Breath Awareness throughout the Day
To support the development of concentration (and insight), we need to have a continuity of awareness throughout the day. We accomplish this by bringing our attention back to our breath while engaged in each of our daily activities. We can become aware of the in-breath and the out-breath while walking, watching television, driving the car, washing, working on the computer etc. The following are some suggestions to help us remember to keep bringing our attention back to the breath.
- Have post-its at various places at home and at work saying, “Watch the breath,” or simply “Breathe.” Every time you see the note it will remind you to come back to the breath.
- Every time you hear a sound that captures your attention (e.g., a car horn, a bell, a ding from your computer, a loud ticking of a clock, etc.), use that sound as a reminder to come back to the breath.
- Each time you walk through a doorway, “enter into” the awareness of the breath. Reflect on the place being sacred (worthy of your attention).
- Each time someone initiates a conversation and you begin to listen, come back to the breath. Mindful listening is beneficial! Really it is!
- When you are falling asleep try to recognize at what moment you fall asleep. As you awake in the morning, when your foot hits the floor be mindful of that sensation (hard, cold, soft, hard etc)
Be creative – come up with your own reminders. Let me know when you find some that work for you. Perhaps others can benefit from hearing about them.
MEDITATION #5
SATIPATTHANA SUTRA
MINDFULNESS OF THE BODY #4
The Sutra
Insights
In this way, in regard to the body he/she abides contemplating the body internally, or she abides contemplating the body externally, or he abides contemplating the body both internally and externally. Or else she abides contemplating the nature of arising in the body, or he abides contemplating the nature of passing away in the body, or she abides contemplating the nature of both arising and passing away in the body. Or else mindfulness that “there is a body” is simply established in him/her to the extent necessary for bare knowledge and continuous mindfulness. And she abides independent, not clinging to anything in the world. That is how a bhikkhu (all of you are Bikkhus) in regard to the body abides contemplating the body.
Commentary
“Insights” – we are now beginning to focus on the development of insight.
“…he abides contemplating the body internally…” – at this stage we are looking to our own direct and personal experience of each in-breath and each out-breath.
How overlooked the breath is! This subtle phenomenon of breathing is literally keeping us alive. Boredom with following the breath comes from a lack of tuning into the incredible dynamics of this process. The Buddha calls the breath a divine dwelling that leads to the destruction of the defilements. Please dwell in the breath during this month.
Although concentration and insight are related and interdependent, the way in which we use the breath is different for the two forms of meditation.
A Review of Mindfulness
Mindfulness is paying bare attention to what is occurring within us and to us during every moment of experience. It is a kind of attention that is bare of three things: judgment, decision, and commentary.
We do not judge what is occurring in the mind. If we did, we would grasp those experiences that we judged as being positive or fortunate. We would resist those experiences that we judged as being negative or unfortunate. This kind of judgment, and the consequent reaction to that judgment, would prevent us from seeing things as they really are.
We do not make decisions about what occurs in the mind. We do not try to analyze why we are thinking in a particular way, or try to understand why certain patterns recur in the mind, or try to manipulate our thoughts according to what we would prefer to think about.
We are also not doing psychotherapy on ourselves to resolve our psychological issues. We avoid trying to make decisions about our life circumstances during our meditation.
We do not review conversations we have had in the past and we do not think about conversations we plan to have in the future.
We do not focus on the commentary that incessantly arises in the mind. These comments are always related to the past or are concerned with what may occur in the future. They are not at all related to what is truly occurring in the present moment.
If judgment, decision, or commentary does arise in the mind, we mindfully observe them without identifying with any of these experiences.
Overall, mindfulness is bending back the beam of attention to our own experience. It builds up momentum through continuous practice until it becomes a powerful force that can uncover the deepest secrets of existence.
Additional thoughts about Mindfulness
Mindfulness is “mirror-thought” – it reflects only what is presently happening with no biases. It is impartial and does not take sides.
Mindfulness is full acceptance of what is before the mind without attachment or resistance.
Mindfulness is always in the present moment.
Mindfulness is non-egoistic awareness – it occurs without reference to a self.
Mindfulness is the awareness of change as it occurs within our own internal experience.
Mindfulness is associated with memory and it reminds you of maintaining your attention on what is unfolding in the present moment.
Mindfulness sees things as they really are without the medium of conscious thought.
Ardency or Effort
The primary effort we have been making has been to stay with the in-breath and the out-breath as it arises and passes away. In a sense, we were trying to become absorbed in the breath and to exclude any other object from our conscious awareness. If another object arose to consciousness and distracted the attention we were paying on the breath, we ignored that object and went back to focusing the breath. The purpose of this technique was to calm and concentrate the mind.
For the development of insight the direction of our effort changes, without letting go of the energy or diligence we have been applying. We are still interested in staying with the breath as the primary object. However, instead of trying to exclude every other object from our conscious awareness, we want to include all objects that arise under the umbrella of mindfulness.
Whenever another object of consciousness arises, such as a sense experience, a sensation in the body, or a cognitive function in the mind, we want to mindfully observe that object to recognize its true characteristics. We are applying what is referred to as momentary concentration – being mindfully aware of whatever arises in each moment of experience.
After we have been mindfully aware of an object other than the breath, we still return to the breath as our primary object of attention. The other objects that temporarily captured our attention are not considered to be “distractions.” They are merely additional opportunities to realize the true nature of experience.
A question sometimes arises for meditators. “How long do I stay with the other objects that have captured my attention before returning to the breath?” The answer is that after we have observed the salient characteristics of the object that has arisen, we immediately return to the breath. In a very real sense, the moment you become aware of the new object it has already passed away. So we immediately notice the impermanence and go right back to noticing the breath.
Clearly Comprehending each Object
What are the characteristics of each object that we are trying to observe? We want to directly realize the impermanent, unsatisfactory, and selfless nature of each experience. All three of these characteristics are interrelated, and by seeing one of them we are actually seeing all of them.
Impermanence
Comprehending impermanence means that we directly perceive the incessant rise and fall of the sensations associated with the breath and of every one of our sensory experiences. This does not suggest that we should “think” about how impermanent things are, but that we observe the truth of impermanence from our own direct experience. When the fact of impermanence becomes clear, the mind stops its perpetual grasping and remains present with each new experience as it arises.
The breath is impermanent in many ways. Not only are there changes in the quality of the breath (e.g., the length, the temperature, the sensations, etc.) from one breath to the next, but there are a multiplicity of changes within each breath. Examine closely the beginning, the middle and end of each breath. What is the nature of each part of a breath. Then let the breath calm and notice this too.
Unsatisfactoriness
There are many pleasant experiences in life. What makes them unsatisfactory is that they are impermanent and unable, therefore, to provide us with enduring happiness. The mind that has not clearly comprehended the unsatisfactory nature of sensory experiences will keep clutching at each new object in a futile attempt to discover a permanent source of satisfaction. This relentless and frustrating process results in recurring feelings of anxiety and loss.
Even the breath can be seen as unsatisfactory. We may want to have the breath calm down and become soft and pleasant, but it may continue to be rough and erratic. When we have a cold, sinuses, or allergies, it can be quite unpleasant to breathe.
Selflessness
As we pay close attention to our moment-to-moment experience, we discover that all phenomena are in a perpetual state of change. Everything is becoming other than it was just a moment before. Therefore, in actuality, it is not that everything is impermanent, but that impermanence is the only “thing” that there is. For something to exist it must endure through time. Since everything is continually changing, then no “thing” actually exists.
There is no “self” or permanent abiding essence as the basis of any experience. Words are merely symbols that act as conceptual overlays, giving the illusion of permanence to objects and experiences that are in a constant state of flux. Witnessing selflessness is seeing how our moment-to-moment experiences arise and pass away without the presence or necessity of a permanent self.
Our breath does not need a self to enable it to rise and fall. It has continued without interruption, whether or not we have been conscious of the breathing process, from the time of our birth. In a very real sense we can say that the breath breathes itself.
Practices
Please begin the insight meditation practice as instructed below, taking into account all that has been described thus far.
Place your attention on the sensation created by the breath as it flows in and out of your nostrils by the tip of your nose. Do not control the length of your breath or follow your breath in or out of the body. Allow the breath to breathe itself. Stay present with the sensation throughout the entire in-breath and throughout the entire out-breath. In between breaths keep your attention focused on the place that the sensation is normally felt, waiting for the next breath to begin.
Experience the impermanent nature of each breath. Become aware of the different sensations associated with each in-breath and with each out-breath. Notice the multiplicity of changes that take place even within one breath.
Remember that you are not really noticing the impermanency of the breath itself, but the flow of changes experienced within the sensations. This non-cognitive and direct experience comes from being mindfully aware of the changing sensations associated with the breathing process.
When your attention leaves the sensations created by the breath and focuses on a new object of awareness such as a sense experience, a sensation within the body, or a thought, that is not a problem. When this occurs, experience the impermanency of your new object of attention, followed by gently but firmly coming back to breath.
Please keep up the consistency with your practice. The instructions and objects of awareness become more subtle as we progress, so it is essential that we create a strong momentum of awareness.
