Makes perfect sense to me. I think that a lot of issues arise from over concentrating and not being open to a whole body/mind experience... that's not to belittle the helpfulness of breath in entering different states, but over the years(centuries) it's been turned into a laser focus type concentration which doesn't compute with the Suttas at all.woodsman wrote: ↑Tue Apr 13, 2021 8:55 am Hello everyone,
I recently considered the possibility that counting/following and otherwise focussing on the breath might be getting in the way of my sessions developing as they have been in a state of attrition for some time. This conclusion seems to have been correct - instead of seeing the breath as the main focus of my practice I see it now as a means to relax the body and mind before dropping it as a singular focus and allowing the mind to remain open with a peripheral awareness of the breath as a sort of anchor. does this make sense to anyone else?
If so I would appreciate any link s you may have that validates this?
Thanks _/|\_
Consider the suttas where no meditation object is mentioned at all and the Buddha jumps straight into advising people to do jhana and the jhana similes are given... seems that the main job is to find some gladness associated with the body and work from there... the breath is great as a backdrop to doing this.
Obviously, to be able to find joy within, needs a lot of groundwork beforehand... right view, sila, right effort throughout the day, right thought etc.
As for links... there are several great teachers, each with their own slant on things... it doesn't hurt to experiment and see which approach works best for you... meditation and the inner experience is a very personal and personally perceived experience.
I might perceive and approach practice in one way and you might perceive your practice in a different fashion altogether, whereas in reality we may be doing pretty much the same thing.
As for links, the teachers I'd search out (in no particular order) would be...
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Ayya Khema
Bhante Sona
Bhante Vimalaramsi
Bhante Gunaratana
I'm having good success with Ayya Khema's teachings at the moment but each of the teachers above demonstrate a profound understanding of the Sutta Jhana's and it boils down to what resonates with you whilst keeping the Sutta's in mind as the overarching authority.
Also, it would be beneficial to listen to talks regarding the whole of the eightfold path and not just focus on meditation. I've found Thanissaro Bhikhu and Ajahn Sona give fine (uplifting) talks.
Whenever the Buddha taught laypeople, it seems his aim was always to calm and gladden the mind of the listeners.