16 meditation topics
of breathing meditation
The contemplative breath meditation is a
fundamental method and is suitable for beginners of meditation in different
cultures. This method was taught by the Buddha in the Nikāyas. Here
are the instructions of the HT. Dr. Thich Thien
Chau, who carried this message through many layers of Buddhists, especially
young students in Asian countries quoted from the article "Meditate with
Life Today" at the seminar. "Buddhism and the times" in Paris,
France, September 1995.
The Buddha-taught meditation method is
different from the pagan meditation methods. Nowadays people often refer to Hathayoga's "breath control" (prānāyāna).
This is a very old method commonly practiced by Indian hermits. In the Mahāsaccaka (Mn, I, 243), Buddha mentioned this method with
the term "breathless meditation" (appānaka jhāna). Buddha himself practiced before his enlightenment
and realized its harm - the body was in pain and did not lead to enlightenment.
So Buddha gave up and went back to practice the method
that Buddha practiced as a child, sitting under the Jambu
tree watching his father plow the field during the opening ceremony and witness
first meditation. Experience with the above method as
said by the Buddha:
"Teachers, I used to practice this method
of mindfulness of the breath most of my time. And by living in this practice,
my body and eyes do not tire; thanks to that result, our mind is free of
contraband ". (Sn, V, 317) is good;
"The teachers, the method of
contemplating the breath, if practiced, leads to peace, greatness, sweetness,
and joy; it destroys evil thoughts and makes the mind peaceful". (Mn,
III, 82; Sn, V, 321-322; Vin, III, 70).
The above two sutras describe the specifics of
the "mindfulness of the breath" method. It is also different
from other meditation methods taught by the Buddha, such as the 10 categories
of impurity, impurity of the body, etc.
Other methods of meditation, though very
profound and capable of treating desire, at the same time cause boredom and
disgust in the yogi and can lead to painful self-destruction. Meanwhile, the
method of contemplating the breath makes the students feel cool, healthy, calm,
and unwavering. Right from the beginning of practice, the yogi both body and mind
are at peace, tranquility, defilements dissolve, insight develops easily and
finally attains the complete peace of Nirvana.
The breathing meditation method consists of 16
topics, divided into 4 parts, each with 4 topics. Part 1 is an
introduction to meditation, essential and suitable for Zen
practitioners. Meanwhile, the following 3 parts are aimed at developing
insight. The purpose of part one is to build attention as the basis for
intellectual growth. The four parts of the whole method include sequentially
four mindfulness: body, feeling, mind and dhamma. Part 1 can lead to
attaining four stages of meditation. And then, by developing insight can
prove to attain Arahants with 4 no fear of wisdom (Patisambhidā):
understanding meaning, understanding direction, understanding language and
defense.
PART
ONE
Zen students should make arrangements for the
long-distance journey, with a simple, healthy life, suitable practice place,
proper tools and meditation posture, and then begin to practice the method of
"Breath Contemplation ".
Topic
1
1. Take a long breath, he knows: "I
sighed deeply"
Sighed, he knew: "I sighed"
2. Take a short breath , he knows: "I
take a short
breath " he knew: "I breathed short"
In the practice of the "Mindfulness of
the breath" method, there are two different breathing activities: inhalation
and exhalation. This discernment and discernment leads
the student to the attention. According to Patisambhidāmagga,
I, 177, there are nine ways to inhale and exhale that a student knows he is
doing so.
1. Take a long breath
2. Exhale long
3. Take a long breath, a long sigh, each breath
takes up a while.
Practicing like that, the yogi feels the
breathing gradually becomes at peace: then interest continues to
arise. Thus, with fondness, students:
1. Take a long breath
2. Exhale long
3. Inhale and exhale
and the breath becomes more peaceful than
before. During this stage, the student becomes joyful; with the mind
of joy, students:
1. Take a long breath
2. Exhale long
3. Take a long breath and exhale
and the mind becomes absolutely
peaceful. The mind of the student at this time no longer has contemplation
of the long breath and is thus at ease. During this stage, the breath
becomes gentle and subtle; therefore, there is no longer the rough breath
at the beginning. The long breath consists of 9 ways as above called Body
(kāya); the above 9-way understanding is called
Mindfulness (sati); contemplation on the impermanent, non-self nature of the breath is wisdom. The student who
attains wisdom in the practice of these 9 ways is the accomplishment of the
Body Contemplation, including Mindfulness (anāpāsati)
of the satipatthana method.
Topic
2
Practicing Topic 2 on shortness of breath also
includes 9 ways as explained above. The difference for Theme 1 is the
softer, softer breath. Because the short breath only occupies a short time
corresponding to the physical condition of the yogi.
This way students can build attention on 2
topics and each has 9 different breathing styles. Zen students attest to
meditators through the method of meditation and gain insight through the method
of mindfulness. All of these results are based on 4 activities (2 short
long inhalations, 2 long short inhalations) belonging to the air element (no
big), which evolved on the tip of the nose in the form of short long in / out
breath.
Topic
3
"Whole body sensation (breath), I breathe
in
Feeling whole body (breath), I breathe out".
This exercise topic is more difficult than the
previous two topics. Here students must practice three things:
1. Pay attention to the breath when inhaling
and exhaling
2. Distinguish the 3 stages where the breath: head, middle, and end.
3. Cultivate the mind
In the case of the inlet airflow, the tip of
the nose is the head, the heart is the middle, and the navel is the
end. When you pay attention to the out-of-breath, the navel is the head,
the heart is the middle, and the tip of the nose is the end.
Attention like this, the student breathes in
and out while the mind is associated with the sensory-based understanding of
the whole breath. Hence this three theme is
expressed in the spiritual sense:
"Peace of body, I breathe in
body calm, I breathe out".
"Full-body sensation (breath), I inhale
Feeling whole-body (breath), I exhale"
The reason for synchronizing the breath is
called the Body because it is a component of the factors that make up the
body. For some people, the beginning of the whole breath radiating in the
small particles is clearly noticed but not the middle and the end. For
others, the mid-breath is clearly perceived but not in the beginning at the
end. For others, the end of the breath is clearly visible, but the
beginning and the middle are not. For a few people, all three parts are
clearly discernible and unmistakable.
However, any yogi will want and try to fully
achieve this topic of practice.
Topic
4
"Peace of body, I breathe in
body calm, I breathe out".
Through practicing this topic 4, students
reach the final stage of right concentration. During this stage the student
fully experiences tranquility in the body and thus attains full right
concentration (total tranquility in the body always leads to happiness and thus
the mind realizes righteousness) .
In fact, the out-of-breath movement, though
controlled by the mind, cannot exist without the body, just as the up and down
movements of the wind in the bellows are caused by both the worker and the
bellows. So, although the breath movement is controlled by the mind, it is
still called the body form, which means body synchronization or a physical
factor.
When the body is heavy, the mind is depressed
or not controlled, the body becomes rough, stagnant and the breathing becomes
so fast and gasping that the nose is not enough to exhale and one has to
breathe more. mouth. On the contrary, when the body is light, the mind is happy
or controlled, the breath becomes calm and subtle and its movements can be
clearly seen.
When people run fast, carry heavy weight or
have too strong movements, their breathing becomes rough. But when the body is
rested and relaxed, the breath becomes calm and subtle. In other words, thanks
to the practice of meditation, the previously coarse body is now calm and the
gasping breath is once again regulated. In the early stages, the breathing
relaxes the body, the brain is calm and the brain works smoothly. The other
time the yogi master the breath by unnecessary filling
the voids of the nostrils with a large volume of air. The student breathes in
and out with the idea of reducing the harshness of the breath and
tries to keep the breath steady until he attains a meditative experience. In
fact, the breath is inherently controlled by the mind so its active state
depends on the mood at a certain moment:the
breath is harsh when the mind is disturbed and the breath is gentle when the
mind is calm. When the meditator realizes meditation, the mind becomes calm and
the breathing becomes more subtle in the meditators following the cultivation
of the four meditators: First Jhana, Second Jhana, Three Jhana, and when the
Four In meditation, the body of in-out breath is inactive.
According
to the Purification of doctrine (Vism, 283), there
are 8 states in which there is no breathing: 1. In the mother's womb, 2. When
dying under water, 3. In the unconscious sentient being, 4. When dying , 5.
While practicing meditation, 6. In the utopian realm, 7. In the Formless
heaven, 8. In Cessation of concentration (attaining the cessation of feeling
and perception).
Thus, the breath belonging to the raw body
part before practicing the meditation one time is regulated starting from the
beginning of Jhana and becomes completely calm when
the four Jhana are realized.
In the case of students cultivating according
to the method of Wisdom (Vipassanā), the breath
belonging to the body part before practicing a subject of insight is
crude. But through the development process the breath insight becomes
subtle and peaceful. When the realizing mind attains full insight and
realization of the three dharmas (suffering, impermanence, non-self), then the
breath enters the final stage of tranquility and the realizing mind attains
full right concentration on the subject. to contemplate the breath.
So in both cases: the practice of contemplating
the breath and witnessing the four meditation; in the case of practicing
the subject of insight and understanding of the three dharma seals, the body of
body breath is completely pure. That is the goal that meditation wishes to
achieve when practicing the topic of breath contemplation. That is why
topic IV is described:
"Peace of body, I breathe in body calm, I
breathe out".
PART TWO
The second part also includes 4 topics with
the method of developing "mindfulness of the breath" to progress to
"insight" that is satipahāna,
including concentration and wisdom.
Topic
5
"Happy feeling, I inhale.
Joyful feeling, I breathe out".
This meditation theme and the next ones belong
to the system of thematic meditation because they are related to the
psychological process of those who have attained all meditations through
previous practice.
There are two ways to describe "happy
feeling" while a meditator attains concentration by means of
"mindfulness of the breath" method. First, when they enter first and
second jhānas, students feel joyful thanks to
their attainment of the full attainment of meditation themes (the subject of
meditation). Second, rising from the first two meditations (I and II) in which
joy is present, the yogi attends the joy that is related to the meditators and
realizes that joy is impermanent. Even while understanding the impermanent
nature of joy through insight, students feel joy in an unmistakable way.
On this point of contemplation, Patisambhidā, I, 187 puts it this way: "By taking a
long breath, the student attains concentration and realizes that the mind is
directed to a point. Due to short inhalation and short exhalation ... of
inhalation, exhalation and a feeling of whole body ..., body calmness ... that
joy arises ".
Thus, students feel joy and full body is
imbued with joy throughout the process of meditation through the stages:
contemplation, feeling, insight, trust, diligence, attention, concentration ...
description:
"Happy feeling, I inhale.
Joyful feeling, I breathe out".
Topic
6
"Feeling of touch, I inhale
Feeling of pleasure, I breathe out".
This meditation is inherently related to the
first three (I, II, III) meditators in which the feeling of bliss arises from
the object of breath contemplation and in clear awareness of the mind. In
detail, this topic is no different from the above topic.
Topic
7
"The feeling of mental action, I inhale.
Feeling of mind, I breathe out."
With this meditation, students are fully aware
of the mental action which is related to the meditators. The term mental
form here applies to the two aggregates: feeling (pleasure, suffering and
neutral thought (perceiving the object through the six senses).
Topic
8
"Peace of mind, I breathe in
Peace of mind, I breathe out".
With this meditation, students cultivate in
order to make the psychological factors calm and delicate. Psychological
factors that tightly wrap feeling and feeling, while feeling and feeling relate
to happiness and happiness. However, straying into the mental system of
feeling and being able to bind the student to the meditations and hinder the
student from his higher attainment. Therefore, the psychological factors
of the mental system are emotions whose nature is inferior. So students must realize their nature as impermanent and develop
insight and thus beyond the mediocre emotional pleasures in the
meditators. So the topic describes:
"Peace of mind, I breathe in
Peace of mind, I breathe out".
The above four meditation subjects are
developed in the sequence of satipatthana. And so they belong to the second part of the Four Foundations of
Mindfulness.
PART THREE
Part three includes 4 meditation topics part
III of the Four foundations of mindfulness, ie
mindfulness of the mind.
Topic
9
"Feeling of mind, I breathe in. Feeling
of mind, I breathe out".
Having attained meditators, students
contemplate the impermanence of the mind in each meditator and realize that the
mind is inherently changing moment by moment. With this thinking, the
student breathes in and out.
Topic 10
"With a jubilant mind, I breathe in. With
a joyous mind, I breathe out."
While cultivating this meditation, students
breathe in and out with joy, joy, and serenity. In this stage joy arises
in two ways:
1 / Zen students enter the first two
meditation (I, II), including joy. While attaining these two meditators,
the student is with joy, joy, and joy in his mind.
2 / Going beyond each meditator, meditators
contemplate the impermanent nature of joy which is related to the
meditators. So even during contemplation, students consider joy as the
object of the mind and be happy and happy with the mind. So the topic describes:
"With a jubilant mind, I breathe in. With
a joyous mind, I breathe out."
Topic
11
"With a meditative mind, I breathe in.
With a meditative mind, I breathe out."
While cultivating this meditation, the mind of
the student should be attentive to the object (the breath) by means of
first-level meditation, second-level meditation ... Enter lower-level
meditation and proceed to higher-level meditation. contemplate the changing nature
of the mind associated with the meditators. In the progression of
meditation, there is a moment where the mind is attentive due to the perception
of mind impermanence. In this way, the student concentrates while
contemplating the breath. So the topic describes:
"With a meditative mind, I breathe in.
With a meditative mind, I breathe out."
Topic
12
"With liberated mind, I inhale.
With liberated mind, I breathe out".
This Zen theme means that students who, while
cultivating, aim to open their minds from all attachments. In the first level
of meditation, students open up the hindrances (desire, anger, lethargy,
regret, doubt); in the second meditation, students are open to the range and
the four; in the third level of meditation, the student is open to joy; and in
the fourth meditation, the open yogi gets lost and miserable. Incarnating the
lower meditators and then going to the higher ones, the students contemplate
the mind mind which is related to the meditators and
realizes that the mind is impermanent. Even while meditating, students breathe
in and out, they open up from their mind of ordinary attachments, still by
mindfulness of impermanence, stray with mindfulness of suffering, self by
mindfulness of selflessness, and calm by mindfulness of non-self. pure,
attachment by contemplating renunciation, the source of life and death by
contemplating suffering and passing,persevere
by detachment. So the topic describes:
"With liberated mind, I inhale.
With liberated mind, I breathe out".
Above are four meditation topics to
contemplate mind, belonging to the third of the Four foundations of
mindfulness.
PART FOUR
The fourth part is also the last part of the
method of contemplating the breath, consisting of the four themes of Part IV of
the contemplation of the Four Mindfulness:
Topic
13
"Contemplating impermanence, I inhale
Contemplation impermanent, I exhale".
This topic concerns impermanent
morality. Impermanence is the natural nature of the 5 aggregates, which
arise and pass away, and change in human beings, both body and mind. The students breath in and out while contemplating each
aggregate (body, sensation, perception, will, knowledge) as impermanent.
Topic
14
"Contemplating glass of education, I
inhale
Contemplation cup of education, I breathe out".
Ly sex has two meanings:
- Free from all attachments due to indulging
in a false, fragile life.
- Complete liberation is Nirvana. Lust is
the indispensable condition leading to complete liberation. Zen students
breathe in and out while contemplating the sensuality of sex with the two above
meanings.
Topic
15
"Contemplating suffering ceases, I inhale
the
contemplation of suffering cessation, I breathe out".
There are two types of suffering cessation:
stage cessation, only for the rejection of contradictions or in different
contemplations: eternal cessation of suffering only for the complete cessation
of suffering while the end goal is achieved Nirvana). Zen students breathe
in and out while contemplating the above two kinds of suffering.
Topic
16
"Contemplating detachment, I inhale
Contemplation of discharge, I breathe out".
Discharge in this last topic is applied in insight
and righteousness with two meanings: subtraction and transcendence.
In insight, according to the process of
repeated development, the student removes the defiled thoughts caused by the
perceptive perception caused by the attachment of conditioned phenomena, he
turns his mind to Nirvana and thus passes through the stages. inferior
spirituality and attachments are the obstacles to attaining Nirvana.
Marga is the path to the great place, thus also
leads to the elimination of contraband and attention to Nirvana; detachment
in the right path is the transcendence of all worldly conditions. Thus,
renunciation has two meanings: subtraction and transcendence. Practicing
this topic, students breathe in and out while contemplating detachment with the
above two meanings.
The fourth part of this method of
contemplating the breath belongs to insight, while the above three parts belong
to both concentration and insight.
Thus, the method of contemplating the breath
consists of 4 parts, 16 topics, each part is related to one part of the Four
foundations of mindfulness, each of which is developed to become an independent
system of Buddhist meditation. The main practice is capable of leading to
enlightenment and liberation. In this sense, the method of contemplating
the breath is indeed the basic method for enlightenment and
liberation. This is confirmed by the Buddha in the following sutra:
"The bhikkhus, the method of meditating
and contemplating the breath is for the four mindfulness to be fulfilled. When
the Four Mindfulness develops, the Seven senses are fulfilled. When the Seven
Bodhisattvas are fulfilled, enlightenment is liberated.
achievement". (Mn, III, 82).
Moreover, those who practice this meditation
method know the cessation of the last breaths as Buddha states in the following
passage:
"Rahula, as
breath contemplation develops in this way the last breaths are known when they
cease, but they do not unknowingly rest" (Mn, I, 425).
This means that those who practice the method
of contemplating the breath, at the moment of death, know the cessation of the
last breath; therefore, it is possible to die freely in a lying, sitting
or walking position as desired. Tue Lieutenant Sergeant died and then sat
up and advised his relatives, wash his hands, drink tea, and then pass away in
a quiet lying position; Article Ngu Giac Hoang Tran Nhan Tong, after
teaching his disciple, passed away according to the sitting posture of a
lion; A Venerable Venerable at Cittalapabatta temple (Sri Lanka) passed away while walking
in the monastic corridor.
Yogis who practice the method of contemplating
the breath correctly are sure to achieve many immediate benefits such as
health, balance, etc., getting rid of the ties and attaining the four basic
meditations towards Nirvana liberates bliss in Arahantship,
and if you wish to be able to realize full enlightenment, by accomplishing the
fullness of the Seven senses, in Buddhahood.
The author of the article: HT Thích Thiện Châu