What is Kayanupassana ?
Kayanupassana (Kaya- body; anupassana- special observation) is the first part of Vipassana meditation where six subtitles are available. The first 5 Units are given below.
i. Anapana Pabba (Unit on Inhalation & Exhalation)
It is the section of breath where you need to be mindful of in-breath and out-breath. Just accept your breath as it is, no matter what kind it is. Simply accept a lengthier breath as long. Accept the lesser length if it exists. If the breath is warm, accept it as warm and if it is cool, accept it as cool. If breathing is moving through the right nostril, know it. If the breath is moving through the left nostril, know it as it is. In this way observe every single breath of every single type as it is without judgment.
Thus, continue to perceive your breath as just the breath (not I, not mine, not permanent, but simply a changing phenomenon) in yourself, or continue to perceive his body as just the body in others, or he continues to perceive his body as just the body in both himself and others. You can dwell perceiving, again and again, the cause and the genuine seeming of the body; or he dwells observing, again and again, the cause and the authentic dissolution of the body, or he dwells witnessing again and again both the real looking and termination of the body with their causes. In conclusion, be resolutely aware that only the breath exists or the body exists (not a soul, a self, or I). This consciousness is only for gradually developing mindfulness and insight (vipassana). He lives without attaching to anything in the world because he has disassociated himself from craving and incorrect beliefs. This is how a practitioner dwells continually perceiving the body to be nothing more than the body.
ii. Iriyapatha Pabba (Unit on Postures)
This is about physical postures. When you are walking just know “I am walking”. When you are standing, simply know “I am standing”. When you are sitting be aware, “I am sitting”. When you are lying down be aware of “I am lying down”.
In conclusion, a practitioner should be aware of how his body is situated and moving.
Thus, continue to perceive his body as just the body (not I, not mine, but simply a changing phenomenon) in self, or continue to perceive his own body as just the body in others, or continue to perceive his own body as just the body in both self and others.
A practitioner keeps noticing the cause and the actual advent of the body, the reason and the actual ending of the body, or he keeps noticing the causes of both the actual appearance and disintegration of the body alone with their causes.
To recap, be fully aware that only the body exists (not I, not mine, and is impermanent). That awareness is only for gradually developing mindfulness and insight (vipassana). Thus you can live without attaching to anything in the world because you are disassociated from craving and false beliefs. So, this is another way you can continually perceiving the body to be nothing more than the body.
iii. Sampajanna Pabba (Unit on Perfect Discernment)
And once more, a meditator moves forward or backward with clarity of understanding; he looks forward or elsewhere with clarity of knowing; he bends or stretches his limbs with clarity of understanding;
He does so with clear comprehension while carrying the bowl and donning the robes while consuming food and beverages and chewing and savoring them while peeing or fecating, and when moving around, sitting down, standing up, sleeping, waking up, speaking, or keeping quiet.
He continues to live in this state, continually seeing himself as nothing more than his body. So, this is another way a meditator dwells continually perceiving the body to be nothing more than the body.
iv. Patikulamanasika Pabba (Unit on Observation of impurities)
And once more, practitioner analyzes and ponders deeply upon this same body, from the soles of the feet up and from the tips of the head hair down, surrounded by the skin and full of many sorts of impurities, (thinking thus) “There exists in this body: hair of the head, hair of the body, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, membranes (including the pleura, the diaphragm and other forms of the membrane in the body), brain, spleen, lungs, intestines, mystery, gorge, feces, bile, phlegm, pus, blood, solid fat, tears, liquid fat, saliva, sweat, urine, mucus, and synovial fluid (i.e. lubricating oil of the joints)
For example, there is a double-mouthed provision bag containing a variety of grains, including hill-paddy, paddy, cowpea, green gram, sesame, and husked rice. A man with sound eyes was to open it and say, “This is hill-paddy, this is paddy, this is green-gram, this is cowpea, this is sesame, and this is husked rice.” Just thus, a meditator analyzes and ponders deeply upon this particular body, contained by the skin and full of all sorts of impurities from the soles of the feet up and from the tips of the head hair down, (thinking thus) “The body is contained with: hair, top of the head,… and urine.”
In this way, he continues to perceive his own body as nothing more than his own body. So, this is another way a meditator dwells, continually perceiving the body to be nothing more than the body.
v. Dhatumanasika Pabba (Unit on Survey of Body Elements)
A practitioner closely examines and ponders this body, however, it may be placed or disposed of, as composed of (only) the primary elements in the following way: “The body contains fundamental elements- earth, water, fire, and the air element.”
This is similar to how the practitioner, a skilled butcher, or his apprentice, having slaughtered and divided an animal into portions, would be sitting at the intersection of four high roads note.
In this way, he continues to perceive his own body as nothing more than his own body. So, the practitioner, this is another way he dwells, continually perceiving the body to be nothing more than the body.
vi. Navasivathika Pabba (Unit on Nine Phases of Corpses)
Dualities like hatred and craving in some of the practitioners are so intense that they may need to observe a dead body in various stages. This observation brings awareness that everything is impermanent, non-I, and non-mine. The various stages of the dead bodies are mentioned below-
Part 1
When a practitioner sees a body that is one day dead, two days dead, or three days dead, swollen, blue, and rotting, he then compares it to his own body in the following way: “Truly this body is of the same nature, it will become like that, and it cannot escape from it.”
In this way, he continues to perceive his own body as nothing more than the dead body…. So, this is another way a practitioner dwells, continually perceiving the body to be nothing more than the body.
Part 2
And again practitioner should observe a castoff body being consumed by crows, being devoured by hawks, vultures, being devoured by herons, being gulped by dogs, being devoured by tigers and leopards, being wolfed by wolves and jackals, or demolished by countless worms, He concludes by correlating it to his own body in the following manner: “Truly this body shares the same nature, it will eventually become like that and cannot flee from it.”
In this way, he continues to perceive his own body to be merely like that body……. So, this is another way a practitioner dwells, continually perceiving the body as nothing more than the body.
Part 3
And again he should see a decayed body in the tomb that is merely a skeleton kept together by tendons with some remaining flesh and blood, relates it to his own body, and says, “Truly this body is of the same kind, it will turn like that and cannot avoid from it,”
Thus he dwells perceiving, again and again, the body as just the body in himself…. Thus, this is also a method in which a practitioner abides by noticing, again and again, the body as just the body.
Part 4
And again, if he should see a discarded corpse in the graveyard, that is only a skeleton connected together by the tissues, ligaments, blood-besmeared, fleshless, he then links it to his own body thus: “Indeed, this body shares the same nature; it will develop into that and is powerless to change.”
Thus he continues distinguishing frequently the body as just the body in himself…. Thus, this is also an approach in which a practitioner dwells identifying time and again the body as merely the body.
Part 5
And again, if he should witness a body, discarded in the catacomb, that is just a bone held together by the connective tissues without flesh and blood, he then evaluates it to his own body thus: “In fact, Seeing as this body shares the same nature, it will inevitably take on that form and be unable to escape.
Thus he dwells on comprehending repeatedly the body as solely the body in himself…. Thus, this is also a mode in which a practitioner continues beholding over and over the body as merely the body.
Part 6
Additionally, if he were to find a body in the cemetery that was simply untied bones scattered in all directions—bones of the head, bones of the leg, bones of the arm, bones of the hip, bones of the shin, bones of the thigh, bones of the spine, bones of the shoulder, shin-bones, neck-bones, at one place the jawbone, at another place the teeth – he would find that the body was simply untied bones.
Thus he dwells inspecting time and again the physique as simply the body in himself…. Thus, this is also a feature in which a practitioner keeps perceiving regularly the body as just the body.
Part 7
And again, if he should behold a discarded body in the charnel, that is simply white bones of conch-like color, he then compares it to his own body thus: ” Beyond doubt, this body is of the identical quality, it will develop like that and there will be no way to stop it.”
As a result, he keeps seeing his own body as nothing more than his own body…. Thus, this is how he lives, constantly seeing the body as nothing more than the body.
Part 8
And once more, he compares his own body to a body that has been abandoned in a graveyard with bones that are more than a year old, saying: “Truly, this body is of the exact same form, it will decay like that and cannot break from it.”
In this way, he continues to consider his own body as nothing more than that discarded body. So, this is a further way that he lives, continually witnessing the body as nothing more than the body.
Part 9
He also says, “Truly this body is of the same nature, it will become like that and cannot escape from it,” if he sees a body abandoned in the charnel ground that is nothing but rotting bones shattering to dust.
Thus, he continues to experience his body as just the body (not I, not mine, not permanent, but simply a phenomenon) in himself, or he continues to feel his body as just the body in others, or he continues to view his body as simply the body in both himself and others.
He continues to see the cause and the actual appearance of the body, the reason and the actual dissolving of the body, or he continues to perceive the causes of both the actual emerging and decomposition of the body along with their causes.
In conclusion, he is fully conscious that only the body exists (not a soul, a self, or I). That awareness is only for gradually developing mindfulness and insight (vipassana). He lives without attaching to anything in the world because he has disassociated himself from craving and incorrect beliefs. As a result, this is another way that he lives, continually seeing the body as nothing more than the body
For more blogs visit on our Nepal Yoga Home blog section