Meditation focus points and their ill effects

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I’ve used the tip of my nose for 16 years. Going on that theory, I’d be single-handedly responsible for Tylenol’s continued existence.

Where you focus your mind is ultimately pretty arbitrary. All you need is something reasonably stable and perennially available. The tip of your nose generally isn’t going anywhere. Neither is your hara. And neither is your left nipple. I prefer the tip of my nose since it orients my attention forward and seems to “set my mind in front” as advised by the Buddha.

I’d advise against focusing on anything circular like the microcosmic orbit of tai chi as this can lead to really bad upsurges of unfocused energy. This has actually given me fevers in the past during qi gong work and is ultimately not conducive to calming the mind simply due to its mobility.

And above all else, you aren’t focusing your mind or concentrating. Instead, simply keep the mind in one spot. Samadhi literally means to gather together in one place. If the sheep wander off, go retrieve them. But don’t crush them into the ground with your boot once you have them corralled.

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There isn't a single sutta where the Buddha told people to focus on a specific body part when meditating. Three key meditation suttas are the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (MN 10), Mindfulness of Breathing (MN 118), and Mindfulness of Body (MN 119). There's also MN 52 The Man From the City of Aṭṭhaka that covers 11 different meditations, none of which involve focusing on a body part. Then you have (MN 121) The Shorter Discourse on Emptiness. MN 121 gives directions for the formless attainments. Nothing in it involves focusing on a body part. (MN 111) - One by One goes through the four jhanas and all the formless attainments and also doesn't focus on a body part.

In Mindfulness of Breathing, the Buddha doesn't instruct people to look at the tip of their nose, the center or their belly, or anything else. The same is true for every meditation sutta.

So no, the Tipitaka does not talk about those ill effects, because that is not how the Buddha taught meditation. That said, if you find what you're doing helpful it could fall under the umbrella of Right Effort.

Access to Insight on Right Effort

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