Breath

From the moment we leave the womb until the moment we die, the breath is our most intimate partner. Yet we seldom notice our breath. We take it as much for granted as the beating of our heart, or the return of the Sun every morning. Perhaps we notice our breath when we sigh, or yawn, or feel short of breath.

Unaware of our breath, we are less alive than we might be. More likely to be lost in our thoughts, away from the present moment. The Buddha said that if a person is fully aware of their breath they are fully enlightened. We are so used to taking the breath for granted that such a statement might strike us as odd, or perhaps naïve. What might he have meant by saying that to be fully aware of the breath is to be fully enlightened?

When we become aware of our breath, we enter the experience of the present moment. The breath is always in the present moment. It is the sovereign guide to entering the present moment. And to be in the present moment is a precondition of elightenment. Why?

When we are in the present moment, we are not separate from what is. Not separate from what is real. A tree, a raven, a shark, are always in the present moment. They do not elaborate patterns of thought and so separate themselves from what is real. Illusion is extinguished by the present. Illusion’s habitat is thought. When we put aside thought, even for a little while, we dwell in the real. When we do this, things that might be troubling to us recede. If we are obsessing about something, it loses its pull on us. Am I obsessing about not having enough money? When I enter the present, where is that thought to trouble me? Am I angry? So angry that I want to do violence, and images of killing the person closest to hand fill my mind? When I enter the present, how can such images have any hold on me? They dissipate like smoke in rain.

When we let thought go, obsessions go. Bedevilments go. Problems go. Wisdom enters of its own accord. I may still need money and find a way to earn it; I might be angry and need to do something about it. But when we enter the present moment, we gain the space to find perspective. We will do these things better then.

Let us ride the breath into the present: Relax, focus your awareness wholly on the breath. Feel the breath in the body. Notice what it feels like. Feel the breath entering the body, residing, and leaving. Follow the breath, and become aware of it. Do this for about 15 minutes. If you feel yourself getting bored, it means your mind has wandered back into thought. In the present, there is no boredom, just aliveness. Return to your breath, and follow it gently, persistently. Ride it into the present.

It will take a while to become adept at this. So keep it up. You can do it all day. Driving the car, watching TV, taking a shower, walking the dog. You can do it while you listen to someone talking to you, and when you do you will find that you hear them better. Keep doing it, and it will go deeper. The breath is our most intimate companion through life. Let us become truly intimate with it.