by Peter Carlson | Feb 5, 2015 | Study Resources
Here are the relevant passages from the Anapanasati Sutta for this week’s consideration:
“He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in sensitive to rapture.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out sensitive to rapture.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in sensitive to pleasure.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out sensitive to pleasure.’ Translated by Thanissaro, downloaded from Access To Insight.
As the result of applied (vitakka) and sustained (vicara) attention to the breath sensations, a great deal of the available energy in the body/mind process is freed up because the energy isn’t channeled through the obsessive thinking and impulsive feelings represented by the hindrances. These thoughts and emotions generate metabolic stresses such as high blood pressure, muscle tension (headaches, backaches, stomach cramps, etc.). Prolonged focus on breath sensations reorganize the energy flows, reducing the physical stress, promoting mental tranquility and clarity. The resulting increases in energy flow manifest as piti, translated as rapture or bliss, accompanied by sukha, translated as happiness or pleasure.
(more…)
by Peter Carlson | Feb 5, 2015 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This week’s discussion focused on the stanzas in the Anapanasati Sutta related to the cultivation of piti and sukha, Pali words often translated as rapture and pleasure. During the talk, Peter related the commentaries that describe piti dramatically, associated with so-called “Visuddhimagga jhanas”, then suggesting an alternative view regarding “sutta jhanas”, which are more accessible and workable in regards to the process of awakening. Peter then reinforced the passage in the Anapanasati Sutta that describes the culmination of practice as being the maturing of the seven awakening factors, and that piti is one of those factors, generated by the skillful and persistent focus on the mind/body process set forth in previous stanzas of the sutta.
This talk is accompanied by Peter’s notes, posted after this posting.
Next week’s discussion will focus on the next stanza of the sutta, regarding the calming of mental fabrications.
by Peter Carlson | Jan 29, 2015 | Listen to Dharma Talks
During this dhamma dialogue, the exploration of the Anapanasati Sutta was continued, with a focus on the stanzas: “…He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in sensitive to the entire body.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out sensitive to the entire body.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in calming bodily fabrication.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out calming bodily fabrication.’
Peter described an ongoing debate as to whether “the entire body” simply refers to the totality of the in- and out-breath cycle without interruption, or whether “the entire body” relates the calming effects of enduring breath awareness is coordinated with relaxing “the bodily fabrication”. The accompanying .mp3 recording of the training meditation that immediately preceded this dialogue orients towards the latter interpretation, emphasizing that the out-breath can coincide with briefly sweeping attention through the body to release and relax any tension that is noted. This strategy allows the body to become increasingly relaxed, the emotions to become increasingly calm, while the degree of internal investigation of the breath and body tensions actually increases internal alertness.
This explanation was followed by dialogues regarding how those participating in the training meditation experienced the practice of mindfulness of breathing. It was noted that suggesting that attention is a flow of energy that is simply nourishing either wholesome or unwholesome self-states, and that the breath is a wholesome factor in that process, as it interrupts the escalation of self-talk and fosters calming.
The next scheduled talk will focus on the effects of this mindful calming, the release of energy into awareness as joy and happiness.
by Peter Carlson | Jan 15, 2015 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This is the second in a series of discussions regarding the Anapanasati Sutta, (mindfulness of breathing), a core teaching for Buddhist meditation practitioners. During this talk, Peter described several aspects of mindfulness of breathing that supports increasing the frequency and stability of focus, both in the practice of samatha (cultivating concentration) and vipassana (cultivating insight into the conditioned nature of reality). The terms vitakka (aiming awareness at the onset of the in- and out-breaths) and vicara (thorough awareness of the experience of in-and out-breaths) were described as the initial stages for developing dhamma vicaya bojjhanga, (the investigation of mental phenomena awakening factor). Peter pointed out that cultivating sambojjhanga, (the seven awakening factors) is a major orientation in both the Anapanasati Sutta and the Satipatthana Sutta, (The Four Foundations of Mindfulness).
The teaching points of the Anapanasati Sutta will be explored over the next few months, with emphasis on the actual practice of mindfulness of breathing. To further this process, there will be training meditations provided during the normal 45 minute meditation practice period at 7 PM Wednesday nights. It’s uncertain whether the training meditations will be recorded. During next week’s meeting, January 21, meditators will be provided with Mentholatumto apply on the rim of the nostrils with Q-tips, to facilitate ongoing awareness of the cycle of breathing in and out.
by Peter Carlson | Jan 8, 2015 | Listen to Dharma Talks
During this first dhamma dialogue of the new year, Peter began a series of explorations of one of the core teachings of Buddhism, the Anapanasati Sutta, the discourse on mindfulness of breathing
(See notes.)
It was pointed out that this discourse is perhaps the only one in the Pali Canon to include an extensive “prelude” to the actual teaching, during which the dedication and attainments of those attending were expounded upon by the Buddha. Why such emphasis? Peter quoted an exchange between the Buddha and Ananda in which the Buddha said that the Sangha is crucial for spiritual development (the quote is in the accompanying notes posted before this one).
This was related to modern social science which emphasizes that humans are essentially social animals, with the advantage of language and the capacity for abstract conceptual processing. This was also related to the recent development of peer “accountability partners”, using the extensive development of the various 12-step communities dedicated to the overcoming of addictive and compulsive behaviors. It was also noted that modern business organizations are using accountability partnerships to further professional goals. Peter wondered how this could effectively be applied for the Orlando Insight Meditation community. This was followed by discussion.
Next week will begin the more extensive exploration of the teachings within the sutta, emphasizing more refined breath awareness and increasing ability to integrate breath awareness into daily life routines.