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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