Anapanasati

Ānāpānasati (Pali; Sanskrit ānāpānasmṛti), meaning "mindfulness of breathing" ("sati" means mindfulness; "ānāpāna" refers to inhalation and exhalation), is a form of Buddhist meditation now common to Tibetan, Zen, Tiantai and Theravada Buddhism as well as Western-based mindfulness programs. Anapanasati means to feel the sensations caused by the movements of the breath in the body as is practiced in the context of mindfulness. According to tradition, Anapanasati was originally taught by Gautama Buddha in several suttas including the Ānāpānasati Sutta. (MN 118)

Origins in Buddhism

Anapanasati is a core meditation practice in Theravada, Tiantai and Chan traditions of Buddhism as well as a part of many mindfulness programs. In both ancient and modern times, anapanasati by itself is likely the most widely used Buddhist method for contemplating bodily phenomena.

The Ānāpānasati Sutta specifically concerns mindfulness of inhalation and exhalation, as a part of paying attention to one's body in quietude, and recommends the practice of anapanasati meditation as a means of cultivating the Seven Factors of Enlightenment: sati (mindfulness), dhamma vicaya (analysis), viriya (persistence), which leads to pīti (rapture), then to passaddhi (serenity), which in turn leads to samadhi (concentration) and then to upekkhā (equanimity). Finally, the Buddha taught that, with these factors developed in this progression, the practice of anapanasati would lead to release (Pali: vimutti; Sanskrit mokṣs) from dukkha (suffering), in which one realizes nibbana.