Hi everyone,

First a bit of background, I've been interested in buddhism since last year.My first contact with it was thanks of a relative of mine that practices soto zazen, I attended a introductory course with him a bit more than a year ago and since then I've made a few hours of zazen spread around last months (maybe 10-15). I didn't pursuit further because I feel demotivated (moved to another place and didn't have access to a sangha), and mostly I was dealing with a lot of stress during meditation, getting really nervous about breathing (Am I doing it right? proper pace?), posture, etc... I was not feeling comfortable of how to meditate properly.

This past few weeks I've been reading a few books in buddhism: Buddhism Plain and Simple, What The Buddha Taught, Zen Mind's Beginner's Mind, Mindfulness In Plain English, A Still Forest Pool, listening to some talks like Shinzen, and finally MCTB. I guess I had a bit of information overload or something, but MCTB really show me that attain high state of concentration/awareness is possible, end of suffering, enlightenment, etc.

I want with the practice to improve myself, morality, end of suffering and being an arhat, seeing things how really are (quoting Buddhism Plain and Simple).

For what I've read I want to focus in concentration practice and try to attain access concentration, then 1st jhana to then be able to practice vipassana.

Since last week I've been doing meditation twice a day, around 45 minutes, once after waking up and before going to bed. My meditation focus is the the breath, more precisely the nostril. I've been able to calm the mind relatively after 10 minutes, my breath really slow down (sometimes I fear that I don't breath enough and my brain is not getting enough air, I feel my head really heavy some times, maybe a bit stupid?), I need to really focus in my breath to feel it. After those 10-15 minutes I have thought arising from time to time, move a bit too because of the posture, etc, I guess I'm working towards improving my concentration in that regard. Some time I count if my mind if really not focus (1-1, 2-2,...) Around 30 minutes a lot of thoughts about the time arise (that maybe I should stop, I'm a bit tired,...) I keep going, but I lose a lot of concentration. I don't know if maybe I should keep it a bit shorter.

I don't have nothing to report, a lot of thoughts appear ofc, mostly questions if I'm doing concentration right, maybe doubts about the practice, random stuff, etc. I haven't experience anything weird, some time I hear a high pitch.

Sounds reasonable? Would you have any recommendation? For me I'm just gonna keep practice and see how it goes.

I've also discovered a Theravada sangha in my city, I'm gonna come by probably this week and see if I could join in their practice.

Thank you all of you, I learn a lot from Daniel's book and the wiki, and the discussion in general in this community. Hope to participate more in this forum from now on.

Hello carlos,

Welcome.


You may already intend by "the nostril" the stationary place that is not nostril, nor moving air, yet to be clear I copied some precision of this here:

concentration on the breath at the tip of the nostrils-above upper lip:
- not following the breathe inside,
- not tracking the breathe passing over the skin and hairs.
- Absorbing the mind's attention in the breath at this one place at the end of the nose (above the upper lip-to-nostrils area).

Lastly, two-minute sits frequently throughout the day, after your longer sit, can help quite a bit (in preventing a backslide from whatever focus you located in the first sit), followed by a last longer sit in the evening. If you take some notes on your concentration experience from today through the week, I think there will be some noticeable differences in concentration.

If you are doing a progressive jhana-to-vipassana practice, this sensation can be "saved" study for vipassana.

Why don't you take the next step and shift to awareness of the breath-energy in the body?

Yes, that's what I meant, I try to focus on the nostrils-above upper lip, feel how the breathe runs over my lip when I breath out/in. I think I did not express well (English is not my native language). Should try to take that into account.

I would definitively try to sit for a few minutes during the day and I would report. Thinking about this today I realize that my concentration completely banish at the end of the day (I work with computers, my brain completely get caught in a lot of stuff).


OK, I would try to do that when I focus more in vipassana practice.

thanks for your advice!



you mean not only in the nostrils-above upper lip but how the breath feels in my whole body? how my abdomen moves for example? could you point me to some in more extend document or explain a bit further?

thanks for your input, really appreciated.

By the way, I've been reading a bit more today and actually reading this document by Leigh Brasingtont says that when the breath becomes shallow( that's what I've feel) means access concentration, so I should switch to feeling the pleasant sensations in the body, even though I feel that I need to work in trying to be able to switch to access concentration easily before doing that.

Yes. Imagine your breath as not just happening in your lungs or abdomen, but also in the parts that aren't moved by it, such as the feet and the arms. Let me know what happens if you do that for a couple of minutes. Do you experience anything? Can you increase the intensity? When your breath quiets down, can you get close to the experience that you are breathing through your skin (regardless of whether this is actually happening)? Another approach might be to link up any energy in the body (tingling of the skin etc.) to the breath.

The breath energy is not something that's waiting to be discovered (it's not already existing), rather it's something that needs to be fabricated using directed effort (imho). That said, I'm not an advanced practitioner. If it's not working for you, you might be better off doing something else entirely.



No, that's not what i have in mind when I think of breath-energy, but you could ofcourse try focusing there and see what happens.



For more information check out these links:

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/meditations.html
http://www.dharmaoverground.org/web/guest/discussion/-/message_boards/message/2377600
http://www.dharmaoverground.org/web/guest/discussion/-/message_boards/message/2386146
http://www.dharmaoverground.org/web/guest/discussion/-/message_boards/message/2338585#_19_message_2338585

Thanks for this, I've been trying to do this since my last comment, try to feel the energy. I don't know if I succeeded or not, when I'm really concentrate at some point I feel air running over and through my skin, I try to focus my attention in the body, because I feel it all around, but without losing the attention that I have. I normally lose concentration and have to make an effort again focus in the breath. Some times I feel it with more intensity, but I don't know if is just because I put too much focus on it and my brain is tricking me that there's something.

I would keep to work more during next days on that and see how it goes.

General notes:

I've been able to keep my schedule of two 45 minutes meditation a day. I've try to apply small meditation of 2 minutes as katy suggested but I haven't put much effort into it, I would do it more for sure.

As my previous post I've been feeling air running through/over my skin, so I was trying to focus in my whole body during that time. But I'm afraid is just my mind, don't feel like a bit thing. Still losing concentration from time to time, for sure at the end of the session my mind is bothering me because it wanna get out of the zafu. Also I think that my posture is not good, I feel like my body is swinging (burmese position) , and I tend to learn forward not keeping my back straight. More things to work on!

Carlos


I found this in the dharmaoverground wiki by Chuck Kasmire:

http://www.dharmaoverground.org/web/guest/dharma-wiki/-/wiki/Main/Energy%20Practices%20Portal?p_r_p_185834411_title=Energy%20Practices%20Portal



Carlos


So, if I understand correctly, using the above technique of directing awareness in the body/energy/etc, you don't lose your attention as often? If so, great!

Carlos


Even if you are tricking yourself that there is something (I can relate to that): you probably should just continue what you are doing if it's helping your awareness to be with the body/breath continually.

The following might or might not apply:

Ian And

thanks for this, more info, more stuff to think. I would just investigate, try to feel the pleasure, other times try just to focus on the breathing, testing for myself.

I've been keeping my meditation during the whole week, having two sessions. During the weekend I've been adding more time (try a few sessions of one hour)/sessions.

Last Friday I joined for the first time a local Theravada group and did some noting exercise for the first time, plus walking. Is difficult, my brain was really stress out trying to notice everything. Then I chill out and just focus in raising/failing of the abdomen. I've add a few sessions during the weekend of noting to mix a bit, but keep my concentration practice.

I've got twice this past days into an interesting experience, for a moment everything seems to stop, like external sensations, I've got a bit scare and then lose the concentration, but during a few minutes I was really focus in the breathing. I think that was access concentration. One of the times after being a while on this state my breathing became really weird patterned and I felt fear. My breath keep going strong and with a weird rhythm. I tried to calm down and focus in the breathing but didn't matter, was feeling really weird/fear and I lost my concentration.

This states only happened twice, rest of the time I've been working, having some times of real concentration for a few minutes. Is difficult, but I keep trying...

Thanks for reading.
/me off!

I've been practicing for the last week like I said before, 2 session of 40-45 minutes, having some days 3 or 4 sessions if I could. I don't feel much different since last week, I just try to stay with the breath, enjoy the breath, kind of. I took that idea from Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trying to feel the breath like fresh water, enjoying it, try to feel every small aspect of it. I haven't attain any state of high concentration.

I haven't done too much noting, just because I want to keep working in concentration.

I've been listening and reading to Thanissaro Bhikkhu that have been really helpful to make me understand some aspects of buddhism.

Lately my evening meditation sitting have been a bit difficult, I share an apartment and my roommate making different noises (usually just talking with skype) have been disturbing, some times I even resume the practice because I could not focus in the meditation. I've try ear plugs, but the sound of my heart beats is annoying me too. I understand that I should not pay attention to that and just get back to my object of meditation, but seems really difficult. Any recommendation? Or just try to keep working with what I've got?

When I think about it the noise is not loud, is just conversation, is perfectly normal, perfectly reasonable, but I keep getting annoy by it, just vibrations in my hear, probably I just have to work with it.