|
Namo tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammâ Sambuddhassa!
A BUDDHIST APPROACH TO THE AWARENESS OF IN-AND-OUT BREATH
MEDITATION - ANAPANASATI 1
© R K Wijayaratne
• Created: 09/02/09 • Modified: 24/06/09 • Email:
dhammagroup@yahoo.com • Web:
www.DhammaGroup.tk
The awareness of in and
out breath meditation (anapanasati) is a very important meditation for all Buddhists
as it allows for the development of mindfulness of the present moment and calms
the mind allowing for contemplation and insight (vipassana) into the reality into ‘the way things really
are.’ This was the meditation utilized by the
Gotama Lord Buddha (while still a
Boddhisatta) to calm his mind for the penetration of dependant
origination (paticca-samuppada) and insight into the
Four Noble Truths. In light of this, it becomes clear how important
this meditation is for anyone who is serious about the practice of the
Dhamma (Teachings) and the attainment
of insight into reality.
The correct posture is important
to allow the breath to easily ‘flow’ in and out of the body. The back should be
upright yet relaxed. Hold your body upright in a way such that it is at its perfect
centre of balance (this can be perceived with the mind), where one is neither leaning
too far forwards, backwards or to either side. When one gains this perfect ‘equilibrium’
of the bodily trunk, all swaying of the body will cease.2 It is important
to train oneself to keep the body still during meditation - if you can't keep your
body still, how can you hope to keep your mind still? The legs can be bent in the
form of the full or half
lotus position and the palms should be
placed on top of each other (right on left) facing upwards on top of the lap (refer
to a seated statue of the Lord Buddha for reference). The eyes should be fully closed
to minimize distractions for the mind. If the posture becomes uncomfortable after
a while, you can persevere to keep it despite the physical pain for as long as possible
and/or change your posture, e.g. from a cushion to a stool or chair, or from
lotus position to a kneeling position – keep switching (the lesser
the better) while continuing with the meditation (the longer the better). Once one
gains a state of perfect stillness and a state of
jhanic
peace, the physical body and its sensations will ‘disappear’ and pain will no longer
affect the mind. So strive for these states at all times during meditation.3
Before beginning the meditation,
bring and focus your mind’s attention to the front (of your head/body).4
The mind has a habit of ‘talking’ (thinking) and it takes the form of an ‘inner
commentary.’ This commentary needs to be completely stopped (repeat as required)
by will as and when it starts up, before the mediation can begin (otherwise it will
be impossible to focus on the breath as the ‘inner noise’ will destroy concentration).5
Once the mind gets the signal that thinking is undesired, it will become calm and
quiet. Now the meditation can begin.
While keeping your awareness in
front (of the head/body), direct your quite mind to observing the incoming and outgoing
breath. There should be no controlling or forcing of the breath, but simply quiet
watching of its details. Try to see the whole ‘length’ of the breath as it enters
and leaves the body.6 So you should be noticing the various characteristics
of the breath, such as whether it is short, long, calm or quick. Just as you know
you are full, when you have eaten enough, or that have a headache when there is
one - in the same manner you should know when you are breathing in and out when
you are doing so. So there is no need to watch a particular point in the body such
as the tip of the nose or the abdomen – doing so will take one’s concentration away
from the object of the meditation (one’s breath). In fact in the
Anapanasati Sutta (discourse) where the
Lord Buddha details the particulars
of this meditation, there is no mention whatsoever of watching a particular part
of the body such as the tip of the nose or the abdomen.7
When the mind becomes calm, tranquil
and still (i.e. state of
samadhi)
due to this meditation, this is the best time to contemplate (think/analyse/understand)
some aspect of the Dhamma
to gain insight (vipassana), which is what the term ‘see things as they really
are’ refers to. You can contemplate on any aspect of the
Dhamma that touches on the three
signs of all conditioned things, i.e. impermanence (anicca),
suffering (dukkha) and ‘no real self in
anything/anyone’ (anatta). You can also contemplate
on the Four Noble Truths or the dependent origination (paticca-samuppada) in aid of this. You may also prefer to refer
to a discourse (sutta) to find a section of
Dhamma that touches on the above
and contemplate on that once the mind is in a state of
samadhi. Try to understand the
meaning behind these concepts and how they relate to your life through analysis.
The aim of this contemplation is
to realize the Truth about our lives and all conditioned things and to enter the
stream (sotapatti) leading to
Nibbana. Once you become a stream
enterer/winner, there can be no further rebirth in any of the lower
hellish realms and you will be assured of
Nibbana within a maximum of seven lifetimes or less. However
to break through to the stream, one should ideally aim for
jhanic states of
samadhi
in one's meditation.
This requires a lot of dedication on one's part with the daily taking of at least
the eight precepts (the absolute minimum
being the
5 precepts), being on the
Noble Eightfold Path, renouncing a lot of one's duties, commitments
and belongings, giving up the indulgence of the
senses8 and daily meditation regime of more than a few
hours a day as a basic requirement. Such a way of life can even be pursued by a
lay person with duties such as work, study, etc if there is enough will to do so.9
To stand a good chance of attaining
jhanic
states of absorption and breaking through to stream entry, one should ideally enter
the monastic life (life in a monastery/temple as a monk/nun/eight or
ten preceptor).
May you seize this extremely rare
opportunity of the appearance of the true
Dhamma
along with your extremely rare fortune of gaining a good rebirth with access to
that true
Dhamma (neither of which will
last very long) to find it within yourself to develop
samadhi allowing you to break
through to the stream
taking you directly to the supreme bliss of
Nibbana!
CALM IS NOT ENOUGH
Just calmness meditation,
samatha,
is not enough.
Once the mind is super
calm,
ideally in a
jhanic state,
you need to contemplate,
analyse and understand,
some aspect of the
Dhamma,
perhaps a section,
or a line of the Buddha's
words,
that touches on the three
characteristics,
of impermanence (anicca), suffering (dukkha) and no self (anatta),
or the
Four Noble
Truths,
or
dependant
origination,
and relate it to your
life,
to penetrate (vipassana) the truth,
to enter the
stream
or even higher,
for the mind to ‘break
through,’
to the ‘other side.’[1]
May you break through,
to the other side!
[1] Stream-entry (sotapatti) or higher.
Notes
1. The latest version of this document can be found in
HTML format here
http://tinyurl.com/d6uwxr
(or http://sites.google.com/site/dhammagroupweb/pubs/anapanasati) and in PDF
format here
http://tinyurl.com/dx6p8x
(or
http://sites.google.com/site/dhammagroupweb/pubs/A_Buddhist_Approach_to_the_Awareness_of_In-and-Out_Breath_Meditation-Anapanasati.pdf).
2. Even if one cannot maintain a perfect bodily posture (e.g.
due to ill-health, fatigue, etc.) one should still persevere with the breath.
3. Regularly practicing meditation
will reduce the physical pain and increase one’s endurance for sitting for long
periods.
4. Refer to the
Anapanasati Sutta (Mindfulness of Breathing)
where the Lord Buddha describes this:
“There is the case where
a monk, having gone to the wilderness, to the shade of a tree, or to an empty building,
sits down folding his legs crosswise, holding his body erect, and setting mindfulness
to the fore. Always mindful, he breathes in; mindful he breathes out.”
5. The inner commentary can
be significantly reduced through will and training. This inner quiet must however
be developed during the meditation training and it will then become an automatic
habitual practice throughout day. Before commencing on meditation the meditation
object (breath,
loving-kindness (metta), foulness (asubha), etc) take a short while
to watch the mind and thoughts. When the mind starts to ‘speak’ (i.e. the inner
commentary begins) then immediately stop it through effort of will. Keep doing this
until the mind gets the idea and stops ‘talking.’ Then you can start the meditation.
During the meditation if the mind tries to start ‘talking’ again, then again shut
it up as before and resume the meditation (repeat as required). If you consistently
develop this during meditation, after a while you will find that this habit flows
through to the times outside of meditation as well. When you realize that all
mental hindrances and inner problems arise because of this inner
voice (taking away your inner peace) you will strive even harder to make it quiet
within.
6. Again refer to the
Anapanasati Sutta (Mindfulness of Breathing)
where the Lord Buddha describes this:
“[1] Breathing in long,
he discerns, ‘I am breathing in long;’ or breathing out long, he discerns, ‘I am
breathing out long.’ [2] Or breathing in short, he discerns, ‘I am breathing in
short;’ or breathing out short, he discerns, ‘I am breathing out short.’ [3] He
trains himself, ‘I will breathe in sensitive to the entire body.’ He trains himself,
‘I will breathe out sensitive to the entire body.’ [4] He trains himself, ‘I will
breathe in calming bodily fabrication.’3 He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out
calming bodily fabrication.’”
7. This seems to be a later
development/addition to the Lord Buddha’s instructions on the awareness of breath
(anapanasati)
meditation.
8. To stand a good chance of
attaining
jhanic
states, one should give up, abandon and cut off completely any desires and pleasures
associated with pleasing the five senses (and the mind). See
APPENDIX A: Majjhima Nikaya 26, Ariyapariyesana Sutta, The Noble Search (Extract)
below.
9. ‘Where there is a will,
there is a way.’
APPENDIX A:
Majjhima Nikaya 26, Ariyapariyesana Sutta, The Noble Search
(Extract)
Source: www.accesstoinsight.org
URL:
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.026.than.html
"And any priests or contemplatives
tied to these five strings of sensuality — infatuated with them, have totally fallen
for them, consuming them without seeing their drawbacks or discerning the escape
from them — should be known as having met with misfortune, having met with ruin;
Mara can do with them as he will. Just as if a wild deer were to lie bound on a
heap of snares: it should be known as having met with misfortune, having met with
ruin; the hunter can do with it as he will. When the hunter comes, it won't get
away as it would like. In the same way, any priests or contemplatives tied to these
five strings of sensuality — infatuated with them, have totally fallen for them,
consuming them without seeing their drawbacks or discerning the escape from them
— should be known as having met with misfortune, having met with ruin; Mara can
do with them as he will.
"But any priests or contemplatives
not tied to these five strings of sensuality — uninfatuated with them, having not
totally fallen for them, consuming them seeing their drawbacks and discerning the
escape from them — should be known as not having met with misfortune, not having
met with ruin; Mara cannot do with them as he will. Just as if a wild deer were
to lie unbound on a heap of snares: it should be known as not having met with misfortune,
not having met with ruin; the hunter cannot do with it as he will. When the hunter
comes, it will get away as it would like. In the same way, any priests or contemplatives
not tied to these five strings of sensuality — uninfatuated with them, having not
totally fallen for them, consuming them seeing their drawbacks and discerning the
escape from them — should be known as not having met with misfortune, not having
met with ruin; Mara cannot do with them as he will.
"Suppose that a wild
deer is living in wilderness glen. Carefree it walks, carefree it stands, carefree
it sits, carefree it lies down. Why is that? Because it has gone beyond the hunter's
range.5 In the same way, a monk — quite withdrawn from sensual pleasures,
withdrawn from unskillful qualities — enters & remains in the first jhana: rapture
& pleasure born from withdrawal, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation.
This monk is said to have blinded Mara. Trackless, he has destroyed Mara's vision
and has become invisible to the Evil One.6
"Then again the monk,
with the stilling of directed thought & evaluation, enters & remains in
the second jhana: rapture & pleasure born of composure, unification of awareness
free from directed thought & evaluation — internal assurance. This monk is said
to have blinded Mara. Trackless, he has destroyed Mara's vision and has become invisible
to the Evil One.
"Then again the monk,
with the fading of rapture, remains in equanimity, mindful & alert, is physically
sensitive to pleasure, and enters & remains in the third jhana, of which the
Noble Ones declare, 'Equanimous & mindful, he has a pleasurable abiding.' This
monk is said to have blinded Mara. Trackless, he has destroyed Mara's vision and
has become invisible to the Evil One.
"Then again the monk,
with the abandoning of pleasure & stress — as with the earlier disappearance
of elation & distress — enters & remains in the fourth jhana: purity of
equanimity & mindfulness, neither-pleasure-nor-pain. This monk is said to have
blinded Mara. Trackless, he has destroyed Mara's vision and has become invisible
to the Evil One.
"Then again the monk,
with the complete transcending of perceptions of [physical] form, with the disappearance
of perceptions of resistance, and not heeding perceptions of diversity, thinking,
'Infinite space,' enters & remains in the dimension of the infinitude of space.
This monk is said to have blinded Mara. Trackless, he has destroyed Mara's vision
and has become invisible to the Evil One.
"Then again the monk,
with the complete transcending of the dimension of the infinitude of space, thinking,
'Infinite consciousness,' enters & remains in the dimension of the infinitude
of consciousness. This monk is said to have blinded Mara. Trackless, he has destroyed
Mara's vision and has become invisible to the Evil One.
"Then again the monk,
with the complete transcending of the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness,
thinking, 'There is nothing,' enters & remains in the dimension of nothingness.
This monk is said to have blinded Mara. Trackless, he has destroyed Mara's vision
and has become invisible to the Evil One.
"Then again the monk,
with the complete transcending of the dimension of nothingness, enters & remains
in the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception. This monk is said to
have blinded Mara. Trackless, he has destroyed Mara's vision and has become invisible
to the Evil One.
"Then again the monk,
with the complete transcending of the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception,
enters & remains in the cessation of perception & feeling. And, having seen
[that] with discernment, his mental fermentations are completely ended. This monk
is said to have blinded Mara. Trackless, he has destroyed Mara's vision and has
become invisible to the Evil One. Having crossed over, he is unattached in the world.
Carefree he walks, carefree he stands, carefree he sits, carefree he lies down.
Why is that? Because he has gone beyond the Evil One's range."
5. For another use of
the wild deer as a symbol for a free mind, see Ud 2.10.
6. As the Commentary points
out, simply attaining the states of concentration from the first
jhana through the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception blinds
Mara only temporarily. Only with the arising of discernment is Mara blinded for
good. On Mara's blindness, see Sn 5.15
and SN 22.87 (the latter in The Mind
Like Fire Unbound). For the meaning of "trackless," see
Dhp 92-93, 179-180.
Related Discourses
(Sutta)
1.
Majjhima Nikaya
118,
Anapanasati Sutta, Mindfulness of Breathing see
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.118.than.html
2.
Digha Nikaya
22,
Maha-satipatthana Sutta, The Great Frames of Reference see
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.22.0.than.html
3.
Majjhima Nikaya
26,
Ariyapariyesana Sutta, The Noble Search see
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.026.than.html
Related Buddhsim
(Dhamma)
Articles
1. Daily Dana
- On giving and generosity, see
http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=dailydana
2.
Five Precepts - Developing virtue through the five precepts, see
http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=pansil
3. Buddhist Positive Thinking
- Positive thinking from a Buddhist perspective, see http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=posthink
4. Mental Purity
- Five ways prescribed by the Buddha for subduing mental defilements, see
http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=vitakkasantana
5. A Buddhist Approach to Disillusionment - A Buddhist approach to seeing past the trickery and into
reality, see
http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=disill
6. A Buddhist Approach to Disenchantment - A Buddhist approach to becoming disenchanted with all
that gives rise to stress, see
http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=disench
7. An Introduction to Buddhist Meditation - Basic instructions for doing the mediations of loving
kindness (metta),
awareness of breath (ana-pana-sati) and foulness of the body (asubha) , see http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=intromed
8.
A Buddhist Approach to the
Contemplation on Body Parts – Asubha -
A Buddhist approach to bodily revulsion (asubha), see
http://sites.google.com/site/dhammagroupweb/pubs/asubhaparts
9. Attachment
- An analysis of how attachment leads to unsatisfactoriness, see
http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=attachment
10. One Hour of Unsatisfactoriness
- The unsatisfactoriness that can be felt within the space of an hour, see
http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=onehour
11. A Buddhist Approach to Mental Health - A Buddhist perspective and approach to mental health,
see
http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=mentalhealth
12. Four Noble Truths
- The essence of Buddhism, see
http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=fourtruths
13. Noble Eightfold Path
- The path for ending stress and suffering, see
http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=noblepath
Online Resources
1. AccessToInsight.org here http://www.accesstoinsight.org
2. Mettanet.org
here
http://www.mettanet.org
3. What-Buddha-Said.net
here
http://what-buddha-said.net
4. What-Buddha-Taught.net here http://what-buddha-taught.net
5. Buddhanet.net
here
http://www.buddhanet.net
6. Vihara.org.au
here
http://www.vihara.org.au
7. DhammaGroup.tk
here
http://www.dhammagroup.tk
|
Search
