..续本文上一页movie screen acts as a reflector for images so that they appear sharp and clear. This is to keep external preoccupations from barging in.

　　In other words, we”re taught to meditate by focusing the mind in one place, on the breath. When we think of the breath, that”s called vitakka — as when we think ”bud-” in and ”dho” out, like we”re doing right now. As for the wavering of the mind, that”s called vicara. When we bring vicara into the picture, we can let go of part of vitakka. In other words, stop repeating ”buddho” and then start observing how much the body is affected by each in-and-out breath. When the breath goes out, does it feel easy and natural

　　 When it comes in, does it feel comfortable

　　 If not, improve it.

　　When we direct the mind in this way, we don”t have to use ”buddho”. The in-breath will permeate and spread throughout the body, along with our sense of mindfulness and alertness. When we let go of part of vitakka — as when we stop repeating ”buddho,” so that there”s only the act of keeping track of the breath — the act of evaluating increases. The wavering of the mind becomes part of our concentration. Outside preoccupations fall still. ”Falling still” doesn”t mean that our ears go deaf. Falling still means that we don”t stir the mind to go out after external objects, either past or future. We let it stay solely in the present.

　　When the mind is centered in this way, it develops sensitivity and knowledge. This knowledge isn”t the sort that comes from studying or from books. It comes from doing — as when we make clay tiles. When we first start out we know only how to mix the clay with sand and how to make plain flat tiles. But as we keep doing it we”ll start knowing more: how to make them attractive, how to make them strong, durable, and not brittle. And then we”ll think of making them different colors and different shapes. As we keep making them better and more attractive, the objects we make will in turn become our teachers.

　　So it is when we focus on the breath. As we keep observing how the breath flows, we”ll come to know what the in-breath is like; whether or not it”s comfortable; how to breathe in so that we feel comfortable; how to breathe out so that we feel comfortable; what way of breathing makes us feel tense and constricted; what way makes us feel tired — because the breath has up to four varieties. Sometimes it comes in long and out long, sometimes in long and out short, sometimes in short and out long, sometimes in short and out short. So we should observe each of these four types of breath as they flow in the body to see how much they benefit the heart, lungs, and other parts of the body.

　　When we keep surveying and evaluating in this way, mindfulness and alertness will take charge within us. Concentration will arise, discernment will arise, awareness will arise within us. A person who develops this sort of skill may even become able to breathe without using the nose, by breathing through the eyes or the ears instead. But when we”re starting out, we have to make use of the breath through the nose because it”s the obvious breath. We first have to learn how to observe the obvious breath before we can become aware of the more refined breath sensations in the body.

　　The breath energy in the body, taken as a whole, is of five sorts: (1) The ”sojourning breath” (agantuka-vayas) continually flowing in and out. (2) The breath energy that stays within the body but can permeate through the various parts. (3) The breath energy that spins around in place. (4) The breath energy that moves and can flow back and forth. (5) The breath energy that nourishes the nerves and blood vessels throughout the body.

　　Once we know the various kinds of breath energy, how to make use of them, and how to improve them so that they feel a…

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