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Public Talk at USD
Enjoy peace by practicing mindful breathing: breathing in brings your mind back to your body; breathing out makes you fully present in the here and now. Between body and mind, breath is the bridge—three elements of meditation are body, mind, and breath—and mindful breathing calms and harmonizes your in-breath and out-breath, easing tension and pain.
In the Sutra on Mindful Breathing the Buddha proposes sixteen exercises, including:
- Recognizing the body’s existence and coming home to it
- Releasing tension and reducing pain
- Scanning each part of the body from brain to toes
- Embracing organs with tender mindfulness for healing
Mindful breathing also helps manage emotions: breathing in, “I am aware of my anger,” breathing out, “I hold my anger tenderly.” You generate the energy of mindfulness to embrace pain like a mother holding her baby, leading to relief. Cultivating peace requires deep listening and loving speech: understanding suffering—your own and others’—is essential, for without the mud of suffering there can be no lotus of compassion.
