The breath doesn’t have to be affected by the outside situation. If you let it be affected, it will be, but it doesn’t have to be. That’s an important lesson to learn.

"You want to be a connoisseur of your breathing, even though that’s not the ultimate goal of the practice. The ultimate goal of the practice is to use the breath as a means for settling down so that it can discern its defilements and gain release. But to get the mind settled down, you focus your attention completely on the breath to begin with. As Ajaan Fuang used to say, “You have to be crazy about meditation if you want to do it well.” You really have to be addicted to it; you want to cling to it for a while.

They say that alcoholics, when they walk into a house, very quickly pick up on where the alcohol is in the house. They may be pretending to listen to the conversations, but they’re looking for the signs. Maybe they’re not even aware of it, but they pick up on the signs very quickly — where the alcohol is kept. It’s the same with chocoholics; they know where the chocolate is kept. When you try to become a breathaholic, whatever the situation you’re in, you want to ask, “Where is the breath right now? How is the breath going?”

In the beginning, this requires an act of will to keep reminding yourself: This is where the comfort’s going to be found. But as the breath gets more comfortable, and you get a sense of how the breath will have an effect on the body and on the mind, it becomes more and more the mind’s inclination to look for the breath while you’re driving, while you’re working — while you’re doing any activity. And you learn to breathe comfortably regardless of what the activity may be. You can make it a game when you’re in a difficult situation: How comfortable can you keep the breath? You find you can keep it very comfortable. The breath doesn’t have to be affected by the outside situation. If you let it be affected, it will be, but it doesn’t have to be. That’s an important lesson to learn."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Breathaholic"

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