The breath related to feeling is presented as one-fourth of the Dharma door of the Anapanasati Sutra; feeling is one of the 51 mental formations and is the second aggregate among the five aggregates, together with form, perception, mental formations, and consciousness. The practice is to recognize the body as an “impermanent physiological river,” to nourish joy and then happiness with the conditions that are already present: healthy eyes, a liver that enjoys chocolate, the protection of the sangha. When joy is present, concentration comes naturally; without joy, concentration is weak. The Buddha advises us to generate pleasant feelings with the breath: breathing in and breathing out with joy, then transforming it into calm happiness, which is very different from the unstable state of being “so excited.”

The practice gradually moves through four breaths related to feeling: awareness of joy, awareness of happiness, awareness of mental formations, calming mental formations. Feeling is contemplated like a mother holding her child: breathing in, we touch the painful feeling; breathing out, we embrace it, and the pain is soothed. When wholesome happiness is brought into awareness, it grows; if happiness contains toxins, mindfulness helps us to stop. Most of our life is neutral feeling—neither pleasant nor unpleasant; when the light of mindfulness shines on it, neutral feeling transforms into happiness, like realizing “not having a toothache” is suddenly a source of joy. Walking meditation, sitting meditation, washing the dishes, cooking rice—all are opportunities to record the conditions for joy and happiness, enriching our store of feelings.

• Lists that cannot be omitted when mentioning specific numbers
  • the five aggregates: form, feeling, perception, mental formations, consciousness
  • the three kinds of feeling: pleasant feeling, unpleasant feeling, neutral feeling
  • the four parts of the 16 breaths: body, feelings, mind, objects of mind

The Buddha, with his boundless compassion, placed awareness of joy and happiness first so that we have enough energy to look deeply into suffering; in this way, true happiness and insight are revealed in every breath.