The following meditation instructions are based on the six steps of breathing meditation according to Vasubandhu,
As well as various commentaries on his text.
Meditation on the breath pacifies afflictive emotions.
It especially pacifies discursive thinking or coarse conceptuality,
Thereby increasing our ability to focus not only on the breath,
But also on other objects of observation.
The object chosen,
The breath,
Is natural and available to all,
Everywhere,
At all times.
By focusing the mind on this object,
It will slowly become calm and relaxed.
Vasubandhu says that mindfulness of exhalation and inhalation of the breath is wisdom,
Because wisdom occurs by generation of the force of mindfulness.
According to Vasubandhu,
Mindfulness of breathing is perfected when it is endowed with six operations.
Counting,
Following,
Fixing,
Observing or Investigating,
Modifying and Purifying.
Therefore we will practice mindfulness of breathing by focusing on these six aspects of the breathing process in the meditation.
First,
Begin by placing the attention on the in-breathing and out-breathing,
Without effort or tension.
Let the body and mind be as they are.
And when I stop talking,
We will simply count the breaths from one to ten in the mind.
Do not count to less than ten,
Nor to more than ten,
In order to avoid tension and mental distraction.
If,
In the course of this cultivation,
The mind becomes distracted,
Then one should count anew from the beginning until absorption or Samadhi is attained.
Now withdraw the mind inside and count the breaths from one to ten,
Single-pointedly,
Without confusing the order or becoming distracted.
Continue to observe and count the breaths from one to ten.
Once the mind becomes more quiet and tranquil,
We now move on to the second step,
Which is to watch and follow the breathing.
Follow the inhalation as it moves in from the beginning of the breath,
Into the throat,
The heart,
The navel,
And so on,
All the way down to both feet.
Then follow the exhalation as it moves outward.
Stay with your attention alert,
Yet relaxed,
In order to stay with the movement of the breath and follow it.
Observe and recognize where the breath goes in the body.
Continue to observe and watch the inhalation and exhalation of the breath,
Following its rhythmic movement.
Now moving to the third stage of this mindfulness of breathing practice,
Fix or place your attention on the tip of the nose,
Or between the eyebrows,
Or in another area of the body of your choosing,
Down to the toes of the feet.
Fix the mind,
See the breath held in the body,
Like the thread of a pearl necklace,
Noticing if it is hot or cold,
Pleasant or unpleasant.
At this stage,
We are noticing the feeling and sensation accompanying the movement of the breath throughout the body.
We practice this mindfulness of breathing with an attention to things as they really are.
As things are presenting themselves in this very moment,
Without hoping or wishing things to be different,
Without seeking for anything.
For the fourth stage of this meditation,
We now move to observing or investigation that reveals deeper truths about the nature of this body-mind.
As the mind becomes more pacified,
We begin to notice that within this fathom-long body,
There is not only the breath,
The movement of air,
But we begin to look and investigate the four primary elements and the five aggregates.
Their nature and what they constitute within this body.
This stage of the practice moves us into Vipassana,
Or insight practice.
We investigate and analyze,
With a contemplative state of mind,
All the four elements and five aggregates.
First,
Notice and feel the earth element and its characteristics within the body.
Of hardness,
Solidity and resistance.
Secondly,
Notice and experience the water element and its particular characteristics of fluidity,
Moisture,
Wetness and cohesion.
Now move to noticing the fire element and how it manifests throughout your body.
The characteristics of temperature,
Heat,
Warmth or coolness.
And the energy of combustion within the digestive system.
Finally,
Notice the air element,
The main characteristic of the in and out breath,
The up-going and down-moving winds of the body,
And the quality of extension or movement.
Following this investigation,
We now move on to examining the five aggregates,
Or skandhas.
The first aggregate is material form,
Made up of these four great elements we have just described.
This very body is material form,
And its physicality is just these four elements in play.
The second aggregate is feeling tone.
We can notice that every conscious experience,
Whether physical or mental,
Has a feeling tone of either pleasant,
Unpleasant or neutral.
The third aggregate is perception.
Notice how with every conscious experience,
There is perception,
A mental designation,
Which may appear as either an image,
A memory or a mental label.
For example,
Seeing a colour with the eye,
Perception is the labelling of it as blue or red.
Hearing a sound,
The mind labels it as a dog or a bird.
The fourth aggregate is that of mental formations.
We can notice the thinking activity of mind,
The conceptual constructions that take place.
The fifth aggregate is sense consciousness.
We can notice at each of the sense doors,
The moments of cognition that arise through the eyes seeing a form,
The ears hearing a sound,
The nose smelling an odour,
The tongue tasting a flavour,
The body touching a tangible,
Or the mind cognising a mind object.
For the fifth stage of this practice,
Modifying,
One now modifies the mind that had the breath and body as its primary object of attention,
And now directs the mind to meditation on impermanence.
We can notice and analyse how the breath changes consistently,
Continuously from moment to moment,
And thus we begin to recognise and notice the truth of impermanence,
Anicca.
We can investigate the impermanence of all these five aggregates,
Observing their arising and ceasing in our direct experience.
Seeing clearly like this gives rise to insight,
Vipassana.
Consistent and sustained observation of the impermanence of the five aggregates leads to the elimination of the five mental hindrances,
Or obstacles,
Of sensual desire,
Ill-will,
Laziness,
Restlessness,
And doubt.
As we continue to deepen our contemplation of the arising,
Continuation and ceasing of all phenomena,
One sees that all phenomena are impermanent,
Unsatisfactory,
Empty,
And not-self,
Anatta.
Furthermore,
The insights into these three characteristics of existence,
Of all phenomena,
Through this meditation practice,
Give rise to the states of dispassion,
Cessation,
And the relinquishment of attachment.
Following these deep insights and understandings,
The meditator enters the path of seeing and the path of meditation,
Known as purifying.
With correct practice,
Based on right view,
The mind is transformed into the paths of seeing and meditation.
The sixth stage encompasses the practice of the four fields,
Or foundations,
Of mindfulness,
Which lead to the uprooting and eradication of the afflictive emotions and the attainment of the wholesome roots.
This happens through wisdom itself doing the work.
Right view arises from the work done in the consistent application of this meditation practice.
This is the way of cultivation that will bring ever-deepening insight and lead one onto the full liberation or awakening that the Buddha pointed to.
In essence,
There is direct realization of emptiness,
The eradication of the unwholesome roots,
The cessation of clinging,
And the ending of suffering.
Thank you for your time.
