The Tibetan Yoga of Breath: Breathing Practices for Healing the Body and Cultivating Wisdom (16 page)

SITTING ON THE CUSHION TO TRAIN IN MINDFULNESS AND WIND ENERGY

We are now aware of our dominant emotional tendency, and we understand how to apply mindfulness and introspection to any situation, whether we are acting in the moment or recalling past moments. When we sit down to work with mindfulness and wind energy as a formal practice, we need to focus on our most dominant emotional reaction first. What would that look like?

As taught in chapter 4, whenever we prepare to do wind energy training as a formal practice, we first do a short period of yoga practice, work with the posture, develop a compassionate motivation, and engage in the Nine-Cycle Breathing.

Next, we bring to mind the focus of our practice. We think, “As I am working with inhalation and exhalation of the breath, I’m going to abandon the strong habit I have toward emotional attachment (or whatever emotional tendency has been chosen). I am going to notice when I am tempted to chase after that feeling, and instead let it remain in its own place by focusing one-pointedly on the breath.” This focused motivation helps us develop another good quality: strength of mind and the determination to engage in meaningful spiritual practice.

Then we should begin focusing on the inhalation and exhalation of the breath for as long as we are able without distraction, making our breath even and elongated. We can return to this strong determination to avoid a particular habitual tendency repeatedly during our practice session. If we sit for any period of time, we will probably notice our primary emotional tendency showing its face in our thoughts and daydreams while we sit. Notice
when the mind becomes overpowered by that tendency using introspection, and then remember the strong motivation to abandon the habit. After we again vow to cut through this habit, we should return to focusing one-pointedly on the breath.

Mindfulness and the Five Poisons

We can work with mindfulness and wind energy training in conjunction with any of the five poisons. Some of them we have already talked about: desire (emotional attachment); anger (dislike, resentment, or impatience); or a neutral reaction that is generally classified as ignorance. The other two poisons are pride and jealousy.

The pride that is considered a poison is not the pride that is similar to rejoicing, where we feel good about things. It is an arrogance, the feeling that others are less than us. A reaction based on pride is, for example, when we see somebody on the street and think, “I am more attractive than that person,” or “I am smarter or more knowledgeable than that person.”

Jealousy stems from the feeling that we have less than others have. We think, “Why don’t I have what that person has?” and “Why is their life so much easier than mine?”

No matter what emotion comes up, we can rely on mindfulness and a one-pointed focus on the breath to break the habitual cycle of energy that fuels that emotion. This basic technique is so simple, so beneficial, and so powerful, whether we are doing it as a sitting practice and reflecting back on certain situations or doing it in the moment.

Exercise 15

USING WIND ENERGY TRAINING WITH EVERYDAY ANGER

Anger, distaste, dislike, or resentment—any way we want to characterize it—is something that we all struggle with. It is said in the
Buddhist teachings that the negative karma accumulated based on anger is stronger than any other karma accumulated. The general Buddhist teachings say that patience is the antidote to anger. We can use the one-pointed focus on the inhalation and exhalation of the breath that we have learned to help us practice patience.

One specific example of everyday anger that most of us can relate to: You are driving on the highway, and somebody cuts you off. As soon as that person cuts you off, you honk the horn and shout at that person. You immediately feel angry, as if that person has done something to wrong you personally.

If we practice mindfulness and introspection and wind energy training in that moment, as soon as that person cuts us off, we think, “What a jerk! What’s he doing?” Then, in the next moment, we think, “I should start working with the breath rather than reacting in anger toward that person.” We immediately take up wind energy training, one-pointedly focusing on elongating the inhalation and exhalation of the breath and breathing deeply into the abdomen. As a result, the mind focuses, our respiratory rate decreases, and we begin to relax.

Exercise 16

TRAINING IN REJOICING

How else can we transform the mind’s emotional reactions? As we did with meditation on impermanence, we can again work with the practice of rejoicing. Because this practice works hand in hand with mindfulness practice, it can also be used both when we are on the cushion and in our daily life. We can just as easily practice rejoicing based on a recalled, imagined, or projected thought or idea as we can in an actual situation in our daily life.

For example, when we drive by a beautiful mansion with beautiful gardens—or in the case of sitting practice, recall or imagine a similar situation—our normal reaction might be one of jealousy, “Why does he or she deserve this house instead of me?” Or,
we might judge the owner of such beautiful grounds, thinking that the beautiful house is evidence of the owner being flawed in some way—such as being greedy or having taken advantage of someone. Because our tendency toward jealousy is so strong, oftentimes we judge people when they have good things. We do not feel happy for them and for what they have to enjoy.

We can apply mindfulness and wind energy training by noticing our jealous reaction, focusing one-pointedly on the breath, and then cultivating a response of rejoicing: “How wonderful! The owner of that house is able to enjoy such a beautiful living space; they have beautiful gardens to uplift their spirit. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all living beings had a beautiful living space and gardens to enjoy!” In that moment, we can also one-pointedly pray for each living being to have complete abundance, and send out that wish with the breath.

We can also practice rejoicing while working directly with the inhalation and exhalation of the breath. We do not even have to directly see anything. We can also simply mentally imagine whatever delights we wish to offer to others. To do this, we simply breathe in deeply, and then as we send the breath out, think, “May each and every sentient being enjoy perfect abundance, such as what I see before me!”

Exercise 17

THE FIVE SENSES AND WIND ENERGY

Until now, we have been talking about our emotional tendencies in connection with the sense of sight. However, we react emotionally in the same way to the perceptions of our other senses. As with the other practices in this chapter, all five senses can be incorporated into both our sitting practice and during ordinary daily life, since our sensory perceptions do not stop simply because we sit down to meditate.

Sound perceived by the ear.
Some sounds are beautiful and melodious, some are loud and harsh, and some sounds are neutral. We could rejoice in a beautiful sound, thinking, “How beautiful that sounds! May all other beings hear a sound as beautiful.” If the sound agitates us, or is overwhelmingly loud or piercing, we can immediately notice that and turn one-pointedly to the inhalation and exhalation of the breath. This is an example of working with sound as an expression of wind energy training.

Smells perceived by the nose.
Some smells are delicious and fragrant, some are putrid and rotting, and some are neutral. As with sound, we can either notice the reaction in the mind and rejoice in that experience as soon as we smell something, or we can simply abide one-pointedly by focusing on the inhalation and exhalation of the breath.

Tastes perceived by the tongue.
We have strong attachment to delicious tastes, such as honey or brown sugar. Once we take a taste, we want it to last and last. Some tastes we dislike because they are sour or bitter. And then there are neutral tastes. As you eat a meal, notice your reactions to the foods you taste. As with sound and smell, we can either notice the reaction in the mind and rejoice in that experience as soon as we taste something, or we can simply abide one-pointedly by focusing on the inhalation and exhalation of the breath.

Touch perceived by the skin.
We can work with touch and wind energy training in just the same manner as we do with the other senses. Go to a clothing store and touch silks and soft fabrics. Touch puppies, flower petals, sandpaper, and salt crystals. Notice your reaction to these different textures—which are pleasant and which are uncomfortable? Then simply focus on the inhalation and exhalation of the breath.

C
REATING
N
EW
H
ABITS

Meditation is a process of habituation. In the Tibetan language, the words
meditation,
or
gom
(Tib. sgom), and
habituation,
also
gom
(Tib. goms) are from the same root and have a similar spelling. This shows the deep connection between the two words.

The purpose of all wind energy training is letting go of old habits and patterns. But we are not only letting go of the old. We are also developing new habits with healthier outcomes as we practice meditation. The mind is not going to be without habitual ways to cope and deal with the situations that come up in our lives. These new habits are not easy to develop. It took a lifetime to develop all the habits that we have right now! When we are working with the reactions in our own minds and applying wind energy training, we should not imagine that we will develop these new habits quickly and easily. It will take a lot of effort. Introspection, noticing what is happening in the mind, takes effort; remembering to practice takes effort, and actually working with the inhalation and exhalation of the breath takes effort.

Why does establishing healthier habits take so much effort? It is because we have never done it before. But if we work continuously at trying to master the mindfulness techniques and simple wind energy training exercises in this chapter, there will come a point at which they come naturally. When they become a natural expression of the mind, we call them our new habits.

After we begin to practice wind energy training, gradually, when we see a beautiful form, we will not give rise to desire, competitiveness, or jealousy. We will naturally rejoice, and experience the wish that each and every sentient being have that same auspicious and excellent condition in his or her own life. In the same way, when we meet with a situation that would normally cause us to feel pride or arrogance, giving rise to the feeling that we are superior or know better, we will instead feel humble, and wish that all sentient beings have the ability to succeed in all undertakings. And when we see someone who has more than we do, we will simply rejoice in their good fortune.