1、? Various ways of breathing
In Buddhism, breathing has four phases, namely, wind phase, asthma phase, gas phase and rest phase. There are four kinds of breathing: nasal breathing, abdominal breathing, fetal breathing and turtle breathing.
(1) Wind phase: Where qi goes in and out with sound, it is called wind phase. During strenuous exercise, or just after strenuous exercise, you should practice your breathing first. The speed and intensity of breathing, like the wind, are not suitable for meditation.
(2) Asthma stage: Although the entrance and exit are silent, it is called asthma stage. For example, when you feel scared, nervous, sick, weak, excited and tired, when you are depressed and gloomy, you can't sit still. You should sit down or lie down and rest until you are calm and comfortable, and then meditate.
(3) Gas phase: although the entrance and exit are silent, they are not stagnant and cannot be static, which is called gas phase. This is the average person's breathing. Every minute, 16 breaths, 18 breaths, you can hear the sound of breathing. Although the gas phase is still not harmonious, beginners can only start from this, and this breathing speed is also safe for meditation.
(4) Breathing phase: there is no sound, no stagnation, no turbulent floating. Although it is extremely quiet, it is not aware of the entry and exit of breathing. If breath exists, it is called breath phase. The information phase formula is a harmonious phase, which is divided into four types.
A. Snoring: Breathing through the nostrils while sitting is the basic method, and the initial speed is 16 to 18 times per minute. Unlike qi, breathing is normal, so inhalation and exhalation mainly depend on the natural rhythm of the lungs and are not allowed to be controlled by attention. Otherwise, you will feel dizzy if you are fast, and you will feel chest tightness if you are slow. If you find it difficult to breathe, such as dizziness or chest tightness, it is most appropriate to take about four seconds as the length of a breath when paying attention to pranayama.
B, abdominal rest: still breathing through the nostrils, but the center of gravity of breathing is not in the lungs, but in the lower abdomen. Beginners should not use control and pressure to inhale the inhaled air into the lower abdomen (that is, the position of "Dantian" in Taoism, similar to the supreme yoga called "chakra" in Buddhism). Usually, people who learn to sit still will naturally reach the "abdomen" position through the diaphragm after a period of time. At that time, the yogi's body and mind will suddenly feel relaxed and soft, and his breathing will become slower and slower, longer and more abundant. Not only will his lungs be full, but his abdomen will also be full, and even every cell in his body will feel full. The natural rhythm of breathing is gradually not in the lungs, but in the lower abdomen. But that's not lifting the lower abdomen, but replacing the "function" of the lungs with the lower abdomen.
C, fetal interest: when the fetus is in the mother's body, it does not need to breathe through the nostrils, but through the circulatory system connected with the mother. People who study meditation do not need to breathe through their nostrils because of the further deepening of abdominal rest, and every pore may become a respiratory organ. At this time, if there is a pulse, it is still necessary to rely on oxygen in vitro to supply the needs of the body. At this time, the universe is the mother fetus, and your body is the baby in the fetus.
D. Turtle rest: among animals, turtles have a very long life span. Even if they are buried underground for hundreds of years, they can continue to survive without food and air. When you meditate in the fourth Zen, you naturally don't need to breathe air, even your heart stops beating. Unlike a dead body, it has not rotted, and its physiological tissue is still alive. This is between fetal interest and turtle interest. The deeper you settle down, the closer you get to the turtle's breath, and even live in the turtle's breath state. At this time, the body of the yogi has naturally become a small universe, which is self-sufficient by the movement of qi or energy in it, and does not need to absorb oxygen from the outside to supply physical consumption. Of course, Indian yogis pay special attention to the exercise of various breathing methods, focusing on the production of life energy and the start of extraordinary energy or absolute energy. The starting point of Buddhist practice is not much different from that of heretics (various factions other than Buddhism). The difference is that interest rate adjustment is the convenience of getting started, and interest rate adjustment is not the fundamental method. The purpose of pranayama is to adjust the heart. When you are in a mood, it doesn't matter if you can breathe. When a beginner is sitting quietly, if there is no teacher around, you must adjust your breath and sit calmly and quietly, otherwise problems will easily occur, remember!
2、? Method of adjusting interest rate
Buddhism's pranayama, called breathing in Taoism, takes the qi of heaven, earth, sun and moon for health preservation, and spits out the turbid qi in the body to save life, which is the way to practice Dan Dao. Interest adjustment methods commonly used in Buddhism include accrued interest and contingent interest, which are described as follows:
(1) Breath counting: Take three deep breaths before counting the breaths. Introduce the lower abdomen to make the lower abdomen bulge, then tuck in the abdomen, continue to inhale to make the lungs bulge, with a slight sound, inhale as much as possible, then hold your breath 15 seconds, and then slowly spit out the gas through your mouth. Bend down at the same time until you can't bend any more. After taking three deep breaths, sit still and start counting your breaths. There are several different ways to calculate your breath:
First, ordinal number: there are two kinds. One is to count good and bad luck, which is a common one. Pay attention to the number of good luck. Every time you exhale, count to the tenth, and then count from the first, repeatedly, until your mind is free of distractions, your body and mind will feel extremely happy. The second is statistical income, the method is the same as statistical income, but the focus is on the quantity of statistical income. Because people usually breathe slowly, it is easier to resist the invasion of distractions.
This method can also be used as a major, such as long-term pure work, brain stop, that is, heart stop; If you lose your body and mind further, you will be isolated, that is, you will stop. Therefore, specializing in this method can also achieve the purpose of concentration.
B, think at will, every breath, think: "Suck up thousands of rivers in one breath", every breath, think: "Spit out Wan Li Mountain in one breath". When you inhale and exhale, connect your body and mind with the mountains and rivers of the outside world. Of course, you don't have to inhale all the water and spit out all the mountains, but you must integrate your inner body and mind with the outside world while inhaling and exhaling. In fact, this has moved from the category of interest adjustment to the field of inner adjustment.
If individual readers have three kinds of breath disharmony while using the above methods to adjust their breath, they will continue to use the following methods to adjust their breath until a normal breath phase appears.
First, forget to breathe and put your mind on the navel, under the navel or at Yongquan point on the sole of your foot. When you keep your mind, you should be careful not to be too careful, but to keep it as if it were not. Be careful not to have angry intentions, or you will be persistent. Because the lower part of the heart is tied, the floating air can descend, the upper part becomes empty and light, and the airway can return to normal.
This method can also be used as a major, such as long-term pure work, brain stop, that is, heart stop; If you lose your body and mind further, you will be isolated, that is, you will stop. Therefore, specializing in this method can also achieve the purpose of concentration.
Second, put down your body with your heart once or even a thousand times, and gradually feel that your body and mind are light, and the rest will naturally return to normal.
Third, I want to breathe through the pores of the whole body, completely unobstructed, if it is a hundred times, until the breathing becomes light and thin.
The fourth is to visualize yourself sitting on the lotus, fresh and solemn, and the lotus is in the boundless and clear sea. At this time, the sky and the sea are the same color. In the dark, I feel extremely bright and quiet, and gradually become a tall body. You can also watch countless practitioners on the sea at the same time and settle down on the lotus.
This method can also be used as a major, and everything dies when it is lost, but if you feel empty, you will gain wisdom and achieve wonderful use.
Of the above four methods, just choose one first. If it is effective in adjusting interests, it should be further deepened; If it doesn't work, you have to change it to another one. It is not allowed to use several at the same time. After breath adjustment, if you survive, if you die, if you are deep, long and delicate, if you have a peaceful heart and love, you will achieve the positive aspect of dharma practice by counting your breath. When interests appear, it is no longer necessary to adjust interest rates and separate the heart, but it should be unintentional, otherwise there will be disharmony.
If you can't adjust to the phase, you should keep adjusting, no matter how many times you sit, until the phase appears, and then learn to adjust your mentality and wait. Otherwise, it will not only be unable to enter a quiet state because of the interference of irregular lanes, but also create obstacles and affect the progress. We must pay attention to this.