Let me address your comments in the same order.
1. You wrote here: “I explicitly wrote: “Correction: This is factually incorrect, and it is not what I said… the Suttas are filled with individuals attaining the Sotapanna stage simply by hearing the Dhamma (paratoghosa)… Formal physical breath meditation is not the only starting point.“
My response:
Yes. That is why I replied as follows:
- That is exactly my point. Then what is the need to give ‘breathing’ such prominence (because you say ‘Anapana‘ means ‘breathing in and out’)?
- As you came to realize, there is not a single instance mentioned in the Tipitaka where a person attained the Sotapanna stage by starting off with ‘breathing in and out.’ Angulimala was determined to take the Buddha’s life. Same as Alawaka yakka, who threatened to toss Buddha’s body across a river. Both attained the Sotapanna stage by simply listening to the Buddha’s words.
- As explained below in #3, while listening to the Buddha, their kāya saṅkhāra were subdued (their minds temporarily relieved of the panca nivarana), thereby enabling them to grasp the deeper meanings of the Buddha’s words.
Again, if breathing is applicable as you say only in specific situations, and there is not even a single instance of that leading to a magga phala in the Tipitaka, what is the need to call ānāpānasati as ‘breath meditation’? You did not answer that specific question.
2. You stated: The Brahma / Deva “Contradiction” There is no contradiction; there is only context. The Ānāpānasati Sutta (MN 118) and Mahā Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (MN 10) were explicitly addressed to human monks (Bhikkhus) who possess gross physical bodies, lungs, and physical breath.
- So, those two suttas are not applicable to Brahmas or Devas? You wrote on April 26, 2026, at 8:48 am: “The Tipitaka explicitly states that Satipatthana is the direct path (ekayano maggo) to purification and realization.”
- This is the first time I hear that the Buddha delivered suttas (especially key suttas like Satipatthana) just for humans! As I understand, the material in any sutta is applicable to any sentient being except for those in the apayas; they cannot comprehend Dhamma.
- This is not a contextual issue. Buddha Dhamma is not restricted to humans.
3. Yes. What you quoted in MN 36 is correct: When the Ascetic Gotama stopped his assāsapassāse (“mukhato ca nāsato ca assāsapassāse uparundhiṃ” – “I stopped the in-breaths and the out-breaths through my mouth and nose”), the Sutta states it caused roaring winds in his head and terrible, agonizing physical pain.
- Are you not aware that the same words have different meanings depending on the context? You keep saying ‘contextual’ but don’t seem to have grasped the meaning. This happens in any language, as is obvious from the following examples:
- Right: You are right./Make a right turn at the light.
- Rose: My favorite flower is a rose./He quickly rose from his seat.
- Assāsapassāsā in the Cūḷavedalla Sutta (MN 44): “Assāsapassāsā kho, āvuso visākha, kāyasaṅkhāro” does not mean “In-breathing and out-breathing, friend Visākha, are bodily formations.” Assāsapassāsā there means something entirely different; it is contextual! Look at the next verse in the “Cūḷavedalla Sutta (MN 44)“; “Assāsapassāsā kho, āvuso visākha, kāyikā ete dhammā kāyappaṭibaddhā, tasmā assāsapassāsā kāyasaṅkhāro” which is translated in the link as “Breathing is physical. It’s tied up with the body, that’s why breathing is a physical process.” That English translation matches your idea of kāya as the ‘physical body.”
- Then, you (and the Sutta Central translator) again have the contradiction with the Brahmas. They don’t have physical bodies. So, are you saying that Cūḷavedalla Sutta is also restricted to humans?
- If that is the case, how would a Brahma attain a magga phala without engaging in Kāyānupassanā?
- All these issues go away when one uses the correct meaning of kāya.