Thanissaro Bhikkhu on Refreshing Breathing

"No matter how the breath is cycling through the rest of the body, keep the sense of relaxation in your feet and your hands as steady as possible. It doesn’t have to be an enormous relaxation, just enough for you to know that it’s more relaxed than before. One way of checking it is to compare one hand to the other, one foot to the other. See which one is more tense and then allow it to relax as much as the other one." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Grass at the Gate" (Meditations3)

"We have a whole hour to work at this skill, a skill that you don’t leave here when the hour is up, but that you take with you. It becomes the basic pattern for how you relate to the body, how the mind relates to itself. It cuts through a lot of the unnecessary stress and frustration, unnecessary turmoil in the mind. So look at this hour as an opportunity to provide yourself with a center. And then after the hour is over, take the center with you wherever you go, because it’s always here. The breath is the point where the mind and the body meet, and as long as you’re alive you’ll have this breath right here. If you can learn to be at home right here, you’re going to have a home wherever you go. As a result, wherever you go will be your own space. A large part of our life is spent in feeling that somehow other people have taken possession of our space, and we need to depend on their approval so that we can occupy their space. But that’s not the case here. This is your space. When y

"So if you give the mind something good to feed on — like the comfortable sensation of the breath coming in and going out — the mind has a good source of nourishment. As it gets a taste of comfort, you begin to notice when it’s not comfortable. Often that discomfort is associated with unskillful states of mind arising: anger, greed, jealousy, fear. These things will cause a change in the breath. If you’re there with the breath and you’re used to having it comfortable, you notice these changes immediately. They’ll alert you to the fact that something’s gone wrong in the mind." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Survival Tactics"

"Sometimes we feel we have to push and push and push the breath to get it to go through the body, but that’s not breath you’re pushing, you’re pushing the blood. The flow of the breath energy through the body doesn’t involve any pushing at all. It’s just a matter of relax, relax, relax, allow, allow, allow, as the breath comes in and the breath goes out. Try to catch and disperse areas in the body where you’re tensing up even the least little bit around the breath." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Get Out of the Way"

"You stay with the breath, get to know the breath, be friends with the breath. This is important. Many times, when we’re working with a meditation object and things don’t seem to be going well, the meditation object seems to become our enemy. If that’s your attitude, you’ll never be able to settle down with it. Realize that the breath is your friend. It’s what’s keeping you alive. If you get to know it, you find it has all sorts of other good qualities, other than maintaining mere survival. It can create a sense of ease, a sense of well-being, here in the present moment. You breathe in and feel full throughout the body; you breathe out and feel relaxed throughout the whole body. There’s a sense of energy and well-being that comes when you get to know the breath and learn to deal with it properly. When the sense of ease, energy, and well-being is solid, you can turn your attention to the issue of suffering." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "The Bright Tunnel"

"Start with something simple like the breath here. It’s where the mind and the body relate. If you learn to develop a sense of mindfulness and alertness here, a sense of solidity inside that’s not knocked over by sights or sounds or smells or tastes or tactile sensations or ideas about this that or the other thing, then once you can be solid inside, it’s a lot easier to be solid when you’re around other people. You can learn how to rely on yourself more, and other people can learn how to rely on you, too. It’s one of those rare areas of the world where everybody benefits." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Solid Inside"

"When you’re dealing more with sensuality, you are more focused on the object of your desire, and the processes of the mind get very muddled. So we do what we can to put aside our sensual desires to focus more on desires for the state of form, the ease and the pleasure in the sense of refreshment, fullness that comes from inhabiting the body in this way. When the breath feels easy, unblocked, connected, there’s a sense of abundant breath energy all around the body that we can tap into it anytime, so the breath isn’t a struggle, the breath can be effortless. That’s a sense of well-being, and it’s possible to get attached to it, and you actually do have to get attached to it if you want to get good at it." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "The Riddle of 'I Am'"

"Focus your desires on staying with the breath. All too often we hear that the Buddha bad-mouthed desire, calling it the cause of suffering. But not all desires cause suffering. Some desires are part of the path, like the desire to get the mind in a good state with a sense of well-being with the breath. Breathe in a way that feels good. And if it doesn’t feel good, then have the desire to figure out how to make it feel good. You can try longer breathing, shorter breathing, faster, slower, heavier, lighter, deeper, more shallow. The desire to keep doing this counts as right effort. Take some time to get to know the breath. Try to fully occupy your body right here. In other words, any thoughts that go outside of the body, just let them be. You don’t have to continue them. As they say in Thai, you don’t have to continue the weave. Lots will come up. That’s normal. But you don’t have to get involved with everything that comes up. Instead, you want to have a sense of bein

"Try to see what kind of breathing feels good for the body right now. Think of the breath as a whole-body process. It’s not just at your nose; it’s not just at your abdomen. The simple fact that the muscles in the body have to expand and contract to let the breath in, let it go out, creates different patterns of energy that flow throughout the whole body. The fact that you’re trying to maintain your balance as these muscles expand and contract means that the balancing muscles, say in the back, are going to get involved, too. They, in turn, are connected to the muscles down in the legs. Everything’s all connected inside. So what kind of breathing feels good for the whole body? That’s something you can explore. You can spend the whole hour doing just that one exploration. But if you find something that you can stay with and it feels good, stay with that breathing. Try to maintain it as long as it feels good. If it reaches a point where it doesn’t feel good anymore, you

"The pleasure that can arise from being at ease with the breath steadily is a very special kind of pleasure. It harms no one. It’s actually good not only for yourself, but also for the people around you. If you have an inner sense of well-being, you tend to say things and do things that are less harmful for the people around you. So this is a practice that’s good all around." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "The Path of Happiness"

"This is one of the great things about the breath. Unlike a lot of the other functions or processes in the body, you really can change it. If you want it to be longer, just think “longer” and you can make it longer. Shorter, faster, slower, heavier, lighter, deeper, more shallow: You can play with the breath for a while to see what feels good right now. Or you can simply pose the question in the mind each time you breathe in, “What kind of breathing would feel really good this time around?” and see how the body responds. To gain a sense of whether it’s really comfortable or not, try to expand your awareness to fill the whole body. If you have trouble taking the whole body at once, you might go through the body first section-by-section. When you breathe in, watch it down around the belly for a while: How does that feel? When you breathe out how does it feel? Keep watching there for a while. If you notice that one way of breathing feels more comfortable than another the

"Learn to be on good terms with your breath so that you have a sense of well-being simply through the way you breathe. This is your center; this is your home. No matter where you are, this is your home. That way, when situations outside are difficult, you remind yourself, “Okay, they can’t take my home away from me.” That’s your safe place. When you’re operating from a safe place like that, it’s a lot easier to try new things out. It’s a lot easier for you to be more ingenious in thinking up new solutions to problems that present themselves. This is why we keep returning to the breath and learning how to be on good terms with it. Have at least some spot in the body that’s your home, where there’s a sense of well-being. Then learn how to maintain that sense of home and that sense of well-being as you go through life. That way, when something unexpected comes up, at the very least you’re not too far away from home." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "To Take Danger in Stri

"You try to develop a sense of well-being, of belonging here in the present moment, because you’re going to see some things coming up in the mind that you’re not proud of, but that’s to be expected. Having a sense of ease and belonging with the breath helps keep you on an even keel." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "We All Start with an Impure Heart"

"The body has all kinds of potentials that we rarely take advantage of because we don’t let the mind get quiet enough for them to show themselves. So give this potential — this potential for fullness, a sense of refreshment — some space; give it some time. You’ll find that it really can strengthen your practice and give you a source of energy that you can tap into whenever you need it at any time throughout the day." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Rapture" (Meditations6)

"The Buddha says, “Breathe in sensitive to rapture. Breathe out sensitive to rapture.” Well, how do you become sensitive to rapture? Where are you going to find it? You have to look at the breath. You notice where in the sensation of breathing there is a sense of fullness, a sense of refreshment, because that’s the other meaning of the word we translate as rapture, piti . How does the breath feel refreshing? And when it feels refreshing, then the next step is: How do you let that sense of refreshment spread throughout the body? How do you maintain that?" ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "WYSIWYG"

"So spend some time right here. Breathe in, breathe out, in a way that feels refreshing, that feels soothing, that feels comfortable — whatever the body needs right now, whatever the mind needs right now. Give it some good breathing. That way, you’ll be able to find the peace that comes when you’re not constantly being pulled into paying attention outside. And from that peace comes a deep and lasting happiness." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Paying Attention Inside"

"Try to notice what way of breathing seems most refreshing. Notice where in the body you’re most sensitive to how the breathing has an impact on your feelings. These sensations may be around the heart, in the throat, in the middle of the head. Where are you most sensitive to the impact of the breath? And what way of breathing feels most soothing, refreshing, and nourishing right there? Stay with that spot in the body for a while and let it be healed, let it be strengthened. Because having a sense of well-being that you can tap into whenever you need it is essential to your survival, i.e., the survival of the goodness of your mind." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "For the Survival of Your Goodness"

"If you find that you’re having trouble staying with the breath, you can use goodwill [mettā] as a way of reminding yourself that this is why you’re here: for your true happiness. It’s because you really do wish yourself well. This means that the meditation is not a burden that’s being placed on you. There are difficulties in the practice but you’re following this practice because you wish yourself well. You’re not trying to punish yourself. That attitude of goodwill is another guardian meditation." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Furnishing Your Home for the Mind"

"So you start by focusing on where the breath feels good coming in, feels good going out. If you can’t get a good sense of ease with the breath, start with thoughts of goodwill [mettā] . Wish goodwill for yourself, goodwill for other beings. That’s a comfortable thought because it’s not fighting with the wishes of any being anywhere. Everybody wants to be happy. So you wish them happiness. And then from that sense of harmonious well-being, you focus on the breath. There should be at least some spot in the body where the breath feels good. Look for it, and then keep watch over it in such a way that you don’t spoil it. Sometimes when you focus on the body you tense up around the part where you’re focusing. That makes it tight, uncomfortable. Part of this comes from envisioning the body as something very solid. Remember that what you’re experiencing here is an energy field, the energy flowing through the body. Some parts of the energy field may seem to feel more solid t

"Learn how to figure out what’s going on here in the body, what positive things you can do with this energy you’ve got here, so that there’s a sense of health and wholeness in the body, a sense of balance, well-being. This isn’t the ultimate safe place, but it’s the road to the ultimate safe place. And it’s a good place to be walking. Think of all the other places you could be wandering right now — physically, mentally — and it feels really good to be right here, working on the factor of the mind that shapes everything and putting that in good shape. Once that’s in good shape — in other words, when your intentions are in good shape — then, over time, everything else will fall in line." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "In the Light of Karma"

"The reason the breath seems mechanical is because you’re not really sensitive to what you’re doing. You’re not giving it your full attention, your full sensitivity. Think of meditation as listening to a piece of music you’d like to hear, but it’s far away, so you have to make yourself really quiet and really sensitive. Learn how to be a real connoisseur of the breath." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Full Attention"

"Just the way you breathe, sitting here focusing on your breath, makes a difference in the mind’s sense of well-being. And it’s potentially always there. Sometimes you’ll find yourself in a mood that takes a while to get back there, but it’s there. The more quickly you can tap into this sense of well-being, the easier it is to deal with unpleasant things coming up inside. You find that you can breathe right through them. And it helps to alleviate that pressure that you sometimes feel, that you’ve just got to get it out of your system by saying something nasty to someone else, or saying something hurtful, or whatever. The old attitude that “As long as I’m suffering, I might as well make everyone else suffer” — you realize that it doesn’t accomplish anything at all. It just makes things worse. So when the pressure builds up inside, you can tell yourself, “I can just breathe through it, allow it to dissipate.” This gives you an immediate handle that this conviction is something you

"Try to find a way of breathing that feels good for the body right now. When you’re feeling tired, try to breathe in a way that gives you more energy. If you’re feeling tense, try to breathe in a way that’s more relaxing. This is one area of your life where you have a lot of freedom. There’s no price on the breath; they haven’t privatized it yet. Nobody else has to know how your breathing is going. But it’s something you can know for yourself if you pay attention. And you find that when the breath is comfortable and nourishing, the body feels better, you feel better, the mind feels better — a totally free way of finding some pleasure in life. All it requires is a little discipline and curiosity, wanting to find out. Here you have this energy flowing in and out of the body, flowing around the body all the time. How does it affect your body? How does it affect your mind? Take some time to notice, and you find that you benefit in all kinds of ways." ~ Thanissaro Bhi

"Keep using your ingenuity to figure out what way of breathing is going to be good for the body right now. Sometimes, if you’re tired, you need some good, heavy, deep in-and-out, long in-and-out breathing, or long in-breaths and short out-breaths, to give yourself energy. If you’re tight or tense, then short-in, long-out can be relaxing. But you’ve got the choice. If neither of those two kinds of breathing works, you can try all kinds of other breathing. You’ve got a whole hour to experiment with the breath, to see what really feels right right now." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "All Your Old Baggage"

"Is there anybody out there that you can’t wish that happiness for? Learn how to straighten your thoughts out around this issue. When you can do that, it’s a lot easier to settle down with the breath or whatever your topic of meditation is. Otherwise, there are going to be simmering resentments that don’t allow you the measure of happiness that you could find if you could let go of them. So you’ve got to check out your mind to see what needs to be taken care of. If there are areas of unfinished business in terms of resentment or whatever, take care of them and then settle down with the breath. But here again, the instructions are not cast in stone. Sometimes it’s hard to feel goodwill [mettā] for others unless you can have some sense of well-being or refreshment inside yourself. So work on the breath first until that feels good, then you can start thinking about goodwill for others." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "No One Size Fits All"

"So that the breath energy flows smoothly throughout the entire body, that’s your work. And the work gives rise to the results: a sense of ease, fullness, refreshment. That sense of well-being helps you an awful lot, because it makes it easier to do the right thing. When you have a sense of well-being you can tap into at any time, you’re not so hungry to go after unskillful ideas or unskillful motives or impulses. The reason we go after unskillful things is because part of the mind demands a hit of pleasure right away. So you try to feed that demand in a more skillful way, just by the way you breathe. This is a huge area of our awareness that most of us don’t take advantage of. When the body feels uncomfortable, we just accept the fact that it’s uncomfortable and we look outside for some ease to distract ourselves. But many times that lack of comfort can be changed simply by the way you breathe. So here’s free medicine. Take advantage of it. It doesn’t cost anything and it can pre

"If you give the breath an hour to do its healing work, totally opening up the body to allow the breath to bathe every nerve out to every pore, you know that you’ll come out at the end of the hour with a body and mind in much better shape. The body will be soothed; the mind, bright and alert. And you don’t need to stop being bathed in the breath when the hour is up. You can keep it going in all your activities. That way, even though you may not be armed with a whole set of plans for facing the future, at least you’re in a position where you don’t need that kind of armor. You’ve got the armor of a healthy body and mind. You’ve got an invisible armor: the force-field of this all-encompassing breath, continually streaming out from your center to every pore, protecting you on all sides. That’s something you feel in every cell of your body, something you know for sure, for you can sense it all around you, right here, right now. And you know that whatever the future brings

"So you want to maintain your strong energy inside, a healthy energy, an energy of well-being. You’ve learned how to create this sense of well-being through the breath energy. Now learn how to maintain it as you’re sitting here and as you carry it into the world. Give it a grounding, give it its vehicle, give it its means of transport, so that wherever you go, you’re at home. You’ve got a solidly based home while you’re sitting here and a good mobile home to take you around. This way you’re at home wherever you go."   ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "A Home & a Mobile Home"

"So when we breathe, we try to breathe in a comfortable way. We think of the breath not as the air coming in out of the lungs, but as the energy flow that goes through the body. You can ask yourself: Where does the energy flow seem to be good right now? Don’t focus on any area where there’s a pain. Focus on the parts that you can make comfortable by the way you breathe. You can try long breathing, short breathing, fast, slow, heavy light, or any combination of those. See what feels best and stay in the comfortable spots. It’s like eating an apple. As you eat the apple, you discover there’s a worm in it. You don’t eat the wormy part, you cut that out. The rest of the apple is still good, so you focus on the part you *can* eat. Here you’re focusing on the parts of the body that you can make comfortable by the way you breathe." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Endurance with a Purpose"