The Buddha teaches how mindfulness of breathing is developed through sixteen steps—from knowing long and short breaths through experiencing the whole body, stilling bodily and mental processes, gladdening and liberating the mind, to contemplating impermanence, fading away, cessation, and letting go—regarding fruits (2nd).

SN 54.5 Fruits (2nd)

“Ānāpānassati, bhikkhave, bhāvitā bahulīkatā mahapphalā hoti mahānisaṁsā. Kathaṁ bhāvitā ca, bhikkhave, ānāpānassati kathaṁ bahulīkatā mahapphalā hoti mahānisaṁsā?

Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu araññagato rukkhamūlagato suññāgāragato nisīdati pallaṅkaṁ ābhujitvā ujuṁ kāyaṁ paṇidhāya parimukhaṁ satiṁ upaṭṭhapetvā.

So satova assasati, satova passasati …pe…

‘paṭinissaggānupassī assasissāmī’ti sikkhati, ‘paṭinissaggānupassī passasissāmī’ti sikkhati.

Evaṁ bhāvitā kho, bhikkhave, ānāpānassati evaṁ bahulīkatā mahapphalā hoti mahānisaṁsā.

Evaṁ bhāvitāya kho, bhikkhave, ānāpānassatiyā evaṁ bahulīkatāya satta phalā sattānisaṁsā pāṭikaṅkhā. Katame satta phalā sattānisaṁsā? Diṭṭheva dhamme paṭikacca aññaṁ ārādheti; no ce diṭṭheva dhamme paṭikacca aññaṁ ārādheti. Atha maraṇakāle aññaṁ ārādheti; no ce diṭṭheva dhamme paṭikacca aññaṁ ārādheti, no ce maraṇakāle aññaṁ ārādheti. Atha pañcannaṁ orambhāgiyānaṁ saṁyojanānaṁ parikkhayā antarāparinibbāyī hotiupahaccaparinibbāyī hotiasaṅkhāraparinibbāyī hotisasaṅkhāraparinibbāyī hotiuddhaṁsoto hoti akaniṭṭhagāmī evaṁ bhāvitāya kho, bhikkhave, ānāpānassatiyā evaṁ bahulīkatāya ime satta phalā sattānisaṁsā pāṭikaṅkhā”ti.

Pañcamaṁ.

Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).

“Ānāpānassati, bhikkhave, bhāvitā bahulīkatā mahapphalā hoti mahānisaṁsā.

“Mendicants, when mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated it’s very fruitful and beneficial.

Kathaṁ bhāvitā ca, bhikkhave, ānāpānassati kathaṁ bahulīkatā mahapphalā hoti mahānisaṁsā?

And how is mindfulness of breathing developed and cultivated to be very fruitful and beneficial?

Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu araññagato rukkhamūlagato suññāgāragato nisīdati pallaṅkaṁ ābhujitvā ujuṁ kāyaṁ paṇidhāya parimukhaṁ satiṁ upaṭṭhapetvā.

It’s when a mendicant—gone to a wilderness, or to the root of a tree, or to an empty hut—sits down cross-legged, sets their body straight, and brings mindfulness to the present.

So satova assasati, satova passasati …pe…

Just mindful, they breathe in. Mindful, they breathe out. …

‘paṭinissaggānupassī assasissāmī’ti sikkhati, ‘paṭinissaggānupassī passasissāmī’ti sikkhati.

They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in observing letting go.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out observing letting go.’

Evaṁ bhāvitā kho, bhikkhave, ānāpānassati evaṁ bahulīkatā mahapphalā hoti mahānisaṁsā.

Mindfulness of breathing, when developed and cultivated in this way, is very fruitful and beneficial.

Evaṁ bhāvitāya kho, bhikkhave, ānāpānassatiyā evaṁ bahulīkatāya satta phalā sattānisaṁsā pāṭikaṅkhā.

When mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated in this way you can expect seven fruits and benefits.

Katame satta phalā sattānisaṁsā?

What seven?

Diṭṭheva dhamme paṭikacca aññaṁ ārādheti;

You attain enlightenment early on in this very life.

no ce diṭṭheva dhamme paṭikacca aññaṁ ārādheti.

Atha maraṇakāle aññaṁ ārādheti;

If not, you attain enlightenment at the time of death.

no ce diṭṭheva dhamme paṭikacca aññaṁ ārādheti, no ce maraṇakāle aññaṁ ārādheti.

Atha pañcannaṁ orambhāgiyānaṁ saṁyojanānaṁ parikkhayā antarāparinibbāyī hoti

If not, with the ending of the five lower fetters you’re extinguished in between one life and the next …

upahaccaparinibbāyī hoti

you’re extinguished upon landing …

asaṅkhāraparinibbāyī hoti

you’re extinguished without extra effort …

sasaṅkhāraparinibbāyī hoti

you’re extinguished with extra effort …

uddhaṁsoto hoti akaniṭṭhagāmī

you head upstream, going to the Akaniṭṭha realm …

evaṁ bhāvitāya kho, bhikkhave, ānāpānassatiyā evaṁ bahulīkatāya ime satta phalā sattānisaṁsā pāṭikaṅkhā”ti.

When mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated in this way you can expect these seven fruits and benefits.”

Pañcamaṁ.

Qualities:

Ending

Ending

The complete exhaustion and ending of craving, aversion, and delusion—the three roots of suffering. It refers to both the gradual wearing away of defilements through practice and the final cessation that constitutes Nibbāna.

Also known as: cessation, exhaustion, gradual ending, wearing away
Pāli: khaya, khīṇa, nirodha
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Giving up

Giving up

The mental quality of renunciation and release from attachment. It delights in simplicity and freedom rather than in sensual pleasure. Giving up is not loss but the joyful abandoning of burden, opening the way to peace and insight.

Also known as: renunciation, relinquishment, letting go, abandonment
Pāli: nekkhamma
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Mindfulness

Mindfulness

Active presence of mind and lucid retention; the faculty that remembers the Dhamma, anchors attention to the chosen object or present experience, and guards the mind against unwholesome states.

Also known as: recollecting, remembering, keeping in mind, presence, awareness
Pāli: sati, anussati
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Right effort

Right effort

Energy and resolve directed toward preventing unwholesome states from arising, abandoning arisen unwholesome states, cultivating wholesome states, and maintaining arisen wholesome states; persistent application of the mind aligned with the path.

Also known as: right endeavor, right striving
Pāli: sammāvāyāma, padhāna
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Vigour

Vigour

Energetic effort and resilience in practice. It is the refusal to shrink back, the 'uphill' force that initiates and sustains wholesome actions against the gravity of habit.

Also known as: energy, effort, enthusiasm, zeal, application of will, persistence
Pāli: vīriya
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Wholesome

Wholesome

Conducive to or suggestive of good health and mental well-being.

Also known as: blameless, skillful, beneficial, good, useful, healthy, nourishing, sustaining
Pāli: kusala
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Last updated on July 27, 2026