Master Nan Teaches You Anapana

[Cheshire Cat]

Activate eng-sub

 

[joeblast]

too bad chinese might as well be greek for me

[Cheshire Cat]

There's an option for eng subtitles

[Maddie]

There's an option for eng subtitles

where is this option? I'd really like to hear this :-)

[Mandrake]

Thank you DRD!

 

dmwatts:

Open it up in youtube. Under the screen there are some icons, click on the white square with lines in it.

 

 

Best regard,

 

Mandrake

[Maddie]

Is there a difference between Anapana and Samantha? If so what is it?

[Cheshire Cat]

Is there a difference between Anapana and Samantha? If so what is it?

 

This is Samantha

 

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

that's not the samantha i know!

[Mandrake]

Is there a difference between Anapana and Samantha? If so what is it?

 

Yes and no. Anapana is a technique that will lead you to the attainment of shamatha and even vipassana (depending on version).

 

Simply put, shamatha (samatha in pali) is a unification and purification of mind and body; it can be attained by diligent practice of a valid method, be it anapana, kasina, skeleton or deity visualization etc.

 

 

Mandrake

[Mandrake]

This is Samantha

 

Wait wait, you don't mean:

 

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

are there any samanthas that arent blond curvy girls?

[adept]

Different to the way I was taught. I was told NOT to focus on the space between breaths, but to focus on the whole of the inhalation and the whole of the exhalation. No gap between. A continuos breath.

[Mandrake]

Different to the way I was taught. I was told NOT to focus on the space between breaths, but to focus on the whole of the inhalation and the whole of the exhalation. No gap between. A continuos breath.

 

Incidentally, Mark Griffin at Hardlight also emphasizes the gap as a most powerful way to enter great samadhi.

 

 

M

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

there is no gap. it's like teaching neo to bend a spoon.

[Simple_Jack]

Activate eng-sub

 

 

I've noticed that the way he lectures tends to be lively and when translated: with a lot of funny dialogue.

 

Also, that sutta where Buddha is talking to Rahula is in the Majjhima Nikayas of the Pali canon:

 

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.062.than.html

[Simple_Jack]

You know I've always wondered why Zhiyi/Chih-i of the Tiantai/Tendai school isn't mentioned on here a lot. His works deal with using the breath for developing samatha-vipasyana together in tandem, in a Mahayana framework:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Essentials-Buddhist-Meditation-Kalavinka-Classics/dp/1935413007/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368995510&sr=8-1&keywords=zhiyi

 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Six-Dharma-Gates-Sublime/dp/1935413015/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1368995510&sr=8-2&keywords=zhiyi

[Maddie]

I've noticed that after my exhale there is a very small pause, but between inhale and exhale there does not seem to be a pause. So is what Master Nan is saying is to focus on that pause?

 

Also does anyone else notice all sorts of subconscious goo bubble up after doing Samatha?

[Simple_Jack]

Also, that sutta where Buddha is talking to Rahula is in the Majjhima Nikayas of the Pali canon:

 

 

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.062.than.html

 

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.062.than.html:

 

"There is the case where a monk, having gone to the wilderness, to the shade of a tree, or to an empty building, sits down folding his legs crosswise, holding his body erect, and setting mindfulness to the fore.[4] Always mindful, he breathes in; mindful he breathes out.

"[1] Breathing in long, he discerns, 'I am breathing in long'; or breathing out long, he discerns, 'I am breathing out long.' [2] Or breathing in short, he discerns, 'I am breathing in short'; or breathing out short, he discerns, 'I am breathing out short.' [3] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to the entire body.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to the entire body.' [4] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in calming bodily fabrication.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out calming bodily fabrication.'

"[5] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to rapture.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to rapture.' [6] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to pleasure.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to pleasure.' [7] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to mental fabrication.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to mental fabrication.' [8] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in calming mental fabrication.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out calming mental fabrication.'

"[9] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to the mind.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to the mind.' [10] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in satisfying the mind.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out satisfying the mind.' [11] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in steadying the mind.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out steadying the mind.' [12] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in releasing the mind.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out releasing the mind.'

"[13] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in focusing on inconstancy.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out focusing on inconstancy.' [14] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in focusing on dispassion.'[5] He trains himself, 'I will breathe out focusing on dispassion.' [15] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in focusing on cessation.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out focusing on cessation.' [16] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in focusing on relinquishment.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out focusing on relinquishment.'

"This, Rahula, is how mindfulness of in-&-out breathing is developed & pursued so as to be of great fruit, of great benefit.

"When mindfulness of in-&-out breathing is developed & pursued in this way, even one's final in-breaths & out-breaths are known as they cease, not unknown."[6]

That is what the Blessed One said. Gratified, Ven. Rahula delighted in the Blessed One's words."

 

It would be good to follow up this sutta with the Anapanasati Sutta (http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.118.than.html) and Kayagatasati Sutta (http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.119.than.html).

[joeblast]

I've noticed that after my exhale there is a very small pause, but between inhale and exhale there does not seem to be a pause. So is what Master Nan is saying is to focus on that pause?

imho

 

While one may utilize this pause to "push the bounds" as it were, the method is simply unsustainable from an ongoing viewpoint. You can only utilize it for a short amount of time before hypoxia starts chasing you. I tend to not bother with this - I'll either be eliminating the pauses and smoothing the transitions as much as possible, or at the other end of the spectrum, breath hold exercises, which are their own animal, too extreme to be considered congruent with simply focusing on these short expiratory pauses.

 

That's why I go around touting the rote method of gaining the proprioception, muscle memory, focus of awareness to "get there" because by establishing the breath solidly until it disappears, *that* is very sustainable, so long as you can maintain the focus! You just have to be patient and keep at the mind gongfu until you get there.

 

Exploring these little pauses may help a bit, but I say just go for the gusto, go for the robust method right out the gate, spend the time training yourself and then these little pauses will seem like a silly joke, because once the rote prerequisites have been established, then you can enjoy the shining silence of these little pauses for....well I cant even say, because if you do it right, where has time and space gone?

 

I was going to do some referencing of zen and the brain here - "chapter 22" page 93, breathing in, breathing out - perhaps I will later, but I'll leave yas with the phrase from there "the inhibitory tone of the vagus nerve"

 

 

haha....the Samantha I know is gray and tiger striped but I call her sammy

Edited May 21, 2013 by joeblast

[Maddie]

I've found that Samatha seems to cause all the dust to settle and then I get to see another layer of crap that I didn't know existed lol.

[Mandrake]

I've noticed that after my exhale there is a very small pause, but between inhale and exhale there does not seem to be a pause. So is what Master Nan is saying is to focus on that pause?

 

Also does anyone else notice all sorts of subconscious goo bubble up after doing Samatha?

 

Of course you don't let your mind wander about all over the place when you inhale and exchale. Just follow the breath. When there is a pause, you note it and let go into it. As he mentions, your qi reacts when you do this correctly. In the beginning this pause may be very short - don't worry; over time, it will appear more often, and deepen too. It has to do with your mind and body transforming; don't force it. If you have a pause between exh. and inh. only, go for that.

 

Don't manipulate the breath. Try to let your body breath when it wants without your mind altering it in anyway.

 

 

Best of luck dmw!

Mandrake

[Mandrake]

I've found that Samatha seems to cause all the dust to settle and then I get to see another layer of crap that I didn't know existed lol.

 

It's fun isn't it! After some progress all these subtle and invisible shapes are noted; they've influenced you all the time without you knowing. Now you can "hunt" the bastards hahaha ; D

 

 

M

[Cheshire Cat]

At a certain point in the video, Master Nan said that the Buddha instructed Rahula about immortality.

Did anyone found that instruction in the sutras?

 

It would be interesting... to become immortal