“To one who has developed and nurtured awareness of breathing, this will bring great fruit and great benefit. Even I, before awakening, not being enlightened yet, being still a Bodhisatta (future Buddha), often stayed in such meditation. While I was in this meditation, my body was not tense, my eyes were not tired, and my mind was freed from asavas (obscurations) through non-attachment. Therefore, if one desires to have his body free from stress, his eyes free from tension, his mind free from asava through detachment, then he should carefully practice the meditation of full awareness of the breath.” Sanyutta Nikaya 54.8, Deepa Sutta: Lamp, we are talking about anapanasati.

We do not attach due importance to our breathing. It would seem that what could be more natural than inhaling and exhaling? Why think about it if it was and always will be until the last minute comes? We know that a person can live without food for a week or even more, without water - about three days, and without breathing - only a few minutes. Why do we constantly analyze what we can do without for quite a long time, and delete control over breathing from our lives?

Breathing is the simplest but fabulous tool that was given to us. We cannot control any process in the body, except for breathing. No one can directly speed up metabolism, increase or decrease heart rate, calm down or get rid of pain. But we can do all this through breathing.

Anapanasati is a Buddhist practice of a mindful approach to breathing, development and strengthening of spiritual abilities. Practicing anapanasati, we, first of all, develop awareness, and with it, an understanding of many processes in nature gradually comes into our lives.

Developing mindfulness with breathing - this meditation was practiced and often preached by Gautama Buddha. This technique has been preserved and maintained for more than 2500 years.

It is noteworthy that this practice is suitable for beginners and does not require any preparation. It is good for health, both physical and mental. Anapanasati brings us closer to reality and teaches us to live in the present moment.

In this article, I will provide a small guide. These are excerpts from the book Anapanasati - Developing Mindfulness with Breathing. Revealing the secrets of life. Breath awareness meditation. The Serious Beginner's Guide by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu.

So, choose a quiet and peaceful place to practice, sit in a comfortable position and close your eyes. Start watching your breath...

Step one:
long breath

Watch for long breaths. Take deep breaths and long, slow exhalations. Try to track where the in-breath starts and where the out-breath ends. Track what happens to your body during practice. How pleasurable is long breathing? How common and natural is it? How is it different from a short breath?

Step two:
short breath

This step is practiced in exactly the same way as the previous one, which was all about long breathing. It's just that now, instead of long breaths, we will study short ones. Try to keep track of everything that happens when you breathe.

Step three:
Feeling of all bodies

Now start watching your body. During practice, you may feel discomfort in the body, pain may appear - track all these moments. Your restless mind will constantly distract you with cramped legs, arms, different parts of your body may itch, etc. Just be aware of it, watch how this process proceeds and after a while it will pass.

Step four:
calming the breath

After we have learned how to control the physical body through breathing, we move on to the fourth step of the practice. The Buddha described the fourth stage as calming the body shaper (passambhayam kayasankharam). We can do this when we know how to control the physical body with the breath.

One step at a time please!

In Anapanasati we practice one step at a time. It's easy to get confused and distracted by trying to do two or more steps at a time. We need to be content with one step at a time and intend to do it right and for as long as it takes. We don't jump from one step to the next just because we're anxious, bored, or craving something.

Have a good practice!

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Buddhist practices "breathing vessel".

Before beginning the practice of vessel breathing, the impure winds must be eliminated by the ninefold breath.

Close your left nostril pressing it against the nasal septum with the outer (where the nail is) part of the index finger right hand, and without releasing it, inhale slowly through the right nostril.

Then close the right nostril with the inner (where the pad is) part of the same finger and exhale through the left nostril. Imagine that you are exhaling all the energy of impure lust.

Repeat this three times. Actually, you don't need to pinch the nostril with your finger, just visualize the air entering and leaving the corresponding nostril.

Now do the same three times, inhaling through the left nostril. While exhaling through the right nostril, imagine that you are completely getting rid of the energy of anger.

Finally, take three breaths in and out through both nostrils to completely clear and balance the energies.

Imagine that you are exhaling the impure energy of ignorance. In total, this is nine respiratory cycles.

Lama Tsongkhapa emphasizes that one should only breathe through the nose and not through the mouth. He recommends starting the inhalations from the right nostril, but since the feminine principle of the mother tantras, to which the Chakrasamvara method belongs, is usually associated with the left side of the body, you may want to increase the beneficial effect. female energy inhaling through the left nostril.

If you want to increase the aspect of the father tantra, then start with the right one.

Inhale slowly and smoothly. While inhaling, you can contemplate how, together with the air, the pure energy of Tilopa, Naropa, as well as all the buddhas and bodhisattvas of the three times and ten cardinal directions enters you.

As you exhale, imagine that all your physical and moral difficulties, all the consequences of blockage of energy channels disappear. This is not abstract contemplation. As soon as you start practicing Ninefold Breathing regularly, you will soon feel a change for the better. Exhale slowly, then with acceleration, and then again slowly.

Vessel breathing.

Ideally, you should practice vessel breathing on an empty stomach, in other words, before eating or when the food has already been digested and there is no feeling of heaviness in the stomach. Also, posture is important. The body should be very straight. If you slouch or slouch, it is useless to do vessel breathing.

Meditation includes four steps: inhale; filling the right and left channels with air; drawing air from two side channels into the central one; and exhale, or "release an arrow."

Begin the practice by folding your fingers into the Vajra Fist mudra. It looks like a regular fist, only the thumb is inside and touches the base of the ring finger.

Resting fists on upper part hips, stretch the body up as much as possible on straightened arms pressed to the body - this contributes to a better movement of the winds. However, do not sit like this for a long time, after a while sit down normally.

Contemplate yourself as a deity and clearly visualize the three main channels and four main chakras as described above. Concentrate on a-tung at the navel chakra.

The first step is inhalation. Inhale through both nostrils slowly and smoothly until the lungs are filled to capacity, contemplating that the air fills the two side channels. The breath should be deep, and in any case do not breathe through the mouth. Disagreeing with some lamas who recommend strong inhalation, Je Tsongkhapa emphasizes that the inhalation of air should be very slow and smooth.

In the second step, while holding your breath, visualize that the right and left channels are filled with air, like inflated rubber tubes.

In the third stage, continuing the retention, swallow the saliva, tighten the diaphragm and press it hard on the lower abdomen. You should feel this downward pressure pushing and driving the winds through the two side channels to the a-tung at the navel chakra. You may need to put in some effort to keep the compressed air in there.

Then, still holding the breath and continuing to press with the diaphragm, contract the muscles of the perineum towards it, by this movement drawing the lower winds through the lower doors into the navel chakra so that they meet, mix and unite with the upper winds there. Feel how the a-tung draws the energy-winds, bringing them completely into the central channel.

Contemplate how the upper and lower winds gently connect directly where the a-tung is located, that is, at the center of the navel chakra in the central channel. (This breathing technique is called vessel breathing because the a-tung is held by the lower and upper winds, as in a vessel such as a teapot.) Hold your breath and contract your upper and lower muscles as long as there is air.

Do not think that this is too difficult an exercise or that you will have difficulty doing it. And even though several things must be done in it at the same time, the essence of the method is to draw in the upper and lower winds and unite them in the navel chakra.

Instead of forcing the physical component of this process, in other words, pumping the abdominal and pelvic muscles, you should feel how a-tung, like a magnet, draws all the winds into the navel chakra.

Good concentration helps this process to happen by itself.

Let's move on to the fourth stage. When you no longer have the strength to hold your breath, exhale through both nostrils, imagining how the upper and lower winds held in the a-tung, having merged together, shoot upward like an arrow through the central channel and, completely dissolving in it, give rise to a strong experience of bliss.

At the beginning of the exhalation, the breath should be slow, but towards the end, the air should be pushed out sharply, completely emptying the lungs. Although Lama Tsongkhapa's text does not mention a final energetic exhalation (generally speaking, he advises us to exhale slowly and smoothly), many yogis do just that - I myself have seen it.

Unlike some lamas who suggest that you contemplate the air leaving the body through the top of the head, Lama Tsongkhapa, on the contrary, recommends leaving it inside the central channel.

This is quite understandable, because our main goal is for the winds to enter, linger and dissolve in this channel. From the navel chakra, air rises to the heart, throat, and crown, but does not exit the crown chakra.

So, while inhaling, we contemplate that the air enters the right and left channels, but our task is to fill the central channel, not the side ones.

To achieve this, we bring the air down completely and hold it under the navel, just at the point where the side channels enter the central one. When we swallow saliva and then begin to draw the winds from the side channels into the central channel through the navel chakra, it opens by itself and all the winds enter it.

Lama Thubten Yeshe “Bliss of inner fire. Secret Practice of the Six Yogas of Naropa

The people you meet, the books you read, the movie that touched you to the core. Everything around is a source of inspiration. Just open your eyes and see.

Tell me, do you have a cherished dream? A dream so desirable that the very idea of ​​its existence makes your life filled with meaning, and the thought that someday it can come true causes goosebumps and tears of happiness in your eyes?

My travel dream was from that category. But there was a small clarification - I wanted to see the world not in fragments during a two-week vacation, but on a long, real journey, with a backpack on my back. When you are absolutely free to do whatever you want and can live, feel, take your time and enjoy every moment. Just to observe, without giving “likes or dislikes” ratings, to finally open your eyes and plunge into another world and another culture.

I always dreamed of seeing Everest and the ancient Angkor Wat in Cambodia, and also driving all over Vietnam, from south to north, and living in crazy Bangkok for a month to fall in love with this city even more. And also dreamed about a house on an island and waking up to the sound of the ocean ten steps from the water, that's exactly ten ... And also ... the list is long.

So why am I? One day I realized that the list is growing, but dreams remain dreams.

So three years ago I bought a backpack and a one-way ticket to Nepal. That's how it all started.

My first vipassana happened to me in Nepal in November 2018. Here are my notes, thoughts and conclusions that I published on my Instagram account within a month after vipassana. Now you always know where to look for them if you suddenly want to re-read them. I hope they will help someone make a decision and survive this experience.

To visit Bali and not soak up the spa - can you imagine that? I am definitely not. All those bathtubs with rose petals, near the river or with some crazy jungle view - they are all here, on the island of the Gods. And the best of them - of course, in the vicinity of Ubud.

One and a half to two hours from Ubud on a bike - and you are in another world. Not better, not worse, just different. Driving to the ocean for a couple of days is a thrill. True, my soul is still there - in the jungle, waterfalls and rice fields.

But if you need the ocean - then this is undoubtedly the Bukit Peninsula. Please, please don't go to Kuta. Forget about her existence. There is no Bali. There is only disappointment. It is on Bukit that they hide best beaches islands. The most mind-blowing views are also here. And the most romantic hotels on the rocks (although the most expensive ones too). And beach clubs.

And today Anton brought me here. Surprise. To be honest, I'm still impressed. When you suddenly find yourself in a place from your dreams and the picture in your head comes to life.

How to achieve enlightenment and free yourself from illusions? The breathing practice of the gods will awaken you from the sleep of ignorance!

When is there no breath?

“Watch the gap between two breaths. After the breath enters, that is, goes down, and just before it comes back, that is, goes up, beneficence occurs ”- Shiva.

As you breathe in, watch. For one moment, or a thousandth of a moment, there is no breath. The breath went in, then there comes a moment when the breath stops and then goes out.

When the breath has gone out, then again for a moment or a fraction of a moment the breath stops. Then inhale again. There is a moment before inhalation and before exhalation when there is no breath. In this gap between inhalation and exhalation, enlightenment¹ can happen, because when you are not breathing, you are not in the world.

When you are not breathing, you are dead; you still exist, but you are dead. The interval between inhalation and exhalation is so short that you do not observe it. For tantra, each completed breath is death, and each new breath is rebirth. With every breath you die and are reborn again.

As Shiva said³: “If you can feel the gap between inhalation and exhalation, then wholesomeness will come. Then nothing else is needed. You have been blessed, you have been recognized; this happened. You don't have to train your breathing. Leave it the way it is."

Why is this breathing practice so easy?

She just looks so simple.

This breathing practice is to know the truth! To know the truth means to know that which is neither born nor dies, to know that eternal element that always exists.

You can know the breath going out, you can know the breath going in, but you may never know the gap between them.

Try. Suddenly you can catch the moment? You can catch it; he's already here. Nothing needs to be added to you or redone, everything is already there, except for a certain share.

How to recognize the gap between inhalation and exhalation?

• First of all, one should be aware of the breath going inward and observe it. One has to forget everything and only observe the breath going inward - the very path of its passage.
• When the breath touches the nostrils, you need to feel it there.
• Fully consciously, one should move down with the breath, lower and lower, trying not to lose it.
• You don't have to be in front of or behind the breath, you have to go right along with it.
• Breathing and awareness should become one. The breath goes in and the consciousness goes in. Only then will it be possible to seize the moment between two breaths.

It won't be easy. Move in with the breath, move out with the breath: in-out, in-out.

The Buddha⁴ especially tried to use this method. In Buddhist terminology, it is known as anapanasati yoga. Buddha's Enlightenment was based on just this technique - only on it.

Buddha breathing practice is only half of the technique

This breathing technique is Buddhist. It became known in the world as the technique of the Buddha, because the Buddha used it for self-development and achieved his enlightenment through it.

The Buddha said, "Be aware of your breath as it goes in and as it goes out - going in, going out." He never indicated a gap because there was no need for that.

The Buddha thought and felt that if you connect with the gap, with the gap between two breaths, that connection can interfere with your awareness.

So he simply said, “Be aware. When the breath goes in, move with it; when the breath goes out, move with it. Just do this: moving in, moving out, with the breath.”

He never said anything about the last part of this technique. The reason for this is that the Buddha spoke to the most ordinary people, and this may have engendered in them a desire to reach that gap.

The desire to reach the interval will become a serious obstacle, because if you desire the interval, you will be somewhat ahead of your breath. The breath will come in and the consciousness will move forward because you are interested in the gap that is yet to come. The Buddha never pointed it out, so the Buddha's technique is only half of the technique.

How to get in the gap between inhalation and exhalation?

But the other half follows automatically. If you keep practicing understanding the breath, awareness of the breath, then suddenly, one day, without even knowing it, you will be in between.

This will happen as your awareness becomes more subtle, deeper, more intense. The whole world will become more defined. Only the breath going in and out will become your world, and you will feel a gap where there is no breath.

You will suddenly suddenly become aware that there is no breath, and a moment will come when you will feel that the breath is neither going out nor coming in, that it has stopped completely. This stop is a blessing.

This breathing practice is used for self-development by millions of people. For centuries, all of Asia has been practicing this technique and living by it. Tibet, China, Japan, Burma, Thailand, Sri Lanka - all of Asia, with the exception of India, is testing this technique. Just one technique and thousands and thousands who have achieved enlightenment with its help.

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Notes and feature articles for a deeper understanding of the material

¹ Enlightenment (awakening) is a religious concept meaning "a holistic and complete awareness of the nature of reality" (Wikipedia).

For other meditations leading to enlightenment, see

² Tantra is a general term for esoteric Indian traditions, represented mainly in Buddhism, Bon and Hinduism, using special secret practices and initiations that lead to liberation and spiritual development, and consider these methods to be the most effective (Wikipedia).

³ Shiva is a Hindu deity who, along with Brahma and Vishnu, is part of the divine triad of trimurti and supreme god in Shaivism (Wikipedia).

⁴ Buddha in Buddhism is the highest “state of spiritual perfection”, either the name of Buddha Shakyamuni, or the name of one of the countless other beings who have achieved enlightenment (

So far in this section, we have dealt with meditation in general view. We will now take a detailed and concrete look at how we actually do one of the main practices used in Triratna. In the process, we may become more aware of how we apply the practice itself, and almost certainly learn some tricks and techniques that will make breathing awareness more fruitful and powerful.

(Abridged text from The Free Spirit, Bodhipaksha Chapter 3)

mindfulness

In the beginning, being aware of the breath helps us become calmer and (paradoxically) more energetic and alert. Subsequently, it helps us develop a greater degree of awareness, and we have more freedom to choose our reactions in any given situation. For example, in a situation that would normally give us anxiety, we can choose to be patient and calm. Over time, we begin to define our habits instead of letting them define us. Mindfulness allows us to take full responsibility for own life and happiness. Mindfulness practice is incredibly enriching. Instead of being only half aware of what we are doing, we can fully and vividly experience every moment of our lives.

Stages 1 and 2 - What is the account for?

The account has a number of useful features. It's very easy to "fall out" of meditation: we get distracted without realizing it. Counting helps us to be more objective about how much of the time we are distracted and how much we remain aware of. It also gives us some purpose. It's good to have a goal.

If you are distracted before reaching the tenth breath, you can try to focus harder and then get back to ten. Without an account, it's harder to see the results of your efforts. If you put effort into meditation, you will see results.

Numbers also serve as an anchor. In the respiratory cycle, the point at which we are most likely to we can relax it is a pause between exhalation and inhalation, when nothing much happens.

The number is a kind of fulcrum so that we can get through the pause without distraction.

When Counting Feels Boring

Sometimes people want to stop counting. There can be good and bad reasons for this. Sometimes we develop a strong stream of stillness and it seems quite natural to give up counting. If so, drop it. But often it's just a resistance to structure or a desire to be passive, and we're more likely to just have daydreams. Be honest about your motivation.

If counting seems rote, remember that it's not inevitable—it's the result of the way your mind works. If you treat counting with grace and creativity, it will seem natural and fluid.

Difference between stage 1 and 2

Most people find that the first two stages feel very different. This is due to the different nature of counting, which provides a structured way to deepen our experience.

The nature of counting changes the focus of awareness at each stage of the respiratory cycle. In the first step, as you count after you exhale, your mind associates the count with the exhale. In the second stage, as you count up to the inhale, your mind is more aware on the inhale. A deep exhalation or breath is what we do when we release tension. It is like letting go, relaxing, lowering and has a calming effect. A deep breath, on the other hand, feels like expanding, opening, uplifting, and energizing.

Therefore, if the first stage is the stage of letting go, then the second stage is the stage of gaining energy. Letting go is the perfect thing to start meditation: we let go of the tensions in the body and the thoughts in the head. Then, in the next step, you energize your relaxed body and mind. Feeling the energy that comes with the breath helps create the conditions for awareness.

Therefore, progress here occurs naturally: first, relaxation, then filling with energy - and it is important that these stages are in the right order. Of course, if you start the meditation in a tired and sluggish state, you can immediately go to the second stage, and if in the second stage your mind is racing somewhere, you can return to the first stage to slow it down. These stages give us two tools - like the brake and gas pedals - that we need to learn how to use correctly.

Stage 3 - Balancing Energy

While the first stage helps us develop a calmer state and the second stage develops more energy and awareness, the third stage gives equal attention to inhalation and exhalation, helping us to combine the calm relaxation of the first stage with the energy-filled awareness of the second. In the third stage, you can be aware of the constant oscillation between a calming exhalation and an energetic inhalation and allow these qualities to flow into each other.

Using anchors

If the first two stages are successful, we can leave the score, which will allow us to develop a deeper and more balanced concentration. However, the count acted as an anchor for our awareness, so when we let it go, we tend to be carried away by waves of distraction.

One way to leave an anchor while releasing a count is to use a physical anchor. Sometimes I use the physical sensations in my hands at the same time as counting. At the end of each inhalation-exhalation, I transfer awareness to my hands. It helps me to keep a foothold. I maintain awareness of my hands throughout the breath cycle. I am still aware of the breath, but I am also aware of the hands. It's not as difficult as it might seem. I feel my breath flow into my hands and then out of them, over and over again. This helps me prevent distraction from breathing.

You can vary the parts of the hands that you are aware of. You can be aware of both hands as a whole, or just the touching tips of the thumbs. If you are using the dhyana mudra ( right palm lying on the left during meditation and the person is sitting in a meditation posture), this can bring a pleasant feeling of soft energy into your awareness.

The physical anchor is a subtler anchor than the count because it is not verbalized, detached from the thought process so that your mind can develop a deeper level of calmness.

Stage 4 - Making the transition

In the third stage, we usually become aware of a rather large area of ​​sensations associated with breathing. We can focus mainly on the stomach, chest or sensations in the head and throat. This listing big muscles and anatomical structures. In the fourth stage, however, we focus on a very small area of ​​sensation at the edges of the nostrils.

I like to make a gradual transition from the third to the fourth stage to maintain a sense of continuity and bring a sense of grace to the practice. I do this by narrowing my focus for seven or eight breaths, gradually focusing on the sensations at the edges of the nostrils. This helps to flow from one stage to another while continuing to deepen concentration. Just jumping from the third stage to the fourth is quite abrupt.

Maintaining thinness

Because the sensations in the nostrils are very subtle, there may be a tendency to breathe more forcefully to increase the sensations. Try to counter this by allowing the breath to be light and gentle. Instead of breathing more heavily, try to discover the subtle sensations, allowing the mind to become more receptive, is the goal of this step of practice.

If you are unable to expose the sensations at the tips of your nostrils, you may be aware of the breath in your nostrils, cool as you inhale and warm as you exhale. Some people find it easier to detect sensations on the upper lip. Over time, try to fine-tune your awareness so that you are aware of the subtlest possible sensations - this is the essence of this stage.

If you can recognize the sensation of air flowing through the tips of your nostrils, you can make your meditation even more sophisticated. For example, you can notice when sensations are more pronounced in the left or right nostril and try to transfer your awareness to those "blind" areas where sensations are not enough. Or you may be aware of sensations at the front of the nostril tips, and not somewhere around - just to extend your ability to recognize very subtle sensations. There is always a greater degree of refinement to which we can bring our concentration.

From time to time your mind will calm down and you will notice some interesting and subtle sensations associated with the breath. For example, you may hear a soft internal "sound" that is not the result of some physical process. Or you may catch a feeling of something silky, connected to your breath, but definitely not part of it. Or you may notice a pleasant feeling of “flow” that accompanies the rhythm of your breathing (sometimes such things are difficult to describe). What seems to be happening is that your mind has shifted to a more subtle level of perception and found objects of focus for itself, which are correspondingly more subtle than ordinary objects. Being far from distractions, these sensations work as a gateway to even more deep states peace and concentration. Cherish them as they arise and let your awareness sink into them.

Between stages

It is important to take the correct posture at the beginning of the meditation period. As you move your attention away from your posture to be more aware of your breath, you will often find that your posture starts to shift. You may find that some parts of your body begin to sag, others become tense, and these changes lead to mental and emotional changes. The tension in your shoulders can be correlated with the anger that you have begun to experience. A bowed spine can be associated with a feeling of despair creeping into meditation. If you relax your shoulders, anger will start to disappear; if you straighten your spine, you will begin to feel more confident.

As you become more proficient in meditation, you will learn that you can check your posture from time to time and make small changes without losing awareness of your breath. Good way start practicing this skill - checking and correcting the posture between stages. You may want to do this every time you move from one stage to the next. You will find later that you can integrate posture tracking into your practice with the method I have described.

Meditation Tools

Here we are going to look at some ways to use the breath to bring about changes in our mental and emotional states. It won't necessarily work immediately, and you need to give them some time. Changing the method every couple of seconds will only lead to frustration and anxiety.

1. Breathe deeply into your belly several times.

2. Inhale slowly several times, allowing the breath to return to normal.

3. Lower your awareness to the lower part of your body, such as your stomach, as far as you need to develop calmness.

4. Pay attention to releasing the exhalation.

5. On each exhalation, imagine a wave of relaxation flowing down into the earth, clearing all your tensions and worries.

6. Imagine that your whole body is floating in warm water, with each breath you rise, and with each exhalation you fall.

Using the Breath to Stimulate the Mind

1. Inhale deeply into your upper chest several times (feel the expansion).

2. Take a few quick, light breaths, and then let your breath return to normal.

3. Hold awareness in the upper body, such as the chest or even the head.

4. Pay attention to the feeling of expansion of the body as you inhale.

5. With each breath, imagine that you are sucking energy from the earth, filling every cell of your being with awareness.

6. Imagine breathing in light with each breath; with each exhalation, you exhale your distractions in the form of gray smoke.

Why pay so much attention to concentration?

Have you ever talked to a friend while distracted and realized you weren't listening because you were carried away by other thoughts? We all have this from time to time. How can we deepen our understanding of ourselves if we experience nothing but superficial distractions?

Concentration allows us to go deeper in our experience. It allows us to become richer in experience, so that we can be more present in communication with other people and in communication with ourselves. Concentration allows us to really enjoy what we are doing, whether it is a walk in the countryside, reading a book, writing, or thinking.

Concentration allows us to think more clearly and deeply. When we can follow the course of our thoughts without getting lost, we can ask more insightful questions about ourselves and, most importantly, have the ability to get deep, thoughtful answers that come from our depths. The power of mental concentration becomes extremely important when we move on to vipassana practices that require the use of thoughts and images as objects of concentration.

Questions for reflection and discussion

1. What are your general impressions of breath awareness? Do you tend to prefer it over metta bhavana, or vice versa? Why?

2. “Sometimes people want to stop counting. There can be good and bad reasons for this.” Have you ever felt tempted to quit counting in the first two rounds? The reasons why this happened are “good or bad reasons, according to Bodhipaksha?

3. Did you notice the difference between the first and second stages? If so, do you think Bodhipaksha gives a good explanation for this? Could there be other reasons for these differences?

4. Try to focus more on exhaling or inhaling when you meditate this week. Note the effect and get ready to talk about it to the group.

5. Do you tend to be more focused when you stop counting and move on to the third stage, or are you more likely to get distracted?

6. Try to use a physical anchor in the third step. Are you able to use your arms as an anchor, or does another part of your body work better?

7. How do you feel breathing in the fourth stage of practice? Try to relate your experience to the description given in the text - for example, do you feel breath in the tips of your nostrils or elsewhere, do you feel more sensations in one nostril than the other, do you feel something like "inner sound", "feeling of silk ” or “pleasant feeling of flow” mentioned in the text?

8. Try to use some of Bodhipaksha's "meditation tools" in your practice this week. Tell the group about the effect.