Answers to Questions on the Contemplative Practice (Vipaśyanā-caryā) of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness 27

Question: How should one apply effort in contemplating the breath? 

Answer: When contemplating the breath, you should put all your energy on the breath. Do not concern yourself with what will happen to the body, or whether the yang spirit (yangshen) will emerge in the future, and so on. The Daoist yang spirit has nothing to do with us. There is too much that does not need to be understood; it is enough for us to understand the influence of the qi channels on the material body—knowing this theory is sufficient. Do not concern yourself with the yang spirit. We are not cultivating the yang spirit; we are cultivating the mind, in order to attain realization and eliminate self-view. It is enough to gain a slight understanding of the conditions that may arise in the body. Knowledge of body cultivation that is too deep or too extensive has nothing to do with our cultivation of the mind. Do not expend energy where it is unnecessary. 

We study the four foundations of mindfulness, and at present the contemplation of the breath is our main practice. Apart from the breath, pay as little attention as possible to other aspects of the material body. Keep your attention solely on the breath. When the contemplation of the breath reaches a certain degree and your meditative concentration (samādhi) is strengthened, you will discover the objective truths of the material body—its emptiness, its illusory nature, its impermanence, and its non-self, and so on. If you pay too much attention to the material body, your attention will be scattered, which will interfere with the contemplation of the breath. 

When contemplating, be as objective as possible; observe calmly without adding subjective consciousness. Whatever the state of the material body is, just know it. Do not add excessive notions such as thoughts, guidance, and the like. In the beginning you may regulate the breath, but afterwards you should no longer regulate it—follow the breath instead. In this way, your mind will naturally leap outside the five aggregates (pañcaskandha) body, and then turn back to contemplate the five aggregates body and the breath, standing at the highest vantage point and looking back to observe the state of the material body. On the one hand, this makes it easy to enter samādhi; on the other hand, it makes it easy for wisdom to arise, and you will discover many truths. Truths you did not know before, you now come to know. Gradually you will feel that the material body is so impermanent, so tedious, so illusory, and slowly the wisdom of non-self will arise.