Search results for: "The Breath"

  1. Page 110
  2. Overcoming Obstacles
     … If you’re getting bored with the breath, start exploring all the precise little details of the breath energy in the body. Go through the toes, one by one by one; the fingers, one by one by one; and all the little parts of the body. Divide the body up into little tiny sections and try to make a survey of every one. In … 
  3. Looking After Yourself
     … You want to think more about how you get a sense of ease, rest, refreshment from the breath; how to use the breath so that it’s healing for the body, healing for the mind. That way, you find you can make do with less and less sleep. The third teaching is on restraint. And even though the passage focuses on restraint of the … 
  4. Delight & Beyond Delight
     … We learn to talk about the breath being interesting. In many ways, the breath in and of itself is not all that interesting. But the fact that the way you focus on it will change it, the perceptions you have about it will change how you feel it, and there are different ways of breathing that can get help alleviate different diseases, different pains … 
  5. Don’t Be Afraid of Mistakes
     … They say, “Well, just meditate until your mind settles down and then you’re okay.” But, what if your mind doesn’t just settle down? This is why it’s useful to have Ajaan Lee’s instructions for working with the breath, but even then you have to play with his instructions. Sometimes he says to breathe down the spine, and other times he … 
  6. Taking the Buddha at his Word
     … Which means that as you’re working with the breath here, remember that it’s not just in, out, in, out. There’s more to the breath. And the ways of working with the breath energy are not limited to the ones listed in the books. You can get some tips from the books. They can offer ideas of approaches you might not have … 
  7. Overcoming Delusion
     … And the principle works here with the breath. What kind of breathing would feel best right now? Experiment to find out. As you try to stay with the breath, you get more and more sensitive to the mind and sensitive to what’s going on in the body. You begin to see there are potentials for cause and effect here, and sometimes they get … 
  8. Determination
     … I’m going to talk to myself about the breath. Let go of other things. Hold on right here.” It’s interesting to note that when Ajaan Lee, especially in his early teachings, talks about concentration, he talks about different themes that get the mind in the right attitude to want to let go of things outside. He has you think about the different … 
  9. Not Just a Witness
     … The way you breathe is the connection between your mind and your body, so he has you focus on the breath. He has you focus on how you talk to yourself about the breath, because how you talk to yourself is how you construct your reality—as in all situations. Of course, those constructions are going to be built out of perceptions. Sometimes the … 
  10. Goodwill All Around
     … So as you work with the breath, try to be as quick as possible in noticing when the mind slips off the breath. As soon as you sense that it’s slipping, then bring it right back. This is the work of the meditation. This is how mindfulness and alertness are exercised, and with exercise they get stronger just like the body. If you … 
  11. The Challenge
     … You focus on the breath because that helps you step out of your usual dialogue inside the mind—although “dialogue” is too small a concept. There’s a big discussion going on in there, and we go around taking on one voice and then taking on another voice. That’s been the pattern of our minds for who knows how long. So you settle … 
  12. Safety in Awareness
     … this quality of knowing, knowing, knowing in the mind—what knows the breath, what knows the events in the mind. The solution, of course, is knowing that there are stages in the practice. For a large part of the practice, you have to learn how to trust this basic awareness because, in many cases, it’s the only thing you have to fall back … 
  13. The Value of Effort
     … Settle in and, as the Buddha says, indulge in that sense of well-being, but don’t wallow in it so much that you lose touch with the breath. Stay here with the breath and allow the well-being to nourish you: in all the little cells, all the nerves, every little part of the body. Make this a path that you enjoy being … 
  14. A Much Better Place
     … But before you can do that, you have to get a very strong sense of being right here, being with the breath. Often, as you get more and more focused on the breath, there’s a very strong sense of becoming one with the breath. You’re in the same place together. And for the time being, that’s fine. Because as you get … 
  15. Timeless Practice
     … That’s why we establish mindfulness, focusing on the breath, focusing on the body, focusing on the 32 parts of the body, the breath. There are lots of topics we can focus on. But you want to stay with the body in and of itself or feelings in and of themselves, mind states, mental qualities in and of themselves. Right now we’re choosing … 
  16. The Brightness of Life
     … We focus on the breath. Try to be mindful, as the texts say, of the body in and of itself, or feelings, or the mind, or mental qualities in and of themselves. As we’re focusing on the breath, it’s body. But as you’re focusing right here on the body, you can’t help but be aware of feelings, because they’re … 
  17. Good Traditions
     … You focus the mind on the breath: Notice how the breath feels as it’s coming in; notice how it feels as it’s going out. If it feels harsh or uncomfortable, you can change the way you breathe. If it feels too long or too short, you can change. Try to get sensitive to how the breathing feels inside, because it strengthens your … 
  18. Solid in the Face of Death
     … It can be with the breath, thoughts of goodwill, repeating Bud-dho, or visualizing the parts of the body. The choice is up to you, because you’re looking for a place where the mind can stay and feel engaged. You’re also looking for an antidote. Sometimes with sleepiness, just repeating the word *buddho-buddho-buddho rapid-fire *helps keep you awake. Or … 
  19. Only Your Best
     … Think of your hour here as a meditator focusing on the breath as a time to show your craft in staying with the breath, so that when you come out from the hour, you have a sense, “Okay, I did my best,” because this is one of those areas where only the best will do. The state of your mind. Your ability to put … 
  20. Finding Extra Energy
     … Is the way you breathe energizing you, or is it draining your energy? You have to really acquaint yourself with your breath and the way the breath energy flows in the body so that you can figure out what rate of breathing is just right for right now – or that will give you more energy. Similarly, the way you think: When a situation comes … 
  21. Nibbana Is Better than You Think
     … Like we’re doing right now with the breath: There’s nothing sensual about the breath. It may feel good physically, but that’s not what the Buddha means by sensuality. Sensuality is your fascination with thinking about sensual pleasures: envisioning this, envisioning that, thinking, “I’d like it like this. Well, no, maybe I’d like it like that.” You can run through … 
  22. Load next page...