67 Mindfulness of breathing, part 3

Fall 2011 Shamatha Retreat

Instruction and meditation on Mindfulness of Breathing: the focus on anapanasatti (focusing on the sensations at the opening of the nostrils and/or on the upper lip under the nostrils)
The problem with this foundational practice is that the mind has a thirst for entertainment and it gets bored with the practice and makes up its own entertainment. Thoughts will come up in this practice but you do not cognitively fuse with them (fall into daydreaming).
The problem with Settling the Mind in its Natural State is that you get sloppy and just get caught up in what arises in the mind.
In Awareness of Awareness, the most common error is just sitting there, zoning out and not knowing anything – which is the root of samsara.
In Mindfulness of Breathing, the antidote to restlessness/too much kinetic energy is to relax and release the energy gently on the out breath. If it gets boring when the sensations become very subtle, attend closely while releasing all control of the breath.
If stability isn’t getting better, your shamatha isn’t working
Asanga does not mention the acquired sign or the counterpart sign. He discusses attending to the whole body and the route of the passage of the breath. He also discusses prana – a subtle energy (and it might be what he is referring to when he speaks about breathing through the skin).
Some discussion of Tibetan medicine and the notions of the three humors: wind, fire, and phlegm.
Meditation starts at 48:19
Q&A (73:07)
Discussion of the differences between the discovery and the development models.