different objects of meditation - calming bodily formation

General discussion of issues related to Theravada Meditation, e.g. meditation postures, developing a regular sitting practice, skillfully relating to difficulties and hindrances, etc.
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2600htz
Posts: 825
Joined: Fri Aug 27, 2010 11:37 pm

different objects of meditation - calming bodily formation

Post by 2600htz »

Hello everyone:

In the breath meditation instructions - anapanasati sutta (mn- 118):
"[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.'
Culavedalla Sutta: The Shorter Set of Questions-and-Answers (mn-44)

And what is the bodily fabrication/formation?
"In-&-out breaths are bodily; these are things tied up with the body. That's why in-&-out breaths are bodily fabrications. "
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Meditation could be seen as the exercise of calming bodily, verbal and mental fabrications.
And in the times of the buddha besides breath, there where many different objects (kasinas,metta with brahma viharas, forgiveness, etc).

So my question is, how do you think the practitioner of this different meditations should calm the bodily formation without using the breath as the object ?.
The key of the issue is "things tied up with the body" (leaving other matters of the body to be calmed besides breathing) ?
Or do you keep calming breathing even doing other objects?

What do u think?.

With metta.
chownah
Posts: 9336
Joined: Wed Aug 12, 2009 2:19 pm

Re: different objects of meditation - calming bodily formation

Post by chownah »

I will breathe out calming bodily fabrication
Is "fabrication" here singular or plural?
If it is taken as singular then it seems it could mean we are being instructed to calm the activity of fabricating a body....or it could mean that we are being instructed to calm a "category" of fabrications which arise from the body.....I suggest to start with calming the elements of the "category" first as support for calming the activity of fabricating a body as a whole.....I guess.....but I don't really know.....
chownah
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