I HAVE BEEN FOND of mindfulness of breathing since I began meditating in the early 1980s. The breath offers meditators a versatile meditation subject based on the ordinary, accessible experience of breathing in and breathing out. It can be used in conjunction with a wide variety of practices to steer attention away from distractions and anchor attention on a present experience.
Mindfulness of breath is a simple method to extricate our attention from proliferating thoughts about daily activities, obsessive plans for personal projects, and agitating reactions to the barrage of sensory and social encounters that occur every day. By observing the experience of breath, habitual attraction toward sensual thrills quickly subsides and the mind becomes still, refreshed, tranquil, and equanimous. Observing the breath is a portable vehicle for developing mindfulness, calmness, and deep understanding.
Although meditators before the Buddha engaged in various kinds of breath control practices, the Buddha taught
