The Breath of Love - Jhana

The Breath of Love
Author
Most Venerable Bhante Vimalaramsi Mahàthera


“He  trains  thus:  ‘I  shall  breathe  in  experiencing  the  mental
formation’;
he  trains  thus:  ‘I  shall  breathe  out  experiencing  the  mental
formation’;
He  trains  thus:  ‘I  shall  breathe  in  tranquilizing  the  mental
formation.’
He  trains  thus:  ‘I  shall  breathe  out  tranquilizing  the  mental
formation.’”
As  you  continue  calming,  expanding  and  relaxing  mind,  it
naturally  begins  to  go  deeper.  Finally,  the  feeling  of  pleasure
in  the  body/mind  becomes  too  coarse  and  mind  experiences
exceptional equanimity and balance of mind. It is described thus
in the sutta:


“Here  with  the  abandoning  of  pleasure  and  pain,  and  with
the previous disappearance of joy and grief a bhikkhu enters
upon and abides in the fourth Jhàna (meditation stage), which
has neither pain or pleasure and purity of mindfulness due to
equanimity.’”
When  mind’s  attention  becomes  very  calm  and  still,  you  will
experience  deep  tranquility  and  equanimity  of  mind.  You  can
still  hear  sounds  and  feel  sensations  with  the  body,  but  these
things do not shake or move mind at all. Another description of
this stage of meditation (Jhàna) is:
“My  composed  mind  was  purified,  bright,  unblemished,  rid
of  imperfection,  malleable,  wieldy,  steady  and  attained  to
imperturbability.”
This gives the serious meditator an idea of what to expect when
they  attain  this  stage.  Mind’s  attention  is  exceptionally  clear,
bright  and  alert.  Mind  can  even  see  when  a  distraction  begins
to arise, then let it go and relax, expand mind, and calm down
again before smiling and coming back to the breath.
The  abandoning  of  pain  and  pleasure  does  not  mean  that
occasionally  pain  or  pleasure  won’t  arise.  They  will  arise,  but
mind’s attention is in such a state of balance that it won’t shake
or  become  involved  with  the  distractions.  At  that  time  mind  is
very  aware  when  pain  or  pleasure  arises  but  the  mindfulness
and equanimity are so strong that it does not become concerned
with it.
With the previous disappearance of joy and grief means your
mind’s attention has let go of the lower emotional states of liking
and  disliking.  All  of  the  stages  of  the  lower  Jhànas  (meditation
states of understanding) involve letting go of emotional states of


mind.  At  first,  when  you  begin  to  learn  about  meditation,  you
let  go  of  very  low  coarse  states  which  frequently  move  mind’s
attention.
After  you  begin  to  learn  how  to  calm  mind,  you  can  sit  for
longer  periods  of  time  without  any  distractions  arising.  You
then  experience  the  thinking  and  examining  applications  of
mind’s attention and the other Jhàna factors. When mind settles
deeper,  the  thinking  and  examining  of  mind  disappears.  The
joy becomes stronger for a while, but gradually it becomes too
coarse and mind has too much movement in it.
At that point, mind will naturally go even deeper into the object
of meditation and the joy fades away by itself. At this time there
is  equanimity,  happiness,  mindfulness  and  full  awareness  in
mind. All these states of mind are very pleasant experiences.
But  eventually,  the  happiness  is  too  coarse  a  feeling.  So,  mind
goes  deeper  into  the  breath  and  at  the  same  time,  continues
opening, expanding, and relaxing. At this point the breath and
the relaxing of mind begin to arise together.
Then  the  happiness  fades  away  and  all  that  remains  is  strong
equanimity,  exceptional  mindfulness,  and  composure  of  mind.
This  is  how  one  experiences  and  tranquilizes  the  mental
formations.
As  Krishnamurti  describes  the  true  meditative  state,  “A
meditative mind is silent. It is not the silence which thoughts can
conceive of; it is not the silence of a still evening; it is the silence
when thoughts, with all their images, words and perceptions have
entirely ceased. This meditative mind is the religious mind—the
religion  that  is  not  touched  by  the  church,  the  temples,  or  by
chants.”


20] “He trains thus: ‘I shall breathe in experiencing mind’;
he trains thus ‘I shall breathe out experiencing mind.’”
At this time, your mind’s attention is very calm and any slight
disturbance is noticed and is let go of quickly and easily.
First, mind lets go of tightness... now it relaxes and smiles then
goes  back  to  the  breath  and  relaxing  while  expanding  and
calming on the in-breath and the out-breath.
“He trains thus: ‘I shall breathe in gladdening mind’;
he trains thus: ‘I shall breathe out gladdening mind.’”
When you reach this stage of meditation, you begin to experience
a finer and more exalted type of joy, which is described as the Joy
(pharanapiti) Awakening Factor.
Mind  becomes  peacefully  happy  and  at  ease  like  never  before.
This is called gladdening mind because it is such a pleasurable
state  to  be  in.  At  that  time,  mind  is  exceptionally  uplifted,
very  clear,  and  mindfulness  is  sharper  than  ever  before.  The
equanimity is even more balanced and composed.
“He trains thus: ‘I shall breathe in stilling mind’;
He trains thus: ‘I shall breathe out stilling mind.’”
At this time, mind becomes more subtle and calm, with very few
distractions. When they do arise, they are quickly noticed, let go
of, relaxed and then you smile and return back to the breath and
relaxing.
Naturally, the breath and the relaxing of mind’s attention become
easier  and  more  serene.  They  begin  to  happen  together  at  the
same time.


“He trains thus: ‘I shall breathe in liberating mind’;
he trains thus: ‘I shall breathe out liberating mind.’”
Liberating mind means that you stay on the breath and relaxing
with enough joyful interest so that when mind begins to move
or go away from the breath and relaxing, you are aware of it and
you let the distractions go without any identification. You then
relax  mind  before  smiling  and  coming  back  to  the  breath  and
relaxing. When a hindrance arises, you see it quickly and let it go
without hesitation. At this point sloth and torpor, or restlessness
and anxiety, are the biggest obstacles to your practice. Whenever
a  hindrance  arises,  it  will  knock  you  out  of  the  Jhàna  and  can
cause all kinds of disturbances.
The  phrase  liberating  mind  also  means  to  let  go  of  the  lower
Jhànas (meditation stages of understanding) and all of the Jhàna
factors  by  not  being  attached  (thinking  about  and  identifying
with)  them  in  any  way.  This  is  the  liberating  way  of  relaxing
craving and experiencing the Third Noble Truth!
“He trains thus: ‘I shall breathe in contemplating
impermanence’;
he trains thus: ‘I shall breathe out contemplating
impermanence.’”
As you continue with your practice of meditation on the breath
and relaxing, eventually mind’s attention becomes very deep and
then you begin to notice that mind is expanding and getting bigger.
Silence and spaciousness of mind go together. The immensity of
silence is the immensity of mind in which a center does not exist.
Actually,  at  this  time,  there  is  no  center  and  there  is  no  outer
edge. Mind continually grows and expands. You begin to see that
there are no boundaries, and space and mind are infinite.  


The  Anupada  Sutta,  sutta  number  111  in  Majjhima  Nikàya,
described this as;
“Again, by passing beyond [gross] perceptions of form, with
the  disappearance  of  all  [gross]  sense  of,  aware  that  space  is
infinite, the monk enters into and abides in the base of infinite
space.
And the states in the base of infinite space—the perception of
the base of infinite space and the unification of mind.”
You still have the five aggregates affected by craving and clinging,
contact, feelings, perception, formations, and mind.
Passing  beyond  [gross]  perceptions  of  form,  means  that
even  though  you  know  that  you  have  a  body  at  that  time,  this
awareness  would  not  readily  pull  our  mind  towards  it  unless
there would be contact at one of the sense doors. In this state of
Jhàna (meditation stage of understanding), you are very aware of
mind’s attention and what it is doing.
The disappearance of all sense resistance and non-attraction to the
[gross] perceptions of change means, even though a pain arises in
the body, you know it but do not get involved with that sensation.
You feel mind’s attention growing, changing and expanding, but,
you are not distracted from the breath or the relaxing of mind.
Mind’s attention is continually moving and expanding but mind
accepts this as it truly is. Seeing impermanence and how mind’s
attention changes and expands, you realize that this phenomena
is part of an impersonal process and you have no control over it.
This is a true anattà experience.
As you continue on with the practice of opening and returning
to  the  object  of  meditation,  you  will  eventually  start  to  see
individual  consciousnesses  arising  and  passing  away.  It  is


continually  coming  up  and  going  away,  arising  and  passing
away, without a break! Consciousness keeps coming into being,
then vanishing at all the sense doors.
This is described in the Anupada Sutta as:
“Again, by completely surmounting the base of infinite space,
aware that consciousness is infinite, a monk enters upon and
abides in ‘the realm of infinite consciousness’.
And  the  states  in  the  base  of  infinite  consciousness—the
perception  of  the  base  of  infinite  consciousness  and  the
unification of mind.”
You  still  have  the  five  aggregates,  contact,  feeling,  perception,
formations, and mind.
When you are in this state of ‘infinite consciousness’ and your
mindfulness  gets  weak  or  distracted,  there  will  arise  some
hindrances  like  torpor  or  dullness  of  mind,  or  restlessness.
These  hindrances  arise  because  the  energy  that  you  put  into
your practice isn’t quite correct.
When  there  is  too  little  energy,  you  can  experience  a  kind  of
contraction  of  mind’s  attention  which  is  commonly  called
dullness (rarely does the meditator have sleepiness at this time).
On the other hand, if you try too hard or put too much energy
into the practice, a distractedness or restlessness will arise. Both
of these hindrances will knock you out of the Jhàna.
When  you  are  in  this  state  of  ‘infinite  consciousness’,  you  see
change happen so rapidly and continually, that it becomes very
tiresome.  You  begin  to  see  just  how  much  un-satisfactoriness
(dukkha) arises with each consciousness.


  Thus,  you  see  up-close  and  personal,  impermanence  (anicca),
suffering (dukkha), and you know that you have no control over
these events (anattà).
You  see  how  these  consciousnesses  happen  by  themselves.  As
a  result,  you  see  the  not-self  or  impersonal  (anattà)  nature  of
this  psycho-physical  process.  This  is  how  you  contemplate  the
‘Three characteristics of all existence’ (anicca, dukkha, anattà). It
is not done by thinking about it but by realizing it through your
own personal experience.
We return now to the ânàpànasati Sutta.
“He trains thus: ‘I shall breathe in contemplating fading away’;
he trains thus: ‘I shall breathe out contemplating fading away.’”
As you continue on with your practice on the in-breath, letting
go  and  relaxing  mind,  and  on  the  out-breath,  letting  go  and
relaxing  mind,  mind  naturally  lets  go  of  all  consciousnesses
which  were  so  readily  seen  before.  Mind  then  gets  into  the
“realm of nothingness”. This is when there is no external thing
for mind to see. Mind is not looking at anything outside of itself
at this time.
The Anupada Sutta says this:
“Again,  by  completely  surmounting  the  base  of  infinite
consciousness,  aware  that  there  is  ‘nothing’;  the  Bhikkhu
enters upon and abides in the base of nothingness.
And  the  states  in  the  base  of  ‘nothingness’—the  perception
of the base of nothingness and the unification of mind, again
there are still the five aggregates, contact, feeling, perception,
formations, and mind.”


As odd as this may sound, it is an exceptionally interesting state to
be in. There are still many things to watch and observe although
there is nothing to see outside of mind and mental factors. You
still have the five aggregates, and some of the hindrances will still
pop-up whenever you become either too lax or too energetic.
It  is  here  that  the  “Seven  Awakening  Factors”  become  very
important.  They  can  be  seen  one  by  one  as  they  occur.  When
torpor  arises,  you  must  put  mind’s  attention  back  into  balance
by  arousing  the  “Awakening  Factor  of  Mindfulness”  (Sati),
the  “Awakening  Factor  of  Investigation  of  your  experience”
(Dhammaviyama),  the  “Awakening  Factor  of  Energy”  (viriya),
and the “Awakening Factor of Joy” (pharanapiti). This is the way
to overcome the hindrance of torpor.
If  restlessness  arises,  you  must  bring  up  the  feeling  of  the
“Awakening  Factor  of  Mindfulness”  (Sati),  the  “Awakening
Factor  of  Tranquility  (passadhi),  the  “Awakening  Factor  of
Collectedness”  (samàdhi),  and  the  “Awakening  Factor  of
Equanimity” (upekkhà). (More will be discussed later.) This is the
way to overcome the hindrance of restlessness.
At this time, mind becomes very stricky. It becomes very interesting
to see the subtle ways it distracts you from your meditation object.
However, your mindfulness is quite strong and these tricks can be
seen very easily and they can be 6Red very easily.
Back to the ânàpànasati Sutta:
“He trains thus: ‘I shall breathe in observing cessation’;
he trains thus: ‘I shall breathe out observing cessation.’”
You still continue on relaxing mind on the in and out-breath. At
this time, mind’s attention begins to get smaller and it seems to


shrink. Mind becomes very subtle and still. This is described in
the Anupada Sutta as:
“Again, by completely surmounting the base of nothingness, the
monk enters upon and abides in the base of ‘neither-perception
nor non-perception (which is also neither feeling nor non-feeling,
and neither consciousness nor non-consciousness)”.
Mind’s  attention  becomes  so  subtle  and  small,  and  has  such
little movement or vibration in it, that it is sometimes difficult to
know whether there is mind’s attention or not. It is also difficult
to know if there is perception for mind. This extremely fine state
of mind is not easy to attain. Yet, it is attainable if you continue
on with the instructions given by the Buddha of staying with the
6R’s.
At this time, you cannot see the breath any longer, but there are
still some things that can arise. This state is like being in the state
of  sleep  but  being  aware  at  the  same  time.  At  first,  it  will  only
last for a few minutes. When you come out of that state, you have
to reflect on what happened while you were in that state. Some
of the things you can remember are shapes, colors, or forms. As
soon as you remember anything, you must 6R it immediately.
This  is  when  you  begin  to  sit  for  long  periods  of  time.  The
meditation is the total tranquilizing and releasing of all energy.
This is where you are purifying your mind at its finest. Also you
become unconscious of time. The longer you sit in this exquisite
peacefulness, the better. You might begin to sit for three, four or
five hours and this can be extended during retreats or at home if
you have the time.
 
At  this  time,  you  can  still  experience  an  occasional  subtle
vibration  of  mind’s  attention.  As  you  continue  on  with  your


practice  and  keep  opening,  relaxing  and  calming  your  mind,
in  a  very  subtle  way,  mind  becomes  very  fine  and  it  does  not
move at all. Eventually you will experience the state called “the
Cessation  of  Perception,  Feeling  and  Consciousness”  (nirodha-
samapatti).
“He trains thus: ‘I shall breathe in observing relinquishment’;
he trains thus: ‘I shall breathe out observing relinquishment.’”
This state of meditation is not the experience of the Supramundane
Nibbàna yet. But, it is very close to that time. When you come out
of the cessation of perception, feeling, and consciousness, you will
next see very clearly the arising of all of the links of Dependent
Origination.  That  is  because  when  formations  arise,  then
consciousness arises; when consciousness arises, then mentality/
materiality arises; when mentality/materiality arises, then 6 sense
doors  arise;  when  the  6  sense  doors  arise,  then  contact  arises;
when contact arises, then feeling arises; when feeling arises, then
craving  arises;  when  craving  arises,  then  clinging  arises;  when
clinging  arises,  then  habitual  tendency  arises;  when  habitual
tendency arises, then birth arises; when birth arises, then ageing
and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain grief and despair arise. This
is the arising of this whole mass of suffering.
Then  you  will  see  that  when  formations  do  not  arise,  then
consciousness doesn’t arise; and so on and when ignorance does
not arise, there are no more conditions and that is the cessation
of all of this whole mass of suffering.
You  will  experience  the  Supramundane  Nibbàna  when  you  see
all of this arising and passing away and you will understand so
deeply that the big “OH WOW!” of Nibbàna occurs. This happens
after the perception, feeling, and consciousness comes back and
is noticed.


Upon  observing  the  final  letting  go  of  all  conditioned  things,
there is a huge shift in your mind. It becomes dispassionate, and
completely lets go of the belief in a permanent unchanging self
or soul.
This is the only way you will experience the supramundane state
of Nibbàna, that is, by seeing directly all of the links of Dependent
Origination through the eyes of the Four Noble Truths and the
Three Characteristics of all Existence.
This is why it is called the ‘Doctrine of Awakening’. The Anupada
Sutta description is as follows:
“Again,  by  completely  surmounting  the  base  of  neither-
perception nor non-perception, the monk enters upon and abides
in  the  cessation  of  perception,  feeling  and  consciousness.  And
his taints are destroyed by his seeing with wisdom.”
When you are in the state of the “Cessation of Perception, Feeling,
and Consciousness, you will not know that you are in that state.
Why? It is because you do not have any perception, feeling, or
consciousness at all!
It is like all the lights were turned off on a very dark night. At
that time you can not see anything at all, not even if you were to
put your hands in front of your face.
Now,  you  may  sit  in  this  state  for  a  period  of  time.  When  the
perception,  feeling  and  consciousness  comes  back,  and  if  your
mindfulness  is  sharp  enough,  you  will  see  directly  all  of  the
Links  of  Dependent  Origination,  and  the  Four  Noble  Truths
quickly and automatically.
It  does  not  matter  whether  you  have  studied  the  links  of


Dependent  Origination  or  not.  This  is  direct  knowledge,  not
memorized or studied knowledge.
The statement: ‘And his taints are destroyed by his seeing with
wisdom’ means seeing and realizing all of the links of Dependent
Origination and the Four Noble Truths directly.
It was said many times in the texts that, “One who sees Dependent
Origination  sees  the  Dhamma  and  one  who  sees  the  Dhamma  sees
Dependent Origination.” But in order to see the origin of suffering
you have to know what suffering is! Thus, if you see the ceasing
of the suffering i.e., the Third Noble Truth, you will naturally see
the Fourth Noble Truth.
You  must  practice  the  way  leading  to  the  cessation  of  the
suffering in order to see the other three Noble Truths. And this
is the Fourth Noble Truth. Thus, seeing Dependent Origination
directly  means  that  you  see  and  realize  all  of  the  Four  Noble
Truths. This is how you observe relinquishment.

Back to the ânàpànasati Sutta:
22] “Monks, that is how mindfulness of breathing is developed
and cultivated so that it is of great fruit and great benefit”