Basic anapanasati instructions for a heathen :)

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m0rl0ck
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Basic anapanasati instructions for a heathen :)

Post by m0rl0ck »

I have a co worker who out of the blue asked me for some meditation instructions. I dont make any secret of the fact that im buddhist and other than a couple of good natured jibes, no one makes a big deal of it, but this is the first time anyone has seriously asked me about it. I dont want to scare him off with anything that looks spooky or too religious or too complicated, so im looking for some basic breath meditation instructions in line with the anapanasati sutta:
"[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.'2 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.'

"[5] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to rapture.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to rapture.' [6] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to pleasure.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to pleasure.' "
instructions that make it plain that breath meditation is about calm relaxed joy. I'm having trouble finding such a thing. Anybody?

Thanks :bow:
“The truth knocks on the door and you say, "Go away, I'm looking for the truth," and so it goes away. Puzzling.” ― Robert M. Pirsig
Kenshou
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Re: Basic anapanasati instructions for a heathen :)

Post by Kenshou »

I'm fond of Thanissaro's interpretation of them: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/auth ... 3.html#pre" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Moggalana
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Re: Basic anapanasati instructions for a heathen :)

Post by Moggalana »

I like Ajahn Brahm's method. Not everyone shares his interpretation of nimitta and jhana, but I have found Part 1, Part 2 and the first bit of Part 3 (Full sustained attention on the beautiful breath) to be very conducive to my own practice. This bit of advice was particularly helpful for myself:
I have found through experience that it does not matter where you watch the breath. In fact it is best not to locate the breath anywhere! If you locate the breath at the tip of your nose then it becomes nose awareness, not breath awareness, and if you locate it at your abdomen then it becomes abdomen awareness. Just ask yourself the question right now, "Am I breathing in or am I breathing out?" How do you know? There! That experience which tells you what the breath is doing, that is what you focus on in breath meditation. Let go of concern about where this experience is located; just focus on the experience itself.
To put it all in a nutshell: Ajahn Sona - The Mystery Of The Breath Nimitta:
The following is a brief summary of instructions for meditators practicing breath meditation:

* Attend to the sensation of breath/air wherever it enters and exits the body. [alternatively, proceed as pointed out above by Ajahn Brahm]
* If visual perceptions arise, ignore them.
* If the mind wanders do not allow it. Return to only the point of contact of breath.
* Hold attention on the spot throughout the entire duration of in-breath and out-breaths.
* The sensation or perception of sensation of moving air will change to a static feeling, this is the sign of the mind stilling.
* Dwell on this airy, buoyant quality, which should pervade the head. One should experience a cool and airy emptiness of the head. This may extend throughout the body. This is a further "sign" of increasing stillness.
* Remain with this airy lightness as an experience to focus upon.
* All hindrances should have fallen away and the five jhana factors will be present to a degree that may be weak, medium or strong.
Let it come. Let it be. Let it go.
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bodom
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Re: Basic anapanasati instructions for a heathen :)

Post by bodom »

Bhante Gunaratana's Mindfulness in Plain English without a doubt!
http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/086171 ... SS9D2SG5RN" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

:anjali:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
Kenshou
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Re: Basic anapanasati instructions for a heathen :)

Post by Kenshou »

Moggalana wrote: To put it all in a nutshell: Ajahn Sona - The Mystery Of The Breath Nimitta:
The following is a brief summary of instructions for meditators practicing breath meditation:

* Attend to the sensation of breath/air wherever it enters and exits the body. [alternatively, proceed as pointed out above by Ajahn Brahm]
* If visual perceptions arise, ignore them.
* If the mind wanders do not allow it. Return to only the point of contact of breath.
* Hold attention on the spot throughout the entire duration of in-breath and out-breaths.
* The sensation or perception of sensation of moving air will change to a static feeling, this is the sign of the mind stilling.
* Dwell on this airy, buoyant quality, which should pervade the head. One should experience a cool and airy emptiness of the head. This may extend throughout the body. This is a further "sign" of increasing stillness.
* Remain with this airy lightness as an experience to focus upon.
* All hindrances should have fallen away and the five jhana factors will be present to a degree that may be weak, medium or strong.
I had forgotten about that article, this section you've quoted is the most concise and effective little guide I've ever run into, I've found it to be exactly in line with how things to play out in reality. I would have floundered much less in my practice if I'd seen this at an earlier time, and would be a great bare-bones tidbit for a beginner. Good stuff.
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m0rl0ck
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Re: Basic anapanasati instructions for a heathen :)

Post by m0rl0ck »

Moggalana wrote:I like Ajahn Brahm's method. Not everyone shares his interpretation of nimitta and jhana, but I have found Part 1, Part 2 and the first bit of Part 3 (Full sustained attention on the beautiful breath) to be very conducive to my own practice. This bit of advice was particularly helpful for myself:

Im really liking those, very close to what i was looking for. I think they will be a help in my practice and Im going to email my coworker the url, thanks :)

EDIT: The second bit is great as well, now that i have actually paused to read it thank you :)

2nd EDIT: In fact i think im just going to email him the url to your post, thanks again :bow:
“The truth knocks on the door and you say, "Go away, I'm looking for the truth," and so it goes away. Puzzling.” ― Robert M. Pirsig
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jcsuperstar
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Re: Basic anapanasati instructions for a heathen :)

Post by jcsuperstar »

สัพเพ สัตตา สุขีตา โหนตุ

the mountain may be heavy in and of itself, but if you're not trying to carry it it's not heavy to you- Ajaan Suwat
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bodom
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Re: Basic anapanasati instructions for a heathen :)

Post by bodom »

jcsuperstar wrote:this is a good beginners guide

http://www.suanmokkh.org/archive/aps/mwb-abc1.htm
Agreed. This would have been my second suggestion behind MIPE. You cannot go wrong with Buddhadasa's anapanasati instruction's.

:anjali:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
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Joseph
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Re: Basic anapanasati instructions for a heathen :)

Post by Joseph »

Some nice resources there, thank you!
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christopher:::
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Re: Basic anapanasati instructions for a heathen :)

Post by christopher::: »

Very nice! Would any of you have some recommendations for good audio instructions of anapana-sati, that one can listen to while meditating, in the beginning?

:anjali:
"As Buddhists, we should aim to develop relationships that are not predominated by grasping and clinging. Our relationships should be characterised by the brahmaviharas of metta (loving kindness), mudita (sympathetic joy), karuna (compassion), and upekkha (equanimity)."
~post by Ben, Jul 02, 2009
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bodom
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Re: Basic anapanasati instructions for a heathen :)

Post by bodom »

christopher::: wrote:Very nice! Would any of you have some recommendations for good audio instructions of anapana-sati, that one can listen to while meditating, in the beginning?

:anjali:
Audio Dharma Guided Meditations
http://www.audiodharma.org/talks-guidedmeditation.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Audio Dharma Anapanasati Practice - Mindfulness of Breathing
http://www.audiodharma.org/talks-anapanasati.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

:anjali:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
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christopher:::
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Re: Basic anapanasati instructions for a heathen :)

Post by christopher::: »

Thanks so much, bodom.

:bow:
"As Buddhists, we should aim to develop relationships that are not predominated by grasping and clinging. Our relationships should be characterised by the brahmaviharas of metta (loving kindness), mudita (sympathetic joy), karuna (compassion), and upekkha (equanimity)."
~post by Ben, Jul 02, 2009
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