Breathing In, I Know I Am Breathing In

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Thích Nhất Hạnh framed practice as the conscious unification of body and mind through the breath. The first instruction is the simplest: 'Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out.' Awareness rides on the breath; the breath, when noticed, slows and deepens of itself. From that base he taught the gathas — short verses spoken silently with each breath ('Breathing in, I calm my body; breathing out, I smile') — and walking meditation, in which each step is taken in full awareness of contact with the earth. 'The miracle is not to walk on water; the miracle is to walk on the green earth.' Sitting, walking, eating, washing dishes: any of these is the whole of Plum Village practice when done with one undivided breath.

tr. Zen Lineage editorial paraphrase, after Thích Nhất Hạnh, 'The Miracle of Mindfulness' (1975)

license: cc_by

Attribution

• Speaker
  Thích Nhất Hạnh

Lineage: Plum Village

By Thích Nhất Hạnh

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Sources

• contentPlum Village — Mindful breathing and walking practice guidance

  Thích Nhất Hạnh; Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism

  Plum Village foundational practice — sixteen exercises of mindful breathing

  Plum Village — Foundational practice instructions: Breathing In, I Know I Am Breathing In