Anapanasati 1: Introduction & Preliminary Meditation

This talk was given at an online recovery Dharma half-day sitting. The first part of the program describes the practice of full awareness of breathing, as outlined in the Anapanasati Sutra. The second part is a guided meditation through the preliminaries of Anapanasati practice: seclusion, physical and mental posture, and setting an intention. We know that this practice is from the Buddha's early years of teaching and was one of his own favored practices.

Transcript

So the Anapanasati Sutra,

I don't know if anybody had a chance to read it,

The full awareness of breathing and it's really about just that,

Mindfulness of breathing.

This word sati,

As much as anything,

Means memory,

But more in this case,

Something more of remembrance,

A simple presence.

And the Anapana refers to the shape of the breath.

It literally means our inhalation and exhalation.

So simple presence with inhalation and exhalation.

The Anapanasati Sutra was originally taught by Gautama Buddha,

The Buddha of our historic era,

2600 years ago or something like that.

And we know that it was a favorite practice of his.

We know it's something that he practiced often.

It's a common practice in Tibetan traditions,

In Zen,

And in Theravadin Buddhism where most of our recovery Dharma practices are based.

In ancient and modern times really,

Anapanasati is and it has been the most widely used method in the Buddhist world for contemplating phenomena of the body and mind.

So here are the words of the Buddha,

Friends,

The full awareness of breathing,

If developed and practiced continuously,

Will be rewarding and bring great advantage.

It will lead to success in practicing the four establishments of mindfulness.

If the method of the four establishments of mindfulness is developed and practiced continuously,

It will lead to success in the practice of the seven factors of awakening.

And the seven factors of awakening,

If developed and practiced continuously,

Will give rise to understanding and liberation of the mind.

The Buddha's teachings in this sutra specifically concern mindfulness of our inhalations and exhalations,

And this alone can lead to transformation.

But there's more going on here than just awareness of breathing,

Though that is key to Anapanasati practice.

Like in the Satipatthana Sutra,

Which I think most of you are familiar with,

There are these four frames of reference in Anapanasati,

The body,

Feelings,

The mind,

And objects of mind,

The things that we perceive or dharmas.

We pay attention to these in quietude,

We see them,

Understand them,

And work to calm them.

But in the Anapanasati Sutra,

These four are really couched in just simple breath awareness.

In the Satipatthana,

There are a whole slew of specific meditations.

In Anapanasati,

These four really are just tied to simple breath awareness.

And all of the 16 steps in the Anapanasati Sutra are related to the breath.

And this is what we always come back to in this practice,

Mindfulness of the breath,

As we consider these four frames,

Body,

Feelings,

Mind or mental activities,

And the objects of our mind,

The things we perceive.

And we're just going to focus on the first two of the sutras four frames of reference,

Just body and feelings.

So the practice in brief,

Remembrance of the breath,

And awareness of the breath,

And I keep saying this because it's that simple,

It's almost deceptive.

It really is just about simple awareness of the breath.

And the key element is in the meaning of the word sati,

Simple presence,

A sense of oneness with the breath,

Not being separate from the breath,

Rather being of the breath,

Part and parcel,

Our breath and our body,

Our breath and our feelings as one.

Breathing with full awareness encourages us to be more aware of sensations of the body and feelings as they happen,

To see them,

To know them,

To disentangle ourselves from them,

To practice with them dispassionately,

Without attachment,

And to prevent ourselves from spinning off into the suffering that we create around them,

You know,

Whatever forms that might take,

Anger,

Sorrow,

Resentment,

Codependence,

Addiction.

There's a fellow named Jon Kabat-Zinn,

I don't know if you've heard of him.

He's the founder of the idea of mindfulness-based stress reduction.

He says we can see the breath as a bridge between what we call body and what we call mind.

He speaks of bringing mindfulness to the foreground,

Which requires a subtle shift of focus.

It's like when our brain filters out familiar and unnecessary sensory input.

When I was a kid,

I don't know,

Third or fourth grade,

We moved to a house that was very near to a railroad track,

And when we first lived there,

I was stunned,

Not only by the sound of it,

Every,

I don't know,

Two hours or so through the night,

But the vibration of the track,

You could literally feel the vibration in the house.

But of course,

As time went by,

My brain came to understand,

Oh,

I don't really need to pay attention to those,

And it began to filter those out and kept the sensations of my body and my ears at bay so I could focus on just one thing,

Which was getting to sleep.

The Buddha spoke of six senses,

The five that we normally consider,

Sight,

Hearing,

Smell,

Taste,

And touch,

To which he added the mind itself.

What that means is we can consider the idea of sense doors,

The ways in which these sensations from our senses present themselves.

The sense doors,

The eyes,

The ears,

The nose,

The tongue,

Our skin,

And the workings of our mind.

And then he asked us to consider,

What if a sensation at any one of these sense doors,

Sound,

A smell,

A thought,

What if it were met directly by the presence of mindfulness?

What if a sensation were met at the moment of its arising and understood for what it is?

It's a sensation,

Just that,

Nothing more,

Something to which we can bring our attention to or not.

We can think of mindfulness then as a gatekeeper of the senses,

A gatekeeper at these sense doors,

Facilitating the mind and not grasping after our sensations,

Including thought,

Not grasping at what's happening around us,

Not grasping at what knocks on any of those sense doors,

Just not answering their call.

Just like our brain does,

Automatically filtering out unnecessary sensations.

We can facilitate that process consciously,

So we can bring our presence,

Our attention to the reality of our breathing,

And our examination of the four frames of reference,

Body,

Feelings,

Mind,

And objects of mind.

And this really is a strength of mindfulness,

And this is part of its intended function in Anapanasati practice,

To stand as a gatekeeper at the sense doors,

To filter away the input of the six senses,

And to help us bring our awareness to the breath,

And to the transformations which can lead to a more awakened life.

Full awareness of the breath,

This simple instruction,

Breathe mindful of the breath,

This gives structure to Anapanasati practice,

And it moves us through its sixteen steps.

So here are the words of the Buddha,

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 benefit?

It is like this,

The practitioner goes into the forest,

Or to the foot of a tree,

Or to any deserted place,

Sits in a stable posture,

Holding his or her body straight,

And practices like this,

Breathing in,

I know I am breathing in,

Breathing out,

I know I am breathing out.

You know,

For me that alone could be enough.

When I bring that kind of breath awareness to my meditation,

It is so helpful,

And if I could keep this alone as I move through my day,

If I could keep that in mind as an unconscious practice,

I know that could change my life.

But the Buddha had more in mind here with Anapanasati practice,

A more in-depth,

Complete practice,

Using the breath as a method to be as one with our body,

As one with our feelings,

With our mind,

And as one with what our mind perceives,

And these for the purpose of understanding and healing.

So the sixteen steps in the sutra are divided into these four frames of reference,

As I mentioned,

And here are the steps,

And I am going to see if I can put this up on the screen.

I couldn't put my opening screen up,

But let's see here.

Here are the sixteen steps of the Anapanasati Sutra.

For the body,

As we said a moment ago,

Breathing in a long breath,

I know I am breathing in a long breath.

Breathing out a long breath,

I know I am breathing out a long breath.

Breathing in a short breath,

I know I am breathing in a short breath.

Breathing out a short breath,

I know that I am breathing out a short breath.

Breathing in,

I am aware of my whole body,

Breathing out I am aware of my whole body,

Breathing in,

I calm my whole body,

Breathing out,

I calm my whole body.

For feelings,

Breathing in,

I feel joyful,

Breathing out,

I feel joyful.

Breathing in,

I feel happy.

Breathing out,

I feel happy.

Breathing in,

I'm aware of my mental formations.

These are the things which we swirl up in our mind.

Breathing out,

I'm aware of mental formations.

Breathing in,

I calm my mental formations.

Breathing out,

I calm my mental formations.

For the mind,

Breathing in,

I'm aware of my mind.

Breathing out,

I'm aware of my mind.

Breathing in,

I make my mind happy.

Breathing out,

I make my mind happy.

Breathing in,

I concentrate my mind.

Breathing out,

I concentrate my mind.

Breathing in,

I liberate my mind.

Breathing out,

I liberate my mind.

And for objects of mind,

Breathing in,

I observe the impermanent nature of all dharmas.

Breathing out,

I observe the impermanent nature of all dharmas.

Breathing in,

I observe the disappearance of desire.

Breathing out,

I observe the disappearance of desire.

Breathing in,

I observe the no-birth,

No-death nature of all phenomena.

Breathing out,

I observe the no-birth,

No-death nature of all phenomena.

Breathing in,

I observe letting go.

Out I observe letting go.

That shit works,

How about that?

The full awareness of breathing the Buddha taught,

If developed and practiced continuously according to these instructions,

He said,

Will be rewarding and of great benefit.

But there are these foundational preliminaries to this practice which can aid us in awareness of breathing.

And these are part of the meditations themselves.

First,

We need to find a sense of seclusion.

The sutra speaks of this,

Says the practitioner goes into the forest or to the foot of a tree or to any deserted place,

Which is hard to find in a busy world,

In a busy life.

So we have to seek out a physical place where we can practice a quiet,

Removed spot.

Most of you I'm sure have already found a place in your home or somewhere outdoors where you can be at least somewhat physically secluded,

A place where you can practice without distraction.

If not,

I encourage you to create this for yourself to give yourself that gift.

But there's also a kind of mental seclusion that we can achieve.

When we approach our seat for meditation,

For engaging in mindful breathing,

We need to let go of our concerns,

Our responsibilities,

At least for this moment.

And so we set an intention to practice with the breath wholeheartedly,

No matter what else may be happening in our lives,

To bring ourselves to this place,

To this time,

And to dedicate ourselves to practice,

If even only for a little while.

And we need to take a physical posture that's conducive to meditation.

We all have different capabilities in this.

You have to do what it is that works for you.

Some people sit on a meditation cushion.

I use a meditation bench myself.

Some people lie on the floor,

Which is fine as long as the spine is straight,

The breath is free.

But there's also this idea of a mental posture.

And this really is in terms of intention,

Aligning our mind with the intention to practice and holding to that connection lightly,

But in a very real and dedicated way.

And like the body,

We realign ourselves when our posture weakens,

The posture of the mind needs to be observed and realigned whenever our attention is lost.

Now as for the breathing itself,

The sutra asks us to be mindful as we breathe in,

Mindful as we breathe out.

The real thing is to practice with the breath itself,

Not the sensations caused by the breath,

But the breath itself.

Remember,

Anapanasati means mindfulness of inhalations and exhalations,

That reality,

Not the mechanics of the breath or the feeling of the breath,

But the breath,

Pure and simple.

You know,

The relationship of the sensations of breathing to the breath itself,

It's similar to the old Buddhist story of the finger pointing at the moon.

The finger is to encourage us to look at the moon,

Not at the finger.

In the same way,

The mechanics of breathing,

The sensations of breathing,

These shouldn't distract us from the breath itself.

Now that much said,

And if you're early in this practice,

The sensations of the breath can help us to focus into this meditation and that's okay.

If it helps you to be aware of the sensations of the breath,

Then do it.

The trick is not to hold on to the sensations long term,

But to learn to release them.

The use of the sensations to build awareness of the breath,

It has to be let go because in the end,

These sensations are strong and we need to be careful not to let them become the point.

By letting go of our awareness of the sensations of the breath,

A stable awareness of the breath itself can be achieved and it can be deepened.

In other words,

Focusing on the sensations of the breath,

It might give us a strong experience,

But we can get lost in that.

Leaving the sensations behind allows the breath to be established in a peripheral awareness.

And you're going to hear me use this term a lot,

A peripheral awareness,

Something that's real,

But gentle.

And even though doing this,

Not paying attention to the sensations,

It might cause our experience not to seem as powerful or deep at first.

The advantage is that the distractions which tear at our concentration,

They can be noticed as they enter on the edges of our awareness,

As they appear at the sense doors.

And we can experience them before they captivate our attention and evolve into a range of emotions.

So,

What I'd like to do is do a 25 minute guided meditation concerning these preliminaries.

So,

Go ahead and find your comfortable meditation posture,

Whether that's seated or otherwise.

You want to stand up and stretch for a second.

You're welcome to do that.

Good noon.

No.

.

With your body and your posture,

Let your mind rest on your body as your body rests on your cushion or on the floor.

And as we have found seclusion for the body,

Establish a seclusion in the mind.

Rest now from the demands of life,

Responsibilities,

Expectations.

No need for those now.

And in this gratefully found seclusion,

This gift of time and place,

Formulate your intention and motivation to practice here,

Now,

For your own growth and for how that growth can benefit others.

Bring attention through your spine,

Bottom to top,

Vertebrae by vertebrae.

Feel the spine align itself,

Bottom to top,

Relaxing,

Aligning.

Straightness of the body,

A feeling of uprightness encourages a straightness of the mind.

Be here in the present moment,

Not in the past that's gone,

Not in the future,

It's not here yet.

Be here now.

The present moment is where your life is.

What's Axe for?

Coming to the present moment of the moment.

Allow mindfulness to be predominant.

Bring mindfulness to the foreground.

Seclude yourself in mindfulness of the moment.

Familiarize yourself with the condition of your mind when mindfulness is present.

What does the mind feel like?

Sit with sati.

Simple awareness.

Bare awareness.

Gentle.

Easy.

Full.

See the condition of your mind.

Meet it where it is,

Without judgment or even the desire for it to change.

Just accept where you are.

See the condition of your mind.

See the condition of your mind.

See the condition of your mind.

See the condition of your mind.

See the condition of your mind.

See the condition of your mind.

See the condition of your mind.

See the condition of your mind.

See the condition of your mind.

See the condition of your mind.

See the condition of your mind.

Slowly bring your awareness to the breathing itself.

The distinction between your inhalation and your exhalation.

That gentle change where one leads to the other.

You might use a physical location to experience the breath.

The tip of your nose as the air passes in and out.

Your diaphragm as it moves up and down,

Your chest as it rises and falls.

But in the end,

Being aware of the breath alone is our practice.

Just the breath as it is.

Not its sensations.

But its reality.

Sustaining.

Giving life to your mindfulness.

Simple awareness of breathing.

A gift you bring to yourself.

A gift you bring to yourself.

A gift you bring to yourself.

A gift you bring to yourself.

A gift you bring to yourself.

A gift you bring to yourself.

A gift you bring to yourself.

A gift you bring to yourself.

A gift you bring to yourself.

A gift you bring to yourself.

A gift you bring to yourself.

A gift you bring to yourself.

A gift you bring to yourself.

A gift you bring to yourself.

Let your mindfulness of the breath rest in the foreground.

Experience it within.

Experience it without.

Not strained.

Not forced.

Gentle.

Natural.

Easy.

And when sensations come to the sense doors,

Experience them mindfully for what they are.

Just sensations.

Not important.

Not something you need to follow.

Can you imagine soul default Rockwell.

.

.

.

.

.

Just hold your breath in awareness.

All that needs to be is your own.

Mindfully held,

Cherished as a precious gift.

All that needs to be is your own.

All that needs to be is your own.

All that needs to be is your own.

All that needs to be is your own.

All that needs to be is your own.

All that needs to be is your own.

Reviews

Thanks 🙏. I have been practicing breathing meditation for much of 20 years (at various levels of intensity, but this guided meditation revealed new insights! Tashi delek.

Grateful for all your guidance. Thank you 🙏 I do have a question though. I'm not sure what is meant by "noticing the breath itself" instead of the sensations... How does that work? 🙏

Instructions aligned with teachings I have received. Pacing excellent thank you.

Inspiring. However the ticking clock in the background added it’s mechanical influence to the experience

Nicely done. Thank you for sharing. 🙏🙂

Clear instruction; supportive presence. Thank you, Sheldon.

With gratitude 🙏🏼

Reading breath by breath right now wanting to practice this sutra deeper so this series is lovely for that diving into this teaching more. Thank you you for your clear and gentle teaching.

Thanks

After almost 10 years of practicing regularly meditation, I must admit that I learned something new and crucial here. Not putting the focus on the sensations of the breath, but focus on the breath itself. I'm sure this brings my practice to a new level. Thank you! 🙏🏻

Briliant icomments on the Sutras with clearly guided meditation. Highly recommended.. I am very grateful for these lessons, that I have been repeating daily for a fee weeks now thañk you!!!

Most excellent. Wonderful short talk and instruction then nice quiet time to meditate. Thank you, looking forward to your other practices. ☮️💖🙏

I’ve been waiting for more Anapanasati meditations for some time now. I find this a wonderful observation that the majority of the ones present on insight timer are targeted towards recovery, or from teachers who spend time with that community. Metta to all who read this!