Blue Sky's Contemplative Practice Journal, September 16

Day 156 of Sitting Meditation 

Observing the Breath

This morning when I sat down to observe the breath, I began with the inhalation entering at the tip of the nose, following wherever the airflow reached: the nasal cavity, throat, windpipe, chest cavity, then downward through the upper abdomen and middle abdomen, finally reaching the dantian; when exhaling, it started from the dantian, and the airflow passed out through the aforementioned channels. I could feel the airflow passing through every breathing location; when inhaling, I could perceive the condition of the areas where the head of the airflow reached, and when exhaling, I could detect the tail of the airflow contracting upward from the dantian to the chest; wherever the airflow passed in and out, there was a tingling, numbing sensation. 

This morning my attention during meditation was fairly concentrated; there were no phenomena such as head pressure or qi surging; my mind was clear, my breathing even and relaxed, without the resistance of the previous period. Not long after entering the observation of the breath, the sternum area felt as if it had opened up, somewhat warm and very comfortable; then both shoulders were the same, the bones felt as if they had opened up, extremely comfortable—this is perhaps what is called tranquility (praśrabdhi). My abdomen was warm, not as hot as before. As the observation of the breath continued, the depth of breathing increased; when inhaling, the airflow could reach the bottom of the abdomen, and when breathing, I could also perceive airflow moving in and out at the ankles. Before I knew it, the time for sitting meditation was over; now I feel that the meditation time is somewhat short. 

Assessment: All of the above contemplated in practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) are phenomena; the main question is: what truth did you discover from these phenomena? What insights do you have about these phenomena? For example, a child playing with toys will, after playing for a while, feel it is boring—why does it become boring? For example, doing one thing repetitively over a long time, after doing it for a while, one will feel it is boring—why does it become boring? For example, eating every day, after eating and eating, one should feel that eating is boring, only that one has no choice but to eat. Of course, the vast majority of people would not have such thoughts. For example, in this life of a person—birth, aging, sickness, death, love and enmity, the five desires without end—some people, as they live on, will feel that life is just so, and suddenly feel it is meaningless. Of course, the vast majority of people would not have such thoughts. 

These are still not ultimate; probing further inward, there will be new discoveries, and only upon discovering emptiness (śūnyatā) is wisdom born. Awareness of arising and ceasing is wisdom; awareness of emptiness is true wisdom. A person without wisdom, even after a lifetime of setbacks, will not feel that life is empty. A person with wisdom, even if their whole life goes smoothly, will not feel that life is meaningful. Through long observation, one will come to realize the arising and ceasing of phenomena, and realize the emptiness of phenomena. When one phenomenon is seen as empty, other phenomena related to it will also be seen as empty, and further, all five aggregates (pañca-skandha) are empty.