Ānāpānasati, mindfulness of breathing, is a demanding yet very effective practice for developing samādhi. In MN 118, the Buddha explains that mindfulness of breathing, when developed and cultivated, brings great benefit. He describes how it fulfills the four establishments of mindfulness and the seven factors of awakening, culminating in knowledge and liberation. [1]
The Buddha himself practiced ānāpānasati. In SN 54.8, he explains that he frequently dwelt in concentration through mindfulness of breathing before his awakening. [2] The Visuddhimagga describes this practice as a foremost meditation subject of all Buddhas, as well as some Paccekabuddhas and disciples, serving as a basis for higher attainments and happiness here and now. [3] Among his leading disciples, Sāriputta also recommended it: in MN 62, he encourages Rāhula, the Buddha’s son, to develop mindfulness of breathing because of its great benefits, and the Buddha then provides detailed instructions. [4]
Although ānāpānasati is an excellent method with a great track record, one of its challenges is that the meditation object can become increasingly difficult to discern. The Visuddhimagga explains that the breath becomes subtler as practice deepens: “it even comes to the point at which it is no longer manifest.” [5]
It also explains that continued attention makes the breath quieter and finer, emphasizing: “So strong mindfulness and understanding are necessary here.” [6]
The Visuddhimagga illustrates this with a farmer and his oxen. After ploughing, he releases them to graze, and they wander into the forest. When he wants them back, he takes a rope and goad to their usual watering place and waits there. The oxen eventually return to drink, and he gathers them and resumes his work. The comparison associates the rope with mindfulness and the goad with understanding. [7]
To my Dhamma friends, I want to say: do not become discouraged when the breath sensation becomes faint or seems to disappear. The sensation may simply have become too subtle for you to discern clearly. Stay calm and patient whether or not you feel the breath; it is still there. Let breathing remain natural and relaxed. Maintain attentive awareness at the philtrum, just as the farmer waits at the watering place for his oxen to return.
Give yourself time to develop this sensitivity. Bring steady, relaxed effort to the practice. When attention wanders, gently return. When frustration arises, recognize it as a hindrance and settle back into the practice.
Nancy Acord
References
[1] MN 118, Ānāpānasati Sutta, translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu.
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[2] SN 54.8, Dīpa Sutta (The Lamp), translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu.
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[3] Buddhaghosa, The Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga), translated by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, Chapter VIII, §155. The statement concerning all Buddhas is from this later Theravāda commentary.
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[4] MN 62, Mahā Rāhulovāda Sutta (The Greater Exhortation to Rāhula), translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu.
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[5] Buddhaghosa, The Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga), translated by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, Chapter VIII, §208.
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[6] Ibid., Chapter VIII, §211.
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[7] Ibid., Chapter VIII, §213. The farmer-and-oxen story is paraphrased.
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