Obeisus, the method of being fully aware of breathing, if developed and practiced continuously, will have great rewards and bring great advantages. What is the way to develop and practice continuously the method of full awareness of breathing so that the practice will be rewarding and offer great benefits? It is like this, Deekshus. The practitioner goes into the forest or to the foot of a tree or to any deserted place and sits stable in the lotus position, holding one's body quite straight. Breathing in, one knows that one is breathing in. And breathing out, one knows that one is breathing out.

[01:06]

Breathing in a long breath, one knows, I am breathing in a long breath. Breathing out a long breath, one knows, I am breathing out a long breath. Breathing in a short breath, one knows I am breathing in a short breath. Breathing out a short breath, one knows I am breathing out a short breath. I am breathing in and am aware of my whole body. I am breathing now, and am aware of my whole body. This is how one practices. This passage is from the Anapanasati Sutra, or the Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing.

[02:11]

It's been translated by Thich Nhat Hanh, and recently published as a book. The sutras, or the teachings of Buddha, were not recorded until about 200 years after his death. And they continued being written down for a period of several hundred more years. And his Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing was one of the first sutras to be written down. And it is still studied and practiced, and considered to be one of the most important sutras for many schools of Buddhism. As we read it, you can see the Indian roots from which Zazen has developed. Zazen is the kind of meditation that we practice here.

[03:14]

Zazen is a Japanese word which means sitting meditation, or sitting concentration. It is the practice of awareness, of bringing your attention or concentration to the present moment, through awareness of your physical posture, your breathing, and your state of mind. Suzuki Roshi recommended that when you first begin practicing Zazen, that you first practice with mindfulness of posture, that you settle into your physical presence before you begin practicing mindfulness of breath. So if you're new to Zazen, please keep this in mind. I'd like to talk about breath today.

[04:18]

In Zen meditation, we breathe naturally through the nose. There's no need to control the breath or interfere with it in any way. Just breathe naturally, and notice that you are breathing. There's no emphasis on breathing in a particular way, such as taking deep breaths or breathing slowly. Let long breaths be long, and let short breaths be short. Allow your breath to be however you find it, and join your awareness with your breath. When I started practicing Zazen, and I tried to be aware of my breath, sometimes instead

[05:26]

of becoming settled or calm, I would become more tense. And my breath, sometimes it feels stuck, like I couldn't breathe. And the juxtaposition of trying to be consciously aware of an involuntary action that sometimes produces tension. So if anything like this happens to you, forget about following your breath. Just try to relax and settle into your physical presence until your breath returns to normal. Actually, in Zen meditation, our intention is to join our breath, or become one with the breath. Rather than trying to observe the breath, or watch it the way you watch TV, or watch

[06:26]

something that's separate from yourself. In talking about this, Thich Nhat Hanh said, The subject of the observation and the object of the observation are not to be regarded as two separate things. Students of meditation have to remove the boundary between subject and object. When we observe something, we are that thing. Nonduality is the key word. The body and mind are one entity, and the subject and object of meditation are also one entity. Traditionally, there are several physical locations in your body where you can concentrate

[07:32]

on the breath. One place is at the entrance to the nostrils. Feel the air moving in and moving out as you breathe. This entrance to the nostrils is often emphasized in Vipassana meditation. Another area is the chest. As you breathe, feel your lungs and your ribcage expanding and contracting. And in Zen practice, we often emphasize the abdominal area below the waist. As you breathe, feel your lower belly filling out and sinking in. In Japanese, this area is called the tandem or the heart.

[08:34]

And Suzuki Roshi said, It is quite simple to put yourselves, to put your power in your tandem. Because actually, if you have your strength in your tandem, you will have deep, broad lungs in which you can accept things. If your awareness of your breathing has not yet settled into one of these areas, experiment with each of them and see if one location, one area in your body doesn't feel more comfortable or more familiar to you. But after you choose a place, stay in that area. Give yourself a chance to settle and develop your concentration in that area.

[09:39]

One technique to help strengthen concentration is counting the breath, or counting the exhalation. This is done by breathing in, and as you breathe out, count one. Inhale, and as you exhale, count two. Continue counting one count for each breath until you reach ten. And after you reach ten, start again on one with your next exhalation. If you practice counting the breath, sooner or later you'll find that you'll have the ability to continue counting whether or not your attention is on your breath, so that your attention can be elsewhere and you'll keep counting. And if this happens, if you're counting and you go beyond ten, you suddenly notice that

[10:48]

you're on fifteen or eighteen, stop counting, and with the next exhalation, begin again with one. While counting the breath, be careful not to try to control it, to allow the natural shape and pace of your breath to continue. Bring your awareness to the breath, and place a number with each exhalation. Another method for strengthening concentration is to follow the breath without counting. Whether you're counting your breath or following your breath, it's important to stay the full cycle of each breath, to become intimate with the detail of the breath, of the breathing process. Sometimes when I count my breath, I find that as I exhale and count, my mind tunes

[11:56]

out for the last part of the exhalation, and this tuning out gives your mind an excellent opportunity to wander and become distracted. So try to stay with the complete inhalation as it transforms into an exhalation, and stay with the full exhalation until it becomes an inhalation. Notice, is there anything in between the exhalation and inhalation? When we practice asana, we'll find that inevitably our mind will wander, become distracted. The natural function of the brain is to produce thoughts.

[12:57]

So if you find that you're distracted or thinking, or if you're remembering a past, or planning a future, or involved in an emotional state, or about to fall asleep, wake up. Without forcing yourself, try to wake up to the present moment, to your full presence right here. In zazen, our effort is not to hold our minds blank, or void, or empty of all thoughts. Nor is it to force our attention onto our breath. This will lead to rigidity, to a rigid state of mind.

[14:06]

Rather, our effort should lead to flexibility, by being ready to let go when we notice that we're distracting ourselves away from our intention, to engage in this body and mind. So be ready to let go of distractions, to let go of insights, to let the tracking mind stop and return to your breathing. So we don't try to stop our minds from thinking. In zazen, we try to wake up. When you realize that you're thinking, just drop your thought and return your attention to your breath. This flexibility, this ability to drop distraction and return your awareness to the breath,

[15:20]

over and over again, throughout a period of zazen, is considered one of the most important elements in practicing zazen. I think sometimes people get confused and think, in zazen, there's a goal of sitting completely still, or sitting with a completely still mind. But, fortunately or unfortunately, that's not the nature of our minds. What we want to do is to wake up, to become familiar with how to wake up. How our minds work. In Refining Your Life, Fuchiyama Roshi writes, Dogen Zenji did not attempt that we get rid of all delusions, fantasies, or thoughts

[16:25]

that come into our heads during zazen. Yet, if we go about pursuing these thoughts, we are sitting in zazen posture, thinking, and not actually doing zazen. Trying to get rid of thoughts is just another form of fantasy. Zazen, understood as mind, being innately one with all phenomena, is a means of seeing all things from the foundation of pure life. For in, we give up both pursuing thought and trying to chase it away. We let arise whatever arises, and we let fall away whatever falls away. Do not try to control perceptions or conscious awareness,

[17:29]

nor attempt to figure out your feelings, ideas, or viewpoints. The most important thing to bear in mind when practicing zazen is to completely let go of everything. One reason we choose awareness of breath as an object of concentration is because it is always with us. Some years ago, I was reading an article which began, with our last breath, our last thought will pass away.

[18:31]

And I never really thought before how connected our thinking and our breathing are. One way to extend the practice of awareness of breath beyond zazen is to follow your breathing as you're falling asleep. Very lightly join your awareness to your breath. And when you wake up, wake up aware that you're breathing. For me, this practice is a preparation for dying, for changing realms of existence with some awareness. Another practice which Thich Nhat Hanh recommends

[19:37]

is throughout the day, throughout your activity, whenever it occurs to you, try stopping your activity, pausing, and following your breath for three breaths, and then returning to your breath. This helps bring awareness or consciousness to our habitual activity. Whether or not you can follow your breath, stay with your breath for three full breaths, the arising of the thought, of the intention, to be aware of your breath, is itself mindfulness practice. So don't get discouraged. I've never been able to follow my breath for three breaths

[20:38]

and find in my office. It always happens. In zazen practice, some people practice counting the breath for several months or for the first year of their practice. And other people continue counting their breath for many, many years. This practice is both a practice for beginners and a practice fundamental to zazen. And whether you're following your breathing or counting your breath, or whatever you're experiencing in zazen, I encourage you to discuss it with a practice leader or with someone experienced in meditation. I'd like to end by reading a passage by Suzuki Roshi about breathing.

[22:00]

When we practice zazen, our mind follows our breathing. The air comes in and goes out like someone passing through a swinging door. If you think, I breathe, the I is extra. There is no you to say I. What we call I is just the swinging door, which moves when we inhale and when we exhale. It just moves. That is all. When your mind is calm enough to follow this movement, there is nothing. No I, no world, no mind, no body. Just a swinging door.

[23:04]

So when we practice zazen, all that exists is the movement of the breathing. But we are aware of this movement. Thank you.

[23:34]

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