Mindful Breathing

Although there are dozens of styles of meditation, one thing many practices have in common is the ability to synchronize body & mind in the present moment.

Transcript

I will give instructions on breathing.

It's so important.

The first exercise is in out.

It means breathing in,

I know that I'm breathing in.

Breathing out,

I know that I'm breathing out.

This is a very important practice.

When you breathe in,

You know that this is your in-breath and not your out-breath.

You identify your in-breath as in-breath and when you breathe out,

You know that this is your out-breath.

Only that,

But it is a very important practice.

This is the first exercise on breathing that the Buddha gives to us.

When we practice like that,

Something wonderful happens.

Since we pay attention only to our in-breath and out-breath and identify them as in-breath and out-breath,

We stop the thinking.

And this is a miracle already because in our daily life we think too much.

And because we think too much,

We are not truly ourselves.

Our body may be here but our mind may be elsewhere in the past,

In the future,

In China.

And therefore when you breathe in and out and become aware of your in-breath and out-breath,

You stop the thinking and you begin to be where your body is.

Our body and our mind are very often separated from each other.

And in between we have our breath.

And the moment when we hold to our breathing and breathe in and out consciously,

Breathing in,

I calm my body,

Breathing out,

I smile,

Our body and our mind will become one.

And if we practice breathing in and out with some concentration,

We attain what we call the oneness of body and mind.

The oneness of body and mind.

Your mind and your body are reunified and you begin to be there truly yourself.

And this is the first fruit of your practice.

And it needs you to breathe in and out consciously,

Being aware of your in-breath and your out-breath.

When you are not there,

When you are not really there,

You cannot see things very clearly and deeply.

You miss everything.

Everything seems to you not clear,

Vague.

And therefore in order to make ourselves available to our beloved ones,

We should be there.

And we are there by breathing in and out,

Breathing in,

Breathing out.

And practicing like that for one time,

Two times and begin to be to be alive,

To be present.

And that is the practice of mindfulness.

Mindfulness means to be aware.

To be aware of what is going on.

Your child is coming and she wants some attention,

Some affection.

You know that.

So you smile to her.

You might open your arms and hug her.

And the basic condition is that you are there.

So breathing in and breathing out is to be really there and to be available.

Available to whom?

Available to your beloved ones.

And also to be ready to encounter life.

Because life can be found only in the present moment.

Let us think a little bit.

The blue sky,

The beautiful blue sky.

When can you get in touch with the blue sky?

The present moment.

In order not to miss the blue sky,

You have to go back to the present moment because it is in that moment that you can get in touch with the blue sky.

The beautiful rivers,

The beautiful trees,

Your mommy,

Your daddy,

They are all in the present moment.

And if you go back to the present moment,

You encounter them.

Everything wonderful,

Everything refreshing.

You want to get in touch.

They are in the present moment.

Therefore running to the future or getting lost in the past,

You miss life.

And therefore breathing in and out is to get back to the present moment where you have an appointment with life.

That is why in and out is so important.

It makes life possible to you.

What you are looking for,

Like happiness,

Peace,

Joy,

They are all in the present moment.

The pure land of the Buddhist must be found in the present moment.

The kingdom of heaven of the Catholics,

Of the Protestants,

Should also be found in the present moment.

Look at the tree.

It's a wonderful thing,

A tree.

A tree is very beautiful.

A tree to me is as beautiful as a cathedral.

Even more beautiful.

And there are times when I stand before a tree with deepest respect.

I look into the tree and I saw the whole cosmos in it.

I saw the sunshine in the tree.

Can you see the sunshine in the tree?

Yeah,

Because without the sunshine no tree can grow.

I see a cloud in the tree.

Can you see?

Without a cloud there can be no rain,

No tree.

I see the earth in the tree.

I see everything in the tree.

So the tree is where everything in the cosmos comes into.

And the cosmos reveals itself to me to a tree.

Therefore a tree to me is a cathedral.

And I can take refuge in the tree and I can get nourished by the tree.

The tree belongs to the kingdom of God.

The tree belongs to the Pure Land.

And I can get in touch with the tree only if I go back to the present moment.

Because the tree can only be found in the present moment.

And that is why in and out is so important.

Suppose I practice like this.

Breathing in,

I am aware of my eyes.

Breathing out,

I smile to my eyes.

This is to go back to the present moment in order to discover things that you tend to forget like your eyes.

My eyes make me happy.

My eyes are conditions for my happiness.

I know that without my eyes I cannot be happy.

I need only to open my eyes in order to see the beautiful blue sky,

The beautiful earth,

The children,

The adults,

All kinds of forms,

All kind of colors because I have eyes.

So breathing in in order to go back to the present moment and to get in touch with my eyes is a basic practice for happiness.

And breathing out,

I smile to my eyes.

I smile to my eyes because I am happy to have eyes.

I need only to open my eyes in order to see the beautiful trees and so on.

Let us breathe in and out a few times and become aware of the fact that we have eyes.

You might like to touch your eyes if you wish by breathing.

So my eyes belong to the kingdom of God,

To the pure land.

My eyes are conditions for my happiness.

I go back to the present moment in order to get in touch with my eyes so that I can be happy.

The trees belong to the kingdom of God,

To the pure land.

And there are millions,

Millions of things like that inside of me and around me that are wonderful,

That I can get in touch with only if I am back in the present moment.

You know something?

There are people who believe that they can enter the kingdom of God or the pure land after they die.

I don't agree with them.

I know that you don't have to die in order to go into the kingdom of God.

In fact you have to be alive to do so.

You should be alive and you should take one breath in and out and with one foot you make a step and you enter the kingdom of God right now.

And this is possible with the first exercise breathing in and breathing out.

Because my eyes belong to the kingdom of God,

The trees belong to the kingdom of God,

And many other things are like that.

And therefore if I become aware by breathing in and out,

I only need to make one step in order to enter into the kingdom of heaven.

With some practice you develop your concentration and then every time you want to enter the kingdom of heaven you can do that.

You are welcome.

The door is wide open.

But if you live in forgetfulness,

You cannot do that because forgetfulness is the opposite of mindfulness.

To live in forgetfulness means to get lost in the past,

In the future,

To be possessed by anger,

Hatred,

Fear,

And therefore you are not ready to enter into the kingdom of God.

In order to get rid of forgetfulness you practice breathing in and out and mindfulness becomes the result of your practice.

And with mindfulness you get in touch with everything that is wonderful,

That is refreshing,

That is healing in the present moment.

So let us invite one sound of the bell and breathe together three times in order to enjoy ourselves,

Enjoy the kingdom we find ourselves in this very moment.

Reviews

Zo eenvoudig, zo leerzaam en zo simpel zijn in het rijkdom van de hemel, van God en de Kosmos

Such a beautiful transmission. It’s so much more than a teaching. It’s like going to the pure land itself.

That was easy on my soul and just what I needed. Thank you.

Very simple, yet very, very good, an exercise in being present, each and every moment !

More of a talk than a meditation. But so valuable.

His words are simple and full of liight. No complications, simple is right.

I saved this meditation and am so glad I did I am different today than I was when I saved it & I heard so much that I hadn’t listened to before - thank you

Grateful for the reminder to appreciate the value of each and every breath I take. 🌺🌴Namaste 🙏

Very enlightening and simple language . I believe this will help me in my every day life

So amazing. What a blessing this man was to humanity.

This was one of my first introductions to meditation fifteen years ago. It continues to open me up the present moment and the kingdom of god today. Thank you Thich Nhat Han, still with us in spirit.

I always appreciate the wisdom shared by Thich Nhat Hanh.

This is the most beautiful lead meditation 🙏 I was so touched… it includes the essence of Life, of beeing… I shared it to my son and his girlfriend. And to my mother, sisters and brother. I want to share it to everyone I love…

Although this felt more like a talk to me, I was able to “breathe in, “I’m breathing in,” breathe out, “I’m breathing out,” through the entire thing (which I think is the point). The wisdom shared is worth the listen. I highly recommend.

Beloved Thay - Wonderful teacher. True Bodhisattva.

It’s beautiful to have Thays wisdom and voice here on IT

So basic and pure. I love TNH's teachings. Saw him in the late 90s, this talk reminded me of that experience. Mindfulness at its core...

I love this meditation. I come back to it again and again. It always helps. Thank you

What a beautiful soul. Love this brief meditation. So potent💫

What a WONDERFUL, ACCESSIBLE way, for everyone, to begin MEDITATION.
Namaste 🙏🏻✨