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Closing Your Eyes and Breathing Through the Nose
Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 12:53 am
by twelph
I was reading through the Satipatthana Sutta and thinking back about everything in the Pali Canon I've read, and I can't seem to recall a place where the Buddha recommends keeping your eyes closed during meditation and breathing through your nose. It seems to be the way it is most often taught, I was just wondering if anyone knows of a Sutta where he actually says this.
Re: Closing Your Eyes and Breathing Through the Nose
Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 11:24 am
by mikenz66
As far as I can tell, there are no such details on technique in the suttas. Whether or not to close the eyes, where to be aware of the breath, whether or not to control the breath, tricks for maintaining mindfulness (such as counting breaths), whether to walk fast or slow when doing walking meditation, how long a path to use for walking, what to be aware of when walking, how to use various objects to enter jhana, ...
You can either try out various possibilities and see if they work for you, or try out some of the suggestions from the ancient commentaries, or from modern teachers, and see if some of those are helpful.
Mike
Re: Closing Your Eyes and Breathing Through the Nose
Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 9:39 pm
by twelph
mikenz66 wrote:As far as I can tell, there are no such details on technique in the suttas. Whether or not to close the eyes, where to be aware of the breath, whether or not to control the breath, tricks for maintaining mindfulness (such as counting breaths), whether to walk fast or slow when doing walking meditation, how long a path to use for walking, what to be aware of when walking, how to use various objects to enter jhana, ...
You can either try out various possibilities and see if they work for you, or try out some of the suggestions from the ancient commentaries, or from modern teachers, and see if some of those are helpful.
Mike
Thanks. Is there any speculation as to why these things are not included? I'm wondering why he was so detailed with everything else, but not with these types of things.
Re: Closing Your Eyes and Breathing Through the Nose
Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 4:33 am
by ohnofabrications
*whisper*
because it doesn't matter
Re: Closing Your Eyes and Breathing Through the Nose
Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 7:11 am
by Cittasanto
twelph wrote:Thanks. Is there any speculation as to why these things are not included? I'm wondering why he was so detailed with everything else, but not with these types of things.
It isn't important how you do these in connection to the specific instruction of practice.
I understand parimukkham to be around the entrance (of air) rather than the mouth (mukkha), or if the use was changed from anapanasati (of which I do not know of an instance) it could mean the beginning point of the object.
I sometimes breath through my mouth, and sometimes nose depending on different reasons, from comfort, cold, over production of saliva... or have my eyes open or closed to varying degrees depending of comfort. it did effect the quality the first few times I couldn't sit comfortably in my prefered posture but now it doesn't matter.
Re: Closing Your Eyes and Breathing Through the Nose
Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 9:38 am
by mikenz66
Presumably then, as now, many details were discussed and offered to individuals according to their needs:
AN 4.94 wrote:"As for the individual who has attained neither internal tranquillity of awareness nor insight into phenomena through heightened discernment, he should approach an individual who has attained both internal tranquillity of awareness & insight into phenomena through heightened discernment... and ask him, 'How should the mind be steadied? How should it be made to settle down? How should it be unified? How should it be concentrated? How should fabrications be regarded? How should they be investigated? How should they be seen with insight?' The other will answer in line with what he has seen & experienced: 'The mind should be steadied in this way. The mind should be made to settle down in this way. The mind should be unified in this way. The mind should be concentrated in this way. Fabrications should be regarded in this way. Fabrications should be investigated in this way. Fabrications should be seen in this way with insight.' Then eventually he [the first] will become one who has attained both internal tranquillity of awareness & insight into phenomena through heightened discernment.
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Mike