First Stage Of Ānāpānasati

The first stage of Ānāpānasati is to see the anicca nature of the pañcupādānakkhandha kāya to attain the Sotapanna stage of Nibbāna.

November 1, 2025

Kāya Is Pañcupādānakkhandha Kāya

1. As we discussed in “Kāya Is Pañcupādānakkhandha Kāya in Most Suttās,” ‘kāya‘ means ‘pañcupādānakkhandha kāya‘ in most suttās.

As we have discussed, a “new” pañcupādānakkhandha (or a Paṭicca Samuppāda) process begins when a sensory input reaches the mind, and the mind AUTOMATICALLY enters the ‘purāna kamma‘ stage. The mind will stop pursuing many ‘uninteresting ones’ and stop at the ‘purāna kamma‘ stage.
If it keeps attaching to the sensory input, it will reach the “taṇhā paccayā upādāna” step in Paṭicca Samuppāda, and enter the ‘nava kamma‘ stage. This is where defiled actions (kamma) through mind, speech, and body, such as lying and stealing (essentially, these are the ten unwholesome actions (dasa akusala). Then we say that the mind has evolved to the “nava kamma” stage.
Even if the mind does not evolve into the “nava kamma” stage, it always reaches the “purāna kamma” stage (initial “weak kamma” generation). In other words, all sensory events (even when looking at a tree) cause the mind of a puthujjana (average human) to act on the view and perception that “the world is on a sound footing.” Initially, it is challenging to understand why the mind automatically attaches to even ‘uninteresting sense inputs, such as ‘looking at a tree or the blue sky’.
More details in many posts, including “Purāna and Nava Kamma – Sequence of Kamma Generation.”

Three stages of Ānāpānasati

2. In the recent post “Ānāpānasati – Connection to Satipaṭṭhāna,” we discussed the fact that “Ānāpānasati Sutta (MN 118)” describes the three sequential steps to reach the Arahant stage of Nibbāna via cultivating Ānāpānasati in three phases.

The first phase involves “seeing the anicca (unfruitful) nature of attaching to the pañcupādānakkhandha kāya to attain the Sotapanna stage. This step is only mentioned briefly in “Ānāpānasati Sutta (MN 118).” We will discuss this first stage in detail in this post.
In this stage, one focuses on the whole pañcupādānakkhandha kāya and how it is initiated. One must ‘see with wisdom’ that each time the pañcupādānakkhandha kāya is initiated, one’s mind moves away from Nibbāna. This is easily in the charts that we will discuss below.
Ānāpāna is āna āpāna.In this stage, ‘āna‘ is to “take in/comprehend that the world (pañcupādānakkhandha) is beneficial or of anicca nature”, and ‘āpāna‘ is to “discard the wrong view that the pañcupādānakkhandha is beneficial or of nicca nature.” (Conventionally, Ānāpāna is interpreted as ‘breathing in’ and ‘breathing out.’)
As part of that contemplation, one would cultivate the asubha bhāvanā by looking at various aspects of the physical body (which is called interchangeably “kāya” and “sarira“). This would enable a puthujjana to break the lowest three samyojana that bind one to the apāyās.

3. The requirements for a puthujjana to become a Sotapanna Anugāmi and thus to become a Noble Person (Ariya) are stated succinctly in the Khandha Sutta (SN 25.10).

We discussed the Khandha Sutta (SN 25.10) in detail in “Sotapanna Anugāmi and Anicca/Viparināmi Nature of a Defiled Mind.”
The main requirement is to see the anicca, vipariṇāmi, aññathābhāvi nature of the pañcupādānakkhandha or rūpa upādānakkhandha through viññāṇa upādānakkhandha. These are frequently stated as rūpa, vedanā, saññā, saṅkhārā, and viññāṇa in the suttās.
Pañcupādānakkhandha or ‘pañcupādānakkhandha kāya’ is frequently referred to as ‘kāya’ in the suttās. See “Kāya Is Pañcupādānakkhandha Kāya in Most Suttās.”

First Stage Involves Kāyānupassanā Through Dhammānupassanā

4. Therefore, ‘kāyānupassanā‘ is to contemplate on the anicca, vipariṇāmi, aññathābhāvi nature of the ‘kāya’ or pañcupādānakkhandha.

Cittānupassanā, vedanānupassanā, and dhammānupassanā (the remaining three components of Satipaṭṭhāna) are just three more ways of contemplating the anicca, vipariṇāmi, aññathābhāvi nature of the ‘kāya.’
Cittānupassanā: One must be constantly watching for rāga, dosa, moha thoughts arising in the mind, and re-focus the mind on a neutral or Dhamma concept to avoid getting further involved with them.
Vedanānupassanā: Such thoughts mentioned above come to the mind with either a sukha vedanā (with rāga), a dukkha vedanā (with dosa), or a neutral vedanā (with moha). Recognizing such vedanā can help cultivate cittānupassanā. Normally, it is easier to identify unwise thoughts arising with sukha or dukkha vedanā, but harder to identify those arising with only moha or avijjā.
Dhammānupassanā helps identify the root causes of unwise thoughts and feelings when engaging in kāyānupassanā, cittānupassanā, and vedanānupassanā. However, all four are cultivated together! They are interrelated.

5. Therefore, all four types of anupassanā are critical to cultivate the first stage of Satipaṭṭhāna and to ‘see the anicca nature’ of attaching to sensory inputs with rāga, dosa, and moha/avijjā.

Thus, in this first stage, one just needs to see the unfruitfulness of attaching to the ‘kāya‘ or ‘pañcupādānakkhandha kāya’.
As we discussed in “Sotapanna Anugāmi and Anicca/Viparināmi Nature of a Defiled Mind,” this stage only needs to see the ‘broader view’ of the unfruitfulness and danger in attaching to the ‘pañcupādānakkhandha kāya.’
It is only at the second stage that it is NECESSARY to see the details of the above process, i.e., how a mind initially gets attached AUTOMATICALLY before consciously thinking about it. That is where “kāye kāyānupassanā, citte cittānupassanā, vedanāsu vedanānupassanā, and dhamme dhammānupassanā come into play. We will discuss that in the next post.
The ‘broader view’ of the ‘pañcupādānakkhandha kāya‘ as a whole is readily apparent in the following chart from the above post, where we discussed the minimum requirement for a puthujjana to become a Sotapanna Anugāmi.
Step 1 and Step 2 in the chart below indicate how a Sotapanna Anugāmi will start on the Noble Path by becoming a ‘Paṭisotagāmi.’ See “Paṭisotagāmi – Moving Toward Satipaṭṭhāna Bhumi and Nibbāna.”

Print/Download: “Aniccaṁ vipariṇāmi aññathābhāvi“

A Puthujjana‘s Mind Is Always In the ‘Red Box’ With Kāma Saññā

6. To reach the Sotapanna stage, one must ‘see with wisdom’ how the mind of a puthujjana automatically and invariably attaches to every sensory input based on rāga or dosa or at least avijjā at the first moment of encountering it.

Thus, with every sensory input, their minds enter the ‘kāma loka‘ indicated by the ‘red box’ in the above chart.
Thus, a puthujjana is forced to be an ‘anusotagāmi‘ (‘to initiate pañcupādānakkhandha and to flow with the rebirth process’). See “Growth of Pañcupādānakkhandha – ‘Anusotagāmi’.” The only solution they see when encountering events with dukkha vedanā is to seek more sukha vedanā; thus, they are trapped and are helpless in the rebirth process.

7. It is critically important to understand the above statements regarding attachment to all sensory inputs. There are no exceptions. Even when a puthujjana looks at the least interesting things in the world (say, a speck of dust), with that sight, his mind gets into the kāma loka with kāma saññā. Obviously, such a sight would not induce rāga or dosa, but it will at least induce avijjā.

Even such an insignificant sensory input turns on the ‘kāma saññā‘, and the mind will automatically enter ‘kāma loka‘ with a defiled mind by attaching to that ‘kāma saññā.‘ That makes the mind automatically move away from Nibbāna and the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi, as seen in the charts above and below.
Thus, a puthujjana is ALWAYS engaged in ‘anicca‘ (unfruitful) activity of attaching to worldly things. That forces them on the ‘vipariṇāmi aññathābhāvi’ path to add to the pañcupādānakkhandha (or equivalently to initiate more Paṭicca Samuppāda processes) to lengthen the rebirth process and NEVER move in the direction of Nibbāna and the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi. See “Aniccaṁ Vipariṇāmi Aññathābhāvi – A Critical Verse.”
Some sensory inputs trigger kāma rāga and a corresponding ‘sukha vedanā.’ Another set triggers paṭigha (or dosa) and a ‘dukkha vedanā.’ All others (like the speck of dust mentioned above) only generate neutral vedanā. The mind of a puthujjana will attach to all of them.
The following sutta succinctly states the above.

Puthujjana‘s Mind Is Attached to Even ‘Neutral Vedanā‘

8. The “Daṭṭhabba Sutta (SN 36.5)” starts with saying there are three types of vedanā: Sukhā vedanā, dukkhā vedanā, adukkhamasukhā (neutral) vedanā.

At marker 1.4, it states, “Sukhā, bhikkhave, vedanā dukkhato daṭṭhabbā, dukkhā vedanā sallato daṭṭhabbā, adukkhamasukhā vedanā aniccato daṭṭhabbā.”
Translation: “bhikkhus, you should see sukhā vedanā as suffering, dukkha vedanā as even more suffering (as if being pierced by a spear), and an adukkhamasukha (neutral) vedanā as of anicca nature.
The “Dutiyavedanā Sutta (Iti 53)” has a similar explanation.
Let us see if we can understand those explanations.

How Can a Sukha Vedanā be ‘Suffering’?

9. It is obvious that a dukkha vedanā, by definition, is suffering. Why would a sukha vedanā need to be “seeing with wisdom” as suffering?

Many times, a sukha vedanā induces one to engage in seeking more of it, and is likely to end up leading to immoral deeds.
Let us consider an optimal situation in which a sukha vedanā accompanies a good deed, such as giving; for example, one could give charity with a pleasant state of mind. However, the result of such a deed is to be able to enjoy its ‘good vipāka‘ in the kāma loka itself; in an extreme case, it can even lead to a birth as a Deva.
But even such ‘good outcomes’ will still keep one bound to the kāma loka, and keep one away from Nibbāna. As long as a puthujjana remains in the kāma loka, there is a high probability of a rebirth in an apāya. That is why a sukha vedanā must be considered as a continuation of suffering. This is why even such ‘moral deeds’ by a puthujjana (belonging to puñña abhisaṅkhāra) are of ‘anicca vipariṇāmi aññathābhāvi’ nature, as shown in the chart below.

Why Should a Neutral Vedanā be Considered as of ‘Anicca Nature’?

10. Now, let us see why a neutral vedanā should be considered as of ‘anicca nature.’

Even with that ‘neutral vedanā,’ the mind of a puthujjana automatically enters the ‘kāma loka‘ with ‘kāma saññā.’
Thus, that mind is inevitably covered with pañca nīvaraṇa and induces agitation, even if a puthujjana may not notice it.
Even more importantly, the mind would be ‘moving in the wrong direction,’ away from Nibbāna or at least the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi where the ‘kāma saññā‘ is absent.
That is why even a neutral vedanā is of ‘anicca nature.’ It will never lead one to the ‘nicca nature’ present in Nibbāna!

11. This ‘anicca nature’ actually applies to all sensory events (with the three types of vedanā). They all induce a mind to move into the ‘kāma loka‘ and away from Nibbāna, or at least the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi.

Thus, the response of a puthujjana to any sensory event is of anicca nature.
This is even clearer in the following chart, which depicts the mindset of puthujjana.
A puthujjana does not understand that the attachment to any sensory event is triggered by the ‘kāma saññā.’ They believe that one should pursue sensory inputs that bring sukha vedanā and must avoid those that bring dukkha vedanā. They just disregard neutral vedanā, assuming that they are neither beneficial nor harmful.
The above discussion also describes the ‘Anicca vipariṇāmi aññathābhāvi’ nature faced by a puthujjana. See “Aniccaṁ Vipariṇāmi Aññathābhāvi – A Critical Verse.”

Print/Download: “Puthujjana’s Understanding of Sensory Inputs“

A Sekha Sees (Attachment to) Sensual Pleasures as ‘Suffering’

12. What we discussed above is also stated succinctly in the “Paṭhamarūpārāma Sutta (SN 35. 136).”

It states, “Yaṁ pare sukhato āhu, tadariyā āhu dukkhato; Yaṁ pare dukkhato āhu,tadariyā sukhato vidū.”
There, ‘pare‘ refers to puthujjana (outside the Ariya state). Thus, “Yaṁ pare sukhato āhu” means “What a puthujjana considers to be sukha.”
Next ‘tadariyā’ (‘tad ariyā), where ‘tad‘ means ‘that.’ Therefore, ‘tadariyā āhu dukkhato‘ means “an Ariyā would consider that as dukkha.”
Now, the next verse, “Yaṁ pare dukkhato āhu,tadariyā sukhato vidū” is NOT about a dukkha vedanā felt with a sensory event. It refers to the “sadness of a puthujjana when not being able to enjoy sensory pleasures” (for example, not being able to buy tasty foods, expensive clothes, houses, etc). However, a Noble Person striving for Arahanthood (a Sekha) will try to avoid such mind-pleasing things, and thus sees their absence as happiness.
It is a good idea to read the whole sutta. With the above explanations in mind, one should be able to grasp the meaning of the whole sutta.

Necessary Requirement to be a Sotapanna Anugāmi

13. If one truly understands the above discussion, one would be a Sotapanna Anugāmi according to the Khandha Sutta (SN 25.10).

We discussed the complete sutta in “Sotapanna Anugāmi and Anicca/Viparināmi Nature of a Defiled Mind.”
Details on how a puthujjana becomes a Sotapanna Anugāmi (i.e., a ‘patisotagami‘ who is moving against the tide and toward Nibbāna and the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi) are also discussed in “Paṭisotagāmi – Moving Toward Satipaṭṭhāna Bhumi and Nibbāna.”
A puthujjana first becomes a Sotapanna Anugāmi. Then that Sotapanna Anugāmi enters the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi for the first time ever upon overcoming the kāma saññā at the Sotapanna phala moment.

Kāma Saññā Is the Root Cause of Sakkāya Diṭṭhi

14. Attachment to sensory inputs occurs with taṇhā, māna, and diṭṭhi.

Here, taṇhā and māna arise due to diṭṭhi and specifically due to Sakkāya Diṭṭhi.
In essence, Sakkāya Diṭṭhi is the wrong view to believe that future happiness depends on acquiring more “mind-pleasing sensory inputs.” That means they willingly engage in cultivating pañcupādānakkhandha.
Thus, a puthujjana highly values any external rupa (providing sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and touches that please the mind). That is because they don’t understand that they are fooled by the “distorted/false saññā.” See “Fooled by Distorted Saññā (Sañjānāti) – Origin of Attachment (Taṇhā).”
See “Etaṁ mama, esohamasmi, eso me attā’ti – Connection to Taṇhā, Māna, Diṭṭhi” and specifically #14 there.
It is critically important to contemplate deeply about each of those points to reach the Sotapanna stage.

Related posts in the new “Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta – New Series” section.

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