Breath mediation during daily acvities

Upvote:1

Gathas can be helpful for increasing awareness of daily activities and breathing. They are short practice verses/poems read silently while we synchronize the reading with our breathing. For example:

(Breathing in) Washing the dishes is like bathing the baby Buddha;

(Breathing out) The the everyday is the sacred, the mundane is the profound

You can find more practice poems here and in the book "Present Moment, Wonderful Moment - Mindfulness Verses for Daily Living" by Thich Nhat Hanh

Upvote:3

It is possible but as there are a lot of types of breath meditation it may not be possible to do your type.

If you do breath meditation for samatha remember that the point is to develop calm, the point isn't to see how long your can focus on your breath. So if you have to focus on your task a bit that's not a bad thing as long as you do it calmly.

If what you are doing is a simple task you can largely be aware of your breath while you do the action in the background. If you are doing a complicated task then you'll have to put a lot of attention on the task but keep an awareness of the breath in the background which you can frequently go back to momentarily to remind you of equanimity, in that way the breath is like a refuge.

Compared to sitting in a quiet room, during daily activities there is a lot going on and your attention is probably jumping from a sight to a sound to a smell and then to another sight. Some people use this to observe impermanence; as you inhale notice the sense arising in your awareness, as you exhale notice how what you are aware of has changed.

Upvote:6

Mindfulness and Awareness is not a concept only to be practiced during Meditation. Practicing Mindfulness and Awareness during the day, with Parents, Teachers, Customers ... and all other Beeings is a powerfull and healthy practice. It is a tremendous challenge,

The Buddha spoke of the power of mindfulness in a very emphatic way:

Mindfulness, I declare, is all-helpful.
SAMYUTTA, 46:59

and

All things can be mastered by mindfulness.
ANGUTTARA, 8:83

and

Further, there is that solemn and weighty utterance opening and concluding the SatipatΜ£tΜ£haΜ„na Sutta, the Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness:
This is the only way, monks, for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the destruction of pain and grief, for reaching the right path, for the attainment of Nibbana, namely the four foundations of mindfulness.

See THE POWER OF MINDFULNESS

and A Guide to Awareness

There is no sense in not beeing mindfull and aware during your carmic activities, you know Buddhism ... it is not all about your breath, it is all about your awareness and mindfullness during the day, the week.

If you feel you need more help, teaching or instructions, look for a good teacher with a solid reputation and established traditions along a respectable linage.

Addendum:

Perhaps the publication Essentials of Insight Meditation Practice is of some aid and section OTHER DAILY ACTIVITIES a good introduction.

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