Thanissaro Bhikkhu on Refreshing Breathing

"You’ve got something good here. The breath can be as comfortable as you want. Just learn how to maintain that sense of well-being inside, because it is perfectly harmless, and it does give you the strength you need to overcome greed, aversion, and delusion when they come and try to pull you away again. ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "The Battle Inside"

"The Buddha mentions that sometimes meditation can get dry, in which case it’s good to stop and think about themes that give a sense of refreshment and inspiration to the mind. You might want to think of all the people who have been good to you through your life. An attitude of gratitude can often give rise to a sense of ease and well-being. Then notice that the breath changes when you’re thinking thoughts that are good like this. Then let that same ease of breath continue as you drop the thought and return to the breath." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Technique & Attitudes"

"Learn how to develop an interest in the breath. After all, it is your  breath. It’s the force of life that keeps you with the body, keeps the mind and the body together. And if the breath is good, it’s nourishing. If the breath energies flowing through the nervous system and circulatory system are good, that’s going to have a good impact on the health of the body. When the body feels healthy and strong, the mind is going to find it easier to stay here. So take an interest in this and develop the ability to ask questions not only about your meditation, but also about the rest of your life." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Ask Yourself the Buddha's Question"

"So when you’re practicing concentration don’t be afraid of being attached to it. In fact, you should  get attached here. That’s part of the whole dynamic of the practice. Allow yourself to be attached to the breath, get to play with the breath, make the breath a really comfortable, good place to stay." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "At the Door of the Cage" (Meditations1)

"In developing a sense of well-being with the breath, you don’t feel so starved. The mind goes rushing out to feed on things because it’s hungry. To assuage that hunger, you focus on the breath, developing a sense of ease, well-being, and fullness, either through the in-and-out breath or through the general spread of breath energy throughout the body. Focus on whichever is most attractive and gratifying at the moment. Some people focus successfully on the breath energy in the different parts of the body first, rather than on Ajaan Lee’s seven steps. This gives a larger frame of reference. Then, in the midst of the breath energy, notice the impact of the in-and-out breathing on the different aspects of breath energy through the body. Use whatever works to create a really good, gratifying, satisfying sense of fullness that you can feed on." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "The Mind on a Leash"

"A large part of the health of the body and the health of the mind, the well-being of the body, the well-being of the mind, depends on the breath. For the most part, we ignore this potential. We ignore this impact to our own peril. The good news here, though, is that it’s free. The breath hasn’t been privatized, at least not yet. Nobody can hold it back and sell it to you at a profit. The breath is coming in and going out all the time, so you can take advantage of that fact, both for the health of the body and for the health of the mind. This is called Dhamma medicine. It’s free. But to work, it requires that you pay a lot of attention to it." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Dhamma Medicine for Free"

"So having the breath as a friend can be really good for the mind, because it gives you a comfortable place to stay, a solid place to stay, if you know how to work with it. Then, when other things come up in the mind, you can see that you’re not so hungry for them. All too often we’re like a person standing in the sun by the side of the road. You’re hot and tired and have no place to rest. Someone comes along in a car and says, “Jump in, let’s go!” And you jump right in. You don’t ask “Who are you, where are you going?” You figure that wherever he’s going must be better than where you already are. And so you jump right in. This is the way we tend to deal with our thoughts. Something comes driving up in the mind, and you just go with it. Sometimes it doesn’t even invite you. You jump in on your own, thinking that it must be better than where you are. But if you already have a good place for the mind you stay, you can be selective. You can ask, “Who are you? Where are you going? W...