Preksha Dhyana Perception of Breathing

Author(s): Mahapragna Acharya
Publisher: Jain Vishva Bharati

Page 20

One cannot reach the inner gates without opening the outer ones. We have to proceed towards the subtle from the gross. By choosing the process of breathing as a prop for our meditational exercise, we have taken the first step towards the subtle.
In Preksā dhyāna, therefore, we use the act of breathing as a prop. That is, the act of breathing is to be made the object of our perception
The act of breathing is a bridge between the internal and the external. Except the breath, there is nothing else which comes out as well as goes in. Of course, there is the mind; but mind itself needs to be propped up; it, obviously, cannot become an object of concentrated perception.
The act of breathing is a bridge between the internal and the external Except the breath, there is nothing else which comes out as well as goes in. Of course, there is the mind; but mind itself needs to be propped up; it, obviously, cannot become an object of concentrated perception.
That is why we have chosen breath to become the object of perception for our technique. Breath is the only tourist which tours the external space as well as the internal one. It is the only light that enlightens the inside as well as the outside. If we desire our mind to stop wandering and to undertake an internal trip, the easiest way is to make it ride the chariot of breath and obtain access to the inside with it. With the commencement of the internal trip, one will become an introvert and a spiritualist. Thus association of the mind with the breath is the easiest way to become spiritual.
The ancient methodology is of controlling the mind and to attach it to the breath. Mind itself becomes controllable and its restlessness vanishes.
Why Breath Is Chosen ?
A question may be raised -- why are we preferring breathing to anything else as the object of our perception ? We shall try to
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