There are many different types of Buddhist meditations. Some can be done while walking, some are great tools to use when you are distract from something and some are exclusively use in a very controlled environment. The environment plays a lager role in breathing mediation than many other types of meditations.

If a person has prior experience in meditation or has strong skills, there are many meditation methods that can be practice regardless of the distractions in the environment. For example, when you are angry with someone, you can always instantly practice Loving-Kindness meditation. This is because the external environment has very little or no impacts on the out come of the practice. But even if you have strong skills, in able to practice breathing meditation, you must choose a peaceful controlled environment. The following is a set of guideline for ideal environment.

-It should be free from external distractions such as loud sounds, insects, etc, etc.

-It should be a clean place where you can smell nothing but pure air.

-It should be an area with proper ventilation (in North America and Europe, it would be nice if you can avoid indoor environment as much as possible)

-If you would like to practice breathing meditation, consider the time window of the years. Summer would be nice for most of the Europeans.

There is an important concept that you should know before you begin. There are other mediations where you can choose any one from four different types of meditation positions. But the breathing mediation can be practiced in a certain way. You must use sitting position to practice this type of mediation. (I will add more info on this later)

Step I

First of all you have to pay attention to your berating pattern. Everyone has his or her own pattern or rhythm. This pattern plays a major role in breathing mediation. Concentrate your mind on your breathing pattern. Sometimes beginners find it harder to concentrate than the experienced ones. You can get distractions in your mind and it could cause to shift the primary reason, which is concentration away from your breathing pattern. Many practitioners count their inhales and exhales. This way you can control the behaviors of your mind.
In the second step, there are eight sections, which extend the concepts in the first step.

Step II

1. Take a deep breath knowingly that it is a deep breath.

2. Exhale deeply, knowingly that it is a deep exhalation.

3. Take a short breath knowingly that it is short breath.

4. Exhale shortly, knowingly that it is a short exhalation.

5. When inhale, make note of beginning, middle and the end of the breath.

6. Then exhale and make note of beginning, middle and the end of the breath.

7. Inform your entire body and mind that you inhale while you are inhaling.

8. Inform your entire body and mind that you exhale while you are exhaling.

The section one and two set your mind in a proper position for deep breaths while the section three and four set your mind in a proper position for short breaths. The section five and six sets your mind in an advanced position. By dividing inhales and exhales, you perform a complex operation in your mind. This makes your mediation very sensitive and complex. At this point you may have the opportunity to develop the meditation so that you will reach the clairvoyance, clairaudience or high mental power. Let me be honest… This is very rare and chances that some one will experience this, as a beginner is slim to none. The last two sections (sections seven and eight) are the most sensitive and complex of all. This will (or will not) lead to long-term peacefulness (calmness).

Benefits of breathing meditation

• Helps to build self-confidence and reduce anxiety.
• Many individuals have positive progress in their character.
• You will have high attention skills. Can listen to a speech, watch some thing once or analyze something once and understand the concepts behind it. (Very effective for high school and university students.)
• Practice with the loving kindness meditation: helps to maintain peaceful life style under any kind of circumstances.
• This is a very good meditation against depression. Not like anti-depression drugs, there are no side effects.
• As long as you have the right instructions to follow, you can practice this by own.
• The following is not something that I recommend: some think that this meditation helps them to discover who they really are. (Please keep in mind that Buddhism is not a tool that can be used to escape from the reality.)

10th August 2006