Wednesday, May 2, 2012

The Breath of Love - Mindfulness of Breathing

The Breath of Love
Author
Most Venerable Bhante Vimalaramsi Mahàthera



Mindfulness of Breathing

15]  “Monks,  when  mindfulness  of  breathing  is  developed
and  cultivated,  it  is  of  great  fruit  and  great  benefit.  When
Mindfulness  of  Breathing  is  developed  and  cultivated,  it
fulfills  the  “Four  Foundations  of  Mindfulness”.  When  the
“Four  Foundations  of  Mindfulness”  are  developed  and
cultivated, they fulfill the “Seven Awakening Factors”. When
the “Seven Awakening Factors” are developed and cultivated,
they fulfill true knowledge and deliverance.
 Please observe that the “Four Foundations of Mindfulness” are
in this sutta and they are fulfilled through the practice of Jhàna
and “Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation” (TWIM) which lead
to wise meditative states of mind.
This  is  decidedly  different  from  the  current  theory  that  you
can’t  observe  the  “Four  Foundations  of  Mindfulness”  while


experiencing Jhànas [meditative stages of understanding].
The  Buddha  only  taught  one  kind  of  meditation  and  that  is
serenity/insight  or  tranquility/insight  meditation.  That  is
Samatha/Vipassanà meditation or you can say he taught Samàdhi
which  literally  means  “Tranquil  Wisdom  Insight  Meditation”
(TWIM).
16]  And  how,  monks,  is  mindfulness  of  breathing  developed
and cultivated, so that it is of great fruit and great benefit?
17] “Here a monk, gone to the forest or to the root of a tree or
an empty hut, sits down; having folded his legs crosswise, set
his  body  erect,  and  established  mindfulness  in  front  of  him,
ever mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes out.
The phrase “gone to the forest or to the root of a tree or an empty
hut” means that you go to a reasonably quiet place where there
will be few distractions while learning the meditation. A suitable
location would be a place that is away from road noises, loud and
persistent music or sounds of people, as well as animals.
The  thing  that  happens  with  many  absorption  concentration
practitioners is that even the smallest sound turns into a “thorn
in  their  side”.  This  occurs  because  concentration  is  out  of
balance with your mindfulness. Many students complain about
a fan being on and how it makes noise, or when someone opens
and shuts a door. The absorption practitioner will jump because
the  noise  kind  of  shocks  them.  Again,  this  occurs  because  the
meditators  mindfulness  is  weak  and  their  concentration  is  out
of balance. This is one of the disadvantages of doing absorption
concentration.
During the time of the Buddha, most people sat on floor. Hence,


the  phrase  “sits  down;  having  folded  his  legs  crosswise,  sets
his  body  erect”.  But  today,  sitting  on  the  floor  can  be  very
painful  and  a  trying  experience  because  people  mostly  sit  on
chairs, stools, or couches. If you want to sit on the floor, it may
help if you sit on a cushion high enough so there is no pain in
your back or knees.
In actual fact, it is far more important to observe what is happening
in mind than it is to sit with uncomfortable or painful sensations.
Remember  that  there  is  no  magic  in  sitting  on  the  floor.  The
magic comes from a clear, calm mind that has fun watching how
mind’s attention moves from one thing to another and learning
to 6R any distraction and gently be at ease, as much as possible.
Thus, if sitting on the floor is a very painful experience, then, it
is alright to sit on a stool or a chair.
However, if you do sit on a chair, there is an extremely important
factor to consider. You need to sit without leaning hard against
the  back  of  the  chair.  Leaning  is  good  for  sleeping  but  not  for
meditation!  “Sets  his  body  erect”  means  you  sit  with  a  nicely
straight  back  which  is  not  rigid  and  uncomfortable.  A  nicely
straight back has all of the vertebrae stacked one upon another.
This  is  to  ensure  that  energy  can  flow  up  and  down  the  back
without any blockages. Leaning into a chair can stop the energy
flow and can cause sleepiness to arise. Thus, please do not lean
against  anything  when  sitting.  Very  often,  when  you  first  start
out,  your  back  is  not  used  to  being  straight  and  some  of  the
muscles  can  rebel  and  complain.  However,  with  patience  and
perseverance,  these  unused  muscles  will  gradually  adjust  and
they will strengthen.
There is another important aspect to sitting meditation. You must
not move! You must sit without moving the body for any reason.
Please do not wiggle the toes or fingers or move the hands to rub


or scratch or change the posture in any way until after the sitting
is over. Any movement breaks the continuity of the practice and
this can cause you to have to start all over again.
Some meditation teachers tell their students that it is quite alright
to  move  as  long  as  they  are  “mindful”.  But  if  the  students  are
truly mindful, they would be able to watch mind and its dislike
of the sensations and then, let go of the sensation and relax mind
around them. Thus, there would be no reason to move!
Mindfulness also means to lovingly-accept what is happening in
the present moment, without trying to control, resist or change
it.  To  be  truly  mindful  means  to  open  up  and  allow  whatever
presents itself in the present moment. While sitting, if you move,
this  means  that  you  are  not  being  mindful  at  that  time.  When
you “give in” to the desire to move, you are identifying with that
desire and there is no mindfulness at that time .
Thus, when you are ready and begin to meditate, you must remain
still and keep relaxing mind whenever there is a distraction. To sit
as still as a Buddha image is the best! Actually the only allowable
movement  during  meditation  is  to  straighten  the  back  when  it
starts to curve or slump, as long as it is not done too often.
The phrase “establishing mindfulness in front of him” means
that you put aside all other worldly affairs and involvement with
sensual pleasures. Then you softly close your eyes and whenever
there is a distracting sound, smell, taste, sensation, or thought,
you  are  aware  of  that  and  simply  let  it  go.  You  then  relax  the
tightness in your head, smile and redirect mind’s attention back
to the object of meditation and relax.
“Ever mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes out.”


This tells us the way to practice mindfulness of breathing. Being
aware of the breath means to know when you are experiencing
the  in-breath,  then  relaxing,  and  to  know  when  you  are
experiencing the out-breath and relaxing. You use the breath as a
reminder to relax on both the in and out-breath. It simply means
to open up your awareness and to be attentive to the breath as
much as possible and at the same time, relax the tightness in the
head (this will be explained more thoroughly in a little while).

Meditation Instructions
18] “Breathing in long, he understands: ‘I breathe in long’; or
breathing out long, he understands: ‘I breathe out long.’
Breathing in short, he understands: ‘I breathe in short’; or
breathing out short he understands ‘I breathe out short’.
The  words  “he  understands”  is  emphasized  to  show  that  you
do not focus with strong attention on the breath to the exclusion
of  everything  else.  You  merely  ‘understand’  what  the  breath
is  doing  in  the  present  moment.  That’s  all  there  is  to  this!  You
simply  know  when  you  breathe  in  long  or  short!  There  is  no
controlling  of  the  breath  at  any  time.  Instead,  there  is  only
understanding  of  what  you  are  doing  in  the  present  moment.
If you try to “over-focus” or “concentrate” on the breath to the
exclusion of anything else, you will develop a headache due to
this “wrong concentration”.
Whenever you hold tightly onto the meditation object and try to
force mind to “concentrate” or push away distractions, the head
will develop a very tight and painful tension. This tightness or
tension in the head also occurs when the meditator attempts to
control  the  sitting  by  throwing  down  any  distracting  thoughts
and feelings and quickly rushing back to the meditation object.
This  happens  with  ‘momentary  concentration’  as  well  as  any


other kind of ‘absorption concentration’ technique. This doesn’t
happen when you relax on the in-breath and on the out-breath.
Many meditation teachers tell their students to put their attention
right in the middle of the sensation and see its true nature. This
will cause a few different things to occur.
Firstly,  you  will  develop  a  stronger  pain  and  this  becomes
a  distraction  instead  of  an  investigation.  It  is  because  these
meditation teachers tell their students to stay with that pain until
it  goes  away.  Unfortunately,  this  can  take  an  unbelievably  long
time.  In  addition,  you  naturally  need  to  tighten  and  toughen
mind in order to observe the sensation.
Actually,  this  tightening  and  toughening  of  mind  is  not  being
mindful. You begin to develop a mind that hardens itself when
pain arises. It is only natural for this to happen as it takes a lot
of courage and fortitude to watch pain in this way. At that time,
a type of aversion is naturally developed and this hardening of
mind  is  not  being  noticed  as  anicca,  dukkha,  anattà  or  the  links
of Dependent Origination and you are not noticing the craving
which is this tightening of mind and body.
Consequently, even when you are not meditating, this suppression
can cause personality hardening, and that causes true problems
to arise. Without the relax step, mind has a tendency to become
critical and judgmental and the personality development of the
meditator becomes hard.
Many  people  say  they  need  to  do  a  Loving-kindness  retreat
after  doing  other  types  of  meditation  because  they  discovered
that  they  do  and  say  things  in  daily  life  which  are  not  so  nice
to  other  people.  When  this  happens,  there  appears  a  question,
“Is this really a type of meditation technique which leads to my


happiness and to the happiness of others?” If the answer is yes,
then  why  do  I  need  to  practice  another  form  of  meditation  to
balance my thinking?”
Eventually you are able to suppress this aversion by practicing
‘concentration’, which is considered to be the “correct method”
by  most  meditation  teachers.  But  the  method  taught  by  the
Buddha  was  never  to  suppress  anything.  His  method  was  to
keep mind open and relaxed and to allow everything that arises
in the present moment.
Thus, whenever a painful sensation arises in the body, you first
recognize  that  mind’s  attention  has  gone  to  the  sensation  and
you  begin  to  think  about  that  feeling.  You  then  let  go  of  any
thoughts about that sensation, open mind and let go of the tight
mental fist that is wrapped around the sensation, or you can let
the sensation be there by itself without any mental resistance or
aversion to it. This is done by telling yourself, “Never mind, it is
alright for this pain to be there.”
Next,  relax  the  tightness  in  the  head  ...  feel  mind  expand  and
become calm ... then smile and re-direct mind’s attention back to
the object of meditation i.e. the breath and relaxing on both the
in and out-breath.
If  you  get  caught  by  thinking  about  the  sensation  or  pain,  the
sensation will get bigger and become more intense. Eventually,
you can’t stand it anymore and you feel like you have to move.
This  thinking  or  internal  verbalizing  about  the  sensation  and
wishing it would go away, is the ‘ego identification’ and the very
beginning of craving and clinging. This getting involved with, ...
trying to control, ... fighting with the sensation, ... resisting the
sensation  etc.,  is  only  fighting  with  the  Dhamma,  which  is  the
Truth of the present moment.


Whenever  you  fight  and  try  to  control  or  harden  mind  to  the
“Dhamma  of  the  present  moment”,  you  cause  yourself  undue
suffering and pain. Another way of fighting with the Dhamma
is by taking the sensation personally and trying to control feeling
with  your  thoughts.  This  worsens  the  pain  and,  as  a  result,  it
hurts  even  more.  Thus,  you  must  learn  to  open  and  lovingly-
accept the present moment without that ‘ego-identification’ and
the thinking or internal verbalization about it, or taking it as “I
am that”.
By  letting  go  and  relaxing,  then  smiling,  this  is  how  you  gain
calmness  and  collectedness  of  mind  as  well  as  equanimity,  full
awareness, and mindfulness. The Buddha taught us three kinds of
actions while meditating or during our daily activities. They are,
“Love Where We Are At… 
Love What We Are Doing in the Present Moment… 
and Love Who We Are With”.
These simple explanations allow you to be completely accepting
of the present moment. “To Love Where We Are At” means to
accept the fact that when you are sitting in meditation, things are
not always like you want them to be.
“To Love What We Are Doing” means to open up mind and allow
whatever arises in the present moment to present itself without
our getting attached to it (craving) or criticizing ourselves for not
being as good as we think we should be.
A  good  acronym  for  this  is  “DROPSS”  which  means  “Don’t
Resist Or Push. Soften and Smile”. Whatever arises, do not resist
or push. Just soften into it and smile, open mind and accept it. In
other words “Love What We Are Doing”.
“To Love Who We Are With”, means to love yourself enough so


that you see and let go of all kinds of attachments which cause
pain to arise in your body and mind.
The  recognition  that  you  cause  your  own  suffering  is  a  major
realization. When you truly love yourself, you will see the pain and
sorrow and lovingly let it go, then relax and smile. This is done by
letting go of the thinking about. Thus, you will eventually let go of
the attachment (craving) and the ego identification with it.
“He  trains  thus:  ‘I  shall  breathe  in  experiencing  the  whole
body’;
he  trains  thus  ‘I  shall  breathe  out  experiencing  the  whole
body’’;
This part of the sutta means that you know when the breath is
starting and stopping on the in-breath, then relax. You don’t have
to  over-focus  mind  or  ‘concentrate’  on  the  breath,  or  take  this
breathing  as  the  object  of  extreme  ‘absorption  concentration’.
You simply know what the breath is doing in the present moment
and  relax  on  both  the  in  and  out-breath.  Your  mindfulness  is
sharp enough to know what the breath and relaxing is doing at
all times, without controlling the breath in any way.
Just let the breath and relaxing become a natural process!
“He  trains  thus:  ‘I  shall  breathe  in  tranquilizing  the  bodily
formation’;
he  trains  thus:  ‘I  shall  breathe  out  tranquilizing  the  bodily
formation’.”
This simple statement is the most important part of the meditation
instructions. It instructs you to notice the tightness which arises
in  the  head  with  every  arising  of  a  consciousness  and  to  relax
that tightness while on the in-breath and out-breath. Then you


feel  your  mind  open  up,  expand,  relax,  become  tranquil.  and
then you smile.
This process occurs because there is a membrane that is wrapped
around the brain called the “meninges”. This membrane tightens
every time a thought, feeling, or sensation arises. Every time you
see  that  mind  is  distracted  away  from  the  breath  and  relaxing,
you  simply  let  go  of  the  distraction  by  not  keeping  mind’s
attention on it, then relax the tightness in the head or brain, feel
mind become open and expanded. Feel it become relaxed, calm
and clear.
Next,  you  softly  smile  and  re-direct  mind’s  attention  back  to
the  breath.  On  the  in-breath  relax,  feel  it  expand  and  become
calm.  On  the  out-breath  relax,  feel  the  meninges  expand,  feel
mind become alert, and pure. In this way the tension in the head
(meninges, brain) and mind gently goes away.
For example, when a thought arises, just let the thought go. Don’t
continue thinking, even if you are in mid-sentence. Just softly let
go  of  the  thought.  If  the  distraction  is  a  sensation,  firstly  open
mind  and  let  go  of  the  aversion  to  the  sensation  and  relax  the
tightness caused by that distraction. Then feel open and expand
before  smiling  and  then  re-direct  mind’s  attention  back  to  the
breath and relaxing. This opening up, relaxing and letting go of
the tightness in the head is actually letting go of the subtle ‘ego
identification’ (craving) which attaches itself to everything as it
arises.
Thus, in this way, when you let go of this tension, you are actually
letting  go  of  all  craving  and  ignorance  which  causes  rebirth.
This is the actual experience of the “Third Noble Truth” or the
cessation of suffering.


Many times a teacher of ‘absorption concentration’ will tell their
students  that  this  last  part  of  the  instructions  means  that  you
become  tranquil  when  you  focus  mind’s  attention  just  on  the
breath. But, this is not the way this is to be read. The Pàli presents
us  with  the  word  “pas-sambaya”.  This  word  is  interesting
because it can be a verb, an adverb, a noun, or an adjective. Words
which preceed it or follow it change the meaning of this word.
The  words  before  this  state  “He  trains  thus:”.  This  means  that
this Pàli word is an “action verb”. This makes sense because you
are relaxing (letting go of subtle craving) in the body and mind
on both the in and out-breaths.
When  you  follow  this  sutta’s  instructions,  this  small  step
of  relaxing  in  the  instructions  actually  says  that  when  you
meditate, you are not strongly focusing just on the breath itself
to the exclusion of everything else. You are using the breath to
remind  yourself  to  relax  on  both  the  in  and  out-  breaths.  This
changes the entire meditation moving it away from “absorption
concentration”  and  instead,  developing  the  “Tranquil  Wisdom
Insight Meditation” (TWIM)!
When  the  meditation  instructions  here  are  followed  closely,
there will be no ‘sign or nimitta’ arising in mind. A nimitta is a
kind of mind-made object, which arises when one is practicing
‘absorption concentration meditation’. In the practice of TWIM,
the  Mind  naturally  becomes  calm  and  your  understanding  of
HOW  mind’s  attention  actually  moves  continues  to  develop.
This  also  means  that  you  will  be  able  to  discern  how  the  links
of Dependent Origination occur and this is where deep insights
and understanding really happen.
You  need  not  “try”  to  force  mind  to  stay  on  the  object  of
meditation through strong concentration which can cause tension
and pain (craving) in the head and body. Eventually you begin to


realize the true nature of all phenomenon as being impermanent
(anicca),  unsatisfactory  (dukkha),  and  not-self  (anattà)  as  well  as
beginning  to  see  for  yourself  how  the  impersonal  process  of
Dependent Origination occurs.
Thus, when you practice “Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation”
(TWIM), you are aware of the in-breath and at the same time, the
relaxation of the tension caused by craving in your head because
of  the  tightening  of  the  meninges,  the  membrane  around  the
brain,  and  you  feel  this  tightening  in  your  mind  as  well.  You
are also aware of the out-breath and again, at the same time, the
relaxation of the tension in the head and mind.
Please  use  the  breath  as  your  reminder  to  relax  all  tightness
because  then  you  are  letting  go  of  the  craving,  which  always
manifests as tension and tightness in both mind and body.
This is actually an incredibly easy practice and a simple way to
develop mind. It is alright if you happen to miss one in-breath or
one out-breath at first. You should not put unnecessary pressure
on yourself or criticize yourself. This might cause you to think
how difficult this practice is. It does take some getting used to
before your practice becomes proficient. Thus, if you occasionally
miss the in-breath and relaxing, or, an out-breath and relaxing,
just let it go and catch the next in-breath or out-breath. Simple
and easy, isn’t it?
At  first,  the  breath  may  seem  to  be  very  fast  and  difficult
to  notice.  However,  as  you  continue  with  your  practice,  the
meditation  becomes  easier  and  you  will  not  miss  the  in-breath
and relaxing or the out-breath and relaxing that much. After all,
this is a gradual training. There is no need to put undue pressure
on yourself, so, have fun and smile more. This is the way to gain
the fastest results. Please remember that the Buddha teaches us


to have a happy wholesome uplifted mind all of the time! Simply
relax into the meditation and smile. Smiling is a way to have an
alert uplifted mind!
When  you  practice  “Tranquil  Wisdom  Insight  Meditation”
(TWIM),  the  breath  does  not  become  subtle  and  difficult  to
observe. If this happens, then the meditator is ‘concentrating’ too
much on the breath and not smiling enough. Also, the tightness in
the head is not relaxed enough. If the breath seems to disappear
again,  the  meditator  is  focusing  their  ‘concentration’  and  not
tranquilizing mind enough.
The Jhànas (meditation stages of understanding) will appear by
themselves as mind becomes calm and peaceful. You do not have
to push, force, or ‘concentrate with a fixed mind’. Actually, the
Buddha taught this most natural form of meditation to work for
every type of personality or individual.
19] “He trains thus: ‘I shall breathe in experiencing joy’;
He trains thus: ‘I shall breathe out experiencing joy’.”
This refers to the attainment of the first two Jhànas (meditation
stages of understanding). The description of these stages is a set
formula  that  is  repeated  many  times  in  the  suttas.[12]  We  will
now look into the description of these first two Jhànas:
Here, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, ...
When  you  start  your  meditation  session,  you  first  close  your
eyes. This is being secluded from the sensual pleasure of seeing.
Whenever a sound distracts mind, the instructions are to let the
sound be there by itself, without thinking about whether you like
the sound or not. Simply let the sound go. Let go of the mental
fist around the sound. Relax the craving or tightness in the head


and feel mind become calm and at ease. Now smile and redirect
(happy)  mind’s  attention  back  to  the  object  of  meditation,  i.e.,
the breath. Relax the tightness in the head, feel mind open up,
expand, and become tranquil. Smile and on the in-breath, relax
the  tightness  in  the  head  on  the  out-breath,  feel  mind  become
alert, peaceful, and pure because there is no more craving in it.
You stay with the breath and relax the tension in mind until the
next distraction appears by itself.
As  a  meditator  you  do  this  with  smelling,  tasting,  bodily
sensations, and thoughts or any kind of sensual pleasure which
distracts mind’s attention away from the breath and relaxing.
Whenever  there  is  a  distraction  at  one  of  the  sense-doors  you
simply  and  softly  let  it  go,  relax  that  mental  fist  around  the
distraction,  relax  the  tightness  in  the  head,  feel  mind  expand,
and  redirect  mind’s  attention  back  to  the  breath  and  relaxing
again.  It  doesn’t  matter  how  many  times  the  sensual  pleasure
arises. You have to allow it to be there every time it arises. Just
remember to let it go, relax the tightness in the head, feel mind
expand and smile, then come back to the breath and relaxing.
secluded from unwholesome states...
When  mind’s  attention  is  distracted  from  the  breath  and
relaxing, and it begins to think about a feeling that arises, then
there is a tendency for mind to like or dislike that feeling. This
thinking about and trying to control feeling by thinking about
what  arises,  causes  the  feeling  to  get  bigger  and  more  intense.
Thus, more pain arises.

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