Anapanasati is the meditation system expressly taught by the Buddha in which mindful breathing is used to develop both Samatha (a serene and concentrated mind), and vipassana (insightful seeing). In this clear and detailed teaching, the Buddha presents us with a meditation practice that uses conscious breathing to calm and stabilize the mind so it is fit to see into itself and to let go into freedom.
Samatha
We are learning the art of allowing the breath to unfold without our imposing any controls. We let it happen rather than make it happen. Can we receive each in-breath, and each out-breath, just as it is—deep, shallow, pleasant, unpleasant, etc.? Can the quality of awareness be non-judgmental, not for or against what shows up? This practice, said to be the form of meditation used to bring the Buddha to full awakening, is based on the Anapanasati Sutta (MN 118).
The first step is to take up our breathing as an exclusive object of attention. We focus our attention on the sensations produced as the lungs quite naturally, without interruption, fill up and empty themselves. At first, we pick up these sensations by stationing our attention at the nostrils, chest or abdomen. As our breath-awareness practice matures, this attention can be expanded to the body as a whole.
In the Buddha’s words: “Being sensitive to the whole body, the yogi breathes in; being sensitive to the whole body, the yogi breathes out.” It is important to note that what is being talked about are the raw sensations that come about through breathing, free of conceptualization or imagery of any kind. Of course, when you direct your attention to the breath, you may find that the mind prefers to be elsewhere. It has a mind of its own.
The practice is to gently keep returning to the breath each time you are distracted. Little by little the mind learns to settle down; it feels very steady, calm and peaceful. Even at this early stage in the training, we are also strongly encouraged to be mindful in the activities that make up our day. Keeping awareness of the breath alive can help ground us in these activities. The breath is always with us, helping to cut down on unnecessary thinking that so often distracts us from the here and now.
Concentrating on breathing in such a manner enables the mind to gather together all its scattered energies. The mind is now much more steady and clear. We are now encouraged to enlarge the scope of awareness so it becomes more comprehensive. With awareness anchored in the breathing we begin to include all bodily movements, the pleasant, unpleasant and neutral sensations that make up sensory experience and the wide variety of mind states that compose so much of our consciousness. We become increasingly familiar and at home with bodily life, emotions and the thought-process itself. We are learning the art of self-observation, all along being in touch with the fact that we are breathing in and out. The skills being developed are the ability to widen and deepen the capacity to receive our own experience with intimacy and a lack of bias. The breath becomes like a good friend, accompanying us every step along the way.