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       #Post#: 975--------------------------------------------------
       Seeking Buddho - Ajahn Anan Akincano
       By: Valen Date: May 5, 2019, 10:05 am
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       #Post#: 999--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Seeking Buddho
       By: Valen Date: May 21, 2019, 10:55 am
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       When sitting in meditation we assume a posture that feels just
       right, one that is balanced and relaxed. We should lean neither
       too far left nor too far right, neither too far forward nor too
       far back. The head should be neither raised nor drooping and the
       eyes should be closed just enough that we don’t feel tense and
       uptight. We then focus awareness upon the sensation of breathing
       at three points: the end of the nose, the heart and the navel.
       We focus awareness, firstly, on following the in-breath as it
       passes these three points – beginning at the nose, descending
       through the heart and finishing at the navel – and then,
       secondly, on following the out-breath in reverse order –
       starting at the navel, ascending through the heart and ending at
       the tip of the nose. This preliminary means of focusing
       awareness can be called ‘following the breath at three points’.
       Once we are mindful of the in-and-out breathing and proficient
       at focusing awareness on these three points, then we continue by
       clearly knowing the in-breaths and out-breaths just at the tip
       of the nose. We maintain awareness of the sensation of breathing
       by focusing on only the end of the nose.
       Sometimes, as we focus on the breathing, the mind wanders off
       thinking and fantasising about the past or the future, and so we
       have to put forth effort to maintain this present moment
       awareness of the breath. If the mind is wandering so much that
       we cannot focus our awareness, then we should breathe in deeply,
       filling the lungs to maximum capacity before exhaling. We should
       inhale and exhale deeply like this three times and then start
       breathing normally again. As the in-breath passes the nose we
       count, ‘one’; as it passes the heart, ‘two’; the navel, ‘three’.
       With the out-breath we count ‘one’ as it moves up from the
       belly, ‘two’ as it passes the heart area, and ‘three’ at the
       nose-tip. We should count in this way until we are skilled and
       proficient. This is the first method of focusing awareness upon
       the breathing.
       Alternatively, we can focus our awareness using the second
       method of ‘counting in pairs’. We count ‘one’ as we breathe in
       and ‘one’ as we breathe out. With the next in-breath we count,
       ‘two’, and with the out-breath, ‘two’. Then, in – ‘three’, out –
       ‘three’; in – ‘four’, out – ‘four’; in – ‘five’, out – ‘five’.
       Firstly, we count in pairs of in-and-out breaths up to ‘five’.
       After the fifth pair we start again at ‘one’ and increase the
       count of in-and-out breaths one pair at a time, for example:
       in-out, ‘one’; in-out, ‘two’; in-out, ‘three’; in-out, ‘four’;
       in-out, ‘five’; in-out, ‘six’. After counting each new pair of
       in-and-out breaths we start again at ‘one’ and increase the
       pairs incrementally up to ‘ten’. Using this method we will be
       aware of whether our mindfulness is with the counting –
       totalling the numbers correctly – or whether it is distracted
       and confused.
       
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