Meditation on breathing is one of the most widely practiced of Buddhist meditation techniques. It was devised and developed by the Buddha himself, and He taught it during his lifetime. For 2500 years it has been widely studied both by monks and laypeople.

Breath meditation has many virtues. It is simple and portable – your breath goes with you wherever you go. It will be with you until your last breath. The breath is neither a fascinating, attractive nor interesting object; it is not a repulsive object. It is neutral.

The breath is observed through contact. It is not visual; it is felt. The location to focus on – which is given by the Buddha himself in several discourses in which he described the meditation – is at the entrance to the body. The breath enters the body at the nostrils or the mouth. Some people have conditions where they must breathe through their mouth, if they have a cold, for example. They need not abandon breathing meditation. Contact of the breath at the lip is also a possible site, although it is difficult to feel the inhalation there. But primarily the breath is felt at the nose.

Begin by paying attention to the coolness of the inhalation inside the nostrils. The Buddha makes a simile that mindfulness is similar to a sentry at the entrance to a walled city. The sentry is posted at the entrance. He does not have to know who is inside the city and who is outside. All he has to know is that there is just one way in and out of that city, and that is the entranceway. Therefore, he guards the entrance in the same way mindfulness observes the entrance of the breath. It does not follow it inside the body. It does not concern itself with the outside of the body. It merely acts as a sentry. All the air coming into the body or going out of the body must pass through the nostrils. So we post mindfulness at the nostrils.

The same qualities we value a sentry for, we value mindfulness for at the nostrils: alertness, constancy, non-distraction, non-sleepiness, non-agitation, and inability to be bribed. Being bribed is like asking your mind to pay attention to the breath, and then seeing other more enticing thoughts and images come along. You may be bribed into paying attention to those, rather than to the breath. The sentry should not be easily bought off. You have to refuse the offers of more tantalizing images, thoughts, plans and reveries. You must strictly observe the breath at the entrance of the body.

One should not be over-rigid and excessively zealous, otherwise this produces agitation. Neither should you be drifting off into sleep - too relaxed. You need the middle ground, a balance between tension and drifting away. Feel the coolness of the inhalation. Feel the warmth of the exhalation.

The Buddha advises we pay attention to the duration of the breath. Is it a long breath, or is it a short breath? He doesn’t ask you to control your breath or your breathing; merely to breathe naturally and unselfconsciously. You should observe and not interfere. But note a long breath when one occurs on an inhalation or an exhalation, and a short breath when one occurs on an inhalation or an exhalation.

When your mind has established itself and is able to pay attention long enough to observe whether or not it is a long or short breath, then you can ask it to do something a little more challenging, as the mind may wander and still know whether it is a long breath or a short breath.

Now, the Buddha asks that we observe the beginning, the middle and the end of each breath, both the inhalation and the exhalation. In other words, the entire duration of the breath from its beginning to its end. This is a new demand on mindfulness: that the sentry observes every detail of what is passing in and out of that entrance. The sentry’s attention must be constant, not wandering at all. It is a more demanding level of practice.

If you find the mind occasionally wanders – which is very common and to be expected – one should not feel frustrated or a failure at this normal action of the mind. Instead, simply notice when your attention has wandered and start the exercise again, noticing the beginning, the middle and the end of each breath.

This exercise itself should not produce excess tension or a hypnotic effect. It is an attempt to increase alertness, awareness and the capacity to sustain attention. If you succeed, you will feel a very great sense of clarity, presence, and lack of distraction. You will not feel in the least bored, agitated, irritated, nor will you feel in doubt. You will be confidently observing the flow of breath in this very lucid condition.

You will be aware of precisely what you are doing. This is the first benefit of this exercise, that one experiences well-being here and now. You have dispelled the variety of hindrances or negative mental states that occur in the ordinary mind: ill will, sensual fantasies or obsessions, agitation, sloth and drowsiness, and indecision or problematic doubting. By observing the breath, one is delivered from these negative mental states.

Proceeding further, one may begin to notice a subtle change, taking place at the very point of contact where the breath meets the nostrils. It may turn from a flowing sensation – a cottony flow of air gently against the nostrils – to a static pressure, a light, airy but motionless effect. It is as if light cotton batten is being touched to the nostrils. This is a sign that the mind is becoming very focused, still and calm. The object, the breath, begins to take on the quality of stillness rather than motion. This is a sign of increasing concentration, increasing focus, and increasing stillness of mind.

At this point the aches and pains in one’s body tend to dissolve. The body is not troubled, and experiences a rather pleasant sensation. The mind also experiences a pleasant sensation of being undistracted, calm, strong, even, present, alert, and untroubled.

Now, one may turn one’s attention to the topic of the impermanent nature of this process, or the impermanent nature of all phenomena, or the substanceless nature of the breath. Since it is a flow, there is nothing enduring or substantial to it. Noticing this characteristic in the breath, one can also notice this characteristic in all sense objects – whatever one sees, hears, smells, tastes, touches, and thinks. All are flowing; all are insubstantial.

The mind in this rested, very alert state, when asked to investigate the flowing nature of reality, will often perceive it with greater impact than in normal distracted states of consciousness. It will be less preoccupied with this flowing world, or realize that since all things in the world are flowing, they cannot be grasped, held or controlled. They do not last. When the mind sees this characteristic, this sign, it relaxes its grip and its futile attempt to control, to grasp, and to hold. This is one of the direct benefits of calming the mind through breath meditation, turning the attention to the flowing quality of the breath, and then further, to the flowing quality of all phenomena.

You may also wish to go deeper into tranquility by focusing the mind on the still quality of the breath, that is, this cottony characteristic where the breath contacts the nostrils. When that becomes very, very still, this is an indication that the mind is stilling. By continuing to focus without too great a tension and without relaxation, in an alert way, one goes deeper into stillness, clarity, and a profound well-being. There is a lack of pain in the body, a decrease of pleasant feelings in the body, and an increase of joy.

This is in the direction of profound concentration, the eighth factor of the Noble Eightfold Path. Do not expect to enter this state without a good deal of preparation, without a good deal of refinement in your life. It requires a great deal of sensitivity and refinement of the mind. On the other hand, do not think it impossible to calm the mind, to produce clarity and stillness in the mind. It is possible for the ordinary person to develop. Given enough patience and time and correct practice, one may learn the great value of breath meditation.

Breath meditation is something that can unfold during the entire lifetime. It becomes one’s best friend. It becomes a refuge. It becomes an unending source of clarity and stillness from which to base investigation into the nature of reality, the nature of truth, the nature of goodness. It is an invaluable aid to awakening, taught by the Buddha himself, practiced by the Buddha himself, and recommended by twenty-five centuries of teachers of meditation.

I leave you with these instructions. May you be well, happy, and peaceful.

Transcription by Donna Woods. This material may be reproduced for personal use only. It may only be distributed free of charge. © Birken Forest Monastery 2001.