If we practice this method but don’t stay with our breath, if we don’t concentrate but are very inconsistent in our approach, then of course we can not expect any outcome. Why is that so? It is so, because that half-hearted kind of approach would be like “soaking a stone in cold water.” No matter how long you soak it, the stone still remains a stone, without any change.

In his lifetime, the Buddha had a disciple named Upali, to whom he taught the method of concentration on the breath. Before becoming a monk, Upali had been a hairdresser, a member of the Shudra caste, the lowest caste in India. But since the Buddha had uplifted him by accepting him into the Sangha, he treated the Buddha with the utmost respect. Upali cut the Buddha`s hair, and the Buddha used this occasion to teach him the method of concentration on the breath.

The Buddha said to Upali “You cut too fast.” This made him slow down a bit, and then a bit more. And when the Buddha told him “Do it still a bit more slowly,” Upali slowed down even more. And when the Buddha said “Your breathing is too noisy and too rough,” Upali adjusted his breathing again and again, concentrating very well, until it became very smooth and still. Eventually, Upali just stood there, motionless, with the knife in his hand. He had entered into deep Samadhi.

When we practice concentration on the breath, we make our breath soft and flowing, adjusting it from being rough to being smooth, and from being smooth to becoming more and more subtle, until it is no longer there – the point at which we have entered Samadhi. The method is to focus our attention on breathing in and out naturally, not arbitrarily forcing the breath to become smooth from rough, or slow from fast. In this way, our breath will naturally slow down, and become more and more subtle with practice. This practice helps our mind quiet down. When our breath becomes really slow and subtle, it will start to feel very comfortable. And at that point of comfort, our meditation will fill us with joy.

Dharma Master Hsin Tao
(Translated by Maria Reis Habito)

呼吸禪

靈鷲山的禪修法門—平安禪有四個步驟，每一個步驟都有其功能及作用。第三個步驟是觀出入息，觀照呼吸的出入息。這個方法雖然看起來簡單，但認真做起來是會蠻有體會的。

修法上，我們不是老是死盯那個呼吸，而且又不專心，斷斷續續的，這樣當然沒有覺受，為什麼呢？這樣叫做冷水泡石頭，就是泡在那邊，泡久了，石頭還是石頭，沒什麼改變。

在佛陀的時代，佛曾經教授弟子優波離呼吸法的觀修，優波離在出家前是個剃頭師，因為他是一個賤族，身分非常的低，加上佛陀極具威德力，所以他對佛非常的尊敬。優波離幫佛陀剃頭時，佛就趁機教授他呼吸法，

佛對優波離說「剃得太快了?，他就慢一點，慢一點；佛又說「還要慢一點?，他又慢一點；「你的呼吸太大聲了，太粗了?，他就把呼吸調柔一點、再柔一點，因為他非常專注，到最後，他就定在那裡不動了，剃頭刀子拿在那邊，人站在那邊，就入定了。

所以我們的出入息，調柔、調順了，從粗調到細，調到細微到沒有呼吸就入定了。雖然我們的方法是觀照自然的呼吸，不是刻意要去調粗細快慢，但是慢慢的打坐下來，心靜下來，呼吸自然會越慢越細。一般來說，息是細長細長的最好，就是會很舒服，息調到舒服的時候，打坐就很快樂了。

─── 心道法師