Breathing is vital to life. It is the center of our daily activities. The mind and breath are deeply interconnected. When we are angry, our breath becomes rapid and uncontrolled. When we are content, our breath becomes moderate and stable. Therefore, meditators are recommended to moderate their breath naturally and place their attention on the inhalation and exhalation—either at the abdomen or the nostrils.
In Buddhism, meditation plays a pivotal role in cultivating the mind, helping it to become calm and controlled. This paves the way for further steps on the path to full liberation or nirvana. Among the wide range of meditation techniques and practices, mindfulness of the breath occupies a unique position as the foundational and core element for more advanced steps in one’s contemplative practice. However, each approach uses mindfulness of the breath in its own way. This paper aims to examine the importance of mindfulness of the breath within different traditions of meditation, including samatha, vipassana, Chan, Tonglen, and Mahamudra, exploring its nuances within each method.
In samatha, mindfulness of the breath is considered foundational. The emphasis is on one-pointed concentration, and most practitioners choose the breath as the concentration point. It helps practitioners gather stray thoughts, regulate breathing, and ultimately calm the mind. It is simple to practice samatha and the basic way is breath-counting, for example from 1–10. Whenever the cycle of counting is disrupted, it restarts. Practitioners just need to maintain mindful awareness of the breath without contemplation, psychological reactions, or analysis. The purpose of breath-counting is to quietly observe each breath as it occurs while avoiding distractions. (Thanissaro 2006)
Samatha is useful in counteracting psychological fluctuations, restlessness, and delusion. Practitioners can more easily experience peace of mind and body, and enter samadhi through samatha. The main purpose of samatha is to develop concentration and to dispose of hindrances, which are sensory desire (kamacchanda), ill-will (vyapada), sloth-and-torpor (thina-middha), restlessness and worry (uddhacca-kukkucca), and doubt (vicikiccha). Samatha is usually suitable for newcomers as it helps to dispel a chattering mind. Those with a tendency to think too much are advised to practice samatha since it can provide relief. Samatha is also recommended for reducing excitement and drowsiness.
Among the Seven Factors of Awakening (satta bojjhanga), investigation of the nature of reality (dhamma vicaya), energy (viriya), and joy (piti) are considered “moving” factors, while relaxation (passaddhi), concentration (samadhi), and equanimity (upekkha) are “static” factors. The mindfulness factor (sati) in this case balances the moving and static factors. Indeed, the purpose of sati is to be aware of reality, particularly the teachings (Dhamma). As such, samatha lays the foundation for vipassana and other meditation techniques.
By contrast, vipassana emphasizes insight. Mindfulness of the breath is also common in this tradition; however, practitioners delve into the nature of breathing instead of counting. When the practitioner inhales, they should know they are inhaling; when they exhale, they should know they are exhaling. Moreover, they should apprehand the nature of the breath in terms of the three seals of existence: impermanence, suffering, and non-self. (Thera 1999)
The Satipatthana Sutta, the core discourse on vipassana, mentions four domains of awareness. The first domain, mindfulness of the body (kayanupassana), forms the foundation. By resting their attention on the breath sensations, the practitioner anchors their mind in the present moment. The meditators can then cultivate a calm and detached awareness. The practitioner can then advance to the three other domains of mindfulness in vipassana: feelings (vedananupassana), consciousness (cittanupassana), and mental objects (dhammanupassana). (Soma 1998) Overall, the sutra provides potent techniques for cultivating the mind, specifically practicing vipassana to attain enlightenment. The significance of the sutra is emphasized by Venerable Sujato: “Vipassana is the true key to liberation taught by the Buddha.” (Sujato 2012)
Fundamentally, vipassana does not mean to stop thinking or to emphasize a single point of focus, like breath-counting in samatha. Instead, the core principle is perceiving the action while doing it, and understanding the nature of the action or the three marks of existence. This process leads to cutting samsara and attaining nirvana. (Thich 2022)
Interestingly, breath mindfulness was used extensively in early Chan Buddhism in China and the broader Sinosphere (Japan, Korea, and Vietnam). The most influential sutra in early Chan Buddhism was the Anapanasati Sutta, which was translated and introduced to China by An Shigao (An Shih-kao) (fl. 148–180 CE), a Parthian Buddhist monk and translator. The sutra remains influential in Mahayana meditation practices. (Deleanu 1992) In the sutra, breath awareness acts as an element of mindfulness of the body and is a method to build up the Seven Factors of Awakening. (Thanissaro 2006)
It should be noted that Chan (or Zen) meditators are encouraged to embrace abdominal breathing, which promotes a deep inhale and exhale. When the meditator is familiar with deep breathing, they will follow a natural rhythm and enter samadhi naturally. This approach likely developed through a combination of Mahayana Buddhism, martial arts, and Daoist meditation, which were popular at that time in China, with a focus on dantian—the energy center near the navel. (Sekida 1987, 64)
Early Chinese converts to Buddhism were primarily Daoists, and under the Chinese worldview, Buddhism was seen as complementary to Taoism. For example, both Chan Buddhism and Daoism focus on simplicity and the paths of flow, or “wu-wei” in Daoism. Similarities are also evident in Chan koans and Daoist verses, both of which can help trigger sudden awakening. Those Buddhist converts combined meditation techniques from both traditions, laying the foundation for Chan meditation methods.
According to Lai (2003, 8), Buddhism entered China in the first century CE, during the Han dynasty via foreign traders. Around 150 CE, An Shigao began translating Hinayana texts, and from then Buddhism became a more significant aspect of Chinese life. Buddhism was at first accepted as a counterpart of Daoism, with the Buddha viewed as a foreign deity who achieved Daoist immortality. As a result, Buddhist breath mindfulness was considered an enhancement of Daoist breathing practices. The unique intersection of Buddhism (especially Chan), Daoism, and Confucianism in East Asia—especially in China and Vietnam—also likely contributed to a culture of religious harmony and mutual influence in this region.
Since the time of Bodhidharma (c. 5th–6th century CE), Chan Buddhism has been associated with sudden enlightenment and perceiving one’s true nature. This was accelerated by the use of koans, defined as stories, dialogues, questions, or statements from Chinese Chan-lore, supplemented with commentaries, that are used in Zen practice to provoke the “great doubt” and initial insight in Zen-students. (Britannica n.d.)
In contemporary Chan, breath mindfulness as a basic meditation vehicle for developing concentration. Vietnamese Chan Buddhists, for example, follow the Anapanasati Sutta as a guide for moderating the breath. Practitioners typically sit with in a lotus, half-lotus, Burmese, or seiza posture, with their hands in a specific gesture (mudra). They then begin counting breaths up to ten, and repeat until the mind is calmed. As in samatha, they may focus on the dantian energy center. In some Zen halls, mentors walk quietly to supervise practitioners and strike them, firmly or softly, with a long wooden stick if they notice that they are not practicing properly; not sitting upright, sleeping, or shifting their position can be a result of sloth and torpor (thina-middha) or restlessness and worry (uddhacca-kukkucca). Striking is thought to bring about direct realization or insight into one’s true nature. (Yoshizawa 2009, p. 41) Although less common today, striking is still employed to remind practitioners to return to the breath.
Mindfulness of the breath also plays a vital role in Tonglen meditation in Tibetan Buddhism. Meditators deploy mindful breathing to practice “taking and sending”, a core philosophy that aligns with the Bodhisattva ideals of compassion (karuna) and loving-kindness (maitri). Tonglen meditation begins with mindfulness of the breath. Whenever distractions arise, the mediator must recognize them and let them go. The mediator continues with the intention of “receiving and giving:” while breathing in, the practitioner imagines that they are taking in suffering and negativity from others as a dark cloud.; while breathing out, they visualize sending all good things, transformed from what they have received earlier, to others as a white and cooling cloud that can heal suffering. The ultimate goal is to nurture the good will of the practitioner. (Lion’s Roar 2024)
In Mahamudra, another important practice in Tibetan Buddhism, mindfulness of the breath is a foundational step for practicing samatha. In the Kagyu tradition, meditators employ breath mindfulness to calm the mind before shifting to vipassana. Notably, Mahamudra involves two main types of meditation, shamatha (resting in the nature of mind) and vipasyana (clear seeing). However, Mahamudra emphasizes resting in the nature of mind rather than focusing on discerning breaths and emotions that arise. (Ponlop 2020)
In conclusion, mindfulness of the breath is a fundamental aspect of Buddhist meditation across traditions that helps to cultivate concentration and settle the mind, paving the way for higher stages toward liberation from samsara. Mindfulness of the breath can take different forms and expressions, yet it is present in all meditation traditions, from samatha and vipassana to Chan and Tibetan Buddhism.
References
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Deleanu, F. 1992. “Mindfulness of Breathing in the Dhyāna Sūtras,” in Transactions of the International Conference of Orientalists in Japan (TICOJ) 37, TICOJ, pp. 42–57. Accessed 1 June 2024: https://ahandfulofleaves.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/mindfulness-of-breathing-in-the-dhayana-sutra_florin-deleanu_1992.pdf
Dumoulin, H. 2005. Zen Buddhism: A History. Volume 1: India and China. Bloomington: World Wisdom.
Lai, W. 2003. “Buddhism in China: A Historical Survey,” in Cua, AS (ed.) Encyclopedia of Chinese philosophy. New York: Routledge,
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Sekida, K. 1987. Zen Training: Methods and Philosophy. Boulder: Shambhala Publications.
Soma, T. (trans.). 1998. “The Discourse on the Arousing of Mindfulness,” Access to Insight. Accessed 4 May 2024: https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/soma/wayof.html#discourse
Sujato, B. 2012. A History of Mindfulness, Santipada, n.p.
Thanissaro, B. (trans.). 2006, “Anapanasati Sutta: Mindfulness of Breathing,” Access to Insight. Accessed 1 June 2024: https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.118.than.html
Thera, S, (trans.), 1999, “Satipatthana Sutta: The Discourse on the Arousing of Mindfulness,” Access to Insight. Accessed 1 June 2024: https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.010.soma.html
Thich, T. H. 2020. “A comparative study of insight meditation in Theravāda and Mahāyāna tradition,” IJSRED, vol. 3, no. 1, p. 2. Accessed 1 June 2024: http://www.ijsred.com/volume3/issue1/IJSRED-V3I1P22.pdf
Yoshizawa, K. 2009. The Religious Art of Zen Master Hakuin. Berkeley: Counterpoint Press.
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