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The Buddhist Tradition of Breath Meditation

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The Buddhist Tradition of Breath Meditation by Abbot George Burke (Swami Nirmalananda Giri) The Buddhist Tradition of Breath Meditation Chapter 4 of The Breath of Life One who has gradually practiced, Developed and brought to perfection Mindfulness of the in-and-out breath As taught by the Enlightened One, Illuminates the entire world Like the moon when freed from clouds. (Theragatha 548) ​ ​ There is much more Buddhist material on Breath Meditation than that of other traditions. This is because Buddha quite openly and continually advocated Breath Meditation and it was never “lost” to Buddhism at any time. So we have over two thousand years of very clear teaching on the subject. What Buddha did and taught When Buddha was a child, there was an annual celebration called the Plowing Festival. One year he was very bored with it all, and so went and sat under a tree. There he spontaneously entered into profound meditation through observing his breath. At the end of the festival his parents discovered him beneath the tree, roused him from his inner absorption, and took him home. He never repeated what he had done that day beneath the tree, but he never forgot it. Later, after years of practicing incredible austerities and many yogas, he found himself without authentic realization. Sitting beneath a tree, he vowed to remain there until he attained enlightenment. But how would he do that? What should be his practice, since everything he had learned in so many years had proven useless? Then he recalled his childhood meditation at the Plowing Festival. “Might that be the way to enlightenment?” he wondered. It seemed unthinkable that the simple, spontaneous practice of his long-ago childhood could be the key to Nirvana. But something from deep within him spoke, saying: “That is the only way to enlightenment.” He ​ ​ tried it; and continued it; and it worked. Consequently, he recommended it to others. To his son Rahula, who had become a monk and was wanting to practice meditation, he said: “Practice being mindful of the breath, Rahula. Practicing continuous mindfulness of breathing in and breathing out is of great fruit, of great benefit (or riches). And how, Rahula, is mindfulness of breath practiced, and how does its sincere practice lead to a great harvest of richness?” Then he proceeded to give the instructions found in the Maha Rahulovada Sutra, concluding: “This is the practice of mindfulness of breath, Rahula. This is how the sincere practice of mindfulness of breath is of great fruit, of great benefit. If mindfulness ​ of breath is practiced continuously, then your last breath will be in knowing, not in unknowing.” For as the ​ already-cited meditation master, Ajaan Fuang said: “The breath can take you all the way to Nirvana.” You will find that there is much more Buddhist material on Breath Meditation than that of other traditions. This is because Buddha quite openly and continually advocated Breath Meditation and it was never altogether lost to Buddhism at any time. So we have over two-thousand five-hundred years of very clear teaching on the subject. The Anapanasati Sutra The basic text on Breath Meditation is the Anapanasati Sutra. “At Savatthi. There the Blessed One said this: “Bhikkhus [monks], when mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated, it is of great fruit and great benefit. When mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated, it fulfils the four foundations of mindfulness. When the four foundations of mindfulness are developed and cultivated, they fulfil the seven enlightenment factors. When the seven enlightenment factors are developed and cultivated, they fulfil true knowledge and deliverance. “And how, bhikkhus, is mindfulness of breathing developed and cultivated, so that it is of great fruit and great benefit? “Here a bhikkhu, gone to the forest or to the root of a tree or to an empty hut, sits down; having folded his legs crosswise, set his body erect, and established mindfulness in front of him [parimukha: “in front of the face”–at the tip of the nose], ever mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes out. “Breathing in long, he understands: ‘I breathe in long;’ or breathing out long, he understands: ‘I breathe out long.’ “Breathing in short, he understands: ‘I breathe in short;’ or breathing out short, he understands: ‘I breathe out short,’ He trains thus: ‘Experiencing the whole body, I will breathe in;’ he trains thus: ‘Experiencing the whole body, I will breathe out.’ He trains thus: ‘Tranquillizing the bodily formation, I will breathe in;’ he trains thus: ‘Tranquillizing the bodily formation, I will breathe out.’ “He trains thus: “Experiencing rapture [piti], I will breathe in;’ he trains thus: “Experiencing rapture, I will breathe out.’ He trains thus: “Experiencing happiness, I will breathe in;’ he trains thus: ‘Experiencing happiness, I will breathe out.’ He trains thus: ‘Experiencing the mental formation, I will breathe in;’ he trains thus: “Experiencing the mental formation, I will breathe out.’ He trains thus: ‘Tranquillizing the mental formation, I will breathe in;’ he trains thus: ‘Tranquillizing the mental formation, I will breathe out.’ “He trains thus: ‘Experiencing the mind, I will breathe in;’ he trains thus: ‘Experiencing the mind, I will breathe out.’ He trains thus: ‘Gladdening the mind, I will breathe in;’ he trains thus: ‘Gladdening the mind, I will breathe out.’ He trains thus: ‘Concentrating the mind, I will breathe in;’ he trains thus: ‘Concentrating the mind, I will breathe out.’ He trains thus: ‘Liberating the mind, I will breathe in;’ he trains thus: ‘Liberating the mind, I will breathe out.’ [The Patisambhida-magga says: “Intellect, intellection, heart, lucidity, mind, mind-base, ​ ​ mind-faculty, consciousness, consciousness aggregate, appropriate mind-consciousness element–that is mind.”] “‘He trains thus: ‘Contemplating impermanence, I will breathe in;’ he trains thus: ‘Contemplating impermanence, I will breathe out.’ He trains thus: ‘Contemplating fading away, I will breathe in;’ he trains thus: ‘Contemplating fading away, I will breathe out.’ He trains thus: ‘Contemplating cessation, I will breathe in;’ he trains thus: ‘Contemplating cessation, I will breathe out.’ He trains thus: ‘Contemplating relinquishment, I will breathe in;’ he trains thus: ‘Contemplating relinquishment, I will breathe out. “It is, bhikkhus, when mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated in this way that it is of great fruit and benefit.” The four foundations of mindfulness The four foundations of mindfulness are: 1. contemplation of the body, 2. contemplation of feelings, 3. contemplation of the mind, and 4. contemplation of mental phenomena–mental states and the arising and cessation of such states, along with the factors that produce such arising and cessation. It might seem to us that we would need to delve at different times into the “realities” of our body, feelings, mind, and mental phenomena, and that different techniques would be necessary for these inquiries. But such is not the case. Breath Meditation by itself reveals to us the truth of body, feelings, mind, and ​ mental phenomena–and with no need for special methods or volition on our part. By holding to the ​ breath and the nosetip alone, all will be manifested to us in time without our needing to look or concentrate elsewhere. This is the teaching of Buddha. The seven factors of enlightenment The Buddha further tells us that anapanasati produces the seven factors of enlightenment: 1. mindfulness, 2. investigation into phenomena [the quality or nature of things], 3. energy, 4. bliss, 5. tranquillity, 6. concentration [samadhi], and 7. equanimity. And the capstone of Breath Meditation is freedom (liberation; nirvana) itself. It is no wonder, then, that Arahant Upatissa, the author of the Vimuttimagga (The Path of Freedom), said about Breath ​ ​ Meditation:“This has been praised by the Blessed One. This is the abode of the Noble Ones, of Brahma and of the Tathagata.” The Noble Ones (Aryas), Brahma (the Creator of the lower worlds) and the Perfectly Liberated (Tathagatas) abide in the State of Being inherent in Anapanasati. Breath Meditation is the treasury wherein the Treasure of Liberation is to be found. The tip of the nose In the Dhatuvibhanga Sutra (M 140:4), Buddha’s entry into meditation is described in this way: “The Blessed One sat down, folding his legs crosswise, setting his body erect, and establishing mindfulness in front of him–that is, establishing his awareness parimukha–in front of his face at the tip of his nose.” So ​ ​ focussing attention on the tip of the nose is a requisite for meditation in general. This is further borne out by Buddha’s description of meditation practice in the Maha-Assapura Sutra (M 39:13): “He sits down, folding his legs crosswise, setting his body erect and establishing mindfulness in front of him [parimukha].” In the practice of anapanasati the ideal place for observing the breath is the tip of the nose. The Thai meditation master, Ajaan Lee, said: “…as he [Buddha] was meditating on his breath, he gained Awakening. He found what he was looking for–right at the tip of his nose. Nirvana does not lie far away. It is right at the tip of our nose” through the practice of anapanasati. In the translation of the Anapanasati Sutra quoted above, it says: “[The yogi] sits down; having folded his legs crosswise, set his body erect, and established mindfulness in front of him [parimukha], ever mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes out.” This implies that mindfulness of in-and-out breathing at the nosetip becomes the focus of our attention–in the foreground of our mind. Soma Thera, in The Way of ​ Mindfulness: The Satipatthana Sutra and Its Commentary, renders this verse: “A bhikkhu, gone to the ​ forest, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty place, sits down, bends in his legs crosswise on his lap, keeps his body erect, and arouses mindfulness in the object of meditation, namely, the breath which is in front ​ of him.
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