The practice of observing the natural breath coming and going as it is

It is a basic and yet essential practice of yoga and/or buddhism, to observe the natural breath coming and going as it is.

It enables the selfless thinking and acting faculty to develop certain degrees of basic understanding towards the truth of Impermanence and Selflessness, even if it still needs to keep practicing until it can get a direct glimpse towards the truth of Selflessness and Impermanence under a pure, calm, and quiet modification of the mind, upon the annihilation of the idea of 'I', egoism, impurities, and restlessness from the modification of the mind.

It enables the selfless thinking and acting faculty to develop the basic essentials for preparing the mind for meditation and self-inquiry, to know Thyself, to know "what is the 'I' that the selfless thinking and acting faculty thinks and believes is its permanent independent infinite identity of self existence" -

Self awareness - Under the presence of the selfless conscious awareness, the selfless thinking and acting faculty is being aware of the breath, or the objects of awareness, or the mind stuff of what is happening in the selfless impermanent modification of the mind, or the physical body, or the surrounding environment. The selfless conscious awareness is not the selfless thinking and acting faculty, and vice versa. Under the absence of conscious awareness, the selfless thinking and acting faculty can still be functioning instinctively/unconsciously up to a certain extend.

Under the complete absence of the selfless conscious awareness, the selfless perceptive cognitive intellectual emotional thinking and acting mind is merely a selfless bodily mechanism functioning instinctively/unconsciously under the influence of the autonomous bodily systems operated under the selfless intentionless survival instinct powered by the selfless support of the selfless energy and elements, without any conscious awareness towards the selfless impermanent existence of itself and its selfless impermanent function or modification, or the physical body, or the surrounding environment - The absence of freewill, and as long as the selfless bodily system is still existing and functioning under the selfless support of the selfless energy and elements that keeps the entire autonomous bodily system to be functioning and maintaining the selfless life existence, there are still some bodily activities for life maintenance, and some random instinctive/unconscious mental activities arising, changing, and passing away in the selfless impermanent modification of the mind under the selfless support of the selfless energy and elements.

Just as a physical body that is in a state of coma (complete unconsciousness), but it is being kept alive and continuous living (up to a certain extend) under the presence of certain life supporting machines that provide energy, water, air, and nutrients as well as eliminate waste products for the selfless bodily system to be keep operating. - The absence of freewill

Just as during the sleep state, semi-sleep state, and dream state, where the selfless conscious awareness can be temporary coming and going (inter-changing in between presence and absence), there are random inter-changing in between instinctive/unconscious and semi-conscious mental activities, where the mind might be aware, semi-aware, or unaware of itself, the partial or the entire modification of the mind or the partial/the entire contents of the dreams, the physical body, certain sensations within the physical body, as well as certain sounds or smells deriving from certain activities and objects in the surrounding environment. Such as, there is the need to pee during the sleep state or dream state, the selfless thinking and acting faculty might wake up to use the bathroom, or there might be the dream of peeing in the dream (dreaming of peeing), where the mind might wake up to use the bathroom, or the mind doesn't wake up to use the bathroom, and there might be actual physical peeing while sleeping/dreaming. - The absence and presence of freewill

Meanwhile, during the deep sleep state (the momentary absence of conscious awareness), which is highly essential for the selfless thinking and acting faculty to be completely shut-off all conscious/semi-conscious gross mental activities during the deep sleep state, to have maximum sufficient rest, where the mind is not aware of itself, or the modification of the mind, or the physical body, or the surrounding environment, even if there might be some instinctive/unconscious subtle mental activities for processing the constant perception of names and forms/inputs/outputs during the wakeful state (perceiving all kinds of inputs through the senses, either wittingly and/or unwittingly), and even during the sleep state/dream state. - The absence of freewill

Another example, when there is painful physical injury in the body. There is conscious awareness where the mind is being aware of and be disturbed by the painful sensations, and it might cause difficulty for it to fall asleep. The mind might fall asleep eventually, and during the semi sleep state (between awake and asleep), sleep state, and dream state, the mind might be aware of the painful sensations from time to time due to the conscious awareness that comes and goes, where the mind might be awaken a few times being aware of the painful sensations. The painful sensations are always there as they are, during the entire time of sleeping, but the mind might be aware or not aware of it. If the mind gets into the deep sleep state eventually, the mind can have a complete rest even if the painful sensations are still there, but the mind is unaware of it, because there is a momentary complete absence of the conscious awareness during that short duration of deep sleep state.

Upon the presence of semi-conscious awareness and conscious awareness, the mind is waking up (between asleep and awake), of being aware of itself, or the modification of the mind, or the physical body, or the surrounding environment. The mental state of semi alert, not completely alert. - The presence of freewill

Upon the presence of complete conscious awareness, the mind is in a wakeful state, and is conscious/aware towards itself and the modification of the mind, the physical body, as well as the surrounding environment being perceived through the senses. The mental state of fully alert. - The presence of freewill

Non-attachment and non-identification - By being aware of the breath, it allows the thinking and acting faculty to understand that the breath is not itself (non-identification), and the breath doesn't belong to itself (non-self), and the breath is impermanent (impermanence). It allows the mind to stand as a witness or third party to be non-attaching and non-identifying or non-associating with the breath, as well as all the other kind of objects of awareness.

The selfless conscious mind is aware of the sensations. The pleasant or unpleasant sensations are not the mind.

The mind is aware of the thoughts. The positive or negative thoughts are not the mind.

The mind is aware of the feelings and emotions. The happy or unhappy/desirable or undesirable feelings and emotions are not the mind.

The mind is aware of the restless impure egoistic modification of the mind, or the thought process. The desirable or undesirable/agreeable or disagreeable restless impure egoistic modification of the mind, or the efficient or inefficient/non-corrupted or corrupted thought process, or the calmed or disturbed/focused or unfocused/pure or impure state of mind, or the understanding/non-understanding, or the remembrance of the past memories, or the future anticipation/imagination, or all kinds of impurities, or the conditional thinking and behavior pattern/personality/characteristic, is not the mind.

The mind is aware of the physical body with different components and bodily systems under different conditions. The physical body with different components and bodily systems under different conditions is not the mind.

The mind is aware of the different energy levels. The different energy levels is not the mind.

The mind is aware of the idea of 'I' existing in the form of thinking/thought. The idea of 'I' existing in the form of thinking/thought is not the mind.

And so on.

Even the mind that is aware of all that, is also selfless and impermanent, limited and conditional, and non-self, that is momentarily existing and functioning not only under the availability of the selfless support of the selfless energy and elements, but also having the conscious awareness of being aware of the objects of awareness under the presence of the selfless intentionless timeless changeless attributeless consciousness in this present moment now.

Upon the absence/annihilation of the selfless existence and function of "the thinking and acting mind" that is being aware of all that, or upon "the thinking and acting mind" ceased thinking and acting (functioning), what is there, that is always there, as it is?

Non-craving and non-aversion - There is no craving or aversion towards the breath being in certain way or not in certain way. Similarly, there is no craving or aversion towards the sensations, or the thoughts, or the feelings and emotions, or whatever the mind perceives/experiences through the senses, of all kinds of relationships, connections, affairs, interactions, activities, conditions, and situations.

Non-comparison and non-judgment - There is no comparison between this breath and that breath. There is no judgment towards this breath or that breath is good or bad, right or wrong, positive or negative, meaningful or meaningless, deserving or non-deserving, and etc. Similarly, there is no comparison and judgment towards the sensations, or the thoughts, or the feelings and emotions, or whatever the mind perceives/experiences through the senses, of all kinds of relationships, connections, affairs, interactions, activities, objects, conditions, and situations.

Non-expectation - There is no expectation towards the breath to be or not to be in certain way, allowing the breath to be what it is. There is no expectation towards the practice of observing the breath, to be or not to be in certain way (comfortable or uncomfortable, easy or difficult, agreeable or disagreeable, fruitful or non-fruitful). There is no expectation towards the fruit of the practice of observing the breath, to be or not to be in certain way. Allowing the fruit of the practice to be what it is. The fruit of the practice is impermanent, and it is not 'the one that is performing the practice/the one that is aware of the breath/the one that is observing the breath', or the selfless thinking and acting faculty.

Similarly, there is no expectation towards the sensations, or the thoughts, or the feelings and emotions, or whatever the mind perceives/experiences through the senses, of all kinds of relationships, connections, affairs, interactions, activities, objects, conditions, and situations, to be or not to be in certain way. Allowing all and everyone and everything to be what they are, as they are.

Without the selfless conscious awareness, all these practice of non-attachment, non-identification, non-craving, non-aversion, non-comparison, non-judgment, or non-expectation that enable the mind to be engaging in the mind purification and silencing process, out of conscious freewill/yearning towards knowledge/liberation/freedom/peace, that enable the mind to see/realize/know the truth of itself, of the truth of selflessness and impermanence in all and everything, cannot or doesn't happen.

As long as there is the presence of conscious awareness, such as "I am aware of/I am experiencing something (pleasant or unpleasant/happy or unhappy/desirable or undesirable/agreeable or disagreeable/enjoyable or painful suffering)", then this mind can be engaging in the conscious evolution of its selfless impermanent limited and conditional existence and function (the mind purification and silencing process), that allows itself to know Thyself and transcend the unconscious/instinctive/non-self condition and evolution of the limited and conditional body and mind. - The presence of freewill

What generates separateness and hindrance (ignorance) between "the selfless perceptive cognitive intellectual emotional thinking and acting mind" and "the knowledge of itself or the knowledge of the selfless impermanent limited and conditional life existence of the body and mind", is the presence of the idea of 'I', egoism, impurities, and restlessness in the selfless impermanent limited and conditional modification of the mind, or the corrupted impure egoistic restless modification of the mind/thought activities/thought current.

Freewill, doesn't mean that the mind can do anything without limitation, or can control everything to be exactly the way that the mind desires it to be.

Not being able to do everything due to the presence of limitation, as well as not being able to control everything to be exactly the way that is in accordance to one's desire and doesn't desire, as well as the truth of selflessness, impermanence, limitation, conditioning, and non-self in all and everything, doesn't mean that there is no freewill in the selfless thinking and acting faculty to attain certain knowledge, to develop certain understanding, to have certain desires and doesn't desires, to be making conscious choices, to be seizing the presence of opportunity and possibility, to be undetermined by the presence of limitation, hindrance, obstacle, hardship, or impossibility, and to move around or go beyond all that, to have self control to be performing or not performing certain actions that will give rise to the respective consequences of action/inaction, that can influence the selfless impermanent limited and conditional existence and function of itself and the condition and function of the entire physical body, that can be beneficial or harmful unto itself and/or others and the surrounding environment, that can direct the life existence to be or not to be in certain way, and to transcend all that.

The seed is fixed, or the past is fixed, and that cannot be changed or modified into something else, but the rest, until the moment of ceased existence, is not fixed. It is called unconscious evolution and conscious evolution. While conscious evolution can influence the unconscious evolution in certain way, to be improving or deteriorating.

The limited and conditional momentary life existence or selfless impermanent life experiences are not necessarily pleasant, desirable, agreeable, or enjoyable, but the mind that is aware of all that, that perceives or experiences all kinds of limitation or suffering, which indicates the presence of conscious awareness in the mind, and hence, the mind is having the opportunity and possibility to be activating conscious evolution to transcend all that, and not being determined or disturbed by all that.

All these knowledge (insight/wisdom) are always here within the knower, as they are, in all and everything, regardless of whether the knower knows, or doesn't knows (being hindered by the veil of ignorance). It is merely (the truth of) what all and everything are, as they are, and these timeless/changeless/infinite knowledge cannot be/are not being contaminated, or affected, or damaged, or changed by the presence or absence of 'good' and 'bad' qualities/personalities/characteristics/thinking and behavior patterns, corruption, impurities, egoism, the idea of 'I', or restlessness in the modification of the mind/thought activities/thought current.

All minds (regardless of kind or unkind/good or evil/pure or impure/intelligent or non-intelligent/knowledgeable or non-knowledgeable/lazy or non-lazy, of all kinds of qualities) are entitled to know Thyself, as all these knowledge are within all minds, and they are merely being veiled/hidden by the corrupted impure egoistic restless modification of the mind/thought activities/thought current.

There is none and nothing in this world that can claimed authority towards, or manipulate, or contaminate, or restrict, or take away, or destroy that absolute knowledge.

 

Sometimes the breath is slow.

Sometimes the breath is fast.

Sometimes the breath stops coming or going, or pauses for a few moments.

The selfless breath (a.k.a the selfless life existence) is impermanent.

The breath doesn't belong to the mind.

The breath is not in the control of the mind.

If the mind tries to control the breath, struggle and suffering will arise.

Try to breathe in only and not breathing out. Suffering will arise.

Try to breathe out only and not breathing in. Suffering will arise.

Try not to breathing in and not to breathing out. Suffering will arise.

Try to control each breath coming and going for a prolonged duration. Suffering will arise, upon exhaustion deriving from prolonged continuous effort to control the breath.

The mind just have to let it go. Let the breath to be what it is.

Meanwhile, the mind can perform certain non-forceful breathing exercise regularly, consume sufficient energy and nutrients, maximizing breathing in clean air and minimizing breathing in polluted air as much as possible, that can strengthen and maintain the function of the lungs, the lungs capacity, and the air passage, to maintain a good health condition for the respiratory system, without trying to control the respiratory system has to be or not to be in certain way, but just do one's best to maintain and strengthen the good health condition of the respiratory system, and allowing the fruit of action to be what it is, allowing the respiratory system to be what it is, and evolve as it is. There is no suffering arise.

Similarly, the breath is life force. Without the breath coming and going, there is no life force. There is no life existence.

The selfless life existence doesn't belong to the mind.

The selfless life existence is not in the control of the mind.

If the mind tries to control the selfless life existence to be or not to be in certain way, struggle and suffering will arise.

However, under the presence of correct understanding and possibility, the selfless thinking and acting faculty can do its best to strengthen, benefit, and maintain the good condition of the selfless life existence without violence or forcing, and allowing the fruit of action to be what it is, allowing the selfless life existence to be what it is, and evolve as it is.

This allows the selfless thinking and acting faculty to understand and know how to let go, not trying to control its own selfless existence and function to be or not to be in certain way, but at the same time, it can perform action to look after the over-all well-being of the body and mind, to strengthen, benefit, and maintain the good condition of the selfless life existence and function of the selfless body and mind, without violence, without forcing, without hurting the body and mind, without attachment, identification, craving, aversion, comparison, judgment, or expectation, allowing the fruit of action to be what it is, allowing the selfless existence and function of the body and mind to be what it is, and evolve as it is.

Similarly, there is no control towards the sensations, or the thoughts, or the feelings and emotions, or whatever the mind perceives/experiences through the senses, of all kinds of relationships, connections, affairs, interactions, activities, conditions, and situations, to be or not to be in certain way. Allowing all and everyone and everything to be what they are, as they are. Allowing everyone and everything to come and go, to change and pass way. And more importantly, without grasping/attachment/identification/association towards the selfless impermanent sensations, thoughts, feelings and emotions, and all kinds of experiences towards all kinds of names and forms.

There's a pause between "being aware of the objects of awareness" and "the mind reactions towards the objects of the awareness", as well as there is a pause between "the mind reactions" and "mental/physical actions being generated in accordance to the mind reactions". The thinking and acting faculty that has self awareness, non-attachment, and self control, it doesn't have to perform mental and/or physical actions that are hurtful and destructive via the organs of action influenced by the mind reactions towards the perceived names and forms that are pleasant or unpleasant, desirable or undesirable, agreeable or disagreeable, and enjoyable or non-enjoyable.

Upon coming in contact with the names and forms that are unpleasant/undesirable/disagreeable/non-enjoyable, or upon not coming in contact with the names and forms that are pleasant/desirable/agreeable/enjoyable, there might be the internal mental reaction of aversion, dissatisfaction, disappointment, frustration, irritation, or anger, and then, this internal mental reaction is being externalized into mental and/or physical actions that might be hurtful and disturbing unto oneself and others and the surrounding environment.

The presence of self awareness, non-attachment, and self control can allow the thinking and acting faculty to stop performing mental and/or physical actions that would be hurtful and damaging unto oneself, others, and the surrounding environment, even if there are some random mental reactions that are unpleasant, undesirable, disagreeable, or non-enjoyable arise in the selfless impermanent modification of the mind reacting towards the perceived names and forms.

"I (the selfless thinking and acting faculty) am aware of there are some unpleasant agitated vibrations/sensations/feelings/emotions arising in the modification of the mind. All these are impermanent, they don't belong to I, and they are not I. I don't need to perform any actions that would be hurting myself and/or others and the surrounding environment."

There is no judgment or expectation towards all these selfless impermanent mind stuff of the modification of the mind, and eventually, there will be less and less violent or hurtful mental reactions due to the presence of correct understanding, kindness, and peace in the selfless impermanent modification of the mind, under the presence of self awareness, non-attachment, and self control.

Non-attachment and non-expectation, or non-control and non-interference, doesn't mean that there shouldn't be any actions that can be performed, that can help to improve the over-all well-being of the selfless impermanent life existence and function of the body and mind, or that can help to improve the general condition and situation in the world of many diversities that doesn't belong to anyone or anything, that can promote peace and harmony, wisdom and kindness, among the many diversities. That is a huge misunderstanding towards non-attachment, non-expectation, non-control, and non-interference.

Similarly, there is a huge difference between "self control" and "control others", between "self discipline" and "discipline others", between "self discipline" and "self punishment", between "improving the condition and situation in the world that will benefit all and everyone, without temptation or bribery, not to say, violence and force, and without attachment or expectation" and "interfering with and controlling some others in order to control the world to be in certain way that will benefit one's ambitious selfish desires, via temptation or bribery and/or bullying and threatening, intimidating and oppressing, cheating and manipulating, violence and force".

Upon seeing someone's life is at risk, the practice of non-interference doesn't mean that one shouldn't give help to that someone, if it's possible, and within one's ability. And after trying to give help, whether the life of that someone will be free from the risky situation, or not, it's not in the control of anyone, it is not the responsibility of the one that tries to help.

One may think, "It is its own cause to die in that situation. I should not interfere with that." But, one can also think, "Maybe this is my cause to be here, and to give help, or if I don't know what to do, I can call someone else to help, if someone else is there. Unless it is not possible for me to do anything and there is nobody else there that can come to help. Whether this action of giving help will save the life of that someone, or not, it's not in anyone's control, and it's not anyone's responsibility."

Siddhartha Gautama Buddha didn't interfere with anyone being what they were/are, and evolve as they were/are. He only disseminated the Dhamma or the teachings of how to transcend ignorance and suffering, and allowing all and everyone whether to take it or leave it, allowing all and everyone who have the yearning towards knowledge (wisdom) and peace, to be willingly to inquire towards the truth of the selfless impermanent limited and conditional life existence, and be free from ignorance and suffering, out of their own freewill and effort, allowing all and everyone to evolve as they were/are.

There is no violence, or threatening hurtful punishment or self punishment in both the teachings and practice of yoga and buddhism, that are based on self-initiative, self-reliance, self-effort, self-discipline, self-control, self-purification, self-inquiry, and self-realization, through non-violence, via The Middle Path.

Non-blind believing, non-blind following, non-blind practicing, non-blind agreeing/disagreeing, non-blind propagating.

Be open, be kind, be wise, be accommodate, be adapt, be persevere, be determine, be patient, be focus, be aware, be content, be calm, be truthful, be understanding, be generous, be cheerful, be happy, be free, be peaceful.

Focus on what is possible in the present moment now.

Let go what is not possible in the present moment now.

Possibility and impossibility are impermanent.

Turning what is supposed to be hard and difficult and madness into the path of wisdom, kindness, and peace.

Inquire towards the truth of everything.