I woke up in a strange mood today. I tried to study and just couldn't get into it. Decided in the end to have a break from studying and just focus on meditation. I think I was getting tired of all the reading and note-taking. There's some practical activities sprinkled here and there in the module, which feels like relief, but it is mostly reading, researching, note-taking and writing, and it gets a bit tiring, and I find my mind does not willingly incline towards it.
There's a famous Buddhist text called the 'anapanasati' sutta which is translated as 'mindfulness of breathing'. There's actually quite a few ancient Buddhist texts that talk about anapansati. So it is a teaching that must have been popular back in the Buddha's day, and still is now.
There's a famous Buddhist text called the 'anapanasati' sutta which is translated as 'mindfulness of breathing'. There's actually quite a few ancient Buddhist texts that talk about anapansati. So it is a teaching that must have been popular back in the Buddha's day, and still is now.
I have been practising this meditation a fair bit lately. It is a complete training for the mind. It fulfils all the factors of the noble eightfold path; secludes consciousness from the five hindrances, fulfils the four foundations of mindfulness, and brings into being the seven factors of enlightenment and can lead to deep samhadi and liberating insight. It is a neat, practical and thorough training for the mind, that can be easily remembered and become part of your daily routine, carried with you wherever you go.
It doesn't cost anything. You don't need to travel to the other side of the world to learn it from a master or a guru; you don't have to pay a premium on a meditation app; join an expensive course; go on retreat; or doing anything other than sit in your room, on a balcony, in the garden, or outside in nature somewhere. And just breathe the free air (-:
Anyway, I found that practising this for a while, cleared my head and then I managed to get some studying done.
Brief summary of anapansati meditation
Sitting down, with body straight, one establishes mindfulness in the here and now.
Anyway, I found that practising this for a while, cleared my head and then I managed to get some studying done.
Brief summary of anapansati meditation
Sitting down, with body straight, one establishes mindfulness in the here and now.
Mindful, one breathes in. Mindful, one breathes out.
(Mindfulness of the body)
If the in-breath is long, one knows the in-breath is long.
If the out-breath is long, one knows the out-breath is long.
If the in-breath is short one knows the in-breath is short.
If the out-breath is short one knows the out-breath is short.
One trains thus, I will breathe in and out sensitive to the whole body.
One trains thus, I will breathe in and out calming the body.
(Mindfulness of feelings)
One trains, I breathe in and out sensitive to joy.
One trains, I breathe in and out sensitive to pleasure.
One trains, I breathe in and out sensitive to thoughts.
One trains, I breathe in and out calming thoughts.
(Mindfulness of mind)
One trains, I breathe in and out sensitive to state of mind.
One trains, I breathe in and out satisfying the mind.
One trains, I breathe in and out steadying the mind.
One trains, I breathe in and out releasing the mind.
(Mindfulness of dhamma)
One trains, I breathe in and out contemplating change.
One trains, I breathe in and out contemplating fading away (of craving).
One trains, I breathe in and out contemplating cessation (of suffering).
One trains, I breathe in and out contemplating letting go (of clinging).
May all beings be safe, well, happy and peaceful.