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Mindfulness of Breathing (Anapanasati)

Page 2 of 2 PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS The meditator should first find a totally secluded and quite place, for any noise is a serious disturbance to mindfulness of breathing. In a group meditation each meditator should maintain complete silence. The meditator should sit comfortably either crossed legged or in a preferable posture on a mat or seat. He should keep his body and head erect while relaxing all his muscles. He should not move any part of his body during meditation. He should place his hands on his thighs or legs, preferably with the right hand on the left hand, with palms turned upwards. He should close his eyes and breathe normally and he should notice where the breath touches. Where ever is the touch most distinct on the nostril or upper lips, he should place his attention at this point of contact, and try to be aware of the gentle brushing of in-coming and the out-going breath. If the in - coming and the out-going breaths are not distinct, the meditator may breath a little harder or deeper to make them distinct. Once he is aware of them he should breath on normally. Another important requirement is to concentrate the mind on the breath at the point of contact, and not to follow the breath as it goes into the nostrils or as it goes out of the nostrils. If he follows the breath, his mind will not be at a state of one-pointedness, and consequently his progress in developing concentration will be delayed. For the same reason he should not take notice of any bodily sensation, such as pain, itches, or numbness, that arises during meditation. Any bodily pain or discomfort should be tolerated and neglected. It should be a warning to increase mindfulness of the meditation subject. When the meditator can concentrate his mind well on the meditation subjects, he will no longer notice the pain. But if the pain becomes unbearable, he can change his posture to relieve it. The Buddha has warned us that it is very difficult to control the mind. If the meditator finds it difficult to control his mind, then he may use the counting method by counting the length of the breath. He should count not less than five and not more than ten at a time. The counting method will help the meditator to control his mind better, and so his mind will become calm and tranquil. Ideally he should also make the resolution that his mind remains focused on the breath for half an hour and then for a one hour, and so on. The comparison with the gate keeper or a sawyer A gatekeeper doesn’t examine people inside and outside the town for they are not his concern. But he does examine each man as he arrives at the gate. Similarly the meditator pays no attention to the in-going breath that has gone inside the nose and to the out going breath that has gone outside the nose. But they are his concern each time they arrive at the nostril gate. Suppose a man is cutting a tree trunk with a saw; he focuses his attention on the teeth of the saw, his eyes do not follow the saw as it moves forward and backwards. Yet he knows from the teeth of the saw that cut the tree the trunk whether the saw is moving forward or backward and whether it moves through a long distance or short distance. Moreover he also knows the beginning, the middle and the end of the saw teeth have cut through the tree trunk. Similarly the meditator establishes a mindfulness at the nose tip or the upper lip; without giving attention to the in-breath and out-breath they are known to him. By focusing his attention on the breath at the point of contact, he is aware of the beginning, the middle and the end of the in - coming breath as well as of the out going breath. Disappearance of the breath: the next stage When his mindfulness on the in and out breath is well established, he should try to be aware of the length of the breath and take notice whether it is long or short and whether the breathing is fast or slow. When he can calmly and mindfully concentrate his mind on the length of breath, he should strive to be aware of the beginning, the middle and the end of the whole breath. His breathing will become more and more gentle and subtle. The gross inbreaths and out-breaths gradually cease, and his consciousness arises with the subtle in-breaths and out-breaths as its object. These will become progressively subtler. How? Suppose a man strikes a bronze bell with a big iron bar. Immediately a loud sound arises, and his consciousness will arise with the gross sound as its object. Then when the gross sound has ceased, his consciousness will arise with subtle sound as its object and then with the successively subtler sounds as its object. If the breaths do not become subtle even when he can concentrate his mind on the whole breath, the meditator should then make a mental wish, “May my gross breath be calm”, and strive on to be mindfully aware of the beginning, the middle and the end of the whole breath. Gradually the breath will become smooth, subtle and calm by itself. The meditator should not purposely make the breath calm and subtle. If he purposely makes the breath calm and subtle, he will slowly gasp for air and become tired. He will jeopardise his concentration. If the breath become subtle by itself and the mind is calmly resting on it, most meditators are no longer aware of the head, the nose and the body, to them exists only the breath and the mind that is conscious of the breath. At that moment “I” or “He” cannot be found. When his concentration rises and the breath becomes calm and subtle the meditator will need more powerful mindfulness to concentrate his mind on that subtle breath. He must strive on to fix his attention on that subtle breath very attentively. This stage requires a very powerful mindfulness that fixes the mind on the meditation subject and very powerful wisdom that clearly apprehends the subtle breath. While he is striving so, sometimes the in-breath and the out-breath are no longer distinct. The meditator cannot find the breath, which seems to disappear. Here the simile of a farmer should be mentioned. A farmer, after doing some ploughing, sent his oxen free to graze and sat down to rest in shade. Then his oxen would soon go to the forest. After some time, when he wants to catch them, he does not wonder through the forest following their tracks but he takes his rope and goad and goes straight to their drinking place and he just sits there. After the oxen had wandered about for a part of the day they came to the drinking place. They drank and bathed, and when they came out and were standing about, the farmer secured them with the rope, brought them back by prodding them with the goad, yoked them and went on with his ploughing. So, the meditator should not look for the in-breaths and the out-breaths anywhere else than the place normally touched by them. He should take the rope of mindfulness and the goad of understanding, and fix his mind on the place normally touched by them. He should go on giving his attention to that. As he gives his attention in this way the breath reappears, as the oxen did at the drinking place. So he can secure it with the rope of mindfulness and yoking them in that same place and prodding with the goad of understanding and he can keep on applying himself to the meditation subject. The appearance of meditation image The image may not appear to all practitioners or be cultivated in all mindfulness of breathing practices. Different images may appear to different people. As concentration rises, the image may become very clear and bright like the evening star. It appears to some to be producing a soft touch like cotton wool, silk- cotton or a breeze. To some the image appears like a star, a ball of ruby or a ball of pearl. To some it has a harsh touch like a cottonseed, or a pin made of heartwood. To some it is like a long string, or is like a spread-out cobweb, a film of cloud, a lotus flower, a chariot- wheel, and the disc of the moon or the sun. When the image and the breath are identical or indivisible, the meditator is aware of the image while he is trying to be aware of the breath and vice versa. This is the right form. However, for some meditators the image does not appear at the place where the breath touches the nostrils or the upper lip. It appears a little further apart or about one foot from the tip of the nose. If may also appear on the forehead or in other places. In this case the meditator should not pay attention to the image. He should focus his attention on the breath at the point of contact. When his concentration attains full strength, the image will appear at the point of contact and become indivisible from the breath. He should not give attention to the image for its colour, nor reflect upon it for its characteristics. He should guard it as carefully as a king’s chief queen guards the embryo of a universal monarch, or as a farmer guards the ripening crops. Then, guarding it thus, he should make it grow and improve with repeated attention. He should also practice the ten-fold skill in absorption and bring about evenness of energy. As he strives thus the first Jhana will arise in due course. Then after acquiring mastery in five way with respect to the first Jhana, he can go on developing the four fold or five fold higher Jhanas on that same counter image in the same way as described under the earth Kasina. The benefits of mindfulness of breathing (Anapanassati) The mindfulness of breathing is of great fruit, of great benefit. The great benefit should be understood here as peacefulness both because of the words “and, Bhikkhus, this concentration through mindfulness of breathing, when developed and much practised, is both peaceful and sublime” (S.V. 321), and because of its ability to cut off the initial application (Vitakka). Because it is peaceful and sublime and an unadulterated blissful abiding, it cuts off the mind’s running hither and thither with the initial application obstructive to concentration, and keeps the mind only on the breath as its objects. Hence it is said, “Mindfulness of breathing should be developed in order to cut off initial application” (A. IV. 353). Also the great benefit of mindfulness of breathing should be understood as the root condition for perfecting clear vision and deliverance for this has been said by the Blessed One “Bhikkhus, the mindfulness of breathing, when develop and much practised perfects the four foundations of mindfulness. The four foundations of mindfulness, when developed and many practises, perfect the seven enlightenment factors.The seven enlightenment factors, when developed and much practised, perfect clear vision and deliverance” (M. III. 82). This is the explanation of the practical way of mindfulness of breathing for ever lasting peace and happiness in a healthy living life. << Start < Prev 1 2 Next > End >>

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