Cant focus on the belly sitting

[purple planet]

I cant seem to focus on the belly rising and falling - i usually jump from stuff that happens at the moment - when i have nothing i return to the breath with saying : " in" and "out "

how can i notice it better ? when i lie down with hands on the belly its ok - but then i fall asleep

[mikenz66]

Hi Purple Planet,

Were you previously able to focus on the rise and fall of the belly, or is this a first attempt?

It's a little unusual to lose that, since it's such a gross motion (unlike the breath at the nose, which can quite commonly disappear). You could try putting your hand on the belly while sitting. Or pay attention to something else (such as where you are touching the floor).

Or, just decide to sit for a while and see what happens. If you start to notice some motion due to breathing, then focus on that. I find that approach useful if I'm getting a bit tense and controlling.


Mike

[purple planet]

Hi mike thanks for the good response

i was able to focus on the belly when lying down but i stopped that and what i do since then till now ( a few months ) is to focus on secondery objects and when there is nothing to keep "searching" for stuff to notice - but i am not sure if this "search" is good and i think it takes me out of focus but im not sure

[purple planet]

What do you think about meditating samatha style onlt focusing on the breath at nose and ignoring everything - and using in the say labeling as usual ?

[LonesomeYogurt]

What do you think about meditating samatha style onlt focusing on the breath at nose and ignoring everything - and using in the say labeling as usual ?

You can do samatha-vipassana through the nose; anapanasati does not have to be purely samatha.

[purple planet]

When i just started looking at this forum i remember reading a post saying there is one monk who teaches in this way but i when i looked in the internet about him all i find was him saying to focus on the belly

i think i got confused and gave up -

i remember a few stuff i read - are they true ?

if i got it right if you count the breath its samtha and if you dont then its vipasana
and i also saw : if you say "in" and "out" and focus on this its samatha and if you note the feeling its vipasana

when you say samatha-vipasana you mean to focus deeper by nose and also note secondery objects ? thats what i think i do at the moment not on purpose

what i meant in the question ( but i am intarested in hearing also about what you understood i was asking ) was does it make sense to do the meditation intentionally samatha and the whole day use labeling or is it not that useful and its better to do the same while meditating ( which makes sense cause thats what is tuoght but i wonder if its a big difference )

[beeblebrox]

i remember a few stuff i read - are they true ?

if i got it right if you count the breath its samtha and if you dont then its vipasana
and i also saw : if you say "in" and "out" and focus on this its samatha and if you note the feeling its vipasana

when you say samatha-vipasana you mean to focus deeper by nose and also note secondery objects ? thats what i think i do at the moment not on purpose

what i meant in the question ( but i am intarested in hearing also about what you understood i was asking ) was does it make sense to do the meditation intentionally samatha and the whole day use labeling or is it not that useful and its better to do the same while meditating ( which makes sense cause thats what is tuoght but i wonder if its a big difference )

Hi Purple,

I think it might be helpful to keep in mind what samatha and vipassana involve.

Samatha = stability; calmness; non-scattering.
Vipassana = understanding; wisdom; insight.

I don't think that either can be done separately. There can't be samatha if the person doesn't understand how to do that... and there would be no vipassana happening if there is no stability, or non-scattering.

Everyone knows how to do both of those already, basically... but the point is to learn how to do it consistently, in any kind of situation. That is where the practice comes in. The Buddha gave us quite a few hints on how to do that, to deepen our own understanding, and stability... with the four noble truths, the eightfold path, dependent origination, etc.

I think samatha and vipassana can even be described just with the arising and the cessation of suffering... which was what the Buddha said he only taught.

Samatha is noticing it when the suffering arises, and noticing when it passes away. Vipassana is understanding when the suffering is arising, and understanding when it passes away. It's really that simple. The practice is just to develop that kind of habit.