Breathing

Hello all,

I want to talk a little about breathing. Breathing in itself is a form of meditation in the Zen tradition. Proper breathing is essential for learning to meditate. Logically all parts of the body need oxygen to function properly. Deep rhythmic breathing dramatically increases the available supply of oxygen in the blood and thusly increases it to the vital areas of your body, Especially the brain. Let's go over some of the benefits......

Increased energy: Your energy levels will increase due to improved nutrient assimilation. It's no secret that your body needs nutrients to function. Proper breathing will allow your body to absorb these much needed vitamins and minerals much more efficiently.

Increased waste elimination: This is just as it implies. Every time you exhale you not only expel carbon dioxide, But other toxins, such as uric acid, are expelled as well Dramatic relaxation of mind and body: This one if obvious. If you want to relax or relieve stress, This works almost immediately.

Vital force accumulation: Known by many names(Chi, Ki, or Prana as the Yogis call it) This is the essence, In my humble opinion, Of life. The chi is gathered and stored in the body for future use as energy and vitality, Sort of like making a deposit in a savings account and using it in times of need.

Raised metabolism: We all know what this does. A metabolism well supplied with oxygen just works better and is much more efficient.

Rejuvenation: Increasing your lung capacity has many benefits including the reduction of fatigue and headaches. It may also help prevent hardening of the arteries. It's greatest benefit by far is a noticeable (after a few months of practice) Increase in mental capacity and responses.

Asian philosophy teaches us that each life has a pre determined (barring an accident) number of breaths. By breathing slowly and deeply your life is extended i proportion to your practice of breath control. Wow I've said alot. I need to take a breath now.....................................................................................


Now Take A Deep Breath..................

Let's discuss some breathing exercises you can start right away. The exercises are Hara exercises. What's Hara you ask? \"The vital centre of the self, the focus of existence. The hara designates the part of the lower abdomen and pelvis region near the genital organs. It is an area located one and a half inch below the navel and one and a half inches inward toward the spine. This point also happens to be the body’s central axis (centre of gravity / balancing point) . The word hara literally translated means belly. Energy (chi) is stored in the hara where it is heated before spreading throughout the body - hence a warm glowing feeling.

Energy may also be directed at will to whatever task is undertaken. The hara may be considered as being a boiler in a powerhouse, or a storage heater in your home. When it is working it pumps heat into a room, but when it is not doing so - during an off-peak period -then it stores heat within itself to be used at a later time. This is exactly the same principle by which inner power works. You give yourself time to relax, then you use that period to conserve and store further energy. As all energy is heat, you will readily understand the relationship.\" (as written by Karlfried Graf Durckheim)

Start sitting indian style, If you can't that's OK. Just sit with your back erect in a chair. Your posture is very important to your success. Rest your hands Gently on your knees palms down. You will be focusing the breath into your belly. Try to not lift your shoulders, But rather imagine to air as smoke being pulled down into your belly. Let your stomach expand and contract with each breath. Breath slowly and gently through your nose for a count of 5. You should feel your abdomen fill first, Then your lower ribs, And last, Your upper ribs. While inhaling place your tounge on the roof of your mouth while inhaling and holding breath. Now hold that breath for another 5 seconds.

NOw let your tongue fall as you gently exhale through your mouth. As you breath in and out try to visualize the smoke starting to glow in your belly. After a few minutes start to see the smoke making it's way down your legs, And then up your torso until your whole body is filled with white/golden smoke. Make sure you fill your lungs completely with each breath empty them at exhale. There you go. Nice and easy. I do this every morning before starting my yoga, and every night before my last \"hello sun\" set of yoga postures. If you want to take it a step further, Try this. When your to the point of seeing the glowing smoke all through your body, start to listen to your body. Here your heart beat, The rhythm of blood flow, The rhythm of your breaths.

Listen to the thoughts running through your head. Listen to the things your senses are telling you. Your sight, hearing, and smell. make sure at this point you don't close your eyes. Now start to \"Turn off\" the outside stimuli. Not pretend it's not there mind you, Just accept it and move past it. after your no longer distracted by the outside world, We move to the inner one. All those thoughts we mentioned earlier? Start to shut them off one by one until your left with your body. Do the same with your body functions until your left with just your heartbeat and breath. Now slowly......slowly....sink past even your own heartbeat until your left with just a breath.......a whisper......you are void of thought........of desire..................BREATH............breath.............breath.............breath.....................until there's not even your breath to hear............................
I should add that breathing is a form of meditation in itself. If you feel stress or anger, Try taking a step back, Take a long, Slow, deep breath, Hold it for 5 seconds, And let it go. As you exhale drop your shoulders and feel the tension leave your body. Repeat until the tension is gone.....Now wasn't that easy.


Yours in the force,
Michael

Well after a personal hiatus I'm back and just getting in to the swing of posting again. It seems life has tested me and I'll tell you the values and wisdom of Jediism are surely within my, Forged in the crucible that is life. So without further ado I'm going to update this thread. I hope you all enjoy.

Counting the Breath; The beginnings of Zazen practice.

Counting??? Why do I have to count?
Yes I said counting. Why you ask? I’ll tell you. You see it’s not really good enough to just say “Clear your mind”. How do you clear your mind? Most do it by not thinking. But thinking about not thinking IS thinking so if your thinking about not thinking your still thinking........Wow I just confused myself there. To clarify I’ll put it like this. If you try to with a conscious effort stop your thoughts all you do is create tension in your mind that leads to more thinking, so you never really clear your mind and shut down the thought process.

Our minds like to fool us in to thinking we have control and this is just one of the many tricks your mind and body will play to stop you from being at peace and achieve Non-thought, or as is said, emptiness.
When you count you give your mind a focal point so it doesn’t have to find it’s own with stray thoughts. In this way and with diligent practice you begin to bring the mind under your control and direct it to where you want it to go, instead of the other way around.

Now on to Counting!

In the first stage of your practice Count both inhalations and exhalations. When you inhale count “one”. First aloud and as you get along in your practice inwardly. Now on you exhalation count” two”, also aloud at first. As you get better and more centered start to stress your vocal chords as if you were speaking, but direct the counting inward instead of outward. Count to ten this way and then start over again.
Now further along start to count your exhalations only. Let your inhalations pass but don’t count them. Direct your focus towards the exhalation only.
Now even further still, count only the inhalations.

It should be noted be the practitioner how it feels to speak, that is how the tension of air feels before the vocal chords become active and produce sound. By the end of your practice you should produce this “Tension” as if you were speaking, but no audible words should be produced. This is what I mean about turning your voice inward. This inward motion of thought and breath will be something I repeat quite a few times in the upcoming updates to this article so pay attention.
In all of this you have to use “active” breathing.

Active Breathing; The breath of Zen.

I know I should have started the post with this, so here it is. Active breath ing is when instead of letting the body breath on auto pilot as we do every day, we take control of the breath and inhale and exhale through or muscle contractions. The diaphragm controls our breath but tends on auto to push the chest out on inhalations. We want to direct our breath down to our center or Hara and have the chest stay more or less where it is at rest. We start be feeling the contraction of the diaphragm as we breath. Now that tension the muscle builds in breathing is important not only to counting but to everything else I will discuss with you in regards to breathing and meditation. Now that we can actively feel the breathing process, it’s time to take control!!! Now roll your shoulders back and down and sit in as close to a lotus position as you can. You want to keep tension in your center by moving your pelvis out a bit and centering yourself at your own center of gravity.

On your inhalations, contract your diaphragm and push it out and down. On your exhalations, pull it up and in, being careful not to cause tension in your shoulders and chest. Keep tension in your diaphragm muscle and do not allow your breaths to get too deep or uncontrolled. You may feel the need when you start this to breath deeply and gasp air but don’t worry, this will pass with practice. Breath slowly as you count in. Try with practice to make your exhalations longer then your inhalations as this will help with the next phase of our breathing practice.

Everything presented to you here is a path to achieving a clear mind. Through breathing we must learn to shut down the bodies need for thought and be at peace, passive. As we continue along this journey we’ll learn more ways to achieve a quiet mind and a peaceful spirit and to carry that peace and calm throughout our daily walk though life. Remember that if for any reason you can’t sit lotus, sit indian style, or in a chair, it matters little as long as you keep tension in your center this will still work and you’ll get the same rewards as someone in full lotus. Enjoy and please share your experiences ad any questions you may have
Namaste!!
~Merin~

Attaining Samadhi through Zazen

by Katsuki Sekida

Let's try an experiment that we call "one-minute zazen":

With your eyes wide open, stare at something in the distance: the corner of the building outside the window, a point on a hill, a tree or a bush, or even a picture on the wall.

At the same time stop, or nearly stop, breathing, and with your attention concentrated on that one point, try to prevent ideas from coming into your mind.

You will find that you really are able to inhibit thoughts from starting. You may feel the beginnings of some thoughtlike action stirring in your mind, but that, too, can be kept under control.

Repeated practice will give you the power to inhibit the appearance of even the faintest shadow of thought.

This inhibition can be sustained as long as the breath is stopped or almost stopped. Your eyes are reflecting the images of outside objects clearly, but "perception" does not occur. No thinking of the hill, no idea of the building or picture, no mental process concerning things inside or outside your mind will appear. Your eyes simply reflect the images of outside objects as a mirror reflects them. This simplest mental action may be called "pure sensation."

William James, in his classic Textbook of Psychology, depicts this pure sensation as follows:

"Sensation distinguished from perception — It is impossible rigorously to define a sensation...and perceptions merge into each other by insensible degrees. All we can say is that what we mean by sensations are first things in the way of consciousness. They are the immediate results upon consciousness of nerve-currents as they enter the brain, before they have awakened any suggestions or associations with past experience: absolutely pure sensation.

"The next impression produces a cerebral reaction in which the awakened vestige of the last impression plays its part. Another sort of feeling and a higher grade of cognition are the consequence. 'Ideas' about the object mingle with awareness of its mere sensible presence, we name it, class it, compare it, make propositions concerning it... In general, this higher consciousness about things is called perception, the mere inarticulate feeling of their presence is called sensation. We seem to be able to lapse into this inarticulate feeling at moments when our attention is entirely dispersed."

In our experiment of one-minute zazen, sensation resulted from strong inhibition of the process of thinking. While James considered that to some degree we seem able to "lapse into this inarticulate feeling at moments when our attention is entirely dispersed," in our one-minute zazen strong mental power controls our mind and inhibits dispersed attention and wandering thoughts. It is not an inarticulate state of mind but a strong, voluntary, inward concentration.

Where does this mental power come from? In our experiment it came from stopping (or almost stopping) breathing. And stopping breathing necessarily involves straining the abdominal respiratory muscles — in other words, developing tension in the tanden.

Mental power, or we might say spiritual power, in the sense of this strong inward concentration, comes from tension in the tanden. At first this may sound somewhat ridiculous. But it proves true, as we shall try to show.

Try the following:

Sit down quietly for a time with the intention of not thinking anything.

Presently, however, some idea will come into your head, and you will become absorbed in it and forgetful of yourself. But before long you will suddenly become aware of yourself and start once again trying not to think anything.

Before perhaps twenty seconds have passed, however, you will once again find a new idea cropping up and will be drawn into thinking about it, forgetful of yourself. Repeat the same process time and time again, and at last you come to realize that you cannot control the thoughts occurring in your own mind.

Now try a variation of the one-minute zazen exercise:

Stop, or nearly stop, your breathing. Then breathe slowly and deeply, repeatedly generating new tension in the abdominal respiratory muscles. You will find your attention can be sustained by the tension of the respiratory muscles.

Breathing has an extremely important role in controlling thoughts in zazen practice. When you observe carefully how it is done, you find a tremendous amount of effort is being used. Even in spite of this, certain lapses of concentration appear and thoughts threaten to creep in. Each time, they can be inhibited by a renewed effort of concentration.

The effort involves keeping up or renewing the tension in the respiratory muscles. This tension leads to samadhi, which is a steady wakefulness, with thoughts controlled and spiritual power maximally exerted.

In zazen, the thoracic cage (between neck and abdomen) is to be kept as still as possible. Inhalation is done by inflating the lower abdomen, while exhalation is performed by contracting the abdominal muscles.

There is an important difference between normal breathing and breathing in zazen: In zazen, the free contraction of the abdominal muscles and their upward pushing movement are opposed by the diaphragm. This produces bated breath.

This sounds complicated, but is in fact very simple: you have only to hold your breath. If you then expire slowly, little by little, it is necessarily done by holding the diaphragm down and steadily checking the upward pushing movement of the abdominal muscles. This is what we mean when we speak of "throwing strength into the tanden." It results in the generation of what ultimately proves to be spiritual power.

If you manage to keep the diaphragm and the abdominal muscles contracting in opposition with almost equal strength, your breath will almost be stopped, though there is some quiet and almost imperceptible escape of breath from the lungs because of the natural bodily pressure. When we speak of stopped, or almost stopped, breath, we generally mean the state of very quiet respiration.

At the beginning of this chapter we described the experiment of "one-minute zazen" and found we could control thoughts occurring in the brain by holding our breath. That control and inhibition of thought came from this opposed tension in the abdominal muscles and diaphragm. From the experience of zazen we are bound to conclude that by maintaining a state of tension in the abdominal respiratory muscles we can control what is happening in the brain.

Even those who know nothing about Zen will throw strength into the abdomen, by stopping their breath, when they try to put up with biting cold, bear pain, or suppress sorrow or anger. They use this method to generate what may be called spiritual power.

The abdominal muscles can be regarded as a kind of general manager of the muscular movements of the entire body. When doing heavy manual work, such as weight lifting or wielding a sledge-hammer, you cannot bring the muscles of the rest of the body into play without contracting these muscles. Even in raising a hand or moving a leg you are using the abdominal muscles. Scribble with your pen or thread a needle and you will find tension developing in the diaphragm. Without cooperation of the respiratory muscles you cannot move any part of the body, pay close attention to anything, or, indeed, call forth any sort of mental action. We cannot repeat this fact too often: it is of the greatest importance but has been rather ignored up to now.

What is described in this chapter is not found elsewhere in Zen literature. It is a new proposal. Of course, if you are experienced in zazen and do not like the method proposed here, you may ignore it. However, as your practice develops you may come to see the value of it.

COUNTING AND FOLLOWING THE BREATH

It is usual to begin the practice of zazen by counting your breaths. There are three ways of doing this:

1. Count both inhalations and exhalations. As you inhale, count "one" inwardly; as you exhale, count "two," and so on up to ten. Then return to one again and repeat the process.

2. Count your exhalations only, from one to ten, and repeat. Let the inhalations pass without counting them.

3. Count your inhalations only, letting the exhalations pass without counting them.

Of these three, the first method is generally used for the initiation of beginners, the second is recognized as a more advanced step, and the third is somewhat difficult for a beginner but gives good training in inspiration.

When beginning to practice the first method, it may be helpful to whisper the count inaudibly, or even audibly. Then, except for occasions when you feel the need for audible counting, concentrate on the counting inwardly.

In practicing the second method, say "won-n-n" with a lengthened expiration, and after taking a breath say "two-oo-oo" with the next expiration. With each count the expiration will naturally go down below the horizon of breathing. Thereafter you keep on, saying "three-ee-ee," "four-r-r," and so on, up to ten.

But in the middle of counting, some other idea will suddenly come into your head, and you will find yourself involved with that thought for a while. However, you will soon return to yourself and take up the counting again — but now you discover you have forgotten where you left off and must go back to the beginning and start from one again.

All beginners who try this practice for the first time experience this, and are surprised by their inability to control their thoughts. Some readers may find this hard to believe. Then they should try it for themselves and see how their minds wander. That's exactly what a Zen teacher wants them to be aware of, and the teacher will say, "Use this method for a while to train your mind."

The third method is training in breathing. The most important thing in this case is to inflate the lower abdomen and inhale. In the course of saying "one," generally the tidal volume will be filled. As you approach the end of the inhalation it will tend to become chest breathing and you will have to make an effort to keep up the abdominal breathing.

POSITIVE SAMADHI AND ABSOLUTE SAMADHI

Although we discuss samadhi in detail in the next chapter, we want at this stage to make a clear distinction between the two kinds of samadhi, since it is important to our practice of counting breaths.

There are two kinds of samadhi: absolute samadhi and positive samadhi. People generally associate the term samadhi with Nirvana, in which the activity of consciousness is almost stopped. But the samadhi reached in counting the breaths involves a very definite action of consciousness. This, then, is an active sort of samadhi, which we call positive samadhi, to distinguish it from the other kind, which we call absolute samadhi.

We do not call it "negative samadhi," because absolute samadhi constitutes the foundation of all Zen activities and also because it leads us to experience pure existence.

To date, these two kinds of samadhi have not been clearly distinguished, and confusion has resulted. Some traditions of Zen involve a large element of positive samadhi, while absolute samadhi is more important in others. We suggest that the right course is to develop positive and absolute samadhi equally.

To enter the silence of absolute samadhi is to shake off what we call the habitual way of consciousness — in an old phrase, "topsy-turvy delusive thought." By doing so we purify body and mind.

Then, going out (or coming back) into the world of actual life and of the ordinary activity of consciousness, we enjoy positive samadhi and freedom of mind in the complicated situations of the world. This is real emancipation.

When we return to counting breaths, a useful analogy can be drawn with the state of mind necessary in driving a car. When driving you are obligated to exercise two kinds of attention. The first is sharply focused, directed upon a certain limited zone ahead of you. The second is quite the opposite and is diffused over a broad area; you are on the lookout for emergencies arising in any direction.

Similarly, in counting breaths, both sharply focused and diffused attention are required. We have to concentrate on reciting the numbers, while at the same time being alert not to miss their order. This may sound easy, but in fact, the more you concentrate on the individual breaths and counts, the more difficult it is to keep the attention widely diffused at the same time. To accomplish the two things at once requires vital effort.

One final word about counting the breaths: If, after making good progress in zazen, you return to this practice once more, you will find that it leads to the development of an extraordinarily brilliant condition of consciousness. But this is not to be expected in the zazen of beginners. Teachers, therefore, are usually satisfied if students can master just the elements of counting the breaths and will then pass them to another kind of practice.

The students may suppose that they have finished with this sort of discipline and they will not have to practice it again, but this is mistaken. Students practicing alone may also revert to counting the breaths from time to time, even though they have gone on to other kinds of exercises.

FOLLOWING THE BREATH

A certain understanding of Zen makes people vaguely seek after absolute samadhi, even though perhaps not consciously. When you practice counting the breaths, if you recognize that it is a training in positive samadhi, you will find it brilliantly illuminating. But this will come only when you have made considerable progress in your study of Zen.

When beginners have worked on breath counting for a while they will find, without knowing why, that the counting is something of an encumbrance to them. They will wish to practice a quiet form of meditation in which the activity of consciousness will be transcended. Then, very naturally, they turn to the practice of following the breath.

Instructions for following the breath are very simple:

Follow each inhalation and exhalation with concentrated attention. At the beginning of your exhalation, breathe out naturally, and then when you reach a point near the horizon of breathing, squeeze the respiratory muscles so as nearly to stop breathing.

The air remaining in the lungs will almost imperceptibly escape, little by little. At first this escape will be so slight that you may not notice it. But presently it will become noticeable, and as the exhalation goes below the horizon you will find that the air is being pushed out intermittently.

If you regulate the escape of air in a methodical manner you will advance more effectively toward samadhi. The longer the exhalation, the sooner you will be there.

A very long exhalation, however, must necessarily be followed by short, rather quick respirations, because of the oxygen deficiency that results. This more rapid respiration need not disturb samadhi, as long as you continue with abdominal breathing. If you find this irregular method of breathing uncomfortable, try shorter exhalations.

WANDERING THOUGHTS

When using short or moderate exhalations, however, even those who have made considerable progress in zazen will often find it difficult to control wandering thoughts. Let us consider these wandering thoughts for a moment.

They are of two kinds. The first type is that which appears momentarily and disappears quickly. The second is of a narrative nature and makes up a story. The first type may be subdivided into two: (1) noticing someone coughing, the window rattling, birds chirping, and similar distractions that intrude momentarily from outside; and (2) the momentary thought that springs up from within, so that we think, "Now I am getting into samadhi," or "I am not doing well today." This sort of thinking does not disturb our getting into samadhi very much, and as samadhi progresses, these thoughts gradually disappear of themselves.

The second type of wandering thought is the sort of narration that occurs in daydreaming, in which you think, for example, of a recent conversation, and you are once again absorbed in the situation. While the body is apparently sitting in meditation, the mind is getting angry or bursting into laughter. These kinds of thoughts often happen when you are practicing moderate exhalations, and they are quite a nuisance.

Every so often you come back to yourself, notice the wandering thoughts, and pluck up concentration to control the fantasy. But eventually you find that your power is too weak. How can you get out of this condition?

There is no way other than by generating tension in the respiratory muscles by stopping or almost stopping the breath with a long, slow exhalation. That strength and energy give you the power to control wandering thoughts.

After a few long exhalations, you will find your lower abdomen equipped with a strength you have never experienced in your ordinary breathing. It gives you the feeling, we might say, that you are sitting on the throne of existence.

This will naturally lead you to samadhi.