Search results for: "The Breath"

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  2. A Handful of Leaves
     … This is why we use the breath and develop the breath so that it gives rise to a sense of well-being in the present moment. We breathe in a way that feels good coming in, feels good going out. That way, you know that when physical suffering or mental anguish get bad, you’ve got a safe place to go. You don’t … 
  3. Goodwill Is Respect
     … You allow the breath. Notice that: You allow it. You can’t make yourself breathe comfortably. Sometimes, the harder you try to make it comfortable, the more you tie yourself up in knots. It’s more a matter of getting out of the way. We tend to use the breath energy in the body a lot as we think, as we go through the … 
  4. A Simple Path Through a Complex Map
     … You’re maintaining your intention to stay with the breath. In doing so, you start seeing other intentions that you might have missed before as they come up and bump into the original intention, trying to knock it off course. But you’re trying to maintain that skillful intention. As you get the mind into concentration, you’re dealing directly with things like the … 
  5. Expert’s Mind
     … This is why we focus on the breath. Of the different aspects of the body, the breath is closest to the mind. It’s most sensitive to the movements of the mind and it in turn exerts a positive or a negative influence on the mind. So it’s a good part of the body to know. Try to be aware of the whole … 
  6. Ingenuity
     … If you’re face-to-face with pain, what can you use—with these skills you’ve learned with the breath, the skills you’ve learned with concentration—to help alleviate the pain? Maybe they can’t make the pain go away, but they can at least help your mind not get upset about the pain. How can you use your discernment to figure … 
  7. Truth Without Air Quotes
     … For example, you can have an image of where the breath could flow into the body. Say there’s a pain in the back. Do you want the breath to flow through the pain from above? Through it from below? Or do you want it to go straight into the pain itself without having any other part of the body involved? That’s an … 
  8. Sober Up
     … Stay with the mind, stay with the breath, right here. Then, as any thoughts come up that would pull you away from your awareness of the present moment and your awareness of the breath, you’ve got to be firm with them. They’ll say, “Well, you’re going to give in in a little while anyhow, so make it easy and give in … 
  9. Balanced Concentration
     … So you want to be on good terms with the breath. You want to be on good terms with your awareness in the present moment. This is going to take time. In some cases, people find it pretty easy. Things are fairly comfortable in the present. They settle down, no problem. With other people, it takes a lot of effort, a lot of time … 
  10. Unlearning Helplessness
     … When you read in Method 2, the text says to breathe, starting with the breath coming in from the back of the neck, going down the spine. And it talks about other ways of thinking of the breath energy going through the body. But it turns out that Ajaan Lee would also recommend still other ways in some of his Dhamma talks. In other … 
  11. Dharma Medicine
     … When the breath seems difficult, remind yourself, there already is breath energy in the body. What you feel in the body right now is breath energy flowing in the body. So it’s already flowing. Maybe in your effort to breathe in a particular way based on the perception of how you think the breath should go, you’re actually blocking a more comfortable … 
  12. The Wisdom of Restraint
     … You can think only the thoughts that are connected with the breath. Any other thought, no matter how fascinating or interesting or right it may be, is wrong for right now. You want only the thoughts dealing with the breath, finding out what kind of breathing will be comfortable right now, and when you get a sense of comfort, how you can maintain it … 
  13. A Larger Perspective
     … Just be right here with the breath. That’s your anchor in the present moment. If feelings come up, relate them to the breath. Mind states come up, relate them to the breath. Mental qualities that are skillful and unskillful come up, relate them to the breath. You want everything centered here so that things don’t go spinning off and creating other worlds … 
  14. There’s Work to Be Done
     … They realized that the only way to keep it under control was to work with the breath. So they had very good motivation to stick with it. But whatever way you can think about being with the breath and settling down with a sense of ease, to make it interesting and pleasant, you’ve got to provide the motivation. The Buddha gives his images … 
  15. The Prison Break
     … How does the body feel right now? Is it ready to settle down, or does it need some work, through using the breath? When we talk about the breath, it’s the flow of energy through the body. You might want to check to see that it’s flowing well. How is it in your chest? How is it in your back, down the … 
  16. Refuge & Strength
     … Ask yourself, “What’s the problem?” Is it the breath? Well, work with the breath. Is it attitudes you’ve picked up from the day? Try to counteract them. There are different ways of contemplating that can counteract, say, lust, anger, or doubt. The best way to counteract doubt, the Buddha said, is to investigate what in your mind is skillful right now, what … 
  17. Respect for the Path
     … Watch the breath coming in, all the way in, all the way out. Try some deep, long breathing to begin with. Think of the breath energizing your entire torso. And if deep breathing feels good, keep it up. If it doesn’t feel good, you can change. Try shorter breathing, or in short out long, in long out short. In short, out long tends … 
  18. The Treasure of Virtue
     … You’re mindful of the breath, and then you’re alert to watch both the breath and the mind to make sure they stay together. Then, if they’re not staying together, you put forth an effort to figure out: Is the problem with the mind, or is the problem with the breath, or is something else interfering? When you figure out what the … 
  19. Dharma Warriors
     … So if you find yourself sitting here wondering why you’re doing this, looking at your breath for another whole hour after you’ve been looking at the breath for the whole day, remind yourself that this is something you really want to be good at. You want to be able to hold onto this refuge of the breath in any situation. I had … 
  20. The Awful Truth
     … Stay with the breath. If the mind wanders off, bring it back to the breath. In the beginning, you want to give as little attention as possible to the things that pull you away. But once your center of gravity shifts so that it’s inside, then you begin to look to see: What are these things that pull you away? We build up … 
  21. Firm in Your Intent
     … So even though this may be a simple exercise, focusing on the breath, the longer you stay with it, the more discernment you can derive from it. As you make the breath comfortable, make it a good, interesting place to stay, the more strength you’ll have in all areas of the mind that really are helpful for a genuine happiness.
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