Wansongs commentary:
The Sanskrit word anapana is translated as breathing out and breathing in. There are six methods involved with this: counting, following, stopping, contemplating, returning, purification. The details are as in the great treatise on cessation and contemplation by the master of Tiantai [Zhiyi]. Those whose preparation is not sufficient should not fail to be acquainted with this. Guishan's Admonitions says, "If you have not yet embraced the principles of the teachings, you have no basis to attain understanding of the mystic path."
From Clearys intro:
A basic form of this practice is indicated in the third story of the Book of Serenity, and various modifications of it are found in the exercises of many Zen schools.
The first of the six subtle methods is counting the breath in repeated sets of ten. This is a traditional Buddhist practice specifically prescribed to overcome the tendency toward mind wandering and distraction. This is eventually replaced by following the breath and simply keeping the attention on it continuously without the relatively crude aid of counting. Both of these are widely practiced in modern day Zen.
The third of the six subtle methods is called stopping, or cessation. Here the breath becomes imperceptible and mental activity ceases. This is ordinarily unattainable without careful practice of the first two methods.
Cessation, which results in deep tranquillity, is followed up by the fourth method called contemplation, in which the mind is reactivated to visualize the components of the body. This is done so as to internalize the understanding of the organism as a compound that is dependent and subject to disintegration. One purpose of this is to counteract intoxication by the calmness of cessation with the realization that it depends on the body-mind and is thus by nature impermanent and not ultimately reliable.
The fifth subtle method, called returning, similarly cuts through fixation to thestadpoint of the preceding stage of contemlation. It accomplishes this by turning the attention away from the object of contemplation to the mind itself that contemplates. This is the aforementioned exercise of looking for the mind, which is one of the main Zen meditation practices. Whithdrawal of the mind from objects and focusing it on the ungraspable essence of its own consciousness is intended to free the mind from clinging and return it to its original purity.
In the sixth subtle method that follows on this, called purity, the practitioner experiences essential purity and finally attains spontaneity.
And another interesting post about the Book of Serenity
Submitted July 01, 2017 at 12:05PM by ZenMovie http://ift.tt/2sbVOjv
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