Mindfulness Of Body And Breath

All right,

Everyone.

So the subjects dealt with in the Sati-Pitana Sutta are the physical body,

Feeling tones,

The mind,

And mind objects.

In the universe of right Buddhist contemplation for deliverance,

A very prominent place in the discourse is occupied by the discussion on mindfulness of breathing or the Anipana Sattva.

So mindfulness of breathing takes the highest place among the various subjects of Buddhist meditation.

So now let's take a few minutes of settling in with a short body scan before we get into the actual practice of the first foundation of mindfulness.

As you find a comfortable sitting posture,

Your back straight,

Yet not rigid.

Gently close your eyes and then let your head,

Face,

Jaw,

And neck relax.

And notice your breath.

Allow your shoulders to calm,

Letting the tug of gravity do its work.

Feel the tension in the biceps,

Forearms,

And hands dissipate.

Down the torso we do the same,

Letting the belly soften,

Allowing the tension to leave the body.

As we continue,

We'll let the tension leave in the hips,

Thighs,

Lower legs,

Ankles,

And feet.

We let it all relax,

Let all the tension melt away.

Through your out-breath,

Exhale all the tension and stress.

Watch the breath and be aware of where you notice it.

Is it when air passes your nostrils?

Is it the rise and fall of your abdomen?

Maybe it's the fullness and emptiness of the lungs as the breath occurs.

As you notice these sensations,

Think to yourself,

It is now like this.

It is now like this.

This is present-time awareness.

This is mindfulness.

Now,

Here,

This very moment.

Good morning.

Okay.

This concentration,

Through mindfulness of breathing,

When developed and practiced,

Is both peaceful and unparalleled.

It banishes at once unprofitable thoughts as soon as they arise.

We use the breath as our home base,

A place to come back to when we lose concentration and our mind wanders.

In difficult times,

On or off the cushion,

We can always go home to our breath.

It is always there for us.

Ever mindful,

We breathe in.

Ever mindful,

We breathe out.

Breathing in and out of deep breath,

No,

I am breathing in and out of deep breath.

Breathing in and out of short breath,

No,

I am breathing in and out of short breath.

Using the whole breath and body,

I shall breathe in and I shall breathe out.

Calming the activity of the breath and body,

I shall breathe in and I shall breathe out.

And as we sit here in this peaceful place,

In this sitting posture,

Resting on the cushion,

We understand this is the hub of our practice,

This whole body awareness.

We are simply knowing there is a body.

We can maintain this awareness through the four satipatthanas and take it out into the world with us through our mindfulness,

Keeping the mindfulness of the body ever present or when we lose it,

Coming back to it when we notice.

We start the practice with the three body contemplations,

Anatomical parts,

Elements,

And cemetery contemplations.

First we focus on the anatomical parts.

We start with the skin.

We are simply aware of the skin.

First in the head area,

To the extent we are able to feel it,

Or just simply knowing it is there.

From the head to the throat,

Neck,

Shoulders,

Both shoulders together,

Down the upper arms,

Forearms,

Wrists,

Hands.

We are just aware of the skin.

The sensation of the skin,

The protector of our body,

Holding this body together.

Now we move to the front of the body,

Ever mindful,

Ever aware.

The chest and belly pay attention to the skin.

The sensation of the skin against the clothing,

Or the exposed skin by the air,

The temperature and humidity of air against the skin.

We simply notice.

The back of the body,

How does the skin feel?

Let your mind explore this.

Moving down we notice how the skin feels on the hips,

Thighs,

Buttocks and lower legs.

How do our ankles and feet feel?

The skin touching each other in the cushion as we sit here in gentle contemplation.

We are aware of this whole body covered with skin.

So the spread Flesh.

We start with the fleshy parts of this body.

First the feet.

We notice the fleshy parts of the feet.

And moving up,

Lower legs,

Thighs,

We're aware of the fleshy parts of the hips,

The front of the torso,

Back of the torso.

We stay aware of the fleshy parts of the hands,

Lower arms.

We are aware of this body made of flesh.

Continuing the upper arms,

Shoulders,

The neck,

And the fleshy parts in the head.

Again,

We are aware of this whole body in the sitting posture of the fleshy parts of this body.

We are aware of this whole body in the sitting posture of the body.

Bones.

We start with the skull,

The most recognizable.

Neck bones,

Shoulder bones,

Upper arm bones,

Bones in the lower arms,

In the hands,

Bones in our chest area,

And down the spine,

Our hip bones,

Thigh bones,

Leg bones,

Bones in our feet.

We are aware of this whole body,

Of the bones in this whole body,

Of the skeleton.

Again we are aware of this whole body made of skin,

Flesh,

And bones.

With the understanding that each of the parts of this body have an important function to keep this body alive.

We are aware of this whole body made of skin,

Flesh,

And bones.

One lives contemplating body in the body,

Internally,

Externally,

And internally and externally.

We live unattached and clink to nothing in the world.

Thus we live contemplating the body in the body,

Having overcome desire and grief.

We are eager,

Understanding,

And mindful.

We move on to the elements,

Earth,

Water,

Fire,

And wind.

And they show themselves as hardness,

Fluidity,

Cohesion,

Temperature,

And motion.

The earth element is found throughout the whole body,

But the bones are where we can experience it most clearly.

Be aware of the earth element in the head,

Mostly the skull.

Let your attention connect the skull with the earth element of hardness.

In the neck and spine,

The body's shoulders,

Upper arms,

Lower arms,

Hands,

Torso,

Hips,

And shoulders.

Always being aware of this whole body's solidity,

Connected to the earth element.

The calcium that builds our bones comes directly from the earth.

The body's bones are the earth.

Water,

Liquidity,

Fluidity,

Cohesion,

Found throughout the whole body,

But especially in the fleshy parts,

Blood and other bodily liquids.

We are aware of the fact that these feet are pervaded by liquidity,

Fluidity,

Cohesion,

From the water element,

As are our lower legs,

Thighs,

Hips,

Torso,

Our shoulders,

Arms,

Neck,

And hip.

We are aware of the fact that these feet are pervaded by liquidity,

Fluidity,

Cohesion,

And from the water element,

From the body's body.

Fire.

Heat.

Warmth.

Everyone has touched skin on the forehead and felt warmth.

98.

6 degrees.

If it were that warm in this room,

It would be quite unpleasant.

We would search for a cooler spot.

This is the fire inside this body.

The skin is our connection to the fire element.

Our fiery core keeps this body alive.

If temperature goes too high or too low,

This body dies.

Fire keeps us alive.

Be aware of the fire element in the head.

So much heat being released there.

We are aware of the fire element in the neck,

Shoulders,

And hip.

Both shoulders together.

Upper arms,

Forearms,

Wrists,

Hands.

We are simply aware of this fire element keeping us warm and alive.

The chest area,

Down the spine,

In the hip area,

The thighs,

Lower legs,

And feet.

We are simply aware of the warmth from our inner fire.

Wind.

The element of wind combines with the other elements to keep this body alive.

Anyone missing any element and the body cannot survive.

Wind is any kind of motion throughout this whole body.

Wind is the breath.

Inhaling air,

Filling the body's lungs with much needed oxygen.

Exhaling CO2,

Which our partners in wind,

The plants,

Use to create our needed oxygen.

And again we inhale.

But wind does not end there.

This body's lungs pass it on to our blood,

The water element,

To nourish the body's cells.

Be aware of each breath bringing life to every inch of the body through the element of wind.

This is the constitution of the body,

Made up of these four elements,

Same as nature outside.

There is nothing special about this body,

Nothing I can truly own,

Just a process of solidity,

Fluidity,

Temperature,

And motion.

This body is not self,

Not something I can forever own.

We get to abide in this body now,

But not for all time.

Grasping at this body causes suffering.

This body doesn't create something that gives us a true sense of identity.

This body is not self.

One lives contemplating body in the body,

Internally,

Externally,

Internally,

And externally.

We live unattached and cling to nothing in the world.

Thus we live contemplating the body in the body.

Having overcome desire and grief,

We are eager,

Understanding,

And mindful.

Cemetery contemplations.

If you choose not to contemplate the mortality of the body,

Simply count the breath.

Count to ten and start again.

And if you want to remember to be kind to yourself,

As returning to the breath is a core practice of meditation.

Awareness to mortality of this body.

The body will pass away at some point.

It is destined to fall apart and return its elements to the earth,

Water,

Fire,

And wind.

If you choose to contemplate this,

Picture something such as a skull or bones.

Know that this body will at some time be in this state.

Every body that is born will die.

But suffering is not required.

Hope is not required.

Cherishing is.

Because our time with this body is limited,

Focusing our experience on negative aspects and what might happen on what we don't have is simply wasting the incredible fortunate gift we have to have such a body.

With every inhalation,

Realize this could be our last breath.

With every exhalation,

We let go.

We relax.

Just breathe.

Death is a part of life.

By making it part of life,

We become so alive to the present moment.

And if this practice is too agitating,

Again,

Just be aware and focus on the out-breath.

This is the only time we are alive.

Now.

It is the only time we can live.

Take a moment and just be aware of this.

We now contemplate our experience and awareness with the first foundation of mindfulness.

Give as much time as needed.

And then when you are ready,

Let go of the focus on body contemplations and come back to the breath.

And then open your eyes.

We will then have time for quiet meditation or walking meditation.