Thanissaro Bhikkhu on Refreshing Breathing

"There’s a real lightness that comes from being able to find happiness simply sitting here breathing. It means that your happiness is dependent on very few contingencies. The people with money, the people with investments, are the ones who have to read the newspapers every day to figure out what’s safe, what’s not safe out there in the world. But if your investment is in the skills of the mind, then no matter what the situation, you’re secure." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Wilderness Wealth"

"So, work with the breath right now. Create this state of becoming, because it functions in several ways that are going to be useful on the path. One is that when you have this state of well-being inside the body — with the happiness that comes from that state, the pleasure that comes from that, the sense of refreshment that can come from that — you can see that it’s a harmless pleasure, a harmless refreshment. It’s not like the pleasures of the senses. The pleasures of the senses can get us all wound up in greed, aversion, and delusion, and we end up doing a lot of unskillful things. But the pleasure that comes from breathing in a comfortable way has never led anybody to kill or steal or have illicit sex, to lie or to take intoxicants. It’s a safe pleasure, a nourishing pleasure. So it’s okay to indulge in it. And you realize it’s much better than a lot of the other pleasures you’ve had outside senses. That enables you to step back from the process of how you engage...

"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...

"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 Rive...

"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...

"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...

"There’s a real lightness that comes from being able to find happiness simply sitting here breathing. It means that your happiness is dependent on very few contingencies. The people with money, the people with investments, are the ones who have to read the newspapers every day to figure out what’s safe, what’s not safe out there in the world. But if your investment is in the skills of the mind, then no matter what the situation, you’re secure." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Wilderness Wealth"

"So, work with the breath right now. Create this state of becoming, because it functions in several ways that are going to be useful on the path. One is that when you have this state of well-being inside the body — with the happiness that comes from that state, the pleasure that comes from that, the sense of refreshment that can come from that — you can see that it’s a harmless pleasure, a harmless refreshment. It’s not like the pleasures of the senses. The pleasures of the senses can get us all wound up in greed, aversion, and delusion, and we end up doing a lot of unskillful things. But the pleasure that comes from breathing in a comfortable way has never led anybody to kill or steal or have illicit sex, to lie or to take intoxicants. It’s a safe pleasure, a nourishing pleasure. So it’s okay to indulge in it. And you realize it’s much better than a lot of the other pleasures you’ve had outside senses. That enables you to step back from the process of how you engage with your sen...

"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"

"Have goodwill [mettā] towards your breathing, compassion, appreciation, equanimity for your breathing. In other words, allow the breath to be comfortable so you can have a foundation. Where it’s not comfortable, work at making it more comfortable: That’s compassion. Where it is comfortable, appreciate it. Sometimes, especially in the very beginning, the states of comfort seem to be very minor and not impressive at all, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have the potential to become more impressive with time. You’ve got to give them a little space. It’s like oak trees: When they first come out of the ground, they’re pretty small — a little tiny acorn. Of an even better analogy is a coastal redwood tree, which has the tiniest little seeds, and yet the tallest trees on earth come from these tiny, tiny seeds. Develop the conditions, allow them to grow, and they become a huge forest. It’s the same with the sense of well-being in the body. First find areas that are simply not in pain, t...

"As long as you’re with the body you’re safe. You’re in your own territory. If you don’t feel that your body is your territory, do what you can to breathe in a way that feels good. Think of the energies going through the body in a way that feels soothing. Then it does become your own territory. You have a home, and it’s a home you can carry with you throughout the day. So try to get acquainted with what the body needs right now. That will make the sense of the body, the presence of the body, that much more nourishing for the mind. It becomes something you want to carry through the day because it feels so good." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Your Own Territory"

"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...

"Look at the way you perceive your relationship to other people. If you feel that you’re victimized by other people, that’s a perception that’s not going to help. You have to have the sense that you’re well-grounded and safe, solid in your own well-being. And the breath helps here. If the bodily sensations feel uncomfortable, you’ll have a hard time maintaining any real sense of well-being here, and that will make it harder to wish for the well-being of others, because the well-being has to start in here. As Ajaan Lee says, “If you say the thoughts of goodwill, but you don’t really feel any sense of happiness or well being inside, it’s like opening up the faucet to an empty tank of water. Nothing but air comes out.” The coolness of air and the coolness of water are two very different things. What you want is water. So you want to develop the cool water of a sense of well-being inside you. And the breath is a good place to start." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "High Lev...

"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"

"Look at the way you perceive your relationship to other people. If you feel that you’re victimized by other people, that’s a perception that’s not going to help. You have to have the sense that you’re well-grounded and safe, solid in your own well-being. And the breath helps here. If the bodily sensations feel uncomfortable, you’ll have a hard time maintaining any real sense of well-being here, and that will make it harder to wish for the well-being of others, because the well-being has to start in here. As Ajaan Lee says, “If you say the thoughts of goodwill, but you don’t really feel any sense of happiness or well being inside, it’s like opening up the faucet to an empty tank of water. Nothing but air comes out.” The coolness of air and the coolness of water are two very different things. What you want is water. So you want to develop the cool water of a sense of well-being inside you. And the breath is a good place to start." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "High Lev...

"For example, dealing with other people, you suddenly run into their energies. Or you go to certain places where the place itself has strange or unfriendly energies. You don’t want them to invade your space, so you try to protect yourself, because the breath, as it flows through the body, is like an electric current. It creates a magnetic field around the body that can act as a protection against negative energies coming in from outside. That way, even though you’re dealing with difficult people, you don’t have to inhale their difficulty, you don’t have to absorb their difficulty, you don’t have to let it come and occupy parts of your body. You were there first. You’ve got this protective shield. It’s when you sense this that you realize the value of maintaining. This gives the mind a good, safe place to stay. You become more and more sensitive to what’s been invading your space all along and now you don’t have to suffer from it. You’ve got something to help you battl...

"Ajaan Lee often taught that the breath is your best home base; the other topics are like tools you bring in when you need to work on specific issues. But you always need the breath as your default mode, as the home to which you return. And having a safe place like this, a sense of being strong and having this as your territory: That makes you safe to other people as well, because when your actions come from a sense of strength, you don’t lash out. You don’t react in fearful ways. You know you’ve got your home here, and nobody can take it from you." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "At Home with the Breath"

"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...

"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...

"The sense of well-being fostered by working and playing with the breath gives you a solid foundation for observing stress and suffering. If you feel threatened by your suffering, you won’t have the patience and endurance needed to watch and comprehend it. As soon as you encounter it, you want to run away. But if you’re dwelling in a sense of well-being in the body and mind, you don’t feel so threatened by pain or suffering. That enables you to watch pain and suffering more steadily. You know that you have a safe place in your body where the breath feels comfortable, where you can focus your attention when the stress or suffering becomes too overwhelming." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "With Each & Every Breath: A Guide to Meditation"