Search results for: "The Breath"

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  2. Seeing the Stillness
     … Tune back in to the way the breath felt at that point and allow it to have that same sense of ease. Then notice where the other areas of ease are, here and there in the body, that you tend to overlook. Where are they? Can you connect them to the sense of ease you’ve developed around the breathing? Try to keep them … 
  3. The Humane Quality of the Path
     … This is why we work with the breath, making the breath more comfortable, getting to be on good terms with the breath. When the breath gets comfortable, think of spreading it out in all directions throughout the whole body and being aware in all directions throughout the whole body. This all-around awareness is crucial. On the one hand, it puts the mind in … 
  4. All About Change
     … One is to put aside greed and distress with reference to the world and the other is to stay focused, keeping track of, say, the body in and of itself, or the breath. So you’re doing two things at once. You’re trying to create a sense of steadiness, consistency in your gaze here—consistency in your keeping track of the breath all … 
  5. Three More Recollections
    There are times when you make up your mind to stay with the breath and it’s easy. The breath is right there. You think of making it long, it goes long. You think of making it short, it goes short. You can adjust it and think of the comfortable breath sensations spreading throughout the body. You find it pleasant. You find it interesting … 
  6. A Mirror for the Mind
     … Direct your thoughts to the breath. Evaluate the breath. Be mindful of the breath. Be alert to the breath. Be ardent in trying to create a sense of well-being, a sense of solidity, a sense of stillness right here. Why? Because you want to see things clearly. You don’t want the mirror to be obscured. There’s that Zen story where a … 
  7. The Pursuit of Happiness & Goodness
     … Not to the point where you lose the breath and just go for the pleasure. Remember the breath. The fact that you’re attentive to the breath is what allows the pleasure to exist. But indulge in it. It’s a pleasure that doesn’t weigh on the world and it’s a pleasure that’s clear-eyed and sober. We live in this … 
  8. Skills of the Dhamma Wheel
     … Where in the breath is stress? What quality of mind can you bring to the breath to alleviate that stress—to help put an end to it, to undercut the cause of stress? Even just thinking in these very basic terms of how you deal with the breath is the beginning of the framework for the four noble truths. Then as you work with … 
  9. Appropriate Attention
     … You’re focusing on the breath—that’s form, the form of the body. You’re creating a feeling of well-being by the way you focus on the breath: not too long, not too short, not too heavy, not too light. Just right. You have a perception that you hold in mind as to where the breath is coming in, where the breath … 
  10. Not Getting What You Want
     … Try to create a sense of well-being with the breath. In other words, breathe in a way that feels comfortable. Don’t force the breath; don’t squeeze it. But you can pose the question in mind, “What kind of breathing would feel good right now?” See how the body responds. And if there’s not much of a response, then you can … 
  11. The Fool & the Wise Person
     … As soon as you detect even the slightest sense that, okay, the mind’s going to leave the breath, ask yourself, “Where are you going? What do you want? What do you think you’ll get out of those movements? Haven’t you been there before?” Come back to the breath. Then try to make the breath as absorbing as possible. The more sensitive … 
  12. Getting Untangled from Thorns
     … Another reason for staying with the body, staying with the breath, is that it really does anchor you in the present moment. When you’re with the breath, you know you’re in the present. And often, it acts as a good mirror of what’s going on in the mind. Sometimes there are subtle currents that you otherwise wouldn’t notice, but because … 
  13. Measuring Progress
     … So always think about the breath your breathing right now, and the concentration you’re practicing right now, is better than they were yesterday, because yesterday’s is gone. You’re dealing with what you’ve got right now. That’s where you want to focus your attention. This is especially important when things went really well yesterday and they don’t seem to … 
  14. Alighting on the Dhamma
     … In this case, it’s the breath. You don’t sit there saying, “Well, I’m going to stick with the breath only as long as I have to so that I can get to something better.” You want to pay careful attention to the breath. Don’t despise it. Or, as the chant we had just now said, have respect for your concentration … 
  15. Mindfulness Like a Dam
     … You want to keep the mind with the breath. And, all of a sudden, you find yourself someplace else. What’s important there is that you take a very matter-of-fact attitude toward what’s happened and just bring your attention back. Stay with the breath again. But the next time around, try to be a little bit more alert to the warning … 
  16. Hindrances
     … So when you meditate and focus on the breath, it’s not as if you’re running away from potential future dangers. You’re actually preparing for them. As for doubt—doubt about yourself, doubt about the Dhamma—the best way to deal with that is to test the teachings. The Buddha says that if you focus on the breath, you can give rise … 
  17. A Flammable Mind
     … You focus on the breath; focus on which details of the breath, which aspects of the breath are really comfortable, really appealing, really gratifying as you breathe in, breathe out. Which parts of the body feel starved for breath energy? Well, give them something. You find that if you can locate those starved parts of the body, then the sense of refreshment that comes … 
  18. Heedfulness for the Holidays
    As you settle down with the breath and work with the breath energy in the body so that you can inhabit the body fully, think of it as your stronghold. One of the images the Buddha gives is of a fortress on a frontier. For the fortress to survive, it needs its own stores of food inside, and it needs a lot of protection … 
  19. Why It’s Good to Know Why
     … You can ask yourself, “Why listen to them when it feels so good to be with the breath?” If the breath is not comfortable, it’s very easy to tell yourself, “Well, those other intentions might be a better way to find happiness. Let’s follow them.” But you can strengthen your original intention by taking an interest in the breath, finding joy not … 
  20. Safety
     … Bodily fabrication, the breath: It’s right here. Verbal fabrication, the way you talk to yourself: That’s what you’re doing with the breath right now. Mental fabrication – perceptions and feelings. You need the perception of the breath filling the body. You need to work on a feeling of ease and well-being. It’s all right here. Then as you get the … 
  21. Educating Equanimity
     … This is why, as we practice, we’re learning to develop a sense of ease and a sense of well-being inside, in the meditation as we get to know the breath, get to know the breath energy in the body: not simply to have a nice place to chill out, but also to give ourselves a foundation for dealing with the difficulties that … 
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