What is the best of Jhanas and breathing meditation?

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Should you control your breathing if you want to reach the Jhanas?

In the Anapanasati Sutta, there's no mentioning of controlling one's breath. Instead the emphasis is on the "awareness" of one's natural breathing. If it's long, simply aware that it's long; if it's short, simply aware that it's short:

Breathing in long, he discerns, 'I am breathing in long'; or breathing out long, he discerns, 'I am breathing out long.' [2] Or breathing in short, he discerns, 'I am breathing in short'; or breathing out short, he discerns, 'I am breathing out short.' [3] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to the entire body.'[2] He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to the entire body.' [4] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in calming bodily fabrication.'[3] He trains himself, 'I will breathe out calming bodily fabrication."

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At the start of practice, it helps to cultivate concentration, so focusing on one object single-pointedly, whether it's the breath, a sound, or something in the visual field. The manners in which this concentration is developed can give different results for different people, so I'd say to experiment and see which works for you.

I will say though, that focusing on the natural arising and passing of the breath can lead to a subtle realisation that the breath is arising and falling all by itself, utterly disconnected from the noticing of it. It's very interesting to 'catch' your body breathing, independent of your control.

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Method #2, as the Buddha taught:

There is the case where a monk, a disciple of the noble ones, making it his object to let go, attains concentration, attains singleness of mind. Quite withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful mental qualities, he enters & remains in the first jhana....

SN 48.10

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