Mindfulness of Breathing
Ānāpānasati Sutta  (MN 118)

Mindfulness of in-&-Out Breathing

“Now how is mindfulness of in-&-out breathing developed & pursued so as to be of great fruit, of great benefit?

“There is the case where a monk, having gone to the wilderness, to the shade of a tree, or to an empty building, sits down folding his legs crosswise, holding his body erect, and establishing mindfulness to the fore.1 Always mindful, he breathes in; mindful he breathes out.

“[1] Breathing in long, he discerns, ‘I am breathing in long’; or breathing out long, he discerns, ‘I am breathing out long.’ [2] Or breathing in short, he discerns, ‘I am breathing in short’; or breathing out short, he discerns, ‘I am breathing out short.’ [3] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in sensitive to the entire body.’2 He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out sensitive to the entire body.’ [4] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in calming bodily fabrication.’3 He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out calming bodily fabrication.’

“[5] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in sensitive to rapture.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out sensitive to rapture.’ [6] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in sensitive to pleasure.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out sensitive to pleasure.’ [7] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in sensitive to mental fabrication.’4 He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out sensitive to mental fabrication.’ [8] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in calming mental fabrication.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out calming mental fabrication.’

“[9] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in sensitive to the mind.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out sensitive to the mind.’ [10] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in gladdening the mind.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out gladdening the mind.’ [11] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in steadying the mind.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out steadying the mind.’ [12] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in releasing the mind.’5 He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out releasing the mind.’

“[13] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in focusing on inconstancy.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out focusing on inconstancy.’ [14] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in focusing on dispassion [or: fading].’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out focusing on dispassion.’ [15] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in focusing on cessation.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out focusing on cessation.’ [16] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in focusing on relinquishing.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out focusing on relinquishing.’

“This is how mindfulness of in-&-out breathing is developed & pursued so as to be of great fruit, of great benefit.

The Four Establishings of Mindfulness

“And how is mindfulness of in-&-out breathing developed & pursued so as to bring the four establishings of mindfulness to their culmination?

“[1] On whatever occasion a monk breathing in long discerns, ‘I am breathing in long’; or breathing out long, discerns, ‘I am breathing out long’; or breathing in short, discerns, ‘I am breathing in short’; or breathing out short, discerns, ‘I am breathing out short’; trains himself, ‘I will breathe in…&… out sensitive to the entire body’; trains himself, ‘I will breathe in…&…out calming bodily fabrication’: On that occasion the monk remains focused on the body in & of itself—ardent, alert, & mindful—subduing greed & distress with reference to the world. I tell you, monks, that this—the in-&-out breath—is classed as a body among bodies, which is why the monk on that occasion remains focused on the body in & of itself—ardent, alert, & mindful—subduing greed & distress with reference to the world.

“[2] On whatever occasion a monk trains himself, ‘I will breathe in…&…out sensitive to rapture’; trains himself, ‘I will breathe in…&…out sensitive to pleasure’; trains himself, ‘I will breathe in…&…out sensitive to mental fabrication’; trains himself, ‘I will breathe in…&…out calming mental fabrication’: On that occasion the monk remains focused on feelings in & of themselves—ardent, alert, & mindful—subduing greed & distress with reference to the world. I tell you, monks, that this—careful attention to in-&-out breaths—is classed as a feeling among feelings,6 which is why the monk on that occasion remains focused on feelings in & of themselves—ardent, alert, & mindful—subduing greed & distress with reference to the world.

“[3] On whatever occasion a monk trains himself, ‘I will breathe in…&…out sensitive to the mind’; trains himself, ‘I will breathe in…&…out gladdening the mind’; trains himself, ‘I will breathe in…&…out steadying the mind’; trains himself, ‘I will breathe in…&…out releasing the mind’: On that occasion the monk remains focused on the mind in & of itself—ardent, alert, & mindful—subduing greed & distress with reference to the world. I don’t say that there is mindfulness of in-&-out breathing in one of lapsed mindfulness and no alertness, which is why the monk on that occasion remains focused on the mind in & of itself—ardent, alert, & mindful—subduing greed & distress with reference to the world.

“[4] On whatever occasion a monk trains himself, ‘I will breathe in…&…out focusing on inconstancy’; trains himself, ‘I will breathe in…&…out focusing on dispassion’; trains himself, ‘I will breathe in…&…out focusing on cessation’; trains himself, ‘I will breathe in…&…out focusing on relinquishing’: On that occasion the monk remains focused on mental qualities in & of themselves—ardent, alert, & mindful—subduing greed & distress with reference to the world. He who sees with discernment the abandoning of greed & distress is one who watches carefully with equanimity, which is why the monk on that occasion remains focused on mental qualities in & of themselves—ardent, alert, & mindful—subduing greed & distress with reference to the world.

“This is how mindfulness of in-&-out breathing is developed & pursued so as to bring the four establishings of mindfulness to their culmination.

The Seven Factors for awakening

“And how are the four establishings of mindfulness developed & pursued so as to bring the seven factors for awakening to their culmination?

“[1] On whatever occasion the monk remains focused on the body in & of itself—ardent, alert, & mindful—subduing greed & distress with reference to the world, on that occasion his mindfulness is steady & without lapse. When his mindfulness is steady & without lapse, then mindfulness as a factor for awakening becomes aroused. He develops it, and for him it goes to the culmination of its development.

“[2] Remaining mindful in this way, he examines, analyzes, & comes to a comprehension of that quality with discernment. When he remains mindful in this way, examining, analyzing, & coming to a comprehension of that quality with discernment, then analysis of qualities as a factor for awakening becomes aroused. He develops it, and for him it goes to the culmination of its development.

“[3] In one who examines, analyzes, & comes to a comprehension of that quality with discernment, persistence is aroused unflaggingly. When persistence is aroused unflaggingly in one who examines, analyzes, & comes to a comprehension of that quality with discernment, then persistence as a factor for awakening becomes aroused. He develops it, and for him it goes to the culmination of its development.

“[4] In one whose persistence is aroused, a rapture not of the flesh arises. When a rapture not of the flesh arises in one whose persistence is aroused, then rapture as a factor for awakening becomes aroused. He develops it, and for him it goes to the culmination of its development.

“[5] For one enraptured at heart, the body grows calm and the mind grows calm. When the body & mind of a monk enraptured at heart grow calm, then calm as a factor for awakening becomes aroused. He develops it, and for him it goes to the culmination of its development.

“[6] For one who is at ease—his body calmed—the mind becomes concentrated. When the mind of one who is at ease—his body calmed—becomes concentrated, then concentration as a factor for awakening becomes aroused. He develops it, and for him it goes to the culmination of its development.

“[7] He carefully watches the mind thus concentrated with equanimity. When he carefully watches the mind thus concentrated with equanimity, equanimity as a factor for awakening becomes aroused. He develops it, and for him it goes to the culmination of its development.

[Similarly with the other three establishings of mindfulness: feelings, mind, & mental qualities.]

“This is how the four establishings of mindfulness are developed & pursued so as to bring the seven factors for awakening to their culmination.

Clear Knowing & Release

“And how are the seven factors for awakening developed & pursued so as to bring clear knowing & release to their culmination? There is the case where a monk develops mindfulness as a factor for awakening dependent on seclusion, dependent on dispassion, dependent on cessation, resulting in relinquishment. He develops analysis of qualities as a factor for awakening… persistence as a factor for awakening… rapture as a factor for awakening… calm as a factor for awakening… concentration as a factor for awakening… equanimity as a factor for awakening dependent on seclusion, dependent on dispassion, dependent on cessation, resulting in relinquishment.

“This is how the seven factors for awakening are developed & pursued so as to bring clear knowing & release to their culmination.”

That is what the Blessed One said. Gratified, the monks delighted in the Blessed One’s words.

Notes

1. To the fore (parimukhaṁ): An Abhidhamma text, Vibhaṅga 12:1, defines this term as meaning “the tip of the nose or the sign of the mouth.” However, the term appears as part of a stock phrase describing a person engaged in meditation, even for themes that have nothing to do with the body at all, such as sublime-attitude (brahma-vihāra) meditation (AN 3:64). Thus it seems more likely that the term is used in an idiomatic sense, indicating either that mindfulness is placed face-to-face with its object, or that it is made prominent, which is how I have translated it here.

2. The commentaries insist that “body” here means the full length of the breath, but this is unlikely in this context, for three reasons: (a) The first two steps already require being aware of the entire length of the breath. Otherwise, the meditator wouldn’t know if a breath was short or long. (b) The fourth step—without further explanation—refers to the breath as “bodily fabrication.” If the Buddha were using two different terms to refer to the breath—“body” and “bodily fabrication”—in such close proximity, he would have been careful to signal that he was redefining his terms (as he does below, when explaining that the first four steps in breath meditation correspond to the practice of focusing on the body in and of itself as a frame of reference). But he doesn’t. (c) As AN 10:20 indicates, the fourth step refers to bringing the mind to the fourth jhāna, a state in which in-and-out breathing grows still (SN 36:11; AN 10:72) and the body is filled with pure, bright awareness (after awareness has been extended to be sensitive to the entire body beginning with the first jhāna (DN 2; MN 119)). Because the fourth step focuses on the stilling of the breath, there has to be a step in which the awareness is extended to fill the entire body. That would be this step.

3. “In-&-out breaths are bodily; these are things tied up with the body. That’s why in-&-out breaths are bodily fabrications.” —MN 44

“And how is a monk calmed in his bodily fabrication? There is the case where a monk, with the abandoning of pleasure & pain—as with the earlier disappearance of elation & distress—enters & remains in the fourth jhāna: purity of equanimity & mindfulness, neither pleasure nor pain.” —AN 10:20

“When one has attained the fourth jhāna, in-and-out breaths have ceased.” —SN 36:11 & AN 9:31

4. “Perceptions & feelings are mental; these are things tied up with the mind. That’s why perceptions & feelings are mental fabrications.” —MN 44

5. AN 9:34 shows how the mind, step by step, is temporarily released from burdensome mental states of greater and greater refinement as it advances through the stages of jhāna. MN 111 shows how a meditator, using discernment, can be released from the factors of a jhāna attainment while still in that attainment.

6. As this shows, a meditator focusing on feelings in themselves as a frame of reference should not abandon the breath as the basis for his/her concentration.

 TMI <--> Mahamudra/Dzogchen <--> Ānāpānasati 

Meditating on the mind itself involves bringing attention and awareness together in a completely open state. Essentially, you’re fusing attention and awareness.

This practice is similar to the Tibetan Kagyu practice called the Great Seal (Mahamudra), and the Nyingma practice of the Great Perfection (Dzogchen).  __TMI

Elephant Path

• The monk is the meditator.
• The rope he holds represents vigilant, alert mindfulness.
• The goad in his other hand represents strong intention and firm resolve.
• The elephant represents the mind.
• The black color of the elephant represents the Five Hindrances and the Seven Problems they give rise to.
• The monkey represents scattering of attention, and the black color represents subtle and gross distraction, forgetting, and mind-wandering.
• The rabbit represents subtle dullness.
• The flames represent vigilance and effort, and when the effort is no longer required, the flames disappear.
• The length of the road between successive Stages indicates the relative time required to progress from one Stage to the next.
• The Stages come closer together until Stage Seven, then they begin to stretch out again.
• Because the road folds back, it is possible to jump up to higher Stages or fall back to lower ones.

The Ten Stages

1. A monk chasing a black elephant and a black monkey. Black elephant means that the mind has no stability and is easily distracted by the 5 hindrances. The black monkey represents a distraction. This stage is considered the beginning level where a meditator have no control over the mind and it is a challenge to even sit for meditation. 
2. A portion of the head of the elephant and monkey turned white. With regular effort, the monk finally created a condition to sit regularly but conditioned by the habituated distracted mind, it is an upheaval task to sustain the focus.
3. The head of the elephant and monkey turned white and looking back at the monk, which means through persistent effort, he now reduced the mental wandering. But now a rabbit appeared, which means laxity in the form of forgetfulness and sleepiness appeared in the stage. 
4. The little part of the body of elephant, monkey and rabbit turned white. The monk finally got hold of the elephant with the rope of mindfulness. Strong dullness and sporadic mental scattering has been overcome. But subtle dullness and distraction is still present and turns into coarse dullness and distraction.
5. Chase is over for the monk. Finally monk is in front of the elephant, monkey and rabbit. Now he needs to instruct and train further on the path. The monkey is at the back, which means the mind is now malleable. But the rabbit is still riding the back.
6. The monk started leading the monkey. The rabbit has now disappeared and the monkey seems to be almost white.
7. The monkey finally turned white, with no gross and subtle distractions to afflict the mind. But even then, the monkey is doing what he always does, “hanging out”. Means, the monk still need to pay attention time to time as one can never leave the monkey out of sight. The elephant can now walk the path on its own with little guidance.
8. Monkey disappeared completely!!! Imagine for a minute. A mind in complete vacuity without a single thought? How does it even sound like, let alone to feel like? This is what the adept call Mental Pliancy; mind is in complete control. The elephant is fully trained and the monk can guide him wherever he wants.
9. The elephant sits down with the monk, in unification.
10. Both physical and mental pliancy are achieved and no more introspection and awareness are further necessary. A state of tranquility and equanimity arises where you do not react to pleasant and unpleasant feelings anymore. You will experience meditative joy and can sit for a longer time and can come out of the session when you want. A state of Samadhi. Just like a hot knife slices butter effortlessly, likewise your mind is now sharp to investigate the nature of reality. How do we exist? What is the nature of the body and mind? Who am I?

Every major tradition in the world from Hindu to Buddhist, Christian to Islam share the same path of Calm Abiding meditation which supposedly originated in India and practiced by mahasiddhas for 5000 years. This ingenious mental doctrine has been completely overlooked by Modern Science refuting the idea of consciousness outside the brain. Only with the advance of Neuroscience for the last decades and their sophisticated technology they are becoming interested in meditators. Yet, they are not fully sure of consciousness and termed meditation in the form of “Brain Mapping”. Hopefully, a day comes when science discovers that Mind actually exists and it is not physical.

Anapanasati

1. First Tetrad: Contemplation of the Body (kāya)
   1. Discerning the in and out breathing (SA 8.10 begins with "he trains" in the first step)
   2. Discerning long or short breaths (Ekottarika Agama 17.1 version adds "warm" and "cool" breaths)
   3. Experiencing the whole body (sabbakāya). Pali versions add "he trains" in this step. Some Samyukta-Agama sutras meanwhile have "bodily-formations" in this step.^[12]
   4. Calming bodily formations (kāya-saṃskāra)
2. Second Tetrad: Contemplation of the Feeling (vedanā)
   1. Experiencing rapture (pīti)^[14]
   2. Experiencing pleasure (sukha)
   3. Experiencing mental fabrication (citta-saṃskāra)
   4. Calming mental fabrication
3. Third Tetrad: Contemplation of the Mind (citta)
   1. Experiencing the mind
   2. Satisfying the mind
   3. Steadying the mind (samādhi)
   4. Releasing the mind
4. Fourth Tetrad: Contemplation of the Mental Objects (dhammā)
   1. Dwelling on impermanence
   2. Dwelling on dispassion (virāga). SA 8.10 instead has 'eradication'.
   3. Dwelling on cessation (nirodha). SA 8.10 instead has 'dispassion'.
   4. Dwelling on relinquishment (paṭinissaggā). SA 8.10 instead has 'cessation

Vase Breathing Meditation

THE BLISS OF lNNER FIRE

Heart Practice of the Six Yogas of Naropa

LAMA THUBTEN YesHe

Chapter 16. - Vase Breathing Meditation

• DISPELLING THE IMPURE AIRS
• VASE BREATHING

16.

Vase Breathing Meditation

As I mentioned earlier, Having the Three Convictions lists vase breathing

meditation as the first of the six hatha yoga exercises, although Lama Tsongkhapa

describes it only briefly in that section.

Vase breathing is not an insignificant practice. The other five hatha yoga

exercises are performed while holding the vase breath, and, most important, the

inner fire meditations are performed on the basis of this breathing technique.

Successfully bringing all the airs into the central channel and stabilizing and

absorbing them there depend upon vase breathing.

DISPELLING THE IMPURE AIRS

Before attempting to practice vase breathing, you should first dispel all the impure

airs with the nine-round breathing exercise.

Holding your left nostril closed with the back of your right index finger, breathe

in slowly through your right nostril. Then block your right nostril with the front of

the same finger and exhale through your left nostril. Think that you are breathing

out all your impure desire energy. Do this three times. Actually, you don’t need to

hold the nostril closed; you can just visualize the air leaving through the other

nostril.

Now do the reverse, breathing in three times through the left nostril. As you

exhale through your right nostril, think that you are breathing out all your impure

hatred energy. Finally, breathe in and out three times through both nostrils to

make all the energies clean-clear and equal. As you exhale, think that you are

breathing out all your impure ignorance energy. In total this makes nine rounds.1

Lama Tsongkhapa emphasizes that you should breathe in and out only through

your nostrils, not through your mouth. He recommends breathing in first through

the right nostril, but because the female principle of mother tantra is normally

associated with the left side, you might want to emphasize the auspiciousness of

female energy by breathing in first through your left nostril. If you want to

emphasize the father tantra approach, breathe in first through your right nostril.

Breathe in slowly and gently. While breathing in, you can think you are inhaling

pure blissful energy from Tilopa, Naropa, and all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas of

the ten directions. When you exhale, think that all your physical and mental

difficulties, the symptoms of your blocked energy, disappear. This is not simply

visualization. As soon as you begin to practice nine-round breathing, you will feel

some change. When exhaling, first breathe out gently, then strongly, and then

gently again.

VASE BREATHING

Ideally, you should practice vase breathing when your stomach is empty and

comfortable; in other words, before eating a meal or after the food has been

digested. Posture is also important. Your body should be very straight; vase

breathing cannot be effective if your body is bent and squeezed.

The vase breathing meditation comprises four steps: inhaling; filling the right

and left channels with air; milking the air from the two side channels into the

central channel; and exhaling, or “shooting up like an arrow.”

Begin the practice by making your hands into vajra fists: place the tip of the

thumb at the base of the ring finger and then close the four fingers over the

thumb. Place your hands on top of your thighs, with your arms very close to your

body and locked straight. Stretch your body upward as much as possible; this

enables the airs to flow better. However, you don’t have to sit like this all the time;

after a while, you can sit normally.

Visualize yourself as the deity and visualize clearly the three main channels and

four principal chakras as described earlier. Concentrate on the short a in the navel

chakra.

The first step is inhaling. Breathe in slowly and gently through both nostrils

until your lungs are completely filled, visualizing that the air is filling the two side

channels. Remember not to inhale through your mouth and to bring in a complete

breath. Although some lamas say to breathe in strongly, Lama Tsongkhapa

emphasizes that the inhalation should be very slow and very gentle.

In the second step, visualize that the right and left channels are filled with air,

like inflated balloons.

With the third step, while holding the breath, you swallow a little saliva, tense

your diaphragm, and press firmly down. Feel that these downward movements

push the inhaled air all the way down the two side channels to the short a at your

navel chakra. You might need to exert a little force to hold the air there.

Then, still holding your breath and pressing down with the diaphragm, tighten

the lower doors by contracting your pelvic muscles. This brings up the lower airs

to embrace and unify with the upper airs at the navel chakra. Feel that the short a

is magnetizing the air energies, drawing them all into the central channel.

Imagine that the upper and lower airs unite precisely at the short a,2 which is in

the central channel in the navel chakra. (The reason this breathing technique is

called vase meditation is that the short a is held by the upper and lower airs as if it

were in a vase or a teapot.) Hold your breath and tense the upper and lower

muscles for as long as you can.

Don’t think that the process is complicated or that you will have difficulty doing

it. Many things seem to be happening at the same time, but the main steps involve

bringing the airs from above and below and unifying them at the navel chakra.

Rather than forcing the process, you should feel that the short a automatically

draws all the airs into the navel chakra. Good concentration helps all this to

happen naturally.

Finally, we come to the fourth step. When you can no longer comfortably hold

your breath, you should exhale through your nostrils, visualizing that the unified

upper and lower airs held at the short a shoot up the central channel like an

arrow. They completely absorb inside the central channel, energizing much bliss.

You should exhale slowly at first, but toward the end of the expiration breathe

the air out forcefully until your lungs feel empty. Although Lama Tsongkhapa’s

text does not mention to breathe out strongly (in fact, he advises us to release the

breath gently and quietly), I have seen many lamas do it this way.

While some lamas say that you should visualize the air leaving the body at the

crown, Lama Tsongkhapa says that it should be kept inside the central channel.

This is understandable since our main aim is to have all the winds enter, stabilize,

and be absorbed there. From the navel chakra the air goes to the heart, throat, and

then crown, but it does not exit from the crown chakra.

Although we visualize all the air going into the two side channels when we

breathe in, our purpose is to fill the central channel, not the side channels. In

order to accomplish this, we bring the air down completely and hold it below the

navel, where the side channels enter the central channel. When we swallow saliva

and then milk the airs from the side channels into the central channel at the navel

chakra, the central channel automatically opens, and all the airs from the side

channels enter into it.

When the side channels are open and functioning, the central channel is closed;

and when the central channel is open and functioning, the side channels are

closed. Lama Tsongkhapa says that these are the only alternatives.

According to Lama Tsongkhapa’s experience, holding the unified upper and

lower airs at the navel chakra can be uncomfortable in the beginning, with the

abdomen sometimes becoming a little bloated. He explains, however, that with

practice the discomfort passes and the abdomen naturally shrinks.

Some people might feel that they cannot bring the airs from above and below to

unify at the navel chakra; others might feel that their abdomen is too small. The

solution is not to force anything. Don’t rush to unify the two airs. Of course, it is a

good idea to apply a little force at the beginning, but not so much that you have

difficulty or pain. Don’t think that you can only do this practice forcefully. Just try

to bring the energy inside in a relaxed fashion.

If you don’t like to do the meditation forcefully, imagine that the short a itself

magnetically attracts the airs from above and below, drawing them into union at

the navel chakra. It is as if the short a sucks the entire energy of your body into the

navel chakra. Without any effort, you visualize that the short a forcefully draws

the airs from the two side channels, as well as from all the other channels, and

from above and below, into one unified absorption. This is an easy way to do vase

meditation.

If you apply too much force, you may experience wind disorders, known as lung

in Tibetan. You could also experience strong heart palpitations, suffer cold sweats,

or feel sick. Don’t strain. Just practice in a relaxed and natural way. Perform the

technique slowly and gently, and allow the process to develop in accordance with

your personal capacity. Everyone’s body is different. Some people have large

stomachs, others small; some have large channels, others small. Everyone should

breathe according to their individual proportions. In any case, the process is the

same.

In my opinion, Lama Tsongkhapa is saying that each individual person can

judge how much air to bring in and how long to hold it. A lama can instruct you in

the techniques, but you should decide from your own experience what works best

for you.

The more gently you go in the beginning, the more forcefully you will

eventually be able to bring all the airs to the navel chakra. Lama Tsongkhapa says,

however, that at a certain point vase breathing will come naturally. As your

concentration becomes stable, you will find that you can hold the upper and lower

winds together effortlessly and naturally. You might be finding the technique

difficult, but then suddenly and unexpectedly one day your breathing will become

more natural, more subtle, and more easily controlled. You will be able to tell

from your own experiences when you have succeeded.

You might not be meditating, simply talking or doing some ordinary activity, yet

you suddenly notice that you are doing vase breathing. You press down a little, and

the energies spontaneously move around inside your body. With regular practice

the process becomes very natural, and you will find yourself bringing the airs

inside automatically.

Of course, if you really do find the technique too complicated, just breathe

naturally and develop concentration on the short a. Lama Tsongkhapa’s

commentary actually says that vase breathing is not absolutely required for

success in the inner fire meditations. You can breathe with small natural breaths,

yet deep down you hold the energies.

Holding the upper and lower winds together at the navel chakra is the key to

success in inner fire meditation. You should practice vase breathing over and over

again, until you can do it effortlessly. It is not a difficult technique; in fact, it is

unbelievably easy. A sense of bliss arising from the secret chakra will indicate that

you are making progress. Even performing the vase meditation without much

concentration will induce bliss. You don’t need to be a great meditator. All you

have to do is practice, live peacefully, control yourself, relax, and you can

experience blissful energy even without good concentration.

Vase breathing can also be used as a way to extend your life span. It is said that

each of us takes a fixed number of breaths during our life, and if we can learn to

control our usual rapid breathing and breathe more slowly, we can prolong our

life.

Also, I think that slowing the rhythm of our breathing slows down our nervous

system, and then our mind automatically slows down as well. In this way our

concentration spontaneously becomes much stronger and our mind less distracted.

There are various ways to assess your progress in vase breathing. Kagyu

practitioners have a method of timing the vase breath in which you touch one

knee, then the other, then your forehead, and finally snap your fingers three

times. This cycle is counted as one unit of measurement. Being able to do 108 of

these while holding a vase breath is considered a sign of great success; seventy-two

indicates middling success; and thirty-six, small success. The Kagyu texts explain

that this success is only from the point of view of a beginner. For advanced yogis

and yoginis, there is no question of counting; they can hold their breath for an

extremely long time.

Lama Tsongkhapa has a different way of counting. You place your right palm on

the left palm and stroke it three times, touch both knees, then snap your fingers

six times. The Kagyu method seems simpler to me. Concentrating deeply on inner

fire and performing complicated counting at the same time would be difficult. I do

not negate Lama Tsongkhapa’s method. I’m sure that someone with indestructible

concentration could count in his way; but those who are easily distracted would

find it better to count by the other method. There were no watches or clocks in the

old days, so time couldn’t be calculated accurately. Anyway, these days we all have

watches so we don’t need to count in either Lama Tsongkhapa or Kagyupa style.

We can count in twentieth-century style.

We should now dedicate the merit. “May the hatred and desire energy from the

right and left channels totally absorb into the short a. May all sentient beings

experience the wind energies entering into the central channel, becoming stable,

and then absorbing there. May they all discover the clear light.”

Shinzen Young: How to Note and Label

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How to Label and Note

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THE MADHYAMAKA CONTRIBUTION TO SKEPTICISM

THE MADHYAMAKA CONTRIBUTION TO SKEPTICISM 

Georges Dreyfus and Jay L Garfield

THE MADHYAMAKA CONTRIBUTION TO SKEPTICISM

While searching for comparison between Pyrrho and Nāgārjuna, I came across the following. It may be of interest. 

https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:347ed882-f7ac-4098-908f-5bb391462a6c/download_file?file_format=pdf&safe_filename=THESIS01&type_of_work=Thesis

The Emperor’s New Clothes By Hans Christian Andersen

Many, many years ago lived an emperor, who thought so much of new clothes that he spent all his money in order to obtain them. His only ambition was to be always well dressed. He did not care for his soldiers, and going to the theatre did not interest him. The only thing, in fact, he thought anything of was to go out and show himself off with new clothes as often as possible. He had a coat for every hour of the day. As often as you would say of a normal king “He is busy ruling the kingdom,” you could say of him, “The emperor is in his dressing-room trying on new gear.”

The great city where he lived was a very busy place, every day many strangers from all parts of the globe arrived. One day, two swindlers came to this city and pretended to everyone that they were weavers. They said that they could make the finest cloth anyone could imagine. Their colours and patterns, they said, were not only very beautiful, but were made of a special material invisible to any person who was stupid.

That must be wonderful cloth, thought the emperor. If I were to be dressed in a suit made of this cloth I would be able to find out which people in my kingdom are stupid and therefore should not be in their jobs. I must have this cloth made for me without delay.

And he gave a large sum of money to those rascals, in advance, so that they should get to work immediately. They set up two looms and pretended to be very hard at work. They asked for the finest silk and the most precious gold-cloth. All the expensive material they got they hid away for themselves and worked at the empty looms till late at night.

I’d love to know how they are getting on with the cloth, thought the emperor. But he felt worried when he remembered that anyone who couldn’t see it was stupid. He thought that of course he would be able to see it, but decided to send someone else first to check it out, just in case. Everybody in the town knew how remarkable the clothes were and were dying to see how bad or stupid their neighbours were.

I shall send my honest old minister to the weavers, thought the emperor. He can see how it looks, for he is very clever.

The good old minister went into the room where the swindlers sat before the empty looms. Goodness gracious! he thought and opened his eyes wide, I cannot see anything at all, but he did not say so. Both swindlers told him to come near and asked him if he did not admire the lovely pattern and the beautiful colours, pointing to the empty looms. The poor old minister tried his very best, but he could see nothing, for there was nothing to be seen. Oh dear, he thought, Can I be so stupid? I would never have thought so, and nobody must find out! Is it possible that I am too stupid to do my job? No, I cannot admit that I wasn’t able to see the cloth.

“Have you got nothing to say?” said one of the swindlers, while he pretended to be busy weaving.

“Oh, it is very pretty, really beautiful,” replied the old minister looking through his glasses. “What a beautiful pattern, what brilliant colours! I will tell the emperor that I like the cloth very much.”

“We are pleased to hear that,” said the two weavers and described to him the colours and explained the curious pattern. The old minister listened carefully, so he would be able to tell the emperor what they said and so he did.

Now the swindlers asked for more money, silk and gold-cloth, which they said they required for weaving. They kept everything for themselves and not a thread came near the loom, but they continued, as before, to pretend to work at the empty looms.

Soon afterwards the emperor sent another good man to the weavers to see how they were getting on, and if the cloth was nearly finished. Like the old minister, he looked and looked but could see nothing, as there was nothing to be seen.

“Is it not a beautiful piece of cloth?” asked the two rascals, showing and explaining the fantastic pattern, which, however, did not exist.

I think I am not stupid, thought the man. Maybe I am not clever enough for my job. I must not let any one know that and he praised the cloth, which he did not see and praised the beautiful colours and the fine pattern. “It is very excellent,” he said to the emperor.

o — o — o

Everybody in the whole town talked about the precious cloth. At last the emperor wished to see it himself, while it was still on the loom. With a number of assistants, including the two who had already been there, he went to the two clever swindlers, who now worked as hard as they could, but without using any thread.

“Is it not magnificent?” said the two old men who had been there before. “Your Majesty must admire the colours and the pattern.” And then they pointed to the empty looms, for they expected that the others could see the cloth.

What is this? thought the emperor, I do not see anything at all. That is terrible! Am I stupid? Too stupid to be an emperor? That would indeed be the most terrible thing that could happen to me.

“Really,” he said, turning to the weavers, “your cloth is wonderful, really wonderful.”  He nodded contentedly as he looked at the empty loom, because he didn’t want to say that he couldn’t see anything. All his attendants, who were with him, looked and looked, and although they could not see anything more than the others, they said, like the emperor, “It is very beautiful.” And all advised him to wear the new magnificent clothes at a great procession which was soon to take place. “It is magnificent, beautiful, excellent,” they said. Everybody seemed to be delighted, and the emperor appointed the two swindlers “Imperial Court weavers.”

The whole night before the day on which the procession was to take place, these two rascals pretended to work, and burned more than sixteen candles. They wanted people to see that they were busy finishing the emperor’s new clothes. They pretended to take the cloth from the loom, and worked about in the air with big scissors, and sewed with needles without thread. At last they said: “The emperor’s new clothes are ready now.”

The emperor and all his barons then came to the hall. The swindlers held their arms up as if they held something in their hands and said: “These are the trousers!” “This is the coat!” and “Here is the cloak!” and so on. “They are all as light as a cobweb, so light in fact, that it feels as if you have nothing on at all, but that is just the beauty of the clothes.”

“Indeed!” said all the assistants, but they could not see anything, for there was nothing to be seen.

“Does it please your Majesty now to undress,” said the swindlers, “that we may help your Majesty in putting on the new suit in front of the mirror?”

The emperor undressed and the swindlers pretended to put the new suit on him, one piece after another. The emperor looked at himself in the glass from all sides.

“How well they look! How well they fit!” said all. “What a beautiful pattern! What fine colours! That is a magnificent suit of clothes!”

It was announced that it was time to start the procession.

“I am ready,” said the emperor. “Does not my suit fit me wonderfully?” Then he turned once more to the looking-glass, so that people would think he was admiring his clothes again.

Two boys were there to walk behind the emperor, to hold up the train of the emperor’s clothes, that is the material from his clothes that would otherwise trail behind on the ground. They stretched their hands to the ground as if they lifted up the train and pretended to hold something in their hands. They did not like people to know that they could not see or feel anything.

The emperor marched in the procession under a beautiful canopy and all who saw him in the street and out of the windows exclaimed: “Indeed, the emperor’s new suit is amazing! What a long train he has! How well it fits him!” Nobody wanted to admit they saw nothing, for then it would mean they were too stupid. Never were the emperor’s clothes more admired.

At last a little boy piped up. “But he has nothing on at all! He’s completely nude!”

“Good heavens! I’m sorry about that,” said the embarrassed father. “He’s just a simple boy who doesn’t know any better.” But soon, the whole crowd was whispering what the child had said.

“He does have nothing on at all!” cried all the people, realising the truth. The emperor suddenly realised they were right, but he thought to himself, Now I must keep pretending until the end or I’ll look even more stupid.

So the emperor tried to walk with even greater dignity, while the crowd laughed and teased him all the way to the end. Afterwards he sent his soldiers to arrest the two swindlers, but they had fled the city with all the money and precious material.