Mindfulness of Breathing Practice: Body and Feelings

We'll look at the first eight aspects of mindfulness of breathing practice from the early texts, four having to do with the body, and four with feeling tones.
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✅ Book:
Anālayo, Mindfulness of Breathing (Windhorse, 2019) amzn.to/35f8rA6
✅ Video:
Four Foundations of Mindfulness (playlist) - • The Four Foundations o...
✅ Suttas mentioned:
suttacentral.net/mn118/en/sujato
suttacentral.net/mn44/en/sujato
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[@DougsDharma]

🧡 If you find benefit in my videos, consider supporting the channel by joining us on Patreon and get fun extras like exclusive behind-the-scenes videos, audio-only versions, and extensive show notes: www.patreon.com/dougsseculardharma 🙂

[@babeksaber2702]

Thank you. My experience has always led me to believe these 16 stages are not things we do, but steps we go through.....Cheers

[@DougsDharma]

Yes, that's one way to look at it!

[@dfdgfdgf0000]

Doug, it is funny that you talk about it but I smile when I meditate and it makes me happy ! It’s amazing !

[@DougsDharma]

😀🙏

[@xiaomaozen]

Glad that you mention the "jhānic alternative" of happiness and joy. I agree with Anālayo and you that it's not meant in this context, but I consider it a very valuable alternative/complement to mindfulness practice. Thanks for the splendid video! Looking forward for the sequel... 🌬

[@DougsDharma]

Yes, I think that so many of the Buddha's early instructions were intended to be somewhat ambiguous. There is more ambiguity in the next section but even here we can get a bit of a suggestion of jhāna anyway.

[@peterharvey845]

I would see the awareness of joy and happiness in jhana as probably the primary meaning here.

[@adriand1058]

Amazing video. Extremely helpful and clear. I appreciate every teacher that works to preserve and spread the original teachings of the Buddha. Thank you.

[@DougsDharma]

You're very welcome Adrian! 🙏

[@sinjunart49]

I like the idea of smiling while meditating :) After 2 years of 1 hour daily Vipassana style meditation I noticed I wasn’t noticeably more happy or compassionate. This got me interested in prayer and metta. It’s likely my issue was due to “going through the motions” and not integrating metta at the end of my sits. You were right - this does include the vipassana body sweeping style and it must have been the origin. As a side note: I feel there were a few too many ads - I was listening to this while cooking and had to keep reaching over to skip the ads and now my phone is greasy 😅 A few ads is fine and I know it supports you. That said, thank you for the content! I know you work hard on these ✨🙏🏼

[@DougsDharma]

Thanks Sinjun, I also find that metta at the end of my sits makes a real difference. As to the ads, that's up to KZbin ...

[@citruspeel]

Hey Doug, great video! I recently signed up to the Online Dharma Institute and started a course on the history of Buddha, and its great so far! Thank you for uploading these helpful videos out of the goodness of your own heart.

[@DougsDharma]

Hey great McChucky, thanks for the signup and glad you're enjoying the course! 👍😀

[@scarlettfarrow633]

Good to know McChucky - I want to do this but we are facing a house move that in the middle of COVID restrictions is complicated. Roughly how much time are you devoting to study?

[@citruspeel]

@@scarlettfarrow633 Well I also have school work to do now, so only when i feel like it. Im not good with scheduals but maybe watch some of the videos while ur eating, might be good as you cant do anything else then. Just a suggestion idk what will work for you

[@scarlettfarrow633]

@@citruspeel Thank you - it helps to know that you are taking a "do it when you can" approach as that is all I could do right now. Also watching videos while I eat means that my husband may passively learn too!🙂

[@citruspeel]

@@scarlettfarrow633 Im so glad I could help, best wishes to you and your husband with your move! Stay safe.

[@johng1289]

Hi Doug, this is a great video and very helpful. I’m going to listen a few more times. Thanks for breaking these things down in a way that’s easy to understand. 🙏

[@DougsDharma]

You're most welcome John, so glad it is helpful to you!

[@scarlettfarrow633]

Hi Doug. This was a really useful video. Initially I was reminded of the circling the stomach whist simultaneously patting one's head game 😆 then I watched it again and made notes. Now I am set and despite meditating for a few years feel much clearer about how I should approach the practice. Thanks as always for all your work.

[@DougsDharma]

You're very welcome Scarlett! Yes, I'd read this sutta a long time ago but set it aside until Anālayo's book made me want to reconsider its detailed advice.

[@pedropolin]

Nice thanks Doug

[@DougsDharma]

You're very welcome Kael!

[@wyattwanders]

Such great videos

[@DougsDharma]

Very kind of you Wyatt, thanks!

[@peterharvey845]

Mindfulness of the length of the breath is a key part of mindfulness of breathing in the Samatha Trust/Foundation method- Longest comfortable without strainng, then Longer, Shorter and Shortest comfortable breaths all generally slow and gently done unforced.

[@DougsDharma]

Yes that makes a lot of sense. Incidentally there is a very great scholar of Buddhism with the name Peter Harvey! 🙏

[@peterharvey845]

@@DougsDharma Yes, I breath through 'his' nose ... :-)

[@peterharvey845]

Incidentally, I run an online Samatha mindfulness of breathing course that will next run from early October 2021: www.samatha.org/online-course

[@DougsDharma]

@@peterharvey845 That's wonderful to hear. And thanks so much for watching and commenting on my video! Much metta.

[@davidknight7933]

🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@DougsDharma]

🙏🙂

[@dwarfyman4899]

Amazing! I feel like I properly know how to meditate now. I’m excited to try this out. Just a few clarifications: 1. Am I right in saying that steps 1&2 are to be carried out simultaneously? 2. In the stages where we have additional things to focus on, (eg. stage 7) am I correct in interpreting it to mean that we should still focus on the breath (still throughout the body at this point) and then focus on things like mental activity as they grab our attention. Or would it be more correct to try and simultaneously focus on both? Or am I completely off? 3. This one may not be answerable but when should we advance from, say, stages 2 to 3? As always, thanks for the video. Already 8 steps in and this feels like it would be a deep meditation on its own. Excited to see the next 8! Making this information easily accessible is a great contribution to the meditation community.

[@DougsDharma]

You're very welcome! As to your great questions, you have to understand that none of this is explicitly spelled out in the text, so all we can do is make reasonable surmises. For (1) I think yes they should be done simultaneously or at any rate just dependent on the length of the breath at that time. (2) I think we use the breath as a kind of background metronome to help keep us grounded and move us along, but it's something to practice with as you find most helpful. (3) Impossible to say generally. I'd say whenever you feel ready! Either that or rely on a teacher who might be able to give individual pointers.

[@dwarfyman4899]

@@DougsDharma Thanks🙏

[@gabrielchan4359]

❤💯👍

[@DougsDharma]

🙏😊

[@gerhargomguz]

Thanks Dough ! . Is there sort of video or audio as a guided meditation on this steps ? Thanks again

[@DougsDharma]

I'm not familiar with any such guided meditation, but I'm sure there is somewhere. I'd suggest just to practice with the first few and see how they go.

[@Giantcrabz]

Ajahn Brahm has some good guided meditations

[@joltee9317]

One thing that I've never really got is why being mindful of the feeling tone of mental activity is different to being mindful of emotions (as related to mindfulness of mind in the four foundations). Emotions present themselves as unpleasant and pleasant; for example, you may feel agitated because of fear, worry, anger, etc., which all are emotions and can be observed as feeling tones. Is there another aspect to observing emotions that relates specifically to mindfulness of mind that I'm missing?

[@DougsDharma]

Well emotions are more than just feeling tones. Anger for example may feel bad, but it's more than simply an unpleasant feeling. It's one that can result in harming others.

[@bobg.7976]

Doug, there is something around this "stages and steps" approach to practice I don't get. These subjective states which are cultivated such as joy and/or happiness are surely aspects of the fifth aggregate - consciousness. The Buddha taught us that clinging to these states or skandhas is a cause of suffering and leads to ever deeper samsaric rebirth. What is it the Heart Sutra says about no attainment? Maybe I'm too conditioned by the Soto school of meditation!

[@DougsDharma]

Great question, Bob. Actually these states of joy and happiness are part of the aggregate of "feelings" (vedanā), not consciousness. And yes, clinging to ordinary feelings of joy and happiness stemming from sense perception are the central cause of suffering for us. Those are known as "worldly" pleasant feelings. It's slightly different with "unworldly" pleasant feelings, of which the feelings stemming from meditation (for example, this breath meditation, or even jhāna) are key. The difference between the two kinds of feelings is somewhat subtle, but suffice to say that while they can be problematic as well, they aren't considered *as* problematic.

[@bobg.7976]

Doesn't the Goenka school define "feelings" as bodily sensations? Or perhaps feeling tones around those sensations? Hence their practice of scanning the body which they term Vipassana meditation.

[@realdaybreaker8013]

Hi Doug - I am curious as to how you manage to generate a consistent income to support your work - as a matter of fact, there is not a huge audience for this type of content (Mindfulness, Spirituality and Buddhism) - I wonder how you keep the channel and your work afloat.

[@DougsDharma]

Great question RDB, it's hard. At this point it's still a labor of love. After several years I'm still not able to generate a viable income, though it's getting better and hopefully in time will get there. My patrons over on Patreon are the main support of my work (www.patreon.com/dougsseculardharma ), along with some ad revenue from KZbin and my courses over at the Online Dharma Institute (onlinedharma.org/ ).

[@scarlettfarrow633]

@@DougsDharma Huge thanks Doug. Once the word spreads of the resources you are providing I have no doubt that the revenue stream will improve. I have already recommended your work to several friends. Is there anything else we can do?

[@DougsDharma]

@@scarlettfarrow633 You're doing plenty already Scarlett, thanks so much for your support. 🙏

[@scarlettfarrow633]

@@DougsDharma Its certainly good to see your patron list growing. So well deserved Doug. Long may that continue.

[@boredguywithcards]

I have found that if I start with 15-20 minutes of only focusing on the first part (the body), i can get up and do some chores or read or something. With calmness, I find more joy in these tasks, and I can then return to my meditation for another session. I bring my body back down, and then moving onto the next part is easier (breathing in reference to joy/happiness), and so on. Is this a good practice, or is this something that should be done in one long meditative practice? Or are both okay?

[@DougsDharma]

Sure Jrahmah, that sounds great! I think the most important thing with practice like this is that you find a method that you can do consistently, every day. I don't think there's anything wrong with splitting up the meditation if you find that helpful.

[@blackhunk2265]

🙏🏼.namo buddhay. Can you please let me know practice of 1). forgiveness meditation and 2). metta bhavana (meditation) ? In which text these are.memtiioned ? Or reference.

[@DougsDharma]

I'm not sure there is an example of forgiveness meditation. Metta is in many places. I did a video about it awhile back. Check out my playlist on the Brahmavihāras: kzbin.info/aero/PL0akoU_OszRi-PrNLubfI0LVwkjXbZ-c7

[@blackhunk2265]

@@DougsDharma 🙏🏼

[@seamusdebuitleir20]

Hello Doug, warm greetings from wet and windy Ireland. At this point of time a lot of people are highly agitated because of various circumstances,fear anxiety depression and insecurity and a negative imagination to go with it, 99 percent of people cannot meditate because of this abnormal situation.? Any idea Since? Not illusions. Tanx.

[@DougsDharma]

Yes it's quite sad Seamus. I have an earlier video that might be helpful: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bpa0qJ5qhKqYfbc And glad to have you with us from Ireland! Beautiful country!

[@katarzynarypin7812]

Doug in which Sutta Buddha described 9 or 12? Stages of Samatha(Shine) Please and Thank you so much especially for this one 🙂

[@DougsDharma]

I'm not sure which one you're talking about Katarzyna. The suttas mentioned in this video though are linked in the show notes.

[@katarzynarypin7812]

@@DougsDharma Thank you for your time Im asking specificaly about Shamata Shinemeditation so far I thought that there are 9 stages

[@DougsDharma]

@@katarzynarypin7812 I'm not sure what practice that is.

[@blackhunk2265]

Anapan.? From Vishuddhimaga ?and Mahasatipatthana?

[@DougsDharma]

This is from a comparative study of the Ānāpānasati Sutta. Links should be in the notes.

[@shawntemple3822]

@@DougsDharma hi Doug can you do a video on impermanence

[@DougsDharma]

Hi Stan, you can see a video on the three marks of existence where I discuss impermanence here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6KkiGl4ipeClZo

[@shawntemple3822]

@@DougsDharma do you think a potential topic can be Buddhism and evil, or the problem of evil. I’m only asking because the other mainstream world religions and even secular institutions to a point, tried to answer the “problem of evil”. As I know there is no evil or “ultimate evil” in Buddhism. Ignorance is the only “evil”. Since attachment or craving and aversion leads to ignorance, or something along those lines

[@shawntemple3822]

@@DougsDharma basically our willingness to cling to a ‘self’ can lead to these delusions

[@joltee9317]

Going through the stages step by step seems unintuitive to how experiences may naturally arise. Going step by step would seem to mean to ignore your experiences until you reach the stage that deals with that experience. Similarly, once you've past that stage, it means ignoring an experience attended to in a prior stage. Unless I've misunderstood anapanasati in some way.

[@DougsDharma]

There are going to be different approaches for different people, if you find you prefer something else then go for it. I think this is intended to be a general progression taught to many monks, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will always be apt. It's worth trying out at any rate.