"I am breathing in a long breath"
"I am breathing out a long breath"
"I am breathing in a short breath"
"I am breathing out a short breath"
"I am breathing in a calming breath" and
"I am breathing out a calming breath."
and he suggests to be aware of the breath at the nose.
Awareness of the length of breath is simply noting the way it is, while the 'calming' phase, although not forced, is directed toward a result. As Suvaddhano Bhikku says in the meditation guide 'Guide to Awareness'
One notices, in simple terms, that the in-breath enters at the nose,
passes midway at the heart and ends at the navel, whereas the out-
breath starts at the navel, passes the heart and ends at the nose. This is
one gauge for helping to direct oneís attention. However, following the
breath in and out will actually unsettle and unfocus the mind. The Lord
Buddha therefore taught that one should fix the mind on that single
point where the in-breath starts and the out-breath ends, i.e. where the
breath contacts the nostrils or upper lip. This single point is the mark
where one stations the mind. With each in-and-out breath
one notes the air touching that mark (the nostrils or upper lip), and
this is known as experiencing the whole body and breath-body.
This can be compared to sawing a piece of wood. Attention is
focussed solely on the cutting point and not on the complete length of
the saw as it moves back and forth. Seeing that one point is like seeing
the whole saw and, similarly, in attending to just that single mark one
experiences the whole breath. This is the third stage.
Calming the activity of the breath-body is the fourth stage of train-
ing. This does not involve any suppression or holding of breath in an
attempt to force it to become more refined. Rather, it involves a strength-
ening of the mindís concentration and calm. When the mind is calm
and refined, so is the breath. The opposite way, of stimulating and
exciting the mind, achieves only tension and stress.
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