: What is mindfulness of the body? What is its cultivation? What is its characteristic? What is its function? What are its benefits? How is it cultivated? Answer: Cultivate mindfulness of the nature of the body. That mindfulness, recollection, and right mindfulness are called mindfulness of the body. This mindfulness abides without distraction; this is called cultivation. Causing the nature of the body to arise is its characteristic, disaffection is its function, and seeing the absence of reality is its arising” 〔T32 432c15–18〕. This doorway has no question “what is its basis?” Its answer likewise reads “seeing the absence of reality is its arising.” The missing question is preserved without forcing uniformity. The four base-text characters 念身此念 are read as 身念 in four witnesses, changing the punctuation; both are recorded without adjudication. The definition places mindfulness, recollection, and right mindfulness side by side and calls them mindfulness of the body. Mindfulness abiding without distraction is called cultivation. The passage then gives, in order, causing the nature of the body to arise as characteristic, disaffection as function, and seeing the absence of reality as arising. Each item stops at the source’s wording; no meaning absent from the passage is supplied for “arising.”

“What is its cultivation?” and the final question “How is it cultivated?” both occur in the list of questions. The answer first responds to the former with “This mindfulness abides without distraction; this is called cultivation.” Only after listing the benefits does “As for how it is cultivated” turn to entering a secluded place and sitting, gathering the mind, and listing things within the body 〔T32 432c17–23〕. Both concern cultivation, but the received text places their answers at different points. That order should be retained.

The benefits have no stated total: “Through cultivating mindfulness of the body one becomes capable of endurance, capable of bearing fear, capable of enduring cold and heat, and so on. The perceptions of impermanence, not-self, foulness, and danger become fulfilled. One becomes able to obtain the four meditations at will, to discern dhammas clearly and complete the cultivation, to proceed toward a good destination, and to proceed toward cream” 〔T32 432c18–21〕. In the source’s order: becoming capable of endurance, capable of bearing fear, and capable of enduring cold and heat; fulfillment of the four perceptions; obtaining the four meditations at will; clearly discerning dhammas and completing cultivation; proceeding toward a good destination and toward cream. The entire list is governed by “through cultivating mindfulness of the body,” and both final phrases use “proceed toward.”

In the sentence-by-sentence connection, “those perceptions become fulfilled” immediately follows the perceptions of impermanence, not-self, foulness, and danger. “One becomes able to obtain the four meditations at will” begins the next item; “clearly discerning dhammas and completing the cultivation” forms another group; and the final two clauses both say “proceed toward” 〔T32 432c19–21〕. These connective words and this order distinguish the nodes of the list. The passage does not state that the items form a further causal sequence.

The Thirty-Two Items: Speech First, Mind Thereafter

“As for how it is cultivated, a beginning meditator enters a secluded place and sits, gathers the whole mind, and with an undistracted mind cultivates only the nature of mind. How does one cultivate the nature of mind? In this body there are hair of the head, body hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, marrow, brain, liver, heart, 脾胇, gall, stomach, fat and grease, brain membrane, large intestine, small intestine, feces, urine, pus and blood, 淡污, saliva, tears, nasal mucus and spittle: foul” 〔T32 432c21–25〕. The opening sequence is entering a secluded place and sitting, gathering the whole mind, and with an undistracted mind cultivating only the nature of mind. The opening of the doorway reads “nature of the body,” whereas this point reads “nature of mind”; the base text’s wording is retained. The list starts with hair of the head, body hair, nails, teeth, and skin, continues through flesh, sinews, and internal things, and closes with feces, urine, pus and blood, 淡污, saliva, tears, nasal mucus and spittle. The final “foul” governs the whole list; the passage does not explain each name separately. Four witnesses read 肺 for 胇, four read 痰 for 淡, and the Gong witness reads 入 for 腦 in 腦膜. All are recorded without adjudication.

Following the punctuation of the base text, twenty-five entries can be counted one by one: hair of the head one through sinews seven; marrow eight, brain nine, liver ten, heart eleven, 脾胇 twelve, gall thirteen, stomach fourteen, fat and grease fifteen, brain membrane sixteen, large intestine seventeen, small intestine eighteen, feces nineteen, urine twenty, pus and blood twenty-one, 淡污 twenty-two, saliva twenty-three, tears twenty-four, and nasal mucus and spittle twenty-five 〔T32 432c23–25〕. This count reflects only the present punctuation; it does not decide whether compounds should be divided.

One question must be held open here: the text calls them “these thirty-two items” 〔T32 432c26〕, yet punctuation yields only twenty-five. Where are the missing seven? Seven entries in the list are two-character compounds—骨髓, 脾胇, 肪膏, 腦膜, 膿血, 淡污, and 涕唾. Dividing each in two produces the number thirty-two exactly. The treatise, however, does not state this mode of division, and the base text is punctuated as it is. The original form is preserved: no unique punctuation and no forced count. This exposition asks only one discipline here: when a stated number and a list do not match, count first, then see whether division or combination offers a path, and finally record the uncertainty without forcing a decision.

The order of observation reads: “A beginning meditator, with regard to these thirty-two items, first proceeds upward in sequence, then downward in sequence. Good! With words spoken by the mouth, one should constantly recite and constantly observe. Good! Through constantly observing words spoken by the mouth, at this time, in each of four modes, one should apprehend with mind alone: by color, by movement, by shape, by location, and by discrimination, a coarse sign arises; whether one, two, or many, one skillfully grasps the corresponding sign” 〔T32 432c25–433a01〕. First comes “upward in sequence, then downward in sequence”; this passage does not further explain the method. Next comes “with words spoken by the mouth, one should constantly recite and constantly observe,” followed later by “one should apprehend with mind alone.” What can be established is the sequence from constant oral recitation and observation to apprehension with mind alone; the passage does not explain their functional relation. “Good!” occurs once in each of the two clauses concerning oral words. “Each of four modes” announces four but is followed by five items—color, movement, shape, location, and discrimination. This is retained without forcing the count. The passage then says that the coarse signs are one, two, or many, and that the corresponding sign is skillfully grasped.

The end of the sentence must likewise remain in order: first “one should apprehend with mind alone”; next come color, movement, shape, location, and discrimination; only then comes “a coarse sign arises; whether one, two, or many, one skillfully grasps the corresponding sign” 〔T32 432c29–433a01〕. The received text does not explain how each of the five “by” phrases connects to one, two, or many. Nor does it say which of the five the announced four excludes. All five items and all three quantity words are therefore retained.

Three Kinds of Apprehension and the Three Groups That Follow

“The meditator thus brings the practice forth through three kinds of apprehension: by color, by aversion, and by emptiness” 〔T32 433a01–02〕. This is the first group, whose third item expressly reads “emptiness.” The next group has three conditional statements: one whose sign arises through color should attend through mastery of the color kasiṇa; one whose sign arises through aversion should attend to foulness; one whose sign arises through emptiness should attend to the elements 〔T32 433a02–05〕. The third statement contains both “emptiness” and “elements”; the source does not say that the two terms are identical.

The next group changes its grammatical subject to the supporting object: depending on a kasiṇa, one arouses the four meditations; depending on an object of foulness, the first meditation; depending on an object of elements, access meditation 〔T32 433a05–07〕. Here the three items are “kasiṇa, foulness, elements,” no longer the original “color, aversion, emptiness.” Practitioners are then listed: one of angry temperament arouses a sign through color, one of lustful temperament through aversion, and one of wisdom temperament through elements 〔T32 433a07–09〕. The third item is again “elements,” not “emptiness.”

The practitioner group is immediately repeated under “further”: one of angry temperament should attend to color, one of lustful temperament to aversion, and one of wisdom temperament to elements 〔T32 433a09–10〕. The first group says “arouses a sign”; the second says “should attend.” The treatise does not state the difference between them. What can be established is each group’s received order and wording, and the verbal mismatch by which the third item changes from “emptiness” to “elements.” The passage offers no further account of the relation among the groups.

The closing announcement reads: “Further, one should recollect the nature of the body through thirteen modes: by origin, by place, by condition, by flow, by sequence, by shape, by kinds of worms, by their resting places, by aggregation, by what is repellent, by foulness, by place, by ingratitude, and by having a boundary” 〔T32 433a11–13〕. Counted in the order of the received text, fourteen items are listed. The second and twelfth both read “by place.” This passage only names them and does not explain them one by one. The stated “thirteen modes,” all fourteen original names, and the repeated “by place” are therefore retained without deletion or addition, and the two occurrences are not assigned distinct meanings in advance.

Carry away three things: one observation—the three apprehensions “color, aversion, emptiness” do not use exactly the same words as the later groups “kasiṇa, foulness, elements” and “color, aversion, elements”; one reading rule—retain the received sequence, with “constantly recite and constantly observe” before “apprehend with mind alone,” without separately defining their relation; and one pen—where a stated number and a list differ, as thirty-two against twenty-five, four against five, and thirteen against fourteen, count first, look for division or combination, and finally record without forcing a decision. The next passage begins the item-by-item explanation of the thirteen modes, at “Question: How should one recollect the nature of the body by origin?” in 08-52 〔T32 433a13–14〕.

Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · General Account of Mindfulness of the Body and the Thirty-Two Items · Exposition · Summer 2026