MINDFULNESS WITH BREATHING:
GETTING STARTED
by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu
(adapted and translated by Santikaro Bhikkhu)
Lay
the hands in your lap, comfortably, one on top of the other. Overlap
or cross your legs in a way that distributes and holds your weight
well, so that you can sit comfortably and will not fall over easily.
The legs can be overlapped in an ordinary way or crossed, whichever you
prefer or are able to do. Fat people can only cross their legs in
what is called the "diamond posture" (lotus posture) with difficulty,
but fancy postures are not necessary. Merely sit with the legs folded
so that your weight is evenly balanced and you cannot tip over easily
-- that's good enough. The more difficult and serious postures can be
left for when one gets serious, like a yogi.
In
special circumstances -- when you are sick, not feeling well, or just
tired -- you can rest against something, sit on a chair, or use a deck
chair, in order to recline a bit. Those who are sick can even lie down
to meditate.
Sit
in a place with good air circulation, where you can breathe
comfortably. There should be nothing overly disturbing. Loud noises
which are steady and have no meaning, such as the sound of waves or a
factory, are no problem unless you attach to them as a problem. Sounds
with meaning, such as people speaking, are more of a problem for those
just learning to practice. If you can't find a quiet place, pretend
there aren't any sounds. Just be determined to practice and it will
work out eventually.
Although the eyes are gazing inattentively at the tip of the nose, you can gather your attention or awareness or sati(1),
as it's called in our technical language, in order to catch and note
your own breathing in and out. (Those who like to close their eyes
will do so from here on.) Those who prefer to leave the eyes open will
do so continually until the eyes gradually close on their own as
concentration and calmness (samadhi) increases.
In
the beginning (and only at the beginning, for a few minutes, not
forever!), to make it easy to note the breathing, try to breathe as long
as you can. Force it in and out strongly many times. Do so in order
to know clearly for yourself what the breath rubs against or touches as
it draws in and out along its path. In a simple way, notice where it
appears to end in the belly (by taking the physical sensations as one's
measure rather than anatomical reality). Note this in an easy-going
way as well as you can, well enough to fix the inner and outer end
points of the breathing. Don't be tense or too strict about it.
Most
people will feel the breath striking at the tip of the nose and should
take that point as the outer end. (In people with flat or upturned
noses the breath will strike on the edge of the upper lip, and they
should take that as the external end.) Now you will have both outer and
inner end points by fixing one point at the tip of the nose and the
other at the navel. The breath will drag itself back and forth between
these two points. Here make your mind just like something which chases
after or stalks the breathing, like a tiger or a spy, unwilling to
part with it even for a moment, following every breath for as long as
you meditate. This is the first step of our practice. We call it
"chasing after (or stalking) the whole time."
Earlier
we said to begin by trying to make the breathing as long as possible,
and as strong, vigorous, and rough as possible, many times from the
very start. Do so in order to find the end points and the track the
breath follows between them. Once the mind (or sati) can
catch and fix the breathing in and out -- by constantly being aware of
how the breath touches and flows, then where it ends, then how it turns
back either inside or outside -- you can gradually relax the breathing
until it becomes normal no longer forcing or pushing it in any way.
Be careful: don't force or control it at all! Still, sati fixes on the breathing the whole time, just as it did earlier with the rough and strong breathing.
Sati
is able to pay attention to the entire path of the breath from the
inner end point (the navel or the base of the abdomen) to the outer end
point (the tip of the nose or the upper lip). However fine or soft the
breath becomes, sati can clearly note it all the time. If it happens
that we cannot note (or feel) the breath because it is too soft or
refined, then breathe more strongly or roughly again. (But not as
strong or rough as before, just enough to note the breath clearly).
Fix attention on the breathing again, until sati is
aware of it without any gaps. Make sure it can be done well, that is,
keep practicing until even the purely ordinary, unforced breathing can
be securely observed. However long or short it is, know it. However
heavy or light it is, know it. Know it clearly within that very
awareness as sati merely holds closely to and follows the breathing
back and forth the whole time you are meditating (2). When you can do this it means success in the level of preparation called "chasing after all the time."
Lack
of success is due to the inability of sati (or the attention) to stay
with the breathing the whole time. You don't know when it lost track.
You don't know when it ran off to home, work, or play. You don't know
until it's already gone. And you don't know when it went, how, why, or
whatever. Once you are aware of what happened, catch the breathing
again, gently bring it back to the breathing, and train until
successful on this level. Do it for at least ten minutes each session,
before going on to the next step.
The
next step, the second level of preparation, is called "waiting (or
guarding) in ambush at one point." It's best to practice this second
step only after the first step can be done well, but anyone who can skip
straight to the second won't be scolded. At this stage, sati
(or recollection) lies in wait fixing at a particular point and stops
chasing after the breathing. Note the sensation when the breathing
enters the body all the way (to the navel or thereabouts) once, then
let go or release it. Next, note when the breathing contacts the other
end point (the tip of the nose) once more, then let go or leave it
alone until it contacts the inner end point (navel) again. Continue
like this without changing anything. In moments of letting go, the
mind doesn't run away to home, the fields, the office, or anywhere.
This means that sati pays attention at the two end points -- both inner and outer -- and doesn't pay attention to anything between them.
When
you can securely go back and forth between the two end points without
paying attention to things in between, leave out the inner end point
and focus only on the outer, namely, the tip of the nose. Now, sati
consistently watches only at the tip of the nose. Whether the
breathing strikes while inhaling or while exhaling, know it every time.
This is called "guarding the gate." There's a feeling as the
breathing passes in or out; the rest of the way is left void or quiet.
If you have firm awareness at the nose tip, the breathing becomes
increasingly calm and quiet. Thus you can't feel movements other than
at the nose tip. In the spaces when it's empty or quiet, when you
can't feel anything, the mind doesn't run away to home or elsewhere.
The ability to do this well is success in the "waiting in ambush at one
point" level of preparation.
Lack
of success is when the mind runs away without you knowing. It doesn't
return to the gate as it should or, after entering the gate, it sneaks
all the way inside. Both of these errors happen because the period of
emptiness or quiet is incorrect and incomplete. You have not done it
properly since the start of this step. Therefore, you ought to practice
carefully, solidly, expertly from the very first step.
Even
the beginning step, the one called "chasing after the whole time," is
not easy for everyone. Yet when one can do it, the results -- both
physical and mental -- are beyond expectations. So you ought to make
yourself able to do it, and do it consistently, until it is a game like
the sports you like to play. If you have even two minutes, by all
means practice. Breathe forcefully, if your bones crack or rattle
that's even better. Breathe strongly until it whistles, a little noise
won't hurt. Then relax and lighten it gradually until it finds its
natural level.
The ordinary breathing of most people is not natural or normal, but is coarser or lower than normal, without us being aware. (3)
Especially when we do certain activities or are in positions which
are restricted, our breathing is more or less course than it ought to
be, although we don't know it. So you ought to start with strong,
vigorous breathing first, then let it relax until it becomes natural.
In this way, you'll end up with breathing which is the "middle way" or
just right. Such breathing makes the body natural, normal, and
healthy. And it is fit for use as the object of meditation at the
beginning of anapanasati (4).
Let us stress once more that this first step of preparation ought to be
practiced until it's just a natural game for every one of us, and in
all circumstances. This will bring numerous physical and mental
benefits.
Actually,
the difference between "chasing after the whole time" and "waiting in
ambush at one place" is not so great. The latter is a little more
relaxed and subtle, that is, the area noted by sati decreases. To make
this easier to understand, we'll use the simile of the baby sitter
rocking the baby's hammock.(5)
At first, when the child has just been put into the hammock, it isn't
sleepy yet and will try to get out. At this stage, the baby sitter
must watch the hammock carefully. As it swings from side to side, her
head must turn from left to right so that the child won't be out of
sight for a moment. Once the baby begins to get sleepy and doesn't try
to get out anymore, the baby sitter need not turn her head from left to
right, back and forth, as the hammock swings. The baby sitter only
watches when the hammock passes in front of her face, which is good
enough. Watching only at one point while the hammock is in front of her
face, the baby won't have a chance to get out of the hammock just the
same, because the child is ready to fall sleep. (Although the baby
will fall asleep, the meditator should not!)
The
first stage of preparation in noting the breathing -- "chasing after
the whole time" -- is like when the baby sitter must turn her head from
side to side with the swinging hammock so that it isn't out of sight
for a moment. The second stage where the breathing is noted at the nose
tip -- "waiting and watching at one point" -- is like when the baby is
ready to sleep and the baby sitter watches the hammock only when it
passes her face.
When
you have practiced and trained fully in the second step, you can train
further by making the area noted by sati even more subtle and gentle
until there is secure, stable concentration. Then concentration can be
deepened step by step until attaining one of the jhanas (6), which, for most people, is beyond the rather easy concentration of the first steps. The jhanas
are a refined and precise subject with strict requirements and subtle
principles. One must be strongly interested and committed for that
level of practice. At this stage, just be constantly interested in the
basic steps until they become familiar and ordinary. Then you might be
able gather in the higher levels later.
May
ordinary lay people give themselves the chance to meditate in a way
which has many benefits both physically and mentally, and which
satisfies the basic needs of our practice, before going on to more
difficult things. May you train with these first steps in order to be
fully equipped with sila (morality), samadhi (concentration), and pañña
(wisdom), that is, to be fully grounded in the noble eightfold path.
Even if only a start, this is better than not going anywhere. Your
body will become more healthy and peaceful than usual by training in
successively higher levels of samadhi. You will discover something that everyone should find in order to not waste the opportunity of having been born.
Notes
1. Sati
is a key term in Buddhist meditation. It means "recall, recollection,
awareness, attention, mindfulness." All of these concern the present
and do not involve memory or thought. In this article, the activity of
sati is conveyed through a number of verbs: to fix, to note, to attend, to pay attention, to be aware, to experience. (Sati
does not mean "to concentrate or focus.") Please study these various
words and their meaning in each context, then you will have a correct
understanding of sati, namely, what it is and how to use it to get free
of dukkha.
2.
Don't try to push other things out of awareness, that will create
tension. Just keep your attention centered on the breathing in a
balanced way. Let go of anything that takes you away from the
breathing.
3.
In fact, our breathing tends to be unhealthy, which contributes to
many physical and mental problems. Please learn to breathe freely and
naturally.
4. "Anapanasati" is the Pali term for the practice of mindfulness with breathing (the very subject of this essay).
5. In India and Thailand small hammocks are used instead of cradles.
6. The jhanas
are states of one-pointedness which result from highly developed
concentration which is turned inward. In them one is only aware of a
particular object and certain mental factors.
For more instruction on anapanasati, please see:
The Anapanasati FAQ on this site.
Mindfulness With Breathing: Unveiling the Secrets of Life (published by Wisdom Publications).
Retreat talks Tan Ajarn gave at Suan Mokkh (being edited).
First electronic edition: September 1996
Transcribed directly from disks provided by Santikaro Bhikkhu.
Formatting & Proofreading: Scott Oser <oser@hep.uchicago.edu>.
Later reformatted by Santikaro Bhikkhu.This electronic edition is offered FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION ONLY.
best way from http://www.suanmokkh.org/
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