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Counting the Breath
shanyin
Novice YoginSault Ontario Veteran
Hello all. I'm going to be starting intense experimentation with counting the breaths. The reason is my mind is very active lately and I've heard this is a good way to acheive some stillness and also I havn't been having much success with mindfulness of breathing as I get lost in instructions and concepts and things.
Anyways.. my question is has anyone experimented with this before? The method I'll be using is counting 1 before inhalation and 1 before exhalation up to 5 then back to one and to 6 and so on untill 10.
Yes so and has anyone experimented with this before and had any results or suggestions?
Anyways.. my question is has anyone experimented with this before? The method I'll be using is counting 1 before inhalation and 1 before exhalation up to 5 then back to one and to 6 and so on untill 10.
Yes so and has anyone experimented with this before and had any results or suggestions?
0
Comments
Where did you come up with the idea of going 1-5, 5-1, 1-6, 6-1 . . . . 1-10, 10-1?
If you ask me, the counting itself would be very distracting. The point is to focus on the breath, not to focus on the counting.
Dear shanyin
This is a good method recommended by many teachers. Don't look it upon basic. Is pedalling too basic for bike riding?
Count 1 to 10 each exhalation and again. The point is not perfection, the point is to do it, the point is consistency. If you find you have lost count, no blame, no shame, go back to 1.
Perseverence furthers. It is a valuable method even if it looks too basic.
Here is one excerpt which may or may not
Best wishes, and yes, in my opinion meditation is very very much the price of liberation. Genuine liberation.
Gassho,
Abu
I agree, especially such a complex method of counting... 1-5, 5-1, 1-6 6-1, etc. I would go crazy trying to keep track
For me I think, the more complex the counting method, the more I just kind of :werr: and tryyyyyy so hard... I have no time to be mindful of anything
So today I took the advice and tried just going up to 10 over and over.
I think mabye the "double counting" that I was trying was increasing my focus but it could be distracting I don't know.
I'll get by, thanks all!
the point of counting the breath in this fashion (1-5, 1-6, -17, 1-8, 1-9, 1-10) is that you need your complete attention in order not to lose tract.
the point is to develop concentration.
once you can do a couple cycles without ever losing track of where you are at, then you developped enough concentration and attention to move on to only the breath.
The reason it is so difficult not to lose tract of the count is because the person does not have enough attention, concentration yet.
just keep practicing, 1 hour or more a day and it will improve.
It is a good idea not to try to skip steps especially when beginning; it's important to try to build strong fundations.
That's interesting, I feel like wherever I heard about "counting the breath" meditation, it was also suggested to be mindful of the breath as well as the count. I suppose this may be why counting the breath gets somewhat distracting for me, because I'm also at the same time doing my best to be mindful of breathing, and mindful of thoughts etc.
Or just 20 minutes a day and it will still improve
It is very interesting you should mention this, because this is actually the opposite of what I have been learning.
I've spent a few years reading more advanced texts, and in doing so I think I've lost track of my foundation, so I've gone back to the beginning, starting with Geshe Tashi Tsering's The Foundation of Buddhist Thought series, namely Volume 1: The Four Noble Truths.
There, Geshe Tsering explains that Right mindfulness and Right Concentration are two distinct parts of the Noble Eight Fold Path, but they work together to build on the individual ethics (as well as the path in general).
Geshe Tsering says that Right Mindfulness has three distinct aspects: stability, clarity, and intensity. They should be developed in that order, or so that you are able to sit down and actually focus on one thing for an extended period of time (making your mind more stable) first, then work on clarifying the mind (of what you are trying to focus on) and then intensifying that focus.
Additionally, Geshe Tsering claims that Right Concentration is the use of a single pointed mind, using the mindfulness that you have already obtained.
He clarifies this by explaining:
"Mindfulness on a practical level is merely being aware of what is going on around us. . . it means the ability of the mind to stay on the object of concentration . . . Many methods exist for developing basic mindfulness. At the initial stage, we learn how to bring our scattered minds to focus on the sensations within our bodies in the present moment . . . We can do this by simply observing our body posture, not giving it any labels - right, wrong, pain, pleasure - just being with our bodies. We can also concentrate on the breath counting our inhalations and exhalations as we focus on either the sensation of the air at our nostrils or the movement of our abdomen." (pg134)
"With mindfulness holding the object, the mind focuses on that object . . . mindfulness is merely the ability to hold an object . . . [with concentration, or single-pointed mind] the single pointed mind actually becomes [the object it is focusing on]." (pg 135)
So I thought that breath counting actually supported mindfulness, not concentration. When we then use the mindfulness to focus on a quality, such as compassion, so that the single pointed mind actually can become compassion, that is concentration.
Forgive me if I misunderstood something, but from what I have learned, breath counting is actually a mindfulness training, not a concentration training.
I meant to say in response to:
that the point was to not be mindful of anything else than the breath.
Mindfulness on a single object like the breath leads to concentration. There are many different counting techniques, however the practice is called mindfulness of breathing, not mindfulness of counting.:)
P
to encourage yourselves if you find this to sound so difficult, you can look at the course schedule of a meditation retreat, where normal people who never meditated a day in their lives, will meditate on the retreat 10 hours a day.
I find that when I count the breaths, I end up controlling the way my body breathes, instead of letting the breath be and flow as it pleases. I found it helpful when it comes to keeping your mind awake and not letting it go into torpor and stupor tho, so it does have it's value and for some, it might be the right gateway into the beginning stages of their meditation practice.
This was what I was doing when I encountered the problem as well, but then I was realizing how my breath was forced and unnatural, controlled.
This is what I was after on my last sitting session, but counting the breath, automatically made my breath feel like it didn't belong to me, very unnatural.
I guess I should keep trying like you and see if I find a way to let it become more natural and flow better. Good post.
Yes, this can be a disadvantage of counting methods. The traditional practice is mindfulness of breathing, which just means paying attention to the breath. Counting can be a useful support to this, but arguably should be dropped when basic concentration has been established.
P