TIER 1 Mindfulness of Breathing: stage 2

"Mindfulness of in-&-out breathing, when developed & pursued, is of great fruit, of great benefit." MN 118 the Buddha

During Stage 2 of TIER 1 of Mindfulness of Breathing your mind will have a tendency towards dullness due to over-calming of the knowing function of awareness. Insight into dullness, how it arises and how it ceases needs to be developed for dullness to no longer arise.

 Instructions 

• Read Instructions: TIER 1 Mindfulness of Breathing (separate page)

 Meditation 

• Meditation Skill 09: Cultivate Skill in Applying.
• Meditation Skill 10: Cultivate Skill in Acknowledging.
• Meditation Skill 11: Cultivate Skill in Sustaining.
• Meditation Skill 12: Cultivate Skill in Experiencing.
• Meditation Skill 13: Cultivate Skill in Stabilising.

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“Always mindful, they breathe in; mindful they breathe out.” MN10 The Buddha.

Becoming aware of in & out-breaths is a sign that you have reached Marker 06.

Marker 06 arises as a progression of continuous awareness of the natural flow of breath within your body. As your depth of relaxation deepens, you will start to become more aware of more detail such as whether the breath is coming in or going out of your body.

I recommend meditating for 35 min 1-2 times daily.

Detailed Instruction PDF

Your Meditation So Far:

• Create your meditation posture.
• Marker 1: Remember the Touch of Your Thumbs.
• Marker 2: Tuning into the Experience of The Room.
• Marker 3: Your Body as it Sits in Meditation.
• Marker 4: Awareness Grounded Within Body.
• Marker 5: Natural Flow of Your Breathing.

What You are Learning this Lesson:

• MARKER 6: Knowing In & Out Breaths.

You now join Marker 1, Marker 2, Marker 3, Marker 4, Marker 5 and Marker 6 sequentially as one meditation practice.

Instructions

As your depth of relaxation deepens, you will start to become more aware of whether the breath is coming in or going out. It is important to note that this is not something that you do, but a natural knowing that occurs as awareness clarifies due to increasing calm.  

Simply create and keep the intention of knowing whether the breath is coming in or going out, within your mind. 

It can be helpful as a training aid to use a silent label (word) to direct your attention towards each in and out breath. This can be done by silently saying "in" as the breath comes in, and "out" as the breath goes out. 

MAP: Body Sitting --> Flow of Breath (body) --> In/out Breath (body).

Meditative Hindrance: 

(4) Habitual Forgetting, (6) Directed Thinking, (7) Wandering, (8) Doubt.

• Habitual Forgetting = Habitually forgetting your meditation object.
• Directed Thinking = Thinking regarding past and future events.
• Wandering = Random, meaningless thoughts, images and fantasies.
• Doubt = Losing trust in your meditation practice, technique, teacher.

Antidote: Curiosity + combine softening in Meditation Skill 03 with grounding learnt in Meditation Skill 06.  

You are ready to progress to Meditation Skill 10 when you can stay with the flow of each in and out breath without wandering of attention it for 60% of the time.

“When (insert hindrance) is present within them, the meditator knows: 'there is (insert hindrance) present within me’.” MN 10 The Buddha. (List of 16 hindrances here).

This Meditation Skill contains no Experiential Markers and is used to increase accuracy and precision of attention by clarifying perception by applying intentional labels.

Explanation

Detailed Instruction PDF

A label is a silent, intentional word describing your current experience, that is used both direct your attention and to clarify the experience in order to develop insight. 

Labels are applied during meditation by gently repeating a simple word describing what you are experiencing. 

This label may be aligned with the experience of sitting in meditation as: "sitting", "sitting". 

During mindfulness of breathing as: "in, in" as the breath comes in and "out, out" as the breath goes out. While gently labelling, make sure that the labels are concurrent with the experience to increase the accuracy of attention. 

Labelling is a way of saying: "This is what I am experiencing now".

I recommend meditating for 35 min, 1-2 times daily, until you understand how to incorporate labelling into your meditation practice.

At some time during meditation your attention will be drawn away from your meditation object. 

When this happens intentionally turn your attention towards what is distracting you and clarify this movement of attention by labelling the distraction appropriately in terms of your experience of it by using labels such as: "hearing, hearing", "thinking, thinking", "aching, aching" and so on.

If a thinking pattern arises again and again during your meditation it is, then helpful to clarify the emotional charge that is feeding it. This is done by observing and labelling the type of thinking that is present such as: "planning, planning", "discussing, discussing", "doubting, doubting" etc.

Whatever is driving the thinking process. When you notice the emotional charge within the thinking process, we use the MIDL Softening Into skill to relax your relationship to it. 

When the thought dissolves through the relaxing of our participation we then come back to the experience of your body/breathing again. 

Meditative Hindrance: Struggle and strain, over-effort. 

Antidote: Curiosity + softening learnt in Meditation Skill 03. 

You are ready to progress to Meditation Skill 11 when you can stay with the flow of each in and out breath without wandering of attention for 80% of the time.

“Breathing in long, they know: ‘I am breathing in long’; or breathing out long, they know: 'I am breathing out long.’ Or breathing in short, they know: ‘I am breathing in short’; or breathing out short, they know: ‘I am breathing out short’.” MN10 The Buddha

Becoming aware of the length of each breath is a sign that you have reached Marker 7.

Marker 07 arises as a natural progression of continuous awareness of breathing due to the development of samadhi and relaxation of both the body and mind. Due to increased clarity and calm you will start to be aware of the length of each breath from its beginning to its middle, to its end.

I recommend meditating for 40 min 1-2 times daily. 

Detailed Instruction PDF

Your Meditation So Far:

• Create your meditation posture.
• Marker 1: Remember the Touch of Your Thumbs.
• Marker 2: Tuning into the Experience of The Room.
• Marker 3: Your Body as it Sits in Meditation.
• Marker 4: Awareness Grounded Within Body.
• Marker 5: Natural Flow of Your Breathing.
• Marker 6: Knowing In & Out Breaths.

What You are Learning this Lesson:

• MARKER 7: Knowing the Length of Each Breath.

You now join Marker 1, Marker 2, Marker 3, Marker 4, Marker 5, Marker 6 and Marker 7 sequentially as one meditation practice.

Instructions

As relaxation and samadhi deepens you will naturally transition from being aware of each in and out breath, to being aware of the full length of each breath.

Being aware of the full length of each breath means noticing its beginning, its middle and its end. Knowing, this in-breath begins, it flows through my body, and it ends. This out-breath begins, it flows through my body, and it ends.

This transition increases your noticing's from: 

• One noticing on each in-breath, and one noticing on each out-breath.
• To multiple noticing's along the length of each breath. 

More specifically you are keeping a continuous knowing in regard to the whole of each breath from: its beginning, to its middle, to its end. 

What this does

Increasing the applications of your attention along the full length of each breath lowers your mind's ability to habitual apply attention towards distractions such as thoughts and sounds.

Important note

It is important to note that awareness of the full length of each breath occurs as a result of the development of calm and tranquility through tuning into the subtle pleasure of letting go, not through increasing your effort in attention. 

The ability to tune into the subtle pleasure of letting go of interest in the sensoury world, creates the conditions for the development of the calm and tranquility necessary to stabilise attention.

MAP: Body Sitting --> Flow of Breath (body) --> In/out Breath (body) --> Length of Breath (body).

Meditative Hindrance: 

Doubt (8), Gross Dullness (9), Gross Restlessness (10). 

• Doubt = Losing trust in your meditation practice, technique, teacher.
• Gross Dullness = Complete collapse of clarity of awareness. 
• Gross Restlessness = Restlessness towards your meditation session.

Antidote: When in gross dullness use increased curiosity + detail + labelling in Meditation Skill 10 to increase clarity and accuracy. When gross dullness continues combine softening in Meditation Skill 03 with Meditation Skill 04, following the instructions in Meditation Skill 04, to increase mindfulness, accuracy and clarity. 

You are ready to progress to Meditation Skill 12 when you can develop stable attention on the full length of each breath without habitual wandering or entering into Gross Dullness, for 80% of the time.

"In this same way the meditator divides experience within their body — regardless of posture or activity — in terms of these four elemental qualities. Within the experience of this body: ‘This is earth element, this is water element, this is fire element, & this is wind element’.” MN 10 The Buddha

Becoming aware of sensation within each breath as it draws in and out of your nose is a sign that you have reached Marker 8. 

Marker 08 arises as a natural progression of two things: continuous awareness of the length of each breath, and calming of effort within your body, breathing and mind. This correlates with an increased awareness of sensation within the length of each breath at the tip of the nose. 

Note: It is important to note that the increased clarity of breath sensation arises from increasing tranquility due to progressive letting go of desire for sensoury experience and not due to holding attention on sensation.

I recommend meditating for 45 min 1-2 times daily.

Detailed Instruction PDF

Your Meditation So Far:

• Create your meditation posture.
• Marker 1: Remember the Touch of Your Thumbs.
• Marker 2: Tuning into the Experience of The Room.
• Marker 3: Your Body as it Sits in Meditation.
• Marker 4: Awareness Grounded Within Body.
• Marker 5: Natural Flow of Your Breathing.
• Marker 6: Knowing In & Out Breaths.
• Marker 7: Knowing the Length of Each Breath.

What You are Learning this Lesson:

• MARKER 8: Knowing Sensation Within Each Breath.

You now join Marker 1, Marker 2, Marker 3, Marker 4, Marker 5, Marker 6, Marker 7 and Marker 8 sequentially as one meditation practice.

Instructions

As relaxation transforms into calm you attention will naturally transition from the flow of each breath within your body, to the sensations within the length of each breath at the tip of your nose. You will become ever more intimate with these sensations at the tip of the nose until you can clearly perceive the sensate difference between each in and out-breath. 

Your task during this stage is to become so intimate with breath sensations that the very idea of breathing fades into the background. 

This will occur as a natural development of calming three areas:

1. Calming of effort within your body.
2. Calming of effort within your breathing.
3. Calming of effort within your intellectual mind.

This requires developing a heightened sensitivity to the balance of effort. Too much effort and restlessness will arise, too little effort and awareness will sink into dullness.

 MAP: Body Sitting --> Flow of Breath (body) --> In/out Breath (body) --> Length of Breath (body) --> Breath Sensations (nose).

Meditative Hindrance: 

(9) Gross Dullness, (10) Gross Restlessness.

• Gross Dullness = Complete collapse of clarity of awareness. 
• Gross Restlessness = Restlessness towards your meditation session. 

Antidote: When in gross dullness use increased curiosity + detail + labelling in Meditation Skill 10 to increase clarity and accuracy. When gross dullness continues combine softening in Meditation Skill 03 with Meditation Skill 04, following the instructions in Meditation Skill 04, to increase mindfulness, accuracy and clarity.

You are ready to progress to Meditation Skill 13 when you can stay with the flow of sensations within each the length of each breath free from gross dullness and gross restlessness.

Becoming aware of one point of breath sensation accompanied by the fading of perception regarding time (& in and out-breath breath) is a sign that you have reached Marker 9. 

Marker 09 arises as a natural progression of deepening tranquility of mind due to samadhi founded on letting go. This correlates with a natural resting of attention on one point of breath sensation at the tip of the nose and a fading into the background of the perception of time.

I recommend meditating for 45 min 1-2 times daily.

Detailed Instruction PDF

Your Meditation So Far:

• Create your meditation posture.
• Marker 1: Remember the Touch of Your Thumbs.
• Marker 2: Tuning into the Experience of The Room.
• Marker 3: Your Body as it Sits in Meditation.
• Marker 4: Awareness Grounded Within Body.
• Marker 5: Natural Flow of Your Breathing.
• Marker 6: Knowing In & Out Breaths.
• Marker 7: Knowing the Length of Each Breath.
• Marker 8: Knowing Sensation Within Each Breath.

What You are Learning this Lesson:

• MARKER 9: Knowing One Point of Breath Sensation.

You now join Marker 1, Marker 2, Marker 3, Marker 4, Marker 5, Marker 6, Marker 7, Marker 8 and Marker 9 sequentially as one meditation practice.

Instructions

At this stage your attention becomes so aligned with the perception of breath sensation, so stable, that all perception of time fades into the background. With the fading of the perception of time, comes the fading of the idea 'this is an in-breath, this is an out-breath'. 

Learn to allow your attention to rest on one point of breath sensation at the tip of your nose. The shift of attention from sensations within the length of each breath, to one point of sensation at the tip of the nose, is due to natural development of tranquility. 

With practice you will experience shifts from effort to maintain your attention, to effortlessness as tranquility (as calming of effort/doing) deepens. This shift is very distinct. 

Your main goal is to learn to move from intentional vitakka (intentional applying of attention) to vicara (your mind now autonomously applies attention to the meditation object). It is this shift to sustained attention (vicara) that gives rise to the experience of effortlessness.

This is replaced by what is experienced as: one steady, continuous, point of sensation with barely any idea of breathing or time, free from gross sensoury distraction.

Important Points: The practice of attention resting on one point of breath sensation is not a perfection. Attention rests on one point of sensation at the tip of the nose due to the development of tranquility not due to effort.

MAP: Body Sitting --> Flow of Breath (body) --> In/out Breath (body) --> Length of Breath (body) --> Breath Sensations (nose) --> One Point Breath Sensation (nose).

Meditative Hindrance: 

(11) Subtle Dullness, (12) Subtle Wandering, (13) Subtle Restlessness.

• Subtle Dullness: Loss of clarity of meditation object (sensations).
• Subtle Wandering: Random, brief background thoughts.
• Subtle Restlessness: Shaking due to effort in applied attention.  

Antidote: Curiosity + detail + combine softening in Meditation Skill 03, with attention to detail of sensations in Meditation Skill 12 and this Meditation Skill. 

You are ready to progress to TIER 2 of Mindfulness of Breathing when you can effortlessly rest attention on one point of breath sensation free from subtle dullness, subtle wandering, and subtle restlessness.

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