“Don’t control or manage the breath.”

“Don’t control or manage the breath.”

Question from India:  “Could you please guide me on a good meditation technique to start with?”

Than Ajahn:  “Before you can meditate, you have to develop mindfulness first. Mindfulness is the ability to stop your thinking.

You can do this during your waking hours. Wherever you are, whatever you do, try to focus on what you are doing. Don’t let your mind think about other things. If your mind wants to think, then you can use a mantra to bring it back, like reciting Buddho, Buddho, Buddho.

For instance, when you’re brushing your teeth and you start thinking about your family, your friends, then you should use the mantra to bring it back to the brushing of the teeth. This is what you should do, curbing or stopping your thinking.

Once you can curb or stop your thinking, when you sit down and meditate, you will be able to stop your mind and calm your mind. Then, your mind will become still and happy.

When you sit, you need an object of meditation. Normally we use the breath as the object of meditation.

Just focus on the breath. Don’t control the breath. Just watch whether you are breathing in or breathing out. Just know whether it’s a short breath or a long breath. Know whether it’s subtle or coarse.

Know whether it disappears or doesn’t disappear. Don’t control or manage the breath.

Even when the breath disappears, just know it. Watch the emptiness of breath. Be aware that there is no breath to watch. Watch the emptiness. Watch whether your mind thinks or not. If your mind starts to think, if you have mindfulness, you will be able to stop it right away. If you can do this, eventually your mind will converge into one-pointedness, becoming one. The mind will become still, peaceful and happy. It becomes neutral. It will be void of love, hate, fear or delusion. This is called having upekkhā.”

“Dhamma in English, Q&A session, Jan 23, 2018.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
www.phrasuchart.com

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