Buddhist Breath Meditation - Seven Steps

By E. Raymond Rock

Phra Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo explains fundamental Buddhist breath meditation that can not only lead directly to enlightenment, but on the way cure emotional, psychological and physical ailments. (The words in quotation marks have been changed in the text to clarify the instructions).

1. Start out with three or seven long in-&-out breaths, thinking "boo" with the in-breath, and "doe" with the out. Keep the meditation syllable as long as the breath, "i.e.; in breath; boooooooo, out breath; dooooooe. (If you prefer, you can skip all instructions below and simply use this simple technique which if done with unwavering awareness for some time, can take you into the deepest Samadhi)."

2. Be clearly aware of each in-&-out breath.

3. Observe the breath as it goes in & out, noticing whether it's comfortable or uncomfortable, broad or narrow, obstructed or free-flowing, fast or slow, short or long, warm or cool. If the breath doesn't feel comfortable, change it until it does. For instance, if breathing in long & out long is uncomfortable, try breathing in short & out short. As soon as you find that your breathing feels comfortable, let this comfortable breath sensation spread to the different parts of the body.

To begin with, inhale the breath sensation at the base of the skull and let it flow all the way down the spine. Then, if you are male, let it spread down your right leg to the sole of your foot, to the ends of your toes, and out into the air. Inhale the breath sensation at the base of the skull again and let it spread down your spine, down your left leg to the ends of your toes, and out into the air. (If you are female, begin with the left side first, because the male & female nervous systems are different.)

Then let the breath from the base of the skull spread down over both shoulders, past your elbows & wrists, to the tips of your fingers, and out into the air.

Let the breath at the base of the throat spread down the central nerve at the front of the body, past the lungs & liver, all the way down to the bladder & colon.

Inhale the breath right at the middle of the chest and let it go all the way down to your intestines.

Let all these breath sensations spread so that they connect & flow together, and you'll feel a greatly improved sense of well-being.

4. Learn four ways of adjusting the breath:

a. in long & out long,b. in long & out short,c. in short & out long,d. in short & out short.

Breathe whichever way is most comfortable for you. Or, better yet, learn to breathe comfortably all four ways, because your physical condition & your breath are always changing.

5. Become acquainted with the bases or focal points for the mind -- the resting spots of the breath -- and center your awareness on whichever one seems most comfortable. A few of these bases are:

a. the tip of the nose,b. the middle of the head,c. the palate,d. the base of the throat,e. the breastbone (the tip of the sternum),f. the navel (or a point just above it).

If you suffer from frequent headaches or nervous problems, don't focus on any spot above the base of the throat. And don't try to force the breath or put yourself into a trance. Breathe freely & naturally. Let the mind be at ease with the breath -- but not to the point where it slips away.

6. Spread your awareness -- your sense of conscious feeling -- throughout the entire body.

7. Unite the breath sensations throughout the body, letting them flow together comfortably, keeping your awareness as broad as possible. Once you are fully aware of the aspects of the breath you already know in your body, you'll come to know all sorts of other aspects as well. The breath, by its nature, has many facets: breath sensations flowing in the nerves, those flowing around & about the nerves, those spreading from the nerves to every pore. Beneficial breath sensations & harmful ones are mixed together by their very nature.

To summarize: (a) for the sake of improving the energy already existing in every part of your body, so that you can contend with such things as disease & pain; and (b) for the sake of clarifying the knowledge already within you, so that it can become a basis for the skills leading to release & purity of heart -- you should always bear these seven steps in mind, because they are absolutely basic to every aspect of breath meditation.

E. Raymond Rock of Fort Myers, Florida is cofounder and principal teacher at the Southwest Florida Insight Center, http://www.southwestfloridainsightcenter.com/ His twenty-eight years of meditation experience has taken him across four continents, including two stopovers in Thailand where he practiced in the remote northeast forests as an ordained Theravada Buddhist monk. His book, A Year to Enlightenment (Career Press/New Page Books) is now available at major bookstores and online retailers. Visit http://www.ayeartoenlightenment.com/

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Buddhist Meditation Offers the Ultimate in Tranquility

By Fred Field

Meditation has been around for many years and is practiced by many people and many religions, with Buddhism being the major religion for meditation. Buddhist meditation is an essential part of their lives as a goal towards the realization of Nibbana. Nibbana is considered as the ultimate goal in Buddhism. It's not a physical thing that one can see or feel. To reach the realization of Nibbana, one has reached the end of craving and suffering. Nibbana is considered the ultimate bliss and total liberation for all suffering-a total rebirth of the mind and soul.

Living the good life and being the best person they can be in not enough. Although being a good person and doing good things will make the person happy and fulfilled, it will not bring the total enlightenment they require. It is only through Buddhist meditation that they can reach the realization of Nibbana, which is the goal of every Buddhist. The Buddhist learns in explicit details the techniques of Buddhist meditation through the Buddhist scriptures. Although it's important to understand the concept of meditation, it's more vital that the individual learn the actual practice. Two different methods of Buddhist meditation are used in the religion. These two methods are 'samatha' and 'vipassana'.

Samatha means calm or tranquility, which is what the individual is striving to achieve. The beginning stages of samatha have to do with concentration of the mind as one-pointedness. Many different subjects that can be used such as water, light from a candle among many others. A very popular and widely used technique is anapanasati, which is mindfulness of breathing. The body and mind both gain their calmness from concentrating on the breath. Samatha is more than just concentration; however, they need to get rid of the five vices of anxiety, sensual desire, ill will, sloth and doubt. When this goal is reached through this form of Buddhist meditation, great happiness is gained but they still cannot reach Nibbana. This is where vipassana is necessary.

Vipassana is an entirely different approach of Buddhist meditation than samatha. This method rather than concentrating on other things is based on seeing things as they are without any aversions or attractions. Each thing that we do we need to acknowledge. If you are dusting the wall, you need to take note in your mind that you are dusting the wall. This first stage of vipassana is called bare awareness. Bare awareness goes with an insight of our inner lives. This method of Buddhist meditation is used with breathing meditation and can take one to the realization of Nibbana. Many use a combination of vipassana and samatha.

If you want to read more about Meditation and Buddhist Meditation visit Fred Fields Free website about Alternative Medicine

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Meditation Makes You Stress-Free

By Douglas M. Burns

In today's world the need for mental peace and a stress-free life is great. Most of us are experiencing a feeling of disconnectedness with our inner self, a feeling of mental restlessness and anxiety that is depriving us of a day's sleep, and peace of mind. In today's world the need for mental peace and a stress-free life is great. Most of us are experiencing a feeling of disconnectedness with our inner self, a feeling of mental restlessness and anxiety that is depriving us of a day's sleep, and peace of mind.

Meditation, an important aspect of Buddhism differs from other kinds of practices like yoga, quest for supernatural or any other form of physical exercise. Buddhist meditation is based on the Eight Fold path enumerated by Buddha himself. It believes that desire is the root cause for suffering and that the source for human suffering rests in their minds alone. It is this psychological aspect that dominates the Buddhist meditation practices rather than mere physical ceremonies.

To meditate in a Buddhist way one need not undergo any initiation or be religious in their beliefs and attitude. In fact, meditation has got nothing to do with religion, community or faith. It is a psychological exercise considered by many as of spiritual nature.

Ability to meditate is not some special skill out of human reach. Every human being looking for peace in his life should practice meditation and see for himself how it will relieve him of the mental stress and suffering.

Wondering what would one achieve by meditating! Meditation is a kind of cognitive journey an individual undertakes to attain the so called goals of Buddhism - gaining the ability to concentrate, liberating one's own mind, attaining 'Nirvana' or salvation and thus terminating the mental suffering.

Nirvana is that state of mind which can be attained only after much self -exploration and rigorous meditation. An individual should rid himself of negative feelings like anger, greed, lust, hatred etc to attain spiritual enlightenment. His mind should rise above the frivolous nitty-gritty of life. This doesn't mean that one should stop leading a normal life and seclude himself from the rest of the world meditating in some quite corner of the world. It's just that one should be able to dedicate some time from his busy schedule to meditate.

An individual should practice non-attachment and liberate himself psychologically from his emotions, passions and addictions. One should realize the ephemerality of human existence and it's mental suffering. Self- exploration of one's mind will create awareness about all those hidden and repressed causes that have been lying dormant in your subconscious. Such awareness will help you in steering your mind towards the right path, the path to Nirvana. Focusing your attention on a single subject or object for long will enhance your power to concentrate; to avoid mental distractions.

Some general tips about how to meditate are as follows: * Individuals can meditate either in a Lotus posture; squatting on the ground or in any other posture they are comfortable with.

* Try to avoid sitting amidst distracting elements like noisy TV or music players.

* Focus your attention on some distant object or a wall or some geometric shape.

* Concentrate on your breathing alone. Once your mind achieves proper concentration, slow down your breathing.

The oft-quoted excuse given by people to avoid meditating is that they don't have time. Though this does hold good to our busy lives and mundane routines to a great extent. The best part about meditation is that there are no special rules regarding at what time one should meditate or for how long. Create a plan that suits you the most.

Meditation is all about your quest for peace. It is you who should make a sincere effort to practice meditation and be persistent in learning. So, are you ready to meditate?

Buddhist Meditation and Depth Psychology, by Douglas M. Burns

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