MINDFULNESS WITH BREATHING:
		    GETTING STARTED

			   by
		   Buddhadasa Bhikkhu

     (adapted and translated by Santikaro Bhikkhu)

		 For more information:
		 Dhammadana Foundation
		     c/o Suan Mokh
			 Chaiya
		   Surat Thani 84110
			Thailand


       First electronic edition:  September 1996

Transcribed directly from disks provided by Santikaro Bhikkhu
 Formatting & Proofreading: Scott Oser <oser@hep.uchicago.edu>

	   This electronic edition is offered
	       FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION ONLY
     by arrangement with the Dhammadana Foundation.


This text is a gift of Dhamma. You may print this file for your
personal use, and you may make and distribute unaltered copies
of this file, provided that you charge no fees of any kind for
its distribution. Otherwise, all rights reserved.



		    * * * * * * * *


				  
Sit up straight (with all the vertebrae of the spine fitting together
snugly).  Keep your head upright.  Direct your eyes towards the tip
of your nose so that nothing else is seen.  Whether you see it or not doesn't
really matter, just gaze in its direction.  Once you get used to it, the
results will be better than closing the eyes, and you won't be encouraged to
fall asleep so easily.  In particular, people who are sleepy should practice
with their eyes open rather than closed.  Practice like this steadily
and they will close by themselves when the time comes for them to
close.  (If you want to practice with your eyes closed from the start,
that's up to you.)  Still, the method of keeping the eyes open gives
better results.  Some people, however, will feel that it's too
difficult, especially those who are attached to closing their eyes.
They won't be able to practice with their eyes open, and may close
them if they wish.

Lay the hands in your lap, comfortably, one on top of the other.  Overlap
or cross your legs in a way that distributes and holds your weight well, so
that you can sit comfortably and will not fall over easily.  The legs can be
overlapped in an ordinary way or crossed, whichever you prefer or are able to
do.  Fat people can only cross their legs in what is called the "diamond
posture" (lotus posture) with difficulty, but fancy postures are not
necessary.  Merely sit with the legs folded so that your weight is
evenly balanced and you cannot tip over easily -- that's good enough.
The more difficult and serious postures can be left for when one gets
serious, like a yogi.

In special circumstances -- when you are sick, not feeling well, or just
tired -- you can rest against something, sit on a chair, or use a deck chair,
in order to recline a bit.  Those who are sick can even lie down to meditate.

Sit in a place with good air circulation, where you can breathe
comfortably.  There should be nothing overly disturbing.  Loud noises which
are steady and have no meaning, such as the sound of waves or a factory, are
no problem unless you attach to them as a problem.  Sounds with meaning, such
as people speaking, are more of a problem for those just learning to practice.
If you can't find a quiet place, pretend there aren't any sounds.  Just be
determined to practice and it will work out eventually.

Although the eyes are gazing inattentively at the tip of the nose,
you can gather your attention or awareness or sati(*), as it's called in
our technical language, in order to catch and note your own breathing
in and out.  (Those who like to close their eyes will do so from here
on.)  Those who prefer to leave the eyes open will do so continually
until the eyes gradually close on their own as concentration and
calmness (samadhi) increases.

[* Sati is a key term in Buddhist meditation.  It means "recall,
recollection, awareness, attention, mindfulness."  All of these concern the
present and do not involve memory or thought.  In this article, the activity
of sati is conveyed through a number of verbs: to fix, to note, to attend, to
pay attention, to be aware, to experience.  (Sati does not mean "to
concentrate or focus.")  Please study these various words and their meaning in
each context, then you will have a correct understanding of sati, namely,
what it is and how to use it to get free of dukkha.]

In the beginning (and only at the beginning, for a few minutes, not
forever!), to make it easy to note the breathing, try to breathe as long as
you can.  Force it in and out strongly many times.  Do so in order to know
clearly for yourself what the breath rubs against or touches as it draws in
and out along its path.  In a simple way, notice where it appears to end in
the belly (by taking the physical sensations as one's measure rather than
anatomical reality).  Note this in an easy-going way as well as you
can, well enough to fix the inner and outer end points of the
breathing.  Don't be tense or too strict about it.

Most people will feel the breath striking at the tip of the nose and
should take that point as the outer end.  (In people with flat or upturned
noses the breath will strike on the edge of the upper lip, and they should
take that as the external end.)  Now you will have both outer and inner end
points by fixing one point at the tip of the nose and the other at the navel. 
The breath will drag itself back and forth between these two points.  Here
make your mind just like something which chases after or stalks the breathing,
like a tiger or a spy, unwilling to part with it even for a moment, following
every breath for as long as you meditate.  This is the first step of our
practice.  We call it "chasing after (or stalking) the whole time."

Earlier we said to begin by trying to make the breathing as long as
possible, and as strong, vigorous, and rough as possible, many times from the
very start.  Do so in order to find the end points and the track the breath
follows between them.  Once the mind (or sati) can catch and fix the
breathing in and out -- by constantly being aware of how the breath touches
and flows, then where it ends, then how it turns back either inside or outside
-- you can gradually relax the breathing until it becomes normal no longer
forcing or pushing it in any way.  Be careful: don't force or control it at
all!  Still, sati fixes on the breathing the whole time, just as it did
earlier with the rough and strong breathing.

Sati is able to pay attention to the entire path of the breath from the
inner end point (the navel or the base of the abdomen) to the outer end point
(the tip of the nose or the upper lip).  However fine or soft the breath
becomes, sati can clearly note it all the time.  If it happens that we cannot
note (or feel) the breath because it is too soft or refined, then breathe more
strongly or roughly again.  (But not as strong or rough as before, just enough
to note the breath clearly).  Fix attention on the breathing again, until
sati is aware of it without any gaps.  Make sure it can be done well, that
is, keep practicing until even the purely ordinary, unforced breathing can be
securely observed.  However long or short it is, know it.  However heavy or
light it is, know it.  Know it clearly within that very awareness as sati
merely holds closely to and follows the breathing back and forth the
whole time you are meditating (*).  When you can do this it means success 
in the level of preparation called "chasing after all the time."

[* Don't try to push other things out of awareness, that will create tension. 
Just keep your attention centered on the breathing in a balanced way.  Let go
of anything that takes you away from the breathing.]

Lack of success is due to the inability of sati (or the attention) to
stay with the breathing the whole time.  You don't know when it lost track. 
You don't know when it ran off to home, work, or play.  You don't know until
it's already gone.  And you don't know when it went, how, why, or whatever. 
Once you are aware of what happened, catch the breathing again, gently bring
it back to the breathing, and train until successful on this level.  Do it for
at least ten minutes each session, before going on to the next step.

The next step, the second level of preparation, is called "waiting (or
guarding) in ambush at one point."  It's best to practice this second step
only after the first step can be done well, but anyone who can skip straight
to the second won't be scolded.   At this stage, sati (or recollection) lies
in wait fixing at a particular point and stops chasing after the breathing. 
Note the sensation when the breathing enters the body all the way (to the
navel or thereabouts) once, then let go or release it.  Next, note when the
breathing contacts the other end point (the tip of the nose) once more, then
let go or leave it alone until it contacts the inner end point (navel) again. 
Continue like this without changing anything.  In moments of letting go, the
mind doesn't run away to home, the fields, the office, or anywhere.  This
means that sati pays attention at the two end points -- both inner and outer
-- and doesn't pay attention to anything between them.

When you can securely go back and forth between the two end points without
paying attention to things in between, leave out the inner end point and
focus only on the outer, namely, the tip of the nose.  Now, sati consistently
watches only at the tip of the nose.  Whether the breathing strikes while
inhaling or while exhaling, know it every time.  This is called "guarding the
gate."  There's a feeling as the breathing passes in or out; the rest of the
way is left void or quiet.  If you have firm awareness at the nose tip, the
breathing becomes increasingly calm and quiet.  Thus you can't feel movements
other than at the nose tip.  In the spaces when it's empty or quiet, when you
can't feel anything, the mind doesn't run away to home or elsewhere.  The
ability to do this well is success in the "waiting in ambush at one point"
level of preparation.

Lack of success is when the mind runs away without you knowing.  It
doesn't return to the gate as it should or, after entering the gate, it
sneaks all the way inside.  Both of these errors happen because the period of
emptiness or quiet is incorrect and incomplete.  You have not done it
properly since the start of this step.  Therefore, you ought to practice
carefully, solidly, expertly from the very first step.

Even the beginning step, the one called "chasing after the whole time," is
not easy for everyone.  Yet when one can do it, the results -- both physical
and mental -- are beyond expectations.  So you ought to make yourself able to
do it, and do it consistently, until it is a game like the sports you like to
play.  If you have even two minutes, by all means practice.  Breathe
forcefully, if your bones crack or rattle that's even better.  Breathe
strongly until it whistles, a little noise won't hurt.  Then relax and
lighten it gradually until it finds its natural level.

The ordinary breathing of most people is not natural or normal, but is
coarser or lower than normal, without us being aware. (*)  Especially when we
do certain activities or are in positions which are restricted, our breathing
is more or less course than it ought to be, although we don't know it.  So
you ought to start with strong, vigorous breathing first, then let it relax
until it becomes natural.  In this way, you'll end up with breathing which is
the "middle way" or just right.  Such breathing makes the body natural,
normal, and healthy.  And it is fit for use as the object of meditation at the
beginning of anapanasati (**).  Let us stress once more that this first 
step of preparation ought to be practiced until it's just a natural game 
for every one of us, and in all circumstances.  This will bring numerous 
physical and mental benefits.

[* In fact, our breathing tends to be unhealthy, which contributes to many
physical and mental problems.  Please learn to breathe freely and naturally.]

[** "anapanasati" is the Pali term for the practice of mindfulness
with breathing (the very subject of this essay)]

Actually, the difference between "chasing after the whole time" and
"waiting in ambush at one place" is not so great.  The latter is a little more
relaxed and subtle, that is, the area noted by sati decreases.  To make this
easier to understand, we'll use the simile of the baby sitter rocking the
baby's hammock. (*)  At first, when the child has just been put intp the 
hammock, it isn't sleepy yet and will try to get out.  At this stage, the 
baby sitter must watch the hammock carefully.  As it swings from side to 
side, her head must turn from left to right so that the child won't be out of 
sight for a moment.  Once the baby begins to get sleepy and doesn't try 
to get out anymore, the baby sitter need not turn her head from left to 
right, back and forth, as the hammock swings.  The baby sitter only  
watches when the hammock passes in front of her face, which is good  
enough.  Watching only at one point while the hammock is in front of her  
face, the baby won't have a chance to get out of the hammock just the  
same, because the child is ready to fall sleep.  (Although the baby will 
fall asleep, the meditator should not!)

[* In India and Thailand small hammocks are used instead of cradles.]

The first stage of preparation in noting the breathing -- "chasing after
the whole time" -- is like when the baby sitter must turn her head from side
to side with the swinging hammock so that it isn't out of sight for a moment. 
The second stage where the breathing is noted at the nose tip -- "waiting and
watching at one point" -- is like when the baby is ready to sleep and the baby
sitter watches the hammock only when it passes her face.

When you have practiced and trained fully in the second step, you can
train further by making the area noted by sati even more subtle and gentle
until there is secure, stable concentration.  Then concentration can be
deepened step by step until attaining one of the jhanas (*), which, for most
people, is beyond the rather easy concentration of the first steps.  The
jhanas are a refined and precise subject with strict requirements and subtle
principles.  One must be strongly interested and committed for that level of
practice.  At this stage, just be constantly interested in the basic steps
until they become familiar and ordinary.  Then you might be able
gather in the higher levels later.

[* The jhanas are states of one-pointedness which result from highly
developed concentration which is turned inward.  In them one is only aware of
a particular object and certain mental factors.]

May ordinary lay people give themselves the chance to meditate in a way
which has many benefits both physically and mentally, and which satisfies the
basic needs of our practice, before going on to more difficult things.  May
you train with these first steps in order to be fully equipped with sila
(morality), samadhi (concentration), and panna (wisdom), that is, to be
fully grounded in the noble eightfold path.  Even if only a start, this is
better than not going anywhere.  Your body will become more healthy and
peaceful than usual by training in successively higher levels of samadhi. 
You will discover something that everyone should find in order to not waste
the opportunity of having been born.


			 * * *

For more instruction on anapanasati, see Mindfulness With Breathing:
Unveiling the Secrets of Life  (published by The Dhamma Study & 
Practice Group).

[end]