Thanissaro Bhikkhu on Refreshing Breathing

"You’ve got to start from within. Once you develop this good relationship with your breath, then it’s a lot easier to be on good terms with the people around you, and to be really helpful to them, because you’re not burdening yourself down with unnecessary suffering. That way you have more energy to help the people around you, to deal with whatever their issues are." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Befriending the Breath"

"You stay with the body as much as you can. Try to make the sense of the breath as refreshing as you can. You don’t want to have just a sense of equanimity as you go through life. You want to have a sense of positive enjoyment in how it feels to have a body. One of the reasons you work with the breath is so that you feel comfortable inside your body. No matter what the world outside may say about your body, you’re perfectly fine with it inside. That way, you’ve got a friend inside. You’ve got a sense of well-being so that you’re not so hungry to go outside and look for something to snatch and grab and chew on outside. So as you’re meditating, realize that having a sense of fullness, having a sense of rapture, is a necessary part of the practice. Try to develop it as much as you can while you’re sitting. Then try to carry that through the day as your food. It’s like your lunch bag for the day. When you have the sense of feeling comfortable inside yourself, you’re less ...

"You may have picked up some ideas about how the breath comes in, how it goes out — and what you have to do in order to bring it in, let it go out — that may not be all that helpful. So try experimenting with your perception of the breath. One that I’ve found helpful is thinking of the body as a big sponge, and all the little holes and passageways and channels of the sponge are connected, so that when you breathe in, the breath energy comes in from all directions. There’s nothing in the way. Then if you experiment with that perception and it seems to work, hold on to it. If not, you can experiment with a perception of your own devising." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Perceptions as Targets"

"When we’re working with the breath, sometimes we feel we want to make it really comfortable and full of rapture and all these wonderful things, and for some reason it’s just okay. We drive ourselves crazy trying to make it really good. But you have to remember: Okay is okay. You’re looking for a spot where you can settle down." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Pain is a Noble Truth"

"Do you visualize [the breath] as coming into the body only through one tiny spot, such as the nose? If so, that might be restricting the breath. Try visualizing the body as a sponge, with breath coming in and out easily through all the pores. Or you can ask yourself if you visualize the breath as unwilling to come into the body. If so, you’ll find yourself having to force it in. Try visualizing it as wanting to come into the body, and all you have to do is allow it in." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "With Each & Every Breath: A Guide to Meditation"

"Take a deep breath. Take a couple of deep breaths. Get a sense of the energy in your body: the energy of the breathing and whatever other energy there may be there. Think of everything being coordinated, everything getting along. Each breath as it comes in mingles harmoniously with the breath energy already there. You can focus your attention on any one spot in the body that seems convenient or you can focus on the body as a whole right from the start. The choice is yours. What’s important is that you allow the breath to be a good place to stay, a comfortable place to stay. If the body seems tired or weak, think of breathing in a way that’s more energizing. If you’re tense, think of a way of breathing that’s more relaxing. If your mind feels scattered, think of everything coming together: a sense of unity right here." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Dealing with Confusion"

"So explore the potentials you have here in the body for dealing with energy. And once you’ve found the areas where the breath rests and the breath comes from, protect those. Don’t let them get exhausted. Don’t let them get depleted. Have a sense of their being full, even during the out-breath. Then they can fill the rest of the body with good energy that allows you to settle down with a sense of “just right”: well-balanced, with the pleasure and rapture the Buddha describes as permeating the entire body, because you’ve tapped into the right level." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Tapping into the Breath" (Meditations9)

"What really feels good when you’re breathing right now? If you can’t figure out what really feels good, hold your breath for a while until the mind comes to the point where it’s screaming at you: “Breathe! You’ve got to breathe!” Then, when you breathe, notice what feels really good as you breathe in. Take that as a guide." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Start Out Small" (Meditations2)

"This is your safe territory. And you want to have a sense of well-being in here, because that enables you to bring well-being into all your interactions with other people. That’s your strength. And the ease of the breath is the nourishment for the well-being of your mind. Otherwise, the mind gets hungry and then it turns into something else. So do what you can to maintain this perception of breath energy. One way of using this perception is that, instead of thinking about the world surrounding you, think of your awareness of the breath surrounding your awareness of the world. You can turn tables on it. The world is moving through. It’s like your awareness is a theater and the world is the show on stage. The theater encompasses the stage. So there’s breath all around your awareness of what other people are doing, what other people are saying. The breath is larger. You can use those images the Buddha gives of the entire earth or the entirety of space — or of the River Ganges, which...

"Think thoughts of goodwill [mettā] — goodwill for yourself, goodwill for all the people around you, for all the living beings everywhere. May we all find true happiness. And then focus on your breath. Know when the breath is coming in, know when it’s going out. Stay with the sensation of the breathing as consistently as you can all the way through the in-breath, all the way through the out. Don’t let any distractions pull you away. If you find that you are pulled away, just drop whatever the distraction is and come back to the breath. Each time you come back, notice: Is the breath as comfortable as it could be? Could it be more comfortable? Would slower breathing be better, or faster? Deeper or more shallow? Longer or shorter? You can experiment to see what kind of breathing feels best for the body right now. You’re not just tying the mind down to the present moment. You’re exploring the present moment, you’re learning about it. Because here it is: this breath. It’s been coming i...

"One of the little-known corners of dependent co-arising is an explanation of how, through the power of ignorance, the way you’re breathing can be a cause for suffering. This is one of the reasons why we focus on the breath: to bring knowledge to the process so that at the very least, even though we might not be at the total end of suffering yet, we can still breathe in a way that alleviates a lot of suffering. After all, the breath has an effect not only on the body but also on the mind. So try to be fully aware of the breath. Think of it bathing the whole body, and you’re in the midst of this big breath-bath: the breath coming in, the breath going out, the subtler breath energies that flow through the arms, the legs, the different parts of the body. The more sensitive you are to these processes, the more you can use them to help the mind not create suffering for itself." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Reclaim Your Breath"

" 6. Think of the breath energy coursing through the whole body with every in-and-out breath. Let the breath find whatever rhythm or texture feels best. Think of all the breath energies connecting with one another and flowing in harmony. The more fully they’re connected, the more effortless your breathing will be. If you have a sense that the breath-channels are open during the in-breath but close during the out-breath, adjust your perception to keep them open throughout the breathing cycle. Then simply maintain that sense of whole-body breathing throughout the remainder of your meditation. If the breath grows still, don’t worry. The body will breathe if it needs to. When the mind is still, the brain uses less oxygen, so the oxygen that the body receives passively — through the lungs and perhaps through the relaxed pores (anatomists have differing opinions on this) — will be enough to serve its needs. At the same time, however, don’t force the breath to stop. Let it follow its ow...

"The Pali term piti, which we usually translate as rapture, it also can be translated as refreshment. In the factors of awakening, it follows on persistence. So you have to ask yourself, “What kind of persistence would give rise to a feeling of refreshment?” Having that in mind gives you an idea of where your efforts should go as you’re focused on the breath. What kind of breath would be refreshing right now? What way of conceiving the breath would be refreshing? The Buddha says that you develop this factor for awakening by looking for the potentials for refreshment inside and learning how to attend to them." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Refreshment"

"Just make sure that you keep at the breath and try to get on good terms with the breath. Don’t regard the meditation object as your enemy or something to be conquered. Think of it as something you want to live comfortably with. You want to be friends. So keep chipping away, chipping away, chipping away, making adjustments here and there, so that the present moment is pleasant. It may not be rapturous, there may not be any bells or whistles or lights flashing, but maybe it’s saving its bells and whistles and flashing lights for later on. Because the thing about pleasure is that if you allow it to stay just pleasant enough, after a while it begins to grow and grow and grow. Not because you pushed it, but because you’ve given it space." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Breath by Breath"

"This is not the time for chatter. You’ve got something much better going on here. The mind is snug with the breath like a hand inside a glove, totally surrounded in the breath. The breath has you surrounded on all sides. You’re not pulling back to watch it from outside. You’re totally immersed in it. To use a phrase from the Pali, this is kayagata-sati: Your mindfulness is immersed in the body, your awareness is totally surrounded by the breath, totally surrounded by the body. Once you can do this, just try to maintain it in a very balanced state. Part of the mind might object: “This is stupid. You’re not thinking about anything.” But that’s precisely the point: You don’t have to think about anything. The mind needs this opportunity to rest, to gain energy." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Oneness" (Meditations4)

"You may have noticed, when you really look at your inner sense of the body, that certain parts seem to be missing. There’s a holding in, a tension that blocks things off. But as your sensitivity to the breath begins to get more and more subtle, the blockages dissolve and you realize that what seemed to be a physical blockage had its mental side as well. It’s opening up now that you have the physical and mental tools to deal with it, along with the sensitivity to use those tools well." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Close to the Heart" (Meditations2)

"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"

"One of the most powerful elements of fear is your unwillingness to think of what you can do. You don’t even want to think of the situation. But if you actually sit down and think about it patiently, step by step, you realize you can handle it. You might have to muddle through, and things might get difficult, but you can handle it. And as you’re thinking this, it’s helpful to have the breath coming in, going out really comfortably. So learn how to use the breath, reclaim your breath. Get in touch with your inner adult and fortify the inner adult with what you now know about the breathing. That’ll change the balance of power in the mind." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Nurturing Your Inner Adult" (Meditations7)

"You have to start here, creating this little corner and giving all your attention to this one spot where you’re focusing on the breath or whatever your meditation object is. The purpose is to create a little space, at least, where you can put aside the madness of the world — where you feel solid, secure, where there’s a sense of well-being. So you find a spot that’s relatively comfortable and you work to make it more comfortable." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Pleasure & Pain"

"So instead of throwing out language or throwing out our social conditioning, we learn how to use them more skillfully. And working with the breath is an ideal place to start. You give space to the mind by breathing in a way that feels good. You can use your linguistic habits to talk to yourself about the breath: How does this breath feel? How does that breath feel? Where would it feel good to breathe right now? Which part of the body needs a larger dose of good breath energy? In this way you get more and more in touch with the immediate feeling of your body so that your linguistic habits can show immediate benefits. It feels good to breathe this way. It feels good to breathe that way. Your mind and your body are getting more intimate so that all the levels of fabrication — physical, verbal, and mental — start working together around a common sense of well-being. In this way they get to communicate with one another. The process of focusing on the breath in a skillful...

"Years back, when I first went to stay with Ajaan Fuang, he said, "Your only responsibility in all your activities is to stay with the breath." He meant it in a way to unload my mind, to clear away thoughts of other responsibilities. What it did of course was to make the breath seem suddenly onerous. It was a weight. It was a responsibility, something I had to worry about all the time. But then as I worked with it, one of the big lessons came in learning how to be with that responsibility and not make it a weight, not make it a burden. After all, why should the breath be a burden? It's what you do to stay alive. It's the basic process, the basic force that keeps you alive. That was a good lesson in seeing how the mind can create problems out of even the simplest things, things that are in its own interest. Learning how to be with the breath comfortably, learning how to breathe comfortably: You can make that a big issue, a big weight. But if you step ...

"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...

"These different levels of jhana are a home for the mind in which you settle down with the breath and a sense of ease and well-being. Then as you stay with this longer and longer, you begin to realize that you’ve got it all right here: everything you need for peace of mind, a sense of well-being and ease, the satisfaction that comes with a sense of physical and mental fullness or rapture. You can find it all with the breath. It’s simply a matter of sticking with it and developing a sensitivity to what kind of breathing really does feel good right now. In other words, you’ve got all the raw materials for happiness right here. You don’t have to go traveling around anywhere else. Just pay attention to what you’ve got. The mind has a habit of fabricating things, so have it fabricate right concentration. You’ve got the breath, which is bodily fabrication. You’ve got directed thought and evaluation, which are verbal fabrication. And you’ve got feelings and labels or perceptions, which a...

"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"

"It’s better to be kind to yourself simply by the way you breathe. Learn how to take advantage of this free resource you’ve got, because otherwise it goes unused. And it’s a renewable resource. It’s not the case that the more you use it, the more you train it, the more you use it up. Actually the better you train it, the better it gets. As you start feeling a greater sense of well-being, it’s a lot easier to be kind to other people. It’s a goodwill that comes out of a goodwill [mettā] for yourself and naturally overflows without your having to worry about who you’re kind to and what your motivation is. If there’s not this internal sense of well-being, there’s going to be a sense of calculation, “Well, if I help these people, they’ll help me, or at least they’ll respect me as a good person.” All kinds of issues of self-image and expectations start getting mixed up in all this. But if there’s simply a sense of well-being in the present moment, it just flows out natura...