The breath

1. The meaning of the breath

The breath is the most essential need of life. If we go without food for more than ten days, the body is in danger; if we go without drink for more than three days, the body will be in danger; but if we lose the breath for just two or three minutes, we die at once. Therefore, at every moment we must be breathing out and in. Oxygen is absorbed by the lungs and carried by the blood throughout the body, especially up to the brain. If the brain lacks oxygen, it will be seriously damaged, and recovery is very difficult.

The breath can be controlled both by the conscious (animal) nerves and by the unconscious (vegetative) nerves. That is, even if we pay no attention, the movement of breathing continues, controlled by the unconscious nerves; or if we do pay attention, the movement of breathing at once comes under the control of the conscious nerves. We will see that if we do not pay attention, so be it, but as soon as we do, the breath immediately becomes stronger and more awkward, and needs to be adjusted appropriately. It is only a pity that before we have been in active control for long, we forget and run off after delusive thoughts.

When we gather the mind by paying attention to some object, our mind will also be attached to that idea. For example, if we look at a point of light such as the tip of an incense stick in order to focus, the idea of the incense stick will gradually take over our mind; if we think about a question of doctrine, "Who was the first person to appear on Earth?", an entire brain is set whirling and stirred up. But when we pay attention to the out-breath and the in-breath, the ideas gradually settle. This is a very special property that nature has given to human beings. In the language of medicine, when the nerves of breathing are excited, the other nerve regions automatically go into inhibition.

Another special thing is that when we gently and clearly know the out-breath and in-breath, the power of clear awareness naturally increases gradually. The constantly present power of clear awareness in turn gradually builds up human electricity (bioelectricity) for the body. This human electricity improves the body's resistance (immunity). Those who specialise in training Qigong even use the breath to create an extraordinary kind of strength that we usually call internal power (nội công). However, this age in which technology prevails has also contributed to the gradual fading of the transmission of the secrets of such internal power. Practising following the breath now may not make us extraordinarily strong like the people of old, but it will certainly make us healthier than if we did not practise.

When we actively control the breath, of course we do not need to breathe hard, but the exchange of oxygen O2 and carbon dioxide CO2 circulates better. The lungs are also trained to be more supple and resilient, avoiding the risk of diseases such as tuberculosis and inflammation.

According to Eastern medicine and martial arts, besides the air that we breathe in and out, there is another kind of energy (khí) capable of permeating the muscles, tendons, bones and organs, and above all of circulating along the complex invisible systems of acupuncture points of the body. This energy is the extraordinary source of power of the body. They imagine leading the energy to circulate along the important meridians and points in order to stimulate latent potential. The Đan điền point, 5 cm below the navel, is the most essential point for opening up such inner power. After long practice, the feeling that a current of breath is present in the abdomen is very real. Relaxing the whole body in Buddhist meditation also helps the energy permeate the whole body easily. This is the difference between external and internal practice (ngoại công and nội công), since external practice requires training by stiffening the muscles. The Tai Chi form of the Wudang school is a quintessence of Eastern martial arts because of its strangely soft, relaxed and slow way of fighting. However, the public is taught only the shell, while the loftier secrets may have been withheld.

1. The breath in Buddhist meditation

In the Discourse on Mindfulness of Breathing (Niệm Hơi Thở), in the Majjhima Nikaya, the Buddha taught 17 stages of breathing. Alongside the out-breath and in-breath, the practitioner must also have necessary intentions that gradually become more complex. In this lesson we do not yet need to set out all 17 breaths, only to present the important basics.

Before entering the practice of the breath, we are obliged to be skilled in the work of settling the body, which must not be taken lightly. The body must be kept motionless, soft, relaxed, in the correct posture. The whole body must also be clearly known, which the sutra calls awareness of the whole body. If settling the body is not yet firm and we hurry on to practising the breath, it does more harm than good.

First, when the breath goes in, we know clearly that it is the in-breath; when the breath goes out, we know clearly that it is the out-breath. There is a simple thing here: when following the breath, we know that breathing is going on, but we do not pay clear attention to whether we are breathing out or breathing in. This is also due to lack of attentiveness and lack of clear awareness. Therefore, to train attentiveness and clear awareness, we must know clearly whether the breath is going out or coming in. We will see the breath come in clearly, then pause, then go out, then pause, then come in, and so on; that is, we follow the movement of the breath closely, bit by bit. If at any moment we are drowsy and do not know whether the breath is going out, coming in, or pausing to prepare to change direction, we are losing clear awareness.

We may also make a mistake: imagining moving along with the breath, starting from the nose and going gradually to the chest, the sternum, the abdomen, in order to know how far the breath goes, and then following the breath out again as far as the nose. Qigong may have this method, but Buddhist meditation does not. Moving the mind along with the breath like this makes the mind passive, and the brain becomes tense.

It is best to stay still in one place and watch the mind's coming and going.

There is one very specific place that the breath must always pass through, going in or out: the nasal passage. If we pay attention at one spot in the nasal passage to monitor the out-breath or in-breath, the mind is very quickly firmly gathered and delusive thoughts settle easily. However, when we pay attention at the nasal passage like this, we are focusing on the upper part of the body, which is very Yang. Over time, the Yin force that is the root of the body is gradually depleted and many illnesses appear, including nervous diseases of the brain. Only someone who already has abundant Yin force can gather the mind by fixing the mind at the nasal passage and attain concentration straight away. Some schools propose fixing the mind at the sternum in the middle of the chest to follow the breath going out and in. In fact the sternum also belongs to the Yang part, so fixing the mind there for a long time is not good either.

Some schools propose fixing the mind at the lower abdomen, to follow the rising and falling of the abdomen and know whether the breath is out or in. This method happens to accord with the law of Yin and Yang, so that the practitioner can develop latent potential by practising this way.

However, the rising and falling of the abdomen exists only in the early stage. After a long time, when the mind has settled, the breath is no longer strong enough to make the abdomen rise and fall noticeably. If one deliberately maintains the rising and falling of the abdomen, it obstructs gathering the mind.

A reasonable proposal combining the advantages above is to fix the mind lightly at a single point, the Đan điền, to follow the breath going out and in. Abiding in the mind like this does not depend on the rising and falling of the abdomen. However, a difficulty will arise for someone who cannot yet both know the whole body fluently and pay attention to one small point at the Đan điền. Moreover, at first the breath seems not yet to reach the abdomen, so placing the mind below the abdomen feels as if it has nothing to do with the breath. But if we persevere for a while, these difficulties will disappear, and the practitioner can at once know the whole body, attend to the Đan điền point, and follow the breath going out and in clearly without confusion.

When the mind abides at the Đan điền to follow the out- and in-breath, delusive thoughts still arise from time to time. If delusive thoughts are still too strong, our mind will lose mindfulness and forget to follow the breath. If delusive thoughts are not strong, we remember the breath more easily. The reason why delusive thoughts are strong or weak is a secret of cause and effect. This is precisely where the role of merit is emphasised. A person with enough merit will gather the mind more easily than a person with little merit. That is exactly why the Buddha placed right action (doing meritorious deeds) before right mindfulness and right concentration (in the Noble Eightfold Path).

If we feel that gathering the mind is not easy, we must diligently accumulate merit for the rest of our lives, and not stubbornly abandon everything to look after gathering the mind alone, or we will lose on both counts, that is, we will get neither the result of meditative concentration nor merit. When, while busy doing meritorious deeds, we can still gather the mind easily each time we sit in meditation, it means that merit has begun to be there.

Next, when the in-breath is long, we know the breath is long; when the in-breath is short, we know the breath is short. Most people who practise the breath method make a serious mistake: they try to breathe longer than normal, that is, they constantly interfere with the breath. Here the Buddha teaches us to know clearly but not to interfere with the breath. This is a skilful Middle Way.

The practitioner, alert and passive, observes the breath going out and in clearly but does not interfere and does not deliberately control the breath. Certainly the breath will not be even throughout the sitting. The secret agitations of the deep inner mind will govern the breath, making it sometimes strong and sometimes weak, sometimes long and sometimes short.

When the inner mind is quiet, the breath is gentle and longer; when the inner mind has impulses, even silent ones, the breath will be stronger and shorter. We simply follow and note such changes and do not interfere to adjust the breath to be even as we would like. This is a distinctive characteristic of Buddhist meditation compared with other kinds of meditation or Qigong. When we practise exactly as the Buddha taught in this way, we will find the mind calm from deep within. Interfering to control the breath as one wishes may make the mind seem to extinguish delusive thoughts quickly, but deep down it is stirred up.

The further basic breaths for practising meditative concentration are listed as follows:

• Knowing the whole body clearly while breathing in; knowing the whole body clearly while breathing out. This breath reminds us not to forget to know the whole body clearly. And throughout life we must never forget this work of knowing the whole body clearly. When we realise each level of meditation, we also rely only on the state of the body to assess it, and do not go anywhere else.

• Knowing the body is impermanent while breathing in; knowing the body is impermanent while breathing out. This breath helps us gradually to be free from attachment to the body. Attachment to the body is a fundamental and truly terrible attachment. The deep, hidden attachment to self is also supported by attachment to the body. Breaking attachment to the body makes our mind light and much freer of afflictions. However, to understand how the body is impermanent, we must first analyse it as the Buddha taught in the Discourse on Mindfulness of the Body (Niệm Thân). We must see the changes of the body from youth to old age, from old age to death, from death to complete decay, until even the bones crumble into dust and blow away on the wind.

• Vowing loving-kindness towards beings while breathing in; vowing loving-kindness towards beings while breathing out. This breath has a very good power to eliminate delusive thoughts at times when delusive thoughts are too strong or make us lose mindfulness. It is precisely the merit of a compassionate mind that helps us become more clearly aware and escape from delusive thoughts.

• Knowing the mind is still agitated while breathing in; knowing the mind is still agitated while breathing out. This breath is applied when our mind has settled. In fact, when the mind has settled there is no need to go to the trouble of raising an intention as a reminder. It is only that when the mind has settled, we tend to silently praise ourselves and form a secret arrogance and pride that is extremely dangerous, so this breath helps us to block thoughts of arrogance and pride. Even if the mind has temporarily settled, the afflictions, agitations, attachments and so on have not stirred in the least. Delusive thoughts can still stir again, and afflictions can still suddenly reappear. Therefore vigilance and not being complacent are necessary and are meritorious.

At the very beginning we only breathe and know the body. After a long time, we naturally come to know the inner mind as well, without deliberate effort. Then we know the breath, know the whole body and know the inner mind all at once. Knowing all three at the same time, we remain gentle and at ease.