Don't count breathe
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I remember my Taiwanese teacher often reprimand those who teach Anapanasati as counting breathe. And one of the first advices on Anapanasati I received from Thusness many years ago is "don't count breathe" (which I didn't) and only be aware of "the immediate tactile sensations of the breathing itself".
Why? Counting is a conceptual activity. It will not truly lead to any real awareness or insight. Furthermore, it is not what the Buddha taught Anapanasati as.
Nonetheless some people employ this technique, which shoiuld be understood as merely a stepping stone to be dropped ASAP... so this is a sharing.
http://www.wildmind.org/blogs/on-practice/making-the-practice-your-own
Tejananda
Jan 04, 2012
Making the practice your own
When
you first learn to meditate, it’s appropriate and helpful to take on
structured practices. There are plenty of such practices available –
ones for cultivating absorption, such as mindfulness of breathing, or
for ‘positive emotion’, such as metta bhavana, or general overall
mindfulness, such as systematically cultivating awareness of the ‘four
foundations’ – body sensations, hedonic feeling-tone, mental activities
and dhammas or ‘ultimates’.Structure is usually very helpful for learning the ropes. All Buddhist practices are pragmatic – the main question to bear in mind is ‘is this working’? Is it effective in cultivating the quality that it’s intended to cultivate? If it is, then it makes sense to continue pursuing this approach as long as it is effective. If not, then it’s necessary to review our approach and try another.
For example, we may have learned the mindfulness of breathing as a way of settling the mind. If we’ve never tried anything like meditation before, it’s very likely that the first thing we notice is that the mind wants to do anything but settle! Pragmatically speaking, it’s often useful to give the thinking mind a simple ‘task’ to do, so that there’s less likelihood of it getting carried away with endless thoughts. Hence, it’s often recommended to start the practice using counting of breaths – this can be very effective in keeping the mind from wandering while focussed attention is being paid to the sensations of the breathing itself.
Note that we’ve got two quite distinct things going on here. First, there is the counting, which is a conceptual activity. Second, there is the directing and settling of attention (i.e. awareness) on the sensations of the breathing, which is non-conceptual. Being unclear about this basic distinction is where unhelpful views can appear. For instance, the thinking mind can subtly take over and make it into ‘mindfulness of counting’ rather than ‘mindfulness of breathing’. Or it could ‘usurp’ the function of awareness so that we are attending to thoughts of the breathing rather than the immediate tactile sensations of the breathing itself.
These views may be unhelpful but nevertheless, if we recognise them, they represent a great opportunity to learn something about how the thinking mind functions. It functions by taking over! That’s to say, it literally thinks that it is experiencing the breath (and everything else that we experience through our senses). In fact, all the mind can do is abstract from our direct experience. We can think of the taste of a strawberry or an orange and, in imagination at least, there is some ‘sense’ of what that taste is like. This is presumably how we recognise the particular flavours of those fruits when we eat them. However, the memory of a taste is completely different to the immediate experience of the taste when eating a juicy strawberry or orange right now. Similarly, we can think of the sensation of the breathing without realising that this is just a mental activity and not the actual experience of the breath.
Clarifying this distinction between mental activities and immediate sense impressions is crucial to learning to meditate. In fact, it’s always crucial, however long we’ve been practising. Attempting to focus on thoughts won’t lead to very much real tranquillity or absorption because thoughts are, ultimately, precisely what underlies our lack of tranquillity. All we have to do is notice the difference – ‘this is a sensation’ and ‘this is thinking’. We don’t have to eliminate thinking in order to become more absorbed – all we need to do is to let it fall into the background as we recognise the actual object – the immediate tactile sensations of the breath arising in awareness.
Another unhelpful view comes from an attitude of ‘should-ism’, e.g. ‘I’ve been taught the practice in this particular way, so I should always do it in just this way’. This kind of view can be insidious as there’s often a positive basis – e.g. respect for the tradition, method or teacher. ‘lf thousands of people have meditated in this way for thousands of years, who am I to do it differently?’ Well, if such thoughts do arise, rest assured that the only people who meditate according to exactly the same structure for their whole ‘meditation career’ are those who give up before very long! And they probably give up because they don’t seem to be getting anywhere with their meditation.
Structure enables us to learn more effectively, but the implicit question we always have to bear in mind is, as I mentioned above, is this effective? We learn what’s effective by doing it, and by making mistakes. ‘Mistakes’ is a misnomer really because we’re simply learning from experience. This experiential and exploratory attitude is fundamental to the Buddha’s teaching. According to one sutta (discourse), he tells a group of lay followers not to depend on what they’ve heard, or on tradition, or revered texts, or views, or reasoning or what seems to work for someone else, or what’s said by a respected teacher. Rather, he says, when you know in direct experience that an approach is good, blameless and wise, and leads to benefit and happiness, that’s self-evidently how to practice.
So, with the mindfulness of breathing (though this applies to any practice), there comes a point sooner or later when it’s appropriate to diverge from the way it’s been taught. It’s not indispensable always to start by counting the breaths. How the practice goes is contingent upon many factors – you might be doing the mindfulness of breathing before or after a busy and hectic day, or you might be doing it in the middle of a meditation retreat. In the first instance, counting breaths is likely to be helpful, in the second, it could well be unnecessary as the mind is already quite settled and tranquil. If your intention is to enter the absorptions (jhanas), any structure will naturally drop away. In fact, if you ‘religiously’ keep to the structure or cling limpet-like to instructions like ‘cultivate one-pointed effort to stay with the breathing continuously’, deeper absorption will be prevented from arising even if the conditions are otherwise very supportive.
Once the basic structured practice has been explored sufficiently (what is ‘sufficient’? Adapt the Buddha’s advice above!) you can make it more ‘your own’ by approaching the various stages you’ve learned as ‘tools’ that you can use as appropriate, rather than as an invariable format. Keeping to the basic practice is a bit like a piano player never playing anything but scales – to discover our potential we have become competent at the basics and then be prepared to let go, explore, make ‘mistakes’, learn, and eventually discover how to improvise, letting go of the form altogether.
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Yes, agree with you. Counting breath is a stepping stone and it should be dropped asap. I was taught recitng Buddha's name while meditating but after a while, I also dropped this technique. What's your advise on reciting Buddha's name during meditation? Is it advisable?
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thanks AEN, this is a doubt in my mind for a while already as i always found the technique of counting breath not very helpful for me...
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Mmm, agree on this one. I was counting my breaths for a while but realised that I started to turn it into a goal-oriented activity i.e. "Ok, today I shall go for 200 breaths!" . Totally missed the point, heh heh.
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Originally posted by Dawnfirstlight:
Yes, agree with you. Counting breath is a stepping stone and it should be dropped asap. I was taught recitng Buddha's name while meditating but after a while, I also dropped this technique. What's your advise on reciting Buddha's name during meditation? Is it advisable?
paiseh this question is for AEN, but i posted here is just my opinion only...for what i know, we just have to 执���.. it's stated in the Amitabha sutra. Shouldn't have any issue to continue reciting the ��
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chanting is not counting
but at some point when you gained some calmness, in order to realize your luminous essence, you just have to drop every thought and activity and look directly at the mind-source
that certain, undoubtable, presence-awareness, your very fact of existence... it is utterly present, undeniable, timeless and borderless
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Something I wrote before: As for chanting, chanting works as a counteractive agent by building a good conditioning, momentum, a force imprinted into the eighth consciousness itself that counteracts the bad tendencies (though does not uproot ignorance and afflictions). As an example, if you chant until the momentum builds up that you continue chanting the whole day into the night, even if you have nightmare, your chanting will be able to allow you not to be affected by the dream content. You will simply focus on the chanting. However even if you reach this level of practice, what you are doing is dealing with the subconscious tendencies through creating a positive momentum, but not yet removing fundamental ignorance. To remove fundamental ignorance, you need to realize your true nature. As for how to effect the realization of true nature, you need investigation. I spoke to a Zen priest (the one who I said recently realized anatta - http://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.com/2011/10/zen-exploration-of-bahiya-sutta.html) recently. He told me that he recently has been guiding a student... from scratch (no prior meditation practice whatsoever). In less than three months, she was able to have an initial realization of her Buddha-nature. His method for her is simple... he asked her to pick a mantra, or just "Namo Amituofuo" will do, but then one is not to repeat it thousands of time quickly. On the contrary, one is to raise it and rest in silence as long as possible, getting back to it only when one feels distracted by thoughts or other sources of distraction. This is very simple and quickly leads to a state of deep stillness from which one can easily recognize one's luminous nature with correct guidance. Of course, being in a state of stillness does not mean realizing your true nature will occur. A state of stillness can simply be a state of shamatha, or calm abiding. If you cultivate calm abiding for a million years, but there is no investigation whatsoever, realization will not arise. But that state of deep stillness is like clearing the clouds blocking the sun. When you clear the clouds, look at your true nature. It is this vividly shining presence-awareness-existence. There is an undeniable presence of existence, consciousness. You must trace that mantra to the Source (Who is chanting? Who am I?) As someone said (not the Zen priest but someone else whom I forgot who), "Imagine a torch shining on a wall...The torch symbolises the SEEING, and the light which emanates from the torch and hits the wall symbolises the thoughts. The problem is that you are trying to find the torch, (ie: the SEEING), but you are looking for it on the wall, (ie: in the thoughts). Also, thoughts can happen thick and fast and can be quite erratic... so not only are you looking in the wrong place, but you are chasing a moving target. A mantra at least steadies the appearance of the thoughts. It's like steadying the light on the wall, so you have a better chance of tracing the beam back to its source, but never forget, only the torch (the SEEING) is the source. The mantra is nothing but a thought, an appearance that has no independent nature, repeated. However, as I have said, whilst a mantra can help on the so called 'search', it is not actually necessary. Knowledge is the DIRECT method. No techniques are needed. The SEEING ( the ordinary everyday awareness ) does not need to do anything to BE, to exist. Any techniques can only be on the level of thought, and therefore are outside of the only reality which is the SEEING. The SEEING is NEVER not there, it is ALWAYS seeing the thoughts, no matter what they may be. It is always aware of everything, it cannot under any circumstances not be there, you can't lose it. So just BE IT. HAVE A SENSE OF IDENTITY WITH IT AND NOTHING ELSE. You ARE the torch !"  Even after this realization, it does not mean the latent tendencies are uprooted, it will take a journey to refine the insights and clear the afflictive tendencies.
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Thanks guys for the replies.
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Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
Something I wrote before:
As for chanting, chanting works as a counteractive agent by building a good conditioning, momentum, a force imprinted into the eighth consciousness itself that counteracts the bad tendencies (though does not uproot ignorance and afflictions).
As an example, if you chant until the momentum builds up that you continue chanting the whole day into the night, even if you have nightmare, your chanting will be able to allow you not to be affected by the dream content. You will simply focus on the chanting.
However even if you reach this level of practice, what you are doing is dealing with the subconscious tendencies through creating a positive momentum, but not yet removing fundamental ignorance.
To remove fundamental ignorance, you need to realize your true nature. As for how to effect the realization of true nature, you need investigation.
I spoke to a Zen priest (the one who I said recently realized anatta – http://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.com/2011/10/...) recently.
He told me that he recently has been guiding a student… from scratch (no prior meditation practice whatsoever). In less than three months, she was able to have an initial realization of her Buddha-nature.
His method for her is simple… he asked her to pick a mantra, or just “Namo Amituofuo” will do, but then one is not to repeat it thousands of time quickly. On the contrary, one is to raise it and rest in silence as long as possible, getting back to it only when one feels distracted by thoughts or other sources of distraction. This is very simple and quickly leads to a state of deep stillness from which one can easily recognize one’s luminous nature with correct guidance.
Of course, being in a state of stillness does not mean realizing your true nature will occur. A state of stillness can simply be a state of shamatha, or calm abiding. If you cultivate calm abiding for a million years, but there is no investigation whatsoever, realization will not arise.
But that state of deep stillness is like clearing the clouds blocking the sun. When you clear the clouds, look at your true nature. It is this vividly shining presence-awareness-existence. There is an undeniable presence of existence, consciousness. You must trace that mantra to the Source (Who is chanting? Who am I?)
As someone said (not the Zen priest but someone else whom I forgot who), “Imagine a torch shining on a wall…The torch symbolises the SEEING, and the light which emanates from the torch and hits the wall symbolises the thoughts. The problem is that you are trying to find the torch, (ie: the SEEING), but you are looking for it on the wall, (ie: in the thoughts). Also, thoughts can happen thick and fast and can be quite erratic… so not only are you looking in the wrong place, but you are chasing a moving target. A mantra at least steadies the appearance of the thoughts. It’s like steadying the light on the wall, so you have a better chance of tracing the beam back to its source, but never forget, only the torch (the SEEING) is the source. The mantra is nothing but a thought, an appearance that has no independent nature, repeated. However, as I have said, whilst a mantra can help on the so called ‘search’, it is not actually necessary. Knowledge is the DIRECT method.
No techniques are needed. The SEEING ( the ordinary everyday awareness ) does not need to do anything to BE, to exist. Any techniques can only be on the level of thought, and therefore are outside of the only reality which is the SEEING. The SEEING is NEVER not there, it is ALWAYS seeing the thoughts, no matter what they may be. It is always aware of everything, it cannot under any circumstances not be there, you can’t lose it. So just BE IT. HAVE A SENSE OF IDENTITY WITH IT AND NOTHING ELSE. You ARE the torch !”
Even after this realization, it does not mean the latent tendencies are uprooted, it will take a journey to refine the insights and clear the afflictive tendencies.
thx... the torch, light and wall... nice examples..sometimes there's calmness when i nianfo (sometimes only lol) but i never understand the insights or realizations arising when i read about meditation in this forum...
and also... i'm also thinking whether is it this calmness a dying person is experiencing when he/she nianfo...
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hi 2009novice: calmness is the same, but to remain calm when dying is much more difficult than when living, since you are faced with leaving the world and may hold attachments.
so must practice when we are still alive
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I think we tend to discount one thing about chanting... which is that it connects one to the awakened mind of Buddhas/Bodhisattvas. As it is said that mantras are not created by any being below the 8th Bhumi, it goes to say that we can't conceive of the vast qualities of the mantra too. Although i agree fully that mantras mainly bring one into a samadhic state, and that is true from the POV of the Mahayana. In the higher tantras, specific mantras can bring accomplishments right up to nature of mind. There are mantras that have been described to bring one to the level of 'unborn dharma endurance', and such high levels of realisations. There are also mantras that bring about accomplishments of siddhis such as departing for the buddha purelands without even abandoning the current body and such amazing accomplishments... these are described in the tantras and i believe that we can't really fathom the depth of mantras.
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Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
Something I wrote before:
He told me that he recently has been guiding a student… from scratch (no prior meditation practice whatsoever). In less than three months, she was able to have an initial realization of her Buddha-nature.
I assume that Alex is meeting his student face to face. There is a lot of benefits of face to face interaction with an awakened person, because the student has a model of what the goal is. -
Originally posted by 2009novice:
thx... the torch, light and wall... nice examples..sometimes there's calmness when i nianfo (sometimes only lol) but i never understand the insights or realizations arising when i read about meditation in this forum...
and also... i'm also thinking whether is it this calmness a dying person is experiencing when he/she nianfo...
My Zen Master said 有相念佛 will never lead to realisation. One must self inquire, for example "Who is the one nianfo". 念佛法门 is one of the dharma door but it will not lead to realisation of buddha nature. This is my understanding.
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Originally posted by Dawnfirstlight:
My Zen Master said 有相念佛 will never lead to realisation. One must self inquire, for example "Who is the one nianfo". 念佛法门 is one of the dharma door but it will not lead to realisation of buddha nature. This is my understanding.
oh i see... coz i tot there's one level when one nianfo can reach samadhi... but i don't know does it leads to realisationbut at least nianfo can help us to "reach" PL during the critical moment :)