Breathing in, I Know I'm Breathing in | Thich Nhat Hanh (short teaching video)

In the Sutra on Conscious Breathing, the first exercise the Buddha offers is... "In, out." (Vietnamese) "As I inhale, I

know

this is my inhale; as I exhale, I

know

that this is my exhale." "As I inhale, I know that I am inhaling; as I exhale, I know that I am exhaling." It's like child's play. To identify your inspiration as inspiration. To identify your exhale as an exhale. As you inhale, you are completely aware that this is your inhalation. Your inhalation may last 10 or 15 seconds. And during these 10 seconds, or 15 seconds, you can have one second fully aware that this is your inspiration.

Nothing prevents you from maintaining that awareness throughout the entire time of your inhalation. If you only have a second or half a second of awareness that this is your inhalation, it's not so bad. That's not so bad anymore. But you can do much better. The whole time you inhale, you keep that awareness alive: "This is my inhalation." Suppose your inspiration starts here and ends here. This is the duration of your inhalation. 15 seconds or 10 seconds. And suppose your finger is your conscience. If you breathe without realizing it, that is not practical. You are now

breathing

with your awareness.

Inhaling... I know I am inhaling... Your finger always remained with your inhalation. It never took off like a plane! And you can use only one word, "in." "In"... "Out"... And this is your training. And if you know how to do it, you will get the pleasure of practice. This is not a difficult thing to do. You don't need to make any effort. You simply enjoy the inspiration and are completely aware that this is your inspiration: you keep your awareness alive for 10 or 15 seconds. And those of us who pay attention to the rise and fall of the abdomen.

As I inhale, I notice my abdomen rise. As I exhale, I notice my abdomen drop. That is one of the ways we keep awareness alive throughout the time of inhaling and exhaling. And it can be very pleasant. Whether you are sitting or lying down,

breathing

is always a pleasure. And your mind is completely focused on your inhalation and exhalation. You stop thinking completely. Because consciousness is not thinking. "Inhale, this is my inhalation" - This is not thinking. That is pure awareness that something is happening here and now. That something is "I'm inhaling." And that is consciousness.

That's mindfulness. Since mindfulness is there, concentration is there. Because when you are aware of something, and if you are fully aware of it, you are focused on it. You are focused on one thing: your inspiration. That's why you know that the energy of mindfulness... carries within it the energy of concentration. Concentration is born from full attention. Mindfulness is the mother. Concentration is the daughter. And mother and daughter are just the continuation. Mindfulness is always full attention to something. In this case, full attention to inspiration. Concentration is concentration on something. And here you are focused on your inspiration.

And in mindfulness and concentration you can stop thinking completely. That is very important. Because there are those of us who can't stop thinking. There is always a cassette tape running in our heads. We think about this, we think about that. We can't stop thinking. And we think too much. We think too much. It's like a TV is on all night. It's really hot. Your head is like that too. If you keep thinking, your head gets hot. And you can't sleep. You want to find a button to stop thinking, but there is no such button. Because your head is not a television.

Your head is not a cassette player. There is no button. Fortunately, there is the practice of conscious breathing. And when you practice breathing in and out consciously, you stop thinking. Your mind is focused. During inhalation and exhalation you enjoy inhaling and exhaling so much that you forget to think. And this is very healing. Those of us who can't stop thinking, those who make our heads hot, those of us who imagine many things, whose thinking causes us a lot of fear, a lot of despair, know that thinking doesn't help anything. Thinking leads you to more confusion, more fear, more uncertainty.

Therefore thinking is not being. I think then I don't exist. I'm not alive. And therefore, stopping thinking is the beginning of being alive because, in the state of non-thinking, you are really with your inhalation, you are really with your exhalation, you are really with the flower, you are really with the blue sky. When you play deeply you don't need to think. Thought eliminates true and deep contact. And that is why by learning, training ourselves in conscious inhalation and exhalation and stopping thinking that we can heal ourselves... we can begin to touch the wonders of life that are available and that carry out our healing.

Because these elements have the power to nourish, refresh and heal. The first exercise proposed by the Buddha is already a great step. And it's so simple. So easy. You can enjoy doing that. This is not hard work. That's for you to enjoy. As I inhale, I am aware that I am inhaling. I am aware that I am alive. And being alive is a miracle. This is a resurrection practice. People don't live their lives. Your body is there, but your mind is somewhere else, caught up in your worries, the future and the past. And only a conscious inspiration helps them return home and be alive again.

The resurrection is not a ritual. Resurrection is a practice, and every time you breathe in and out again, every time you use your foot to take a conscious step, you become alive again. That is truly a resurrection practice. To get your life back. The first conscious breathing exercise is a gift from the Buddha. Please enjoy it. Share it with your loved one. Share it with your partner, with your child. Take her hand, invite her to sit and enjoy her inhalation and exhalation. Honey, let's inhale and be aware of our inhalation. And your mindfulness energy helps you do the same.

This is Love. And maybe you want to invite him to go for a walking meditation, and you both do nothing but enjoy his steps, his inhalations and exhalations, and get in touch with life. You are both Buddhas at that moment because you are inhabited by the energy of mindfulness. When you practice mindfulness, you are a Buddha. And if you practice all day, you are a full-time Buddha. If you only practice half an hour a day, one hour a day, you are a part-time Buddha. The second exercise offered by the Buddha is "Long, Short." That is a practice of following your breath.

The first is to identify your inhalation as your inhalation, your exhalation as your exhalation. The second helps you enjoy the first practice until the end. By breathing deeply, I know I am breathing deeply. It means I enjoy my breathing from the beginning to the end. Taking a

short

breath, I know I'm taking a

short

breath. The practice is not to try to lengthen the inspiration. If it's short, let it be short. If it's long, let it be long. Don't try to force the inhalation and exhalation the way you want. This is very important. You allow your inhalation and exhalation to be what they are.

Don't try to force, don't try to bend...don't try to work on it. We have heard expressions like "breathing." That does not work! The practice of mindfulness is the practice of becoming aware of what is happening. If your inhalation is short, you know your inhalation is short. You don't criticize. You don't condemn. You don't judge. You allow it to be that way. That is what you call simple, mere recognition. Simply turn on the light of mindfulness and become aware of it. Like... you look at a child playing on the floor. Don't interfere. You just notice the child.

So your inhalation is a child. His inspiration can be short or long. You allow it to be what it is. You simply turn on the light of mindfulness and become aware of your breathing. And yet, something will happen of its own accord. If you become aware of your inhalation in this way for a few moments, the quality of your inhalation will improve. It's like a flower. Your inhalation is like a flower. And your mindfulness is like sunlight. The sunlight simply embraces and recognizes the flower. And yet, sunlight will affect the flower. Mindfulness is like sunlight. It is a kind of energy.

That energy is recognizing, embracing. And by recognizing and embracing, that energy has a good influence. about what it recognizes and what it embraces. In the morning the flower has not yet opened. But the sun continues to shine, embracing. And we know that sunlight is made up of particles called photons. And the photons embrace each other. They are not satisfied with circling the flower. They penetrate the flower. And one hour, two hours later, under the influence of that sun, the flower opens. So our inspiration is like this. Our exhalation is like this. It's a flower. And recognized by the energy of mindfulness, it will transform naturally without your intervention.

And you can notice this in your practice. Don't try to make your inhalation longer or deeper. But if you become aware of your inhalation and exhalation, they will naturally become deeper, longer and more harmonious. The quality of your breathing will improve with the energy of mindfulness that embraces it. One minute can make a difference. If you take a minute to consciously inhale and exhale, you will notice that the quality of your inhalation and exhalation increases deeper, longer and more harmoniously. And if you practice, if you continue for a few minutes, you will notice that you will get more peace and more harmony through your inhalation and exhalation.

Because your inhalation and exhalation will have an influence on your body and will have an influence on your feelings. On one side is your body, on the other side is your feeling. And if your inspiration has become more harmonious, deeper and slower, then your body will benefit from it. deeper, slower, more harmonious. And your feelings too. He will inherit these qualities from your inspiration.