The breath is something that’s always there and always immediately relevant to whatever is going on in the mind. If there’s anger or lust or fear or sleepiness or anxiety in the mind, the breath gets involved.

"The breath is something that’s always there and always immediately relevant to whatever is going on in the mind. If there’s anger in the mind, the breath gets involved. If there’s lust, the breath gets involved. If there’s fear, the breath gets involved. When you’re sleepy, the breath gets involved. When you’re anxious, restless, the breath gets involved. And although there are times when it’s hard to grab hold of the issues going through the mind, it’s a lot easier to focus on the breath.

It’s like two sides of the same coin. There’s the mental side and there’s the physical side. We work first on things from the physical side, because it’s easier to see and easier to work with.

There’s in and there’s out. There can be a long in, and short in, or long out, short out. Fast, slow, heavy, light. It may not seem like much to work with, but as you get more and more in touch with the breath, you find that you get a better and better sense of precisely which kind of breathing is good for which kinds of problem in the mind, or which kind of breathing is good for which kinds of problems in the body.

When you feel too cold or too hot, when you feel feverish, sluggish, when there are aches and pains in different parts of the body, you can attack them from the side of the breath and get an entirely new perspective on what’s going on in this body-mind complex you have here.

Ultimately, you begin to see that the breath permeates just everything. It’s only when we hit the formless states that the breath is no longer relevant, but even to get there, you need to work with the breath first.

So we sit down every day to meditate and start out with the breath. Sometimes you may wonder, “When does it move on to the next stage?” Well, don’t worry about it. Things develop on their own."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Hedgehog Knowledge"

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Breathe in a way that feels refreshing, soothing and comfortable to find a deep and lasting happiness

"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"
Read more

If you feel that you have pull the breath in, you really have to fight to pull it in, that’s really unnecessary — because the breath is going to come in and go out on its own without your having to fight. In fact, it’s much better for the body if you don’t fight.

"When you breathe in, know you’re breathing in; when you breathe out, know you’re breathing out. Notice where in the body you have the sensations that tell you, “Now you’re breathing in; now you’re breathing out.” Notice how the sensations feel. Do they stay comfortable all the way through the in-breath, all the way through the out-? If there’s some stress and strain at the end of the in-breath or the end of the out-breath, it’s a sign that the breath is too long. Allow it to be little bit shorter. Or if the in-breath doesn’t feel satisfying, you might want to try a little bit longer. See how the rhythm of the breath affects your sense of the body. And see how your conception of the breath affects your sensation of the body. If you feel that you have pull the breath in, you really have to fight to pull it in, that’s really unnecessary — because the breath is going to come in and go out on its own without your having to fight. In fact, it’s much better for the body if you don’t f...
Read more

Start with what you know. If you don't know what feels good, hold your breath for a while.

"Start with what you know. The breath is coming in. You know that? Yes, you know that. It’s going out. You know that? Yes, you do. Okay, know just that much. Don’t forget that. Is it comfortable or not? Well, you may not be sure. Could it be more comfortable? Experiment and see. Try to sensitize yourself to how the breathing feels. Without this level of sensitivity, the meditation becomes mechanical. When it’s mechanical, it becomes a chore. And when it’s a chore, the mind will rebel. So ask yourself: 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)
Read more