In accordance with the Anapanasati Sutra, the Buddha taught us that being aware of our breathing is a way to achieve spiritual liberation. Breathe, You Are Alive describes 16 exercises of conscious breathing that the Buddha taught, along with commentary and additional exercises to practice daily and in any circumstance.
Thich Nhat Hanh’s explanations and insights provide the reader with access to the profound nourishment that is available when we slow down and connect with our inbreath and outbreath.
He guides the reader through the progression of exercises—from awareness of the physical plane to the mental and spiritual planes—in a clear, simple, and easy-to-implement way. This 20th anniversary edition features Thich Nhat Hanh’s most recent commentary and breathing meditation exercises, as well as his “Breathing and Walking” Gatha (practice verse) set to music.
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About the Author
Thich Nhat Hanh was a well-known peace activist and spiritual teacher worldwide. He was born in Vietnam in 1926, and at sixteen years old, he converted to Zen Buddhism. In addition to teaching for seven decades, he wrote over 100 books, which have sold over four million copies in the US alone.
He brought the mindfulness movement to Western society with his lectures on Buddhism as a means of social and political change, and he was exiled from Vietnam in 1966 for advocating peace.
The largest Buddhist monastery in Europe and the hub of an expanding global network of mindfulness practice centres, the transnational Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism, was founded by him in France. He died in 2022 at the age of 95 in Tu Hieu, his ancestral temple in Hue, Vietnam.
Review
This is the Anapanasati Sutra, sometimes called the Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing. You may apply this potent Sutra and its explanation on a daily basis, and it will significantly improve your zazen and mindfulness meditation practice.
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The Sutra is one of the best resources for learning how to concentrate on your breathing during meditation, as well as how to be conscious of your body, emotions, and thoughts, and how to quiet these while meditating.
The Sutra On The Four Establishments Of Mindfulness, a foundational Sutra on how and what to focus on to follow mindfulness, is complemented by this Sutra and expanded upon in many ways. This Sutra is essential for building a solid basis for awareness of breathing, regardless of how long you have been studying Zen and mindfulness meditation.
The words and ideas of The Sutra On The Full Awareness Of Breathing are explained by Thick Nhat Hahn in such an easy-to-understand, straightforward style that gently and clearly leads the reader toward comprehension. It is hoped that this Sutra may help you better focus on your breathing and cultivate a greater sense of peace and tranquillity in your life and meditation practice.
Although every Buddhist Sutra is significant and deserving of study, a few teach us how to build a solid practice foundation. One of them is this.
Second Review
When we realise we already have a valuable gem in our possession, we stop desiring and craving. Being lions, we have no desire to milk from a mother deer. Thich Nhat Hanh gives a captivating, colourful, and useful explanation of mindfulness meditation and the teachings of the Buddha. “Seeing that we are the sun, we give up the candle’s habit of fearing the wind,” she adds.
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As he progresses through the Buddha’s 16 practices of Breath Awareness, Thich Nhat Hanh provides simple guidance on how to meditate, “topics” for meditation, and the advantages and reasons for meditation.
A meditation and life guide, “Breathe! You are Alive” encourages us to examine our bodies, minds, and the world around us. Through meditation, we may accept and transcend our suffering and tend to the “positive seeds” inside and around us.
In order to feel the happiness that is already available, Thich Nhat Hanh highlights the advantages of learning to relax and soothe the body and mind. Additionally, he explains the “deeper” Buddhist teachings of “no birth/no death” and “interbeing” in practical ways that we may put into practice immediately.
Along with his own translation of the Sutra, Thich Nhat Hanh shares his thoughts on how this message has been conveyed in various Buddhist traditions.
Enjoying this book does not require any prior knowledge of meditation or Buddhist teachings, and one may apply the techniques while being true to their own faith or spiritual practice.
Summary
This is, in my view, Thich Nhat Han’s greatest book. He teaches you particular breathing practices that anchor you in the present, reduce worry, and help you connect with the spaciousness that exists. At one point, he states that he would use the breathing techniques outlined in this breathing sutra if he were going to crash on an aircraft.
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It is more complex than his other writings, but if used properly, the instruments he offers are truly the doorway to transformation in the heart. If you’re searching for useful methods—of which there aren’t many—to experience the openness and happiness that eastern viewpoints may provide us Westerners, I really suggest this.