..续本文上一页ing a long turn, knows that he is making a long turn, or in making a short turn, knows that he is making a short turn, so too a monk, in breathing in a long breath, knows that he breathes in a long breath, in breathing a short breath, knows that he breathes in a short breath...and so trains himself, thinking: “I will breathe out, calming the whole body formation. (Digha Nikaya. 22)” The Buddha includes this apparently redundant simile for one reason. Similes, like pictures, are worth a thousand words and usually survive the butcheries of translation. This is the Buddha”s failsafe mechanism to show that as a lathe worker fixes his attention one-pointedly with his chisel on a single spot while the wooden spindle is in ceaseless motion, the meditator does likewise at the “entrance spot” while the breath continuously flows past. Basically all the commentaries have managed to preserve this notion in the “simile of the saw.” They have used the example of a carpenter sawing a piece of wood. He keeps his attention where the saw teeth contact the wood. He does not follow the approaching and receding motion of the saw blade. This essentially captures the meaning of the lathe-worker simile.
All of this does not mean that there is only one way to attain serenity using the breath. If someone has developed a technique that issues in jhana and which does not follow the explicit instructions that is fine too. Whatever works.
SUMMARY
The following is a brief summary of instructions for meditators practicing breath meditation:
-Attend to the sensation of breath/air wherever it enters and exits the body.
-If visual perceptions arise, ignore them.
-If the mind wanders do not allow it. Return to only the point of contact of breath.
-Hold attention on the spot throughout the entire duration of in-breath and out-breaths.
-The sensation or perception of sensation of moving air will change to a static feeling, this is the sign of the mind stilling.
-Dwell on this airy, buoyant quality, which should pervade the head. One should experience a cool and airy emptiness of the head. This may extend throughout the body. This is a further “sign” of increasing stillness.
-Remain with this airy lightness as an experience to focus upon.
-All hindrances should have fallen away and the five jhana factors will be present to a degree that may be weak, medium or strong.
-Refer to the Anapanasati Sutta for further instructions.
I hope the above points will help clarify any confusion that meditators have come up against and that they may breathe a sigh of relief as they move along the path.¨
References:
1) “The Path of Purification, Visuddhimagga” by Bhadantacariya Buddhaghosa, Translated from the Pali by Bhikkhu Ñanamoli, 5th Ed. Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka (1991).
2) “The Path of Freedom, Vimuttimagga” by the Arahant Upatissa, Translated from the Chinese by Rev. N.R.M. Ehara, Soma Thera, & Kheminda Thera; Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka (1995).
3) “The Path of Discrimination, Patisambhidamagga.” Translated from the Pali by Bhikkhu Ñanamoli, 2nd Ed. The Pali Text Society, Oxford (1997).
《The Mystery of the Breath Nimitta》全文阅读结束。