user295: What is the interpretation of parimukham in the context of Buddhist Meditation?
This seems to have different interpretation and translations? What are the different interpretations and translations and what might be the most correct interpretation according to different line of practice? How is the particular interpretation rationalised?

user-1: This is an extremely important issue when it comes to jhana practice. The etymology is as per the above, mouth first, face second, front I would put third from a review of it's contextual uses where it's 50/50 mouth/face a little bit of the rest. Mouth of a river, face of the moon, etc.
In actual meditation experience testing the idea as mouth, face, and forefront (as it is often translated 'bring mindfulness to the forefront' or 'make mindfulness the purpose of one's sitting') I found advantages to all three ... over mindlessness. All three together as a progression is also interesting. Using 'face' one roams the face and discovers and releases facial tension. Since facial tension reflects one's reactions to sense stimuli it is the point where these tensions can be let go and so the result is an over-all release of tension. More effective in attaining concentration as a factor of jhana, is focus around the mouth. The idea is: "Take the mind and place the focus around (pari) the mouth. Then, in the same way, focus on the breathing." This is the answer to the debate as to where and how to place the attention on the breathing. You do it in the same way as you just put your mind onto the area around your mouth. It is not one spot because that spot is not there that stands still even for a second. When the idea is around the mouth in general one finds it relatively easy to maintain focus for prolonged periods. Again, to have gone directly to the breath would not have provided such a concrete example of how to do it.
There is also the residual benefit of the fact that after sit-down practice the idea of focusing on the mouth hangs around and as most of us know, it is from the mouth (after the mind) that most of our trouble begins.
An important thing to understand is what 'mindfulness' means. The word sati means remembrance but also mind. The two are actually the same thing from one point of view: that is that the mind consists of memory (think computers). A better translation would be simply 'mind' as in what the babysitter does with the baby. She does not keep her eye on the baby without a break. She checks it sufficiently often to establish awareness that everything is ok. Mind your manners. Mind your own business. Mind the time.

user92: What are the different interpretations and translations and what might be the most correct interpretation according to the different lines of practice? How are they rationalized?
Here are some:  

Etymology:
pari- is a prefix used with the connotation of around, about, all over, or that of completeness. Thus dhāvati means
  'to run' and paridhāvati means 'to run about'; vajati - 'to go/
  proceed' becomes paribbajati, 'to wander about', ie. 'to live the life
  of a religious mendicant'; carati - 'to walk' becomes paricarati - 'to
  walk around, ie. to serve, honour'; gaṇeti, 'to count' becomes
  parigaṇeti - 'to calculate'.
mukhaṃ means primarily and literally 'mouth', by extension 'face' and
  figuratively 'entrance', 'opening', 'brim', then in a more abstract
  meaning 'the front', 'the foremost' and finally 'that which is an
  entrance into something', ie. 'a mean', 'a cause'.
Strictly from the point of view of semantics (ie. neglecting
  contextual information), the following meanings could reasonably be
  derived from the juxtaposition of these two components: around the
  mouth, all over the mouth, completely on the mouth, around the face,
  all over the face, completely on the face, around the entrance, all
  over the entrance, completely on the entrance, around the front, all
  over the front, completely on the front

Note: The above link also has references to commentaries & later Pāḷi literature.  


Thanissaro Bhikkhu:
  To the fore (parimukhaṃ): The Abhidhamma takes an etymological
  approach to this term, defining it as around (pari-) the mouth
  (mukhaṃ). In the Vinaya, however, it is used in a context (Cv.V.27.4)
  where it undoubtedly means the front of the chest. There is also the
  possibility that the term could be used idiomatically as "to the
  front," which is how I have translated it here.  



Ānandajoti Bhikkhu:
  Parimukhaṃ means at the front, or perhaps, around the mouth, i.e. it
  is a vague area, not meant to be confined to one particular spot or
  place, which would have been easy to designate if that is what was
  meant (like specifying oṭṭha, the lip). It is of course the
  mindfulness that is important in the practice, not the breathing as
  such, which only provides a basis for the mindfulness.  



Anālayo Bhikkhu:
  Once the posture is set up, mindfulness is to be established “in
  front”. The injunction “in front” (parimukhaṃ) can be understood
  literally or figuratively. Following the more literal understanding,
  “in front” indicates the nostril area as the most appropriate for
  attention to the in- and out-breaths. Alternatively, “in front”
  understood more figuratively suggests a firm establishment of sati,
  sati being mentally “in front” in the sense of meditative composure
  and attentiveness.  



Sujato Bhikkhu:
  In the gradual training, sati and upatthana occur together in the
  common idiom parimukhaṃ satim upatthapeti. Here the term parimukha is
  one of those simple words that is so hard to interpret. It modern
  renderings usually use something vague like 'in front'. However the
  phrase frequently occurs in contexts outside of anapanasati, making
  the interpretation 'at the nose-tip', or any literal spatial
  interpretation, unlikely. The Sanskrit has a different reading,
  pratimukha. This has many meanings, among which are 'reflection' and
  'presence'. Both of these would be appropriate in meditative context.
  But the word usually, as here, occurs in close conjunction with
  upatthana, which also means 'presence'. I think here we have another
  example of that common feature of Pali or Sanskrit, a conjunction of
  synonyms for emphasis: literally, 'one makes present a presence of
  presence of mind', or more happily, 'one establishes presence of
  mindfulness'.



S. N. Goenka: The awareness is established around the mouth,
  the entrance to the nostrils: parimukhaṃ. Certain traditions
  translate this as "in the front," as if the awareness is imagined to
  be in front of the person, but this sets up a duality. Actually you
  have to feel the breath coming and going around the mouth, above the
  upper lip, which is parimukhaṃ.


Additional References:

Parimukhaṁ article with Āgama references  
Footnote 55 of Piya Tan's Study of Kāyagatāsati Sutta 
Dictionary entries


295: <p>What is the interpretation of parimukham in the context of Buddhist Meditation?</p>
<p>This seems to have different interpretation and translations? What are the different interpretations and translations and what might be the most correct interpretation according to different line of practice? How is the particular interpretation rationalised?</p>
 -1: <p>This is an extremely important issue when it comes to jhana practice. The etymology is as per the above, mouth first, face second, front I would put third from a review of it's contextual uses where it's 50/50 mouth/face a little bit of the rest. Mouth of a river, face of the moon, etc.</p>

<p>In actual meditation experience testing the idea as mouth, face, and forefront (as it is often translated 'bring mindfulness to the forefront' or 'make mindfulness the purpose of one's sitting') I found advantages to all three ... over mindlessness. All three together as a progression is also interesting. Using 'face' one roams the face and discovers and releases facial tension. Since facial tension reflects one's reactions to sense stimuli it is the point where these tensions can be let go and so the result is an over-all release of tension. More effective in attaining concentration as a factor of jhana, is focus around the mouth. The idea is: "Take the mind and place the focus around (pari) the mouth. Then, in the same way, focus on the breathing." This is the answer to the debate as to where and how to place the attention on the breathing. You do it in the same way as you just put your mind onto the area around your mouth. It is not one spot because that spot is not there that stands still even for a second. When the idea is around the mouth in general one finds it relatively easy to maintain focus for prolonged periods. Again, to have gone directly to the breath would not have provided such a concrete example of how to do it.</p>

<p>There is also the residual benefit of the fact that after sit-down practice the idea of focusing on the mouth hangs around and as most of us know, it is from the mouth (after the mind) that most of our trouble begins.</p>

<p>An important thing to understand is what 'mindfulness' means. The word sati means remembrance but also mind. The two are actually the same thing from one point of view: that is that the mind consists of memory (think computers). A better translation would be simply 'mind' as in what the babysitter does with the baby. She does not keep her eye on the baby without a break. She checks it sufficiently often to establish awareness that everything is ok. Mind your manners. Mind your own business. Mind the time.</p>
 92: <h2>What are the different interpretations and translations and what might be the most correct interpretation according to the different lines of practice? How are they rationalized?</h2>

<p>Here are some:  </p>

<blockquote>
  <p><a href="http://www.buddha-vacana.org/voc/parimukham.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Etymology</a>:<br>
  <strong><em>pari-</em></strong> is a prefix used with the connotation of around, about, all over, or that of completeness. Thus <em>dhāvati</em> means
  'to run' and <em>paridhāvati</em> means 'to run about'; <em>vajati</em> - 'to go/
  proceed' becomes <em>paribbajati</em>, 'to wander about', ie. 'to live the life
  of a religious mendicant'; <em>carati</em> - 'to walk' becomes <em>paricarati</em> - 'to
  walk around, ie. to serve, honour'; <em>gaṇeti</em>, 'to count' becomes
  <em>parigaṇeti</em> - 'to calculate'.</p>
  
  <p><strong><em>mukhaṃ</em></strong> means primarily and literally 'mouth', by extension 'face' and
  figuratively 'entrance', 'opening', 'brim', then in a more abstract
  meaning 'the front', 'the foremost' and finally 'that which is an
  entrance into something', ie. 'a mean', 'a cause'.</p>
  
  <p>Strictly from the point of view of semantics (ie. neglecting
  contextual information), the following meanings could reasonably be
  derived from the juxtaposition of these two components: around the
  mouth, all over the mouth, completely on the mouth, around the face,
  all over the face, completely on the face, around the entrance, all
  over the entrance, completely on the entrance, around the front, all
  over the front, completely on the front</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Note: The above link also has references to commentaries &amp; later <em>Pāḷi</em> literature.  </p>

<hr>

<blockquote>
  <p><em><a href="http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.118.than.html#fn-1" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Thanissaro Bhikkhu</a></em>:
  To the fore (<em>parimukhaṃ</em>): The <em>Abhidhamma</em> takes an etymological
  approach to this term, defining it as around (<em>pari-</em>) the mouth
  (<em>mukhaṃ</em>). In the <em>Vinaya</em>, however, it is used in a context (Cv.V.27.4)
  where it undoubtedly means the front of the chest. There is also the
  possibility that the term could be used idiomatically as "to the
  front," which is how I have translated it here.  </p>
</blockquote>

<hr>

<blockquote>
  <p><em><a href="http://www.ancient-buddhist-texts.net/Texts-and-Translations/Satipatthana/Satipatthana-02.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Ānandajoti Bhikkhu</a></em>:
  <em>Parimukhaṃ</em> means at the front, or perhaps, around the mouth, i.e. it
  is a vague area, not meant to be confined to one particular spot or
  place, which would have been easy to designate if that is what was
  meant (like specifying <em>oṭṭha</em>, the lip). It is of course the
  mindfulness that is important in the practice, not the breathing as
  such, which only provides a basis for the mindfulness.  </p>
</blockquote>

<hr>

<blockquote>
  <p><em><a href="https://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/pdf/5-personen/analayo/direct-path.pdf#page=142" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Anālayo Bhikkhu</a></em>:
  Once the posture is set up, mindfulness is to be established “in
  front”. The injunction “in front” (<em>parimukhaṃ</em>) can be understood
  literally or figuratively. Following the more literal understanding,
  “in front” indicates the nostril area as the most appropriate for
  attention to the in- and out-breaths. Alternatively, “in front”
  understood more figuratively suggests a firm establishment of <em>sati</em>,
  <em>sati</em> being mentally “in front” in the sense of meditative composure
  and attentiveness.  </p>
</blockquote>

<hr>

<blockquote>
  <p><em><a href="http://lirs.ru/do/history-of-mindfulness.ocr.pdf#page=109&amp;search=%22parimukha%22" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Sujato Bhikkhu</a></em>:
  In the gradual training, <em>sati</em> and <em>upatthana</em> occur together in the
  common idiom <em>parimukhaṃ satim upatthapeti</em>. Here the term <em>parimukha</em> is
  one of those simple words that is so hard to interpret. It modern
  renderings usually use something vague like 'in front'. However the
  phrase frequently occurs in contexts outside of <em>anapanasati</em>, making
  the interpretation 'at the nose-tip', or any literal spatial
  interpretation, unlikely. The <em>Sanskrit</em> has a different reading,
  <em>pratimukha</em>. This has many meanings, among which are 'reflection' and
  'presence'. Both of these would be appropriate in meditative context.
  But the word usually, as here, occurs in close conjunction with
  <em>upatthana</em>, which also means 'presence'. I think here we have another
  example of that common feature of <em>Pali</em> or <em>Sanskrit</em>, a conjunction of
  synonyms for emphasis: literally, 'one makes present a presence of
  presence of mind', or more happily, 'one establishes presence of
  mindfulness'.</p>
</blockquote>

<hr>

<blockquote>
  <p><a href="http://www.vridhamma.org/Discourses-on-Satipatthana-Sutta" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>S. N. Goenka</em></a>: The awareness is established around the mouth,
  the entrance to the nostrils: <em>parimukhaṃ</em>. Certain traditions
  translate this as "in the front," as if the awareness is imagined to
  be in front of the person, but this sets up a duality. Actually you
  have to feel the breath coming and going around the mouth, above the
  upper lip, which is parimukhaṃ.</p>
</blockquote>

<hr>

<p><strong>Additional References:</strong></p>

<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.4nt.org/anapana/parimukham" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>Parimukhaṁ</em> article</a> with <em>Āgama</em> references  </li>
<li><a href="http://www.themindingcentre.org/dharmafarer/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/12.21-Kayagatasati-S-m119-piya.pdf#page=10&amp;search=%22Parimukha%EF%83%97%22" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Footnote 55</a> of <em>Piya Tan's</em> Study of <em>Kāyagatāsati Sutta</em>  </li>
<li><a href="http://palidictionary.appspot.com/browse/p/parimukha" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Dictionary entries</a></li>
</ul>
