Where is the breath? Where is the mind?

Posted by: Michael | 10/07/2013

Where is the breath? Where is the mind?

WHere is the breath? Where is the mind? This pair of phrases is a tool I have been using of late to return my attention to the subject of meditation both during formal anapanasati and (though less frequently) during daily life practice. Asking questions rather than mentally barking directives has both softened my heart and opened the practices in ways that I never thought possible before when I was trying to will my way to Nibbana. Asking where the mind is may seem like second nature to many of you meditators but asking about the breath has been, for me, somewhat revolutionary. In essence, when I ask where the breath is it is almost like a hand opening, a fist unclenching and I gift my self the opportunity to be still and feel just where the breath actually is. SO far, it has always been just where I left it during the last inhalation or exhalation but the possibility is there, the curiosity is there. And, this desire to see the Truth is what this Path really is all about it, isn’t it?