4th Adjustment – breath(Consentration Meditation Practice)

When beginning adjustment of breath, there are 4 kinds of concentration; 3 are wrong, 1 is right.
1, Sitting in concentration, breathing with a sound like a rough wind, this sound is unharmonious and incorrect.
2, Sitting in concentration, breathing without making a sound but with a block inside which makes it difficult to breathe in and out.
3, Sitting in concentration, breathing without sound, without block, but the breath is not fine, is not soft.
4, The right kind of breath is that which makes no sound, without a block, which is soft, harmonious and peaceful. The breath should be light and faint so it seems that you are not actually breathing. When this breath is achieved it will naturally comfort the mind and refine the emotions.
The result of these adjustments
1, Breathing with a sound makes people lose energy
2, Breathing with a block refers to the block of blood and qi inside the body
3, Breathing which isn’t fine and soft makes people lose mind energy and also inhibits the feeling of spirituality from arising.
When sitting with an incorrect adjustment of breath it has a negative effect on all other aspects of practice. The direct link between the breath and the mind soon becomes apparent. When sitting with correct adjustment the mind will quickly become calm like all the dust settling in a large room.
Correcting wrong adjustments
1, Just let it be- let the mind calm down on its own, don’t try to hard, don’t try to force it or control it, with time it will come down to its natural state.
2, Relax- don’t be tense, don’t struggle
3, Meditate the energy flow out away from the body so to dissolve any blocks inside
Then…… when the mind is soft and lucid, finely observe awareness, this in turn will then make the breath soft and slow which will in turn make the mind soft and lucid. Whenever the mind is adjusted, the breath will naturally follow and be adjusted. They are connected and cannot be separated; there can be no distinguishing between the two as they are the same thing, one thing.
By concentrating on breath training like this, the trainee avoids mistakes, blocks and illness which occur through incorrect training. With correct adjustment the trainee will easily find the situation of Zen Samadhi. The key is being not too rough (tightness, over-concentration, too much control) and not too smooth (being too loose, lack of concentration, lack of control).