MINDFULNESS OF BREATHING

CHAPTER VI

MINDFULNESS OF BREATHING

(Ānāpānassati)

The Praise of the Buddha

            Ānāpānassati is included in the ten Recollections (Anussatis). It is not at all an insignificant subject of medi­tation. It is indeed a very important subject of meditation which is constantly used by noble men (mahāpurisas) like the Buddhas, the Paccekabuddhas and the disciples of the Buddha known as the Buddha's sons. If it is practised prop­erly it is both peaceful and sublime. It demands strong mindfulness and wisdom.        (Visuddhi. i, 276)

            "It has been praised and recommended by the Blessed One thus: "And bhikkhus, this concentration through mindfulness of breathing, when developed and practi­sed much, is both peaceful and sublime. Nothing need be added to it. It is an unadulterated blissful abiding, and it banishes at once and stills evil unprofit­able thoughts as soon as they arise.

            "O bhikkhus, just as dust particles which have arisen in the last summer month are immediately pacified and calmed down by unseasonal torrential rain, so in the same way a restless mind is immediately calmed down by the practice of Ānāpānassati. This concentration through mindfulness of breathing, when developed and practised much, is both peaceful and sublime. Nothing need be added to it. It is an unadulterated blissful abiding, and it banishes at once and stills evil unprofitable thoughts as soon as they arise. "      (S. iii, 279-280)

            Ānāpānassati is one of the most effective meditation-subjects for developing concentration quickly. It is suitable to many meditators and used in many meditation centres as the basic parihāriya-kammaṭṭhāna, that is, the special meditation subject for developing concentration. If properly practised, it can develop the mind up to the fourth rūpāvacara  jhāna in catukka method.

• Textual Description

            "O bhikkhus, in this dispensation, a bhikkhu who undertakes meditation goes to the forest or to the foot of a tree or to a quiet place, sits down, folds his legs crosswise, sets his body erect and establishes mindfulness on the in-going breath and the out-going breath which repre­sent the meditation subject of the mindfulness of breath­ing. Ever mindfully he breathes in, and ever mindfully he breathes out.

            "(i) Breathing in long, he knows `I breathe in long'; or breathing out long, he knows `I breathe out long."

            "(ii) Breathing in short, he knows 'I breathe in short'; or breathing out short, he knows `I breathe out short."

            "(iii) He strives on thus 'I shall breathe in to be aware of the beginning. the middle, and the end of the whole breath clearly': he strives on thus 'I shall breathe out to be aware of the beginning, the middle, and the end of the whole breath clearly.'

            "(iv) He strives on thus 'I shall breathe in tranquil­lizing the bodily formation of the in-going breath'; he strives on thus 'I shall breathe out tranquillizing the bodily formation of the out-going breath.'"         (S. v, 321-2)

• Practical Instruction

            The meditator should learn the subject of medita­tion from a competent teacher. Then he should find a se­cluded, quiet place suitable for meditation, taking notice that any noise is a serious disturbance to the mindfulness of breathing. In a group meditation each meditator should maintain complete silence.

            The meditator should sit comfortably either cross­legged or in any preferable posture on a mat or seat. He should keep his body and head erect while relaxing all his muscles. He should not move any part of his body during meditation, although he is allowed to change his posture to relieve any unbearable pain in his body. Even then he must tolerate any bodily pain or discomfort as much as possible and change his posture gently with half aware­ness if he has to, still mindful of breathing while he does so.

            He should place his hands on his thighs or legs, preferably with the right hand on the left hand with palms turning upward. He closes his eyes and breathes nor­mally. He should take note where the breath touches. For a person of long nose it may touch under the tip of the nose. If the nose is of normal length, the breath may touch at the two nostrils when he is breathing with both nostrils or at one nostril when he is breathing only with that nostril. For a person of short nose, the touch may be distinct at the upper lip.

            Wherever is the touch most distinct, he keeps his mind or attention at the point of contact. and try to be aware of the in-going breath and the out-going breath by their gentle brushing at the touch point.

The First Step : Awareness of the In-breath and the Out-breath

            The first important step in mindfulness of breath­ing is to be constantly aware of the in-going breath and the out-going breath by their gentle brushing either at the nostrils or at the upper lip.

            Only if the meditator practises ānāpānassati by establishing his mindfulness on the breath at the point of distinct contact with the in-breath and the out-breath, will the ānāpānassati concentration and meditation be fully accomplished in him. 

(Visuddhi.i, 271)

            If the in-going breath and the out-going breath are not distinct, the meditator may breathe a little harder or deeper to make them distinct. Once he is aware of them, he should breathe on normally.

            Now an important question arises - should one concentrate on the breath or on the touch? The answer is: one must always concentrate on the breath. Ānāpānassati means mindfulness of the in-breath and the out-breath. If one concentrates on the touch, he is no longer doing ānāpānassati, but another kammaṭṭhana.

            Moreover, he should not pay attention to natural characteristics (sabhāva lakkhaṇas) and common char­acteristics (sāmañña lakkhaṇas).

Sabhāva lakkhaṇas - natural characteristics of pathavī, āpo, tejo and vāyo such as hardness, cohesive­ness, hotness, pushing and supporting characteristics.

Sāmañña lakkhaṇas - common characteristics of nāma-nūpa, viz., impermanence (anicca), suffering (dukkha), and not-self (anatta).

            Thus he should not take note as 'In, out, touching', or 'in, out, pushing' or 'in, out, 'anicca' or 'in, out, dukkha', etc.

            Also one need not label the breath as 'in-breath, out-breath' or 'in, out'. All that is required is to be mind­fully aware of the in-going breath and the out-going breath all the time. If he cannot concentrate his mind without labelling, then he may note 'in-breath, out-breath' at the beginning stage.

            Another important requirement is to focus the mind on the breath at the point of contact only, and not to follow the breath as it goes into the nostrils or as it goes out of the nostrils. If he follows the breath, his mind will not be at the state of one-pointedness, and consequently his progress in developing concentration will be delayed.

            For the same reason he should not take note of any bodily sensation such as pain, itch, or numbness that arises during meditation. Since the mind can be aware of only one thing at a time, the meditator will not be aware of anything else if he can focus his mind well on the medita­tion subject. The awareness of any other thing shows that the mind has been distracted towards that thing.

            Any bodily pain or discomfort should not be a bother to the meditator. He should tolerate it, and neglect it. It should be a warning to him to increase his mindful ness of the meditation subject. When he can concentrate his mind well on the meditation subject, he will no longer notice the pain. Even if the pain becomes unbearable, he can change his posture to relieve the pain.

            He must keep his mind constantly focussed on the in-breath and the out-breath without allowing the mind to wander out to other sense objects. In case it has wandered out, he must bring it back to the meditation subject as soon as he notices it.

            The Buddha has warned us that it is very difficult to control the mind for it is very subtle and very fast, and the hindrances (nīvaraṇas) are out there to agitate and distract it. But we should exert all our effort to control and culture it, because, once cultured, it will bring about human happiness, celestial happiness and even Nibbanic happiness.

            So he is culturing and developing his mind while he keeps it focussed on the in-breath and the out-breath at the point of contact with either the nostrils or the upper lip. He strives to keep his meditating mind fixed calmly on the breath for half an hour, one hour, etc. If the meditating mind always remains fixed at the in-breath and the out-breath for about an hour at every sitting for medi­tation, he can proceed to the second step, that is, noting the length of breath as long or short.

            In case the meditating mind does not remain fixed calmly on the object of the in-breath and the out-breath and is very restless, the Counting Method should be used as directed in Great Commentaries.

• The Counting Method

The meditator should count his breath as follows.

            1. 'In-breath, out-breath'            - one,

            2. 'In-breath, out-breath'            - two,

            3. 'In-breath, out-breath'            - three,

            4. 'In-breath, out-breath'            - four,

            5. 'In-breath, out-breath'            - five,

            6. 'In-breath, out-breath'            - six,

            7. 'In-breath, out-breath'            - seven,

            8. 'In-breath, out-breath'            - eight.

            He may count not less than five and not more than ten. But he is advised to count up to eight in reverence to the Noble Eightfold Path which he is trying to develop. He should make a determination to keep his mind calmly fixed on the in-breath and the out-breath while counting from one to eight without letting the mind to wander away towards various external objects.

            As he reflects on the breath by counting, his medi­tative mind will gradually remain fixed calmly on the object of the in-breath and the out-breath by the power of the counting- method. When the mind remains calmly fixed on the meditation subject for about half an hour to one hour at every sitting, he can stop counting and con­tinue to be aware of the breath. He should also make the resolution: "May my mind remain calmly fixed on the meditation subject for half an hour or one hour", and meditate. If he is successful at every sitting, he can change the meditation method to the observation  of the length of breath.

The Second Step : Awareness of the Length of Breath

'Breathing in long', he knows distinctly, `I breathe in long"; `breathing out long', he knows distinctly, `I breathe out long.'

'Breathing in short', he knows distinctly, `I breathe in short'; `breathing out short', he knows distinctly, `I breathe out short'.

            So did the Buddha give the instruction. What is meant by a long and short breath here? It means the dura­tion of time taken by the breath. If it takes a long time to breathe in or out, then the breath is taken to be long. If it takes a short time to breathe in or out, then the breath is taken to be short. So the length of breath is arbitarily determined by the meditator himself.

            The meditator should always breathe normally. He should not intentionally make the breath either long or short. Neither should he investigate how long or how short the breath is. If he does so, he will jeopardize or upset his concentration.

            Sometimes the length of breath remains long for the whole sitting or short for the whole sitting. But gener­ally the length of breath changes from time to time during the meditation. Whatever the length of breath may be, the in-breath and the out-breath should be equal in length. This will greatly help the development of mental concentra­tion.

            If the in-going breath is long and the out-going breath is short for a long time, the meditator may fall back­ward. If, on the other hand, the in-going breath is short and the out-going breath is long for some time, his body will bend forward. So the in-breath and the out-breath should equal in length. But the meditator should always breathe calmly and normally.

            The meditator should not label the breath as long or short. He should go on concentrating his mind on the in-breath and the out-breath either by the counting method or without counting. When the mind remains calmly fo­cussed on the breath, he just takes note of the breath as long or short while he is mindfully conscious of the in­breath and the out-breath.

            The meditator should strive on so that he can focus the mind calmly on the long or short breath for one hour, two hours, and so on. At this stage the medi tation sign (nimitta) should appear. Whether it appears or not, the meditator should proceed to the next step.

The Third Step; Awareness of the Whole Breath

He trains thus "I shall breathe in to know clearly the beginning, the middle, and the end of the whole in­breath."

He trains thus "I shall breath out to know clearly the beginning, the middle, and the end of the whole out­breath."    (Ma. i, 70)

            When the meditator is calmly and firmly conscious of the length of the breath as long or short for one hour or two hours at every sitting. then he should proceed to the next step as instructed above by the Buddha. He should strive on to be aware of the beginning, the middle, and the end of the whole breath clearly.

            First, he should mindfully focus on the in-breath and the out-breath. Next, he ardently tries to be aware of the length of the breath as long or short. When he can steadfastly focus his attention on the length of the breath, he strives on to be mindfully aware of the beginning, the middle. and the end of the whole breath.

            While he does so, he should not try to note thus: 'This is the beginning, this is the middle, this is the end.' Neither should he label `beginning, middle, end.' If he tries to do so. he may jeopardize his concentration. If he cannot meditate without labelling, then he should just label as 'in-breath, out-breath' or `breathing in, breathing out'.

            All he need to do is to be mindfully aware of the whole breath from the beginning to the end by its touch at the tip of the nose or at the nostrils or on the upper lip.

            He should not follow the breath as it goes into the body or out of the body. He should not take the breath that touches the nostrils as the beginning, the breath that reaches the chest as the middle, and that which arrives at the navel as the end when he breathes in.

            Similarly, when he breathes out, he should not re­gard the navel, the chest and the nostrils as the points to mark the beginning, the middle, and the end of the breath. He must focus his mind only on the breath that is touch­ing or brushing the tip of the nose, the nostrils or the up­per lip, thus keeping his mind at one point, that is, the point of contact.

• The Comparison with a Gate-keeper and a Sawyer

            The meditator should note the simile of a gate­keeper. A gatekeeper does not examine people inside and outside the town for they are not his concern. But he does examine each man as he arrives at the gate.

            Similarly the meditator pays no attention to the in-going breath that has gone inside the nose and to the out-going breath that has gone outside the nose, because they are not his concern. But they are his concern each time they arrive at the nostril gate.

            He should also act like a sawyer in the simile of the saw. Suppose a man is cutting a log with a saw. The man's mindfulness is established at the saw's teeth where they cut the log, without his giving attention to the saw's teeth as they approach and recede, though they are not unknown to him as they do so. In other words, he focusses his attention only on the teeth of the saw that cut the log; his eyes do not follow the saw as it moves forward and backward.

            Yet he knows from the teeth of the saw that cut the log whether the saw is moving forward or backward and whether it moves through a long distance or a short dis tance. Moreover he also knows the beginning, the middle, and the end of the saw-teeth that have cut through the log.

            Similarly the meditator establishes mindfulness at the nose tip or the upper lip, without giving attention to the inbreaths and the outbreaths as they approach and re cede, though they are not unknown to him as they do so. By focussing his attention on the breath at the point of contact, he is aware of the beginning, the middle, and the end of the in-going breath as well as the out-going breath.

            When the meditator can calmly and mindfully fo­cus his mind on the beginning, the middle, and the end of the in-breath and the out-breath for one hour, two hours or more at every sitting, the meditation sign (nimitta) may appear. Whether it appears or not, he should pro­ceed to the next stage.

The Fourth Step : the Disappearance of the Breath

            Whenever the meditator sits for meditation, he should first establish mindfulness on the in-going breath and the out-going breath. When his mindfulness is well established, he should try to be aware of the length of the breath and take notice whether it is long or short by noting whether the breathing is fast or slow. When he can calmly and mindfully concentrate his mind on the length of breath, he should strive on to be aware of the beginning, the middle, and the end of the whole breath.

            As he mindfully watches the in-going breath and the out-going breath to be aware of the beginning, the middle, and the end of the whole breath, his breathing becomes more and more gentle and subtle. The gross in­breaths and out-breaths gradually cease, and his conscious­ness arises with the subtle in-breath and out-breath as its object. And when that has ceased, it goes on arising with the successively subtler breaths as its object. How?

            Suppose a man strikes a bronze bell with a big iron bar. Immediately a loud sound arises, and his consiousness will arise with the gross sound as its object. Then when the gross sound has ceased, his consciousness will arise with the subtle sound as its object. And when that has ceased, his consciousness will go on arising with the suc­cessively subtler sound as its object. This is how it should be understood. For while other meditation subjects be­come clearer at each higher stage, ānāpānassati does not. In fact, as he goes on developing it, it becomes more subtle for him at higher stage, and it even comes to the point at which it is no longer manifest or distinct.

            However, when it becomes unmanifest in this way, the meditator should not get up from his seat, shake out his leather mat, and go away. What should be done? He should not get up with the idea 'Shall I ask the teacher?' or 'Is my meditation subject lost?' If he goes away, and so disturbs his posture, the meditation subject has to be started anew. So he should go on sitting as he was and temporarily substitutes the place where the breaths nor­mally touched for the actual breaths as the object of con­templation.

            If the breaths do not become subtle even when he concentrates his mind on the whole breath clearly being aware of the beginning, the middle, and the end of the breath for one hour or more at every sitting, he should make a mental wish "May my gross breath be calm", and strive on to be mindfully aware of the beginning, the middle, and the end of the whole breath.

            Gradually the breath will become smooth, subtle and calm by itself. He should not purposely make the breath calm and subtle, he will slowly gasp for air and become tired. He will jeopardize his concentration.

            If the breath becomes subtle by itself and the mind is calm on it, most meditators, by the power of medita­tion, are no longer aware of the head, the nose and the body; there exist onlv the breath and the mind which is conscious of the breath. At that moment "I" or "lie" can­not be found.

            The meditator should strive on to be calmly and mindfully aware of the breath with the intention "May my breath be calm and subtle." When his concentration rises, his breath usually becomes calm and subtle.

            Then he will need more powerful mindfulness to concentrate his mind on that subtle breath very attentively. At this stage very powerful mindfulness that fixes the mind on the meditation subject and very powerful wisdom that clearly apprehends the subtle breath are very essential.

            While he is striving so, sometimes the in-breaths and the out-breaths and no longer distinct. He can no longer find the breath which seems to disappear. In that case, he should fix his mind at the place where he has apprehended the breath, bearing in mind that he is breathing.

• The Simile of a Farmer

            A farmer, after doing some ploughing, sent his oxen free to graze and sat down to rest in the shade. Then his oxen would soon go to the forest. After some time when he wants to catch them and yoke them again, he does not wander through the forest following their tracks, but rather he takes his rope and goad and goes straight to the drink­ing place where they usually met. He just sat and lied there.

            After the oxen had wandered about for a part of the day, they came to the drinking place. They drank and bathed, and when they came out and were standing about, he secured them with the rope, brought them back by prodding them with the goad, yoked them and went on with his ploughing.

            So too, the meditator should not look for the in­breaths and the out-breaths any where else than the place normally touched by them. He should take the rope of mindfulness and the goad of understanding, and fixing his mind on the place normally touched by them he should go on giving his attention to that.

            As he gives his attention in this way the breaths reappear after no long time, as the oxen did at the drinking place. So he can secure them with the rope of mindful ness. and yoking them in that same place and prodding them with the goad of understanding, he can keep on applying himself to the meditation object.

• The Appearance of the Meditation Sign (Bhāvanā Nimitta)

            In mindfulness of breathing, all the three types of meditation image or sign - viz., preparatory image (parikamma nimitta), acquired image (uggaha nimitta) and counter image (paṭibhāga nimitta) are attainable.

            The natural in-going breath and out-going breath are taken as the preparatory image. The grey dirty image that appears at a certain degree of mental concentration is also regarded as the preparatory image.

            A white image like cotton or silk cotton that ap­pears at a higher degree of concentration is called the acquired image. This is a general description. The image of other colours or shapes may also appear. Differ­ent images may appear to diffcrent people.

            As the concentration rises, the image or sign may become very clear and bright like the evening star. This image is taken to be the counter sign. Again this is a general description.

            It is described in Visuddhi Magga that the medi­tation image is not the same for all. It appears to some producing a soft touch like cotton wool, silk cotton or a breeze. To some the image appears like a star, a ball of ruby or a ball of pearl; to some it has a harsh touch like a cotton seed, or a pin made of heartwood; to some it is like a long string, or a wreath of flowers, or a crest of smoke; to others it is like a spread out cobweb, a film of cloud, a lotus flower, a chariot-wheel, the disc of the moon or the disc of the sun.

            In fact that resembles an occasion when a number of bhikkhus are sitting together and reciting a Suttanta. One of them asks, "Like what does the Suttanta appear to you?" and one answers, "To me it appears like a great moun­tain torrent." Another "To me it is like a row of forest trees'', and still another, "To me it is like a fruit-bearing tree, complete with foliage, giving cool shade."

            So as one Sutta appears differently to them, owing to the difference in perception, this one subject of meditation appears differently due to the differ ence in perception, for it is born of perception, origi­nated by perception, sprung from perception. There­fore it should be understood that when it appears dif­ferently it is because of the difference in perception.

            For a person who had experience in Ānāpānassatiin a previous life, the meditation image starts to appear while he is meditating to be aware of the length of breath or while he is focussing on the whole breath or while he is meditating on very subtle breath. But this initial image is not stable and firm yet. So the meditator should ignore it and keep on focussing on the in-going breath and the out-going breath. By doing so the mind will become more stable.

            For most people the image appears while the meditator is focussing on the mild subtle breath which reap­pears after it has gone to be no longer distinct. Again this image is usually not stable yet. The meditator should not pay attention to it; he should strive on to be mindful of the breath. When the image and the breath become identical and indivisible, he is aware  of the image while he is trying to he aware of the breath and vice versa. This is the right form.

            However, for some meditators the image does not appear at the place where the breath touches the nostrils or the tipper lip. It appears a little further apart or about one foot from the tip of the nose. It may also appear on the forehead or in other places.

            In this case the meditator should not pay attention to the image or sign. He should focus his attention on the breath at the point of contact. When his con centration attains full strength, the image will appear at the point of contact and become indivisible from the breath.

            And here, the consciousness that has the in-breath as its object is one, the consciousness that has the out-breath as its object is another, and the consciousness that has the image as its object is still another. For the meditation subject reaches neither absorption nor even access in one who has not got these three things clear. But it reaches access and also absorption in one who has got them clear.

            And when the image appears in this w way, the meditator should inform the teacher, who in turn should en­courage the yogi and give proper guidance.

            After this the meditator should fix his mind on the image; and so from now on his development proceeds by way of fixing. He should put away extraneous aspects, and anchor his mind upon the in-going breath and the out-going breath.

            From the time the counter image appears, his hin­drances are suppressed, his defilements subside, his mindfulness is established and his mind is concentrated in access concentration.

            He should not give attention to the image for its colour, nor reflect upon it for its characteristics. He should guard it as carefully as a king's chief queen guards the embryo of a universal monarch, or as a farmer guards the ripening crops.

            He should avoid the seven unsuitable things and cultivate the seven suitable things. Then, guarding it thus, he should make it grow and improve with repeated attention. He should also practise the tenfold skill in ab­sorption and bring about evenness of energy with con­centration.

            As he strives thus the first rūpāvacara kusala jhāna will arise in due course. Then after acquiring mas­tery in five ways with respect to the first jhāna, he can go on developing the fourfold or fivefold higher jhānas on that same counter image in the same way as described under the earth-kasina.

• The Benefits of Ānāpānassati

            The mindfulness of breathing is of great fruit, of great benefit. The great fruit is s the attainment of the fourth rūpāvacara jhāna. The great benefit should be understood here as peaceful ness both because of the words 'And, bhikkhus, this concentration through mindfulness of breathing, when developed and much practised, is both peaceful and sublime' (S.v. 321), and because of its ability to cut off the initial application (vitakka).

            Because it is peaceful and sublime and an unadulterated blissful abiding, it cuts off the mind's running hither and thither with the initial application obstructive to concentration, and keeps the mind only on the breaths as its object. Hence it is said. 'Mindfulness of breathing should be developed in order to cut off the initial application' (A. iv, 353).

            Also the great benefit of mindfulness of breath­ing should be understood as the root condition for perfecting clear vision and deliverance for this has been said by the Blessed One:

            "Bhikkhus, the mindfulness of breathing, when developed  and much practised, per­fects the four  foundations of mindfulness. The four foundations of mindfulness, when developed and much practised, perfect the seven enlightenment factors. The seven enlightenment factors, when developed and much practised, perfect clear vision and deliverance. "           (M. iii, 82)

References:

1.   "Visuddhi Magga" by Bhaddantācariya Buddhaghosa, translated into Myanmarby Ven. Nandamālā, VoI.I, pp. 552-585.

2.   "The Path of Purification (Visuddhi Magga) "by Bhaddantācariya Buddhaghosa, translated by, Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, pp 285-317.

3.   "The Path of Purity (Visuddhi Magga) " by Bhaddantācariya Buddhaghosa, translated by Pe Maung Tin, pp. 305-337.

Review Questions

1.      How should we exercise mindfulness of breathing according to the instructions of the Buddha?

2.      Describe the four steps in the practice of mindfulness of breathing. What should we do when the breath disappears?

3.      How should we conduct ānāpānassati properly  to reach the first rūpāvacara jhāna?

4.      How does the meditation sign (bhāvanā nimitta) appear normally in ānāpānassati? What is the difference between the acquired sign and the counter sign?

5.      In practising ānāpānassati how do we know that we  have reached the first absorption? How can we go on to attain the fourth rūpāvacara jhāna?

6.      Why is ānāpānassati practised in many meditation centres? What are the benefits of ānāpānassati?

7.      What will happen if we do not follow the in­structions of the Buddha in practising 'Ānāpānassati'?

8.      Have you practised 'Ānāpānassati'? What are the di fficulties that you have encountered?

9.      Describe the three stages of meditation in Ānāpānassati and the meditation signs that indicate these stages?

10.    How did the Buddha praise Ānāpānassati? Why is it the staple meditation subject for Bodhisattas?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------