The Breath of Love - The 6R

The Breath of Love
Author
Most Venerable Bhante Vimalaramsi Mahàthera


The 6R’s

The  6R’s  are  steps  which  evolve  into  one  fluid  motion
becoming  a  new  wholesome  habitual  tendency  that
relieves  any  dis-ease  in  mind  and  body.  This  cycle  begins
when MINDFULNESS remembers the 6R’s which are:  
RECOGNIZE
RELEASE
RELAX
RE-SMILE
RETURN
REPEAT
Development of mindfulness (your observation power) observes
each  step  of  the  practice  cycle.  Once  you  understand  what
the  purpose  of  mindfulness  is,  keeping  it  going  all  the  time  is
no  longer  a  problem,  and  this  makes  the  meditation  easier  to
understand, plus, it is much more fun to practice. It becomes a
part of happy living and this brings up a smile. Remembering
the 6r’s leads you to having a wholesome up-lifted mind.
This  remembering  by  mindfulness  is  very  important.  Before
practicing  the  6R’s  you  have  to  REMEMBER  to  start  the  cycle!
That’s the trick! You have to remember to gas-up the engine, so
it can run smoothly!
Then we begin to:
RECOGNIZE: Mindfulness remembers how you can recognize
and observe any movement of mind’s attention from one thing
to  another.  This  observation  notices  any  movement  of  mind’s
attention away from an object of meditation, such as the breath,
sending out Mettà or, doing a task in daily life. You will notice a


slight  tightness  or tension sensation as mind’s attention barely
begins to move toward any arising phenomena.

Pleasant or painful feeling can occur at any one of the six sense
doors. Any sight, sound, odor, taste, touch, or thought can cause
this  pulling  sensation  to  begin.  With  careful  non-judgmental
observation,  the  meditator  will  notice  a  slight  tightening
sensation. RECOGNIZING early movement is vital to successful
meditation. You then continue on to;
RELEASE: When a feeling or thought arises, you RELEASE it, let
it be there without giving anymore attention to it. The content of
the distraction is not important at all, but the mechanics of HOW
it arose are important! Just let go of any tightness around it; let
it be there without placing attention on it. Without attention, the
tightness passes away. Mindfulness then reminds you to;
RELAX: After releasing the feeling or sensation, and allowing it
to be there without trying to control it, there is a subtle, barely
noticeable  tension  within  mind/body.  This  is  why  the  RELAX
step  [“TRANQUILIZATION”  step  as  stated  in  the  suttas]  is
being pointed out by the Buddha in his meditation instructions.
PLEASE, DON’T SKIP THIS STEP! It would be like not putting
oil in a car so the motor can run smoothly. The important Pàli
word  here  is  ‘pas’sambaya’.  This  word  specifically  means  ‘to
tranquilize’  and  appears  as  ‘an  action  verb  to  be  performed’
as described in the suttas and is not ‘a general kind of relaxing
that is included within other release steps found in other kinds
of  meditation.  This  point  is  sometimes  mis-understood  in
translation which then changes the end result!
Without  performing  this  step  of  relaxation  every  time  in  the
cycle,  the  meditator  will  not  experience  a  close-up  view  of  the
ceasing (cessation) of the tension caused by craving or the feeling


of relief as the tightness is relaxed. Note that craving always first
manifests as a tightness or tension in both one’s mind and body.
You  have  a  momentary  opportunity  to  see  and  experience  the
true  nature  and  relief  of  cessation  of  tightness  and  suffering
while performing the RELEASE/RELAX steps.
Mindfulness moves on by remembering to;
RE-SMILE: If you have listened to the Dhamma talks at www.
dhammasukha.org  you  might  remember  hearing  about  how
smiling  is  an  important  aspect  for  the  meditation.  Learning  to
smile  with  mind  and  raising  slightly  the  corners  of  the  mouth
helps  mind  to  be  observant,  alert  and  agile.  Getting  serious,
tensing up or frowning causes mind to become heavy and your
mindfulness  becomes  dull  and  slow.  Your  insights  become
more difficult to see, thus slowing down your understanding of
Dhamma.
  Imagine  for  a  moment,  the  Bodhisatta  resting  under  the  rose
apple tree as a young boy. He was not serious and tense when he
attained a pleasant abiding [Jhàna] and had deep insights with a
light mind. Want to see clearly? It’s easy!
Just lighten up, have fun exploring and smile! Smiling leads us
to a happier more interesting practice. If the meditator forgets to
Release/Relax, rather than punishing or criticizing yourself, be
kind, re-smile and start again. Keeping up your humor, sense of
fun exploration and recycling is important.
After re-smiling, mindfulness recalls the next step.
RETURN or RE-DIRECT: Gently re-direct mind’s attention back
to  the  object  of  meditation  (that  is  the  breath  and  relaxing,  or
Mettà and relaxing) continuing with a gentle collected mind and


use that object as a “home base”. In daily life, having been pulled
off task, this is where you return your attention back to releasing,
relaxing, and re-smiling into the task.
Sometimes people say this practice cycle is simpler than expected!
In  history,  simple  things  can  become  a  mystery  through  small
changes and omissions! Doing this practice develops better focus
on  daily  tasks  with  less  tension  and  tightness.  Mind  becomes
more naturally balanced and happy. You become more efficient
at whatever you do in life and, actually, you have more fun doing
all of the things that used to be a drudgery. Nearing the end of
the cycle.
Mindfulness helps with the final remembering to;
REPEAT:  REPEAT  your  meditation  on  your  object  and  keep  it
going  as  long  as  you  can  and  then  repeat  this  entire  practice
cycle  as  needed  to  attain  the  results  the  Buddha  said  could  be
reached in this lifetime!
Repeating  the  “6R’s  cycle”  over  and  over  again  will  eventually
replace old habitual suffering as we see clearly for ourselves what
suffering actually is; notice the cause of it and how we become
involved  with  the  tension  and  tightness  of  it;  experience  how
to reach a cessation of that suffering by releasing and relaxing;
and  discover  how  we  can  exercise  the  direct  path  to  that  same
cessation  of  suffering.  We  achieve  this  cessation  each  time  we
Release an arising feeling, Relax and Resmile. Notice the Relief!
In  summary,  Mindfulness  (Sati)  is  very  relevant  to  Buddhist
meditation and daily life. Sharpening your skill of mindfulness
is  the  key  to  simple  and  smooth  meditation.  The  process
of  remembering  keeps  the  six  steps  of  the  practice  moving.
Practicing  this  meditation  as  close  to  the  instructions  (found


in  the  suttas)  as  possible  will  lighten  life’s  experience.  A  very
similar practice was taught to people in the time of the Buddha.
It was taught as Right Effort. Within the 6R’s we have added a
couple more steps to make things a little easier to understand.
The remarkable results of doing the meditation in this way are
“immediately effective” for anyone who diligently and ardently
embraces these instructions. When you have an attachment arise
this practice will eventually dissolve the hindrance, but it does
take persistent use of the 6R’s to have this happen.
  When  you  practice  in  this  way,  because  it  is  found  to  be  so
relevant  in  daily  life,  it  changes  your  perspective  and  leads
you  to  a  more  successful,  happy,  and  peaceful  experience.  As
mindfulness  develops,  knowledge  and  wisdom  grow  naturally
as  you  see  HOW  things  work  by  witnessing  the  impersonal
process of Dependent Origination.
This  leads  to  a  form  of  happiness  the  Buddha  called
“Contentment”.  Contentment  is  the  by-product  of  living  the
Buddhist practice. This meditation leads to balance, equanimity,
and  the  dissolution  of  fear  and  other  dis-ease.  With  less  fear
and  dread  you  find  new  confidence.  Then  Loving-kindness,
Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity can grow in our lives.
Your degree of success is directly proportional to how well you
understand mindfulness, follow the precise instructions, and use
the  6R’s  in  both  your  sitting  practice  and  daily  life.  This  is  the
way to the end of suffering. It’s interesting and fun to practice
this  way  and  certainly  it  helps  you  smile  while  changing  the
world around you in a positive way.
When you are practicing “Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation”
(TWIM), you do not suppress anything. Suppression means we


would  push  down  or  push  away  or  not  allow  certain  types  of
experience. This would temporarily stop hindrances from arising.
Instead, when a hindrance arises, you must work to open your
mind  by  seeing  clearly  anicca  (impermanence,  it  wasn’t  there
and now it is), dukkha (suffering or un-satisfactoriness, you see
that  when  these  distractions  arise  they  are  painful),  and  anattà
(not taking it personally, seeing the hindrances in the true way as
being an impersonal process that you have no control over and
not taking these hindrances as “I am that”).
You  then  let  go  of  this  obstruction,  relax  the  tightness  in  the
head, calm mind and finally, redirect your craving-free attention
back to the practice of ‘Mindfulness of Breathing’.
As  a  result,  you  begin  to  see  clearly  how  mind  works  and  this
leads  to  the  development  of  wisdom.  Instead  of  identifying
with  them,  when  you  allow  them  and  relax,  these  hindrances,
will naturally fade away. Mind becomes more clear and bright.
Every time you let go of the ego attachment of “I am that”, mind
naturally becomes more expanded, alert, and mindful.
Thus,  one  of  the  main  reasons  for  this  book  is  to  show  that
whenever  you  suppress  anything,  you  are  not  purifying
mind,  or  experiencing  things  as  they  truly  are.  At  the  time  of
suppression, you are pushing away or not allowing part of your
experience. Thus, mind is contracted and pulls the tension even
tighter  instead  of  expanding  and  opening.  As  a  result,  this  is
not  purifying  mind  of  ignorance  and  craving.  You  are  actually
stopping the purification of mind!
It  is  impossible  to  experience  the  unconditioned  state  of  the
supramundane Nibbàna when one does not let go of everything
that  arises,  and  in  that  way,  purify  mind  of  the  ego  belief  of  “I
am that”.


The  Buddha  never  taught  suppression  of  any  experience  nor
did he teach a meditation that causes mind to fix on or become
absorbed  into  the  meditation  object.  Remember,  he  rejected
every form of ‘concentration meditation’ as not being the correct
way.  Actually,  any  kinds  of  pain,  emotional  upset,  physical
discomfort, and even death must be accepted with equanimity,
full awareness or strong attention without identifying with these
states or taking pain personally.
Real  personality  change  occurs  when  you  open  and  expand
your mind and let go of any kinds of hindrances, pain, suffering
and tension even in your daily lives. This means that you open
and expand your awareness so that you can observe everything
with  a  silent  mind  free  from  tightness  and  all  ego-attachment.
You gradually lead a happy and calm life without a lot of mind
chatter, especially during your daily activities.
When you practice “concentration meditation”, you will feel very
comfortable and happy while in the deep meditation. But, when
you  get  out  of  these  exalted  stages,  your  personality  remains
the same. Old anger, fears, or anxiety remain. This means when
the hindrances attack you, you do not recognize them and open
your mind and allow the hindrance to be there without taking it
personally. Thus, you contract your mind and become even more
attached!  You  might  even  become  prideful  and  critical!  This  is
because  whenever  a  hindrance  arises  during  the  meditation,
you let it go and immediately go back to the object of meditation
again.  You  do  this  without  calming  and  relaxing  the  tightness
caused by the distraction. While in meditation, your mind tends
to  close  or  contract  and  tighten  around  that  experience  until
mind becomes more deeply ‘concentrated’.
As a result, although this suppresses the hindrance, you have not
completely let go of the ego-attachment to that distraction. Your


mind is also tight and tense because you are not seeing clearly.
You are not opening and allowing, but, instead you are closing
and fighting with that distraction.
This explains why nowadays meditators complain that they have
huge amounts of tension in their head. Actually, if you truly let
go  of  any  distraction,  there  will  not  ever  be  any  tension  in  the
head.  It  is  as  a  result  of  this  suppression  that  there  is  no  real
purifying of mind, and thus, personality change does not occur.
Talking About Words
Now, we are almost ready for the ânàpànasati Sutta. But, before
we  go  into  that,  let’s  look  at  some  words  which  have  been
simplified so that their meanings in the texts become clearer.
For instance,
The word ‘rapture’ is replaced by ‘joy’.
The word ‘pleasure’ is changed to ‘happiness’.
The word ‘concentration’ is replaced by ‘stillness’, ‘collectedness’,
or ‘unified mind’.
The  phrase  ‘applied  and  sustained  thoughts’  is  replaced  by
‘thinking  and  examining  thoughts’  which  seems  to  be  more
immediately understood.
The  word  ‘contemplation’  has,  in  most  cases  been  changed  to
‘observation’.
When  you  practice  according  to  the  Buddha’s  instructions,  as
described  here,  afterwards,  you  will  be  able  to  confirm  your
experiences by reading the suttas. As a result, there will arise a
better understanding of these profound texts.
One  last  note:  In  these  few  opening  chapters,  the  author  has
touched  on  some  controversial  views  about  the  practices  of


absorption  or  fixed  concentration  (appanà  samàdhi),  access
concentration  (upacàra  samàdhi)  and  momentary  concentration
(khanika  samàdhi).  Thus,  the  author  would  appreciate  it  very
much if the reader finds any mistake; they should indicate the
suttas which mentioned these various concentration practices by
e-mailing the Author.
When  you  practice  “Tranquil  Wisdom  Insight  Meditation”
(TWIM) there is only opening, expanding of mind, and allowing;
then relaxing the tightness caused by the hindrance or distraction,
before going back to the object of meditation again. This opening
and  allowing  helps  you  to  be  more  aware  of  the  things  which
cause  pain  and  suffering  so  that  you  can  open  up  and  expand
even  further.  With  this  kind  of  awareness,  there  is  personality
change and only then can you fulfill the Buddha’s admonition
of “We are the Happy Ones”.