The (1:4:2) Healing Breath, cont.

Yet, the breath must be regulated. For some mysterious reason, oxygen deprivation is often associated with an ecstatic experience. Many cases of "near" death as well as cases of nitrogen narcosis (Rapture of the Deep), or erotic asphyxiation either by deep-throat or garrote methods, and so on, involve the reduction of oxygen to the brain. It is a practice among Yogis to cut the membrane under the tongue and then to routinely pull on the tongue to lengthen it so that it can be inserted back into the pharyngeal passage to close-off an air supply. It is not a Zen Buddhist practice either to tie a cord around the neck or to lengthen the tongue.

Zen Buddhists regulate the breath, making it finer and finer, slowing it down gradually; but always, the meditator remains in control.

Again, meditation requires that the ego be bypassed. Unfortunately, there is nothing in this world an ego enjoys less than being bypassed. Consequently, whenever a person attempts to carry out instructions and is not rewarded with instantaneous success, or when the execution of his program becomes tedious or inconvenient and he would just as soon be someplace else than on his cushion, his ego will create an analytical intrusion into the practice. He forms opinions about the instructions he has been given. He questions the necessity of adhering so rigidly to the rules. He cannot see what difference it would make if he altered a few points or requirements. What harm can there be in slight deviations? This, he reasons, is meditation... not brain surgery.

Friends or instructions from other books will complete the destruction. They will assure him that there are techniques superior to the one he is working on. Testimonials will be offered regarding the efficacy of every practice except, of course, the one he has specifically been given. Questions of orthodoxy are raised. Is what he is doing authentic, legal Chan or Zen? Master So-and-so of such-and-such a temple assigns a totally different practice to his new disciples...and Master So-and-so ought to know what's best. On and on it goes. The beginner is assailed with all sorts of advice from people whose highest state of consciousness was experienced in a dentist's chair. The beginner, eager for success, knows that he hasn't gotten anywhere in the twenty minutes he has devoted to his practice and so he is ripe for change. The assigned practice, having been undermined by ignorance and doubt, collapses. All other practices will similarly fail, the fault being in the man and not the techniques.

We could have given as an initial meditation practice any one of a dozen different exercises. All would be equally good. But let's not miss the point. We will begin with the l:4:2 Healing Breath. This is the exercise that has been given and this is the one that must be mastered. Regardless of how difficult it seems, it must be the single goal. There can be no eclecticism. We do not take part of one exercise and glue it onto part of another to form a more acceptable third. Neither do we simultaneously work on another practice. And certainly we do not content ourselves with partial success. The practice must be followed exactly, completely, and exclusively. The technique must be mastered, that is to say, done perfectly. And no other meditation exercise may be attempted until this exercise is done to absolute perfection.

All instructions in Buddhism are lessons in humility. It is the ego that gets us into trouble and it is the ego that keeps us there. We should not call ourselves disciples if we cannot demonstrate even the slightest degree of discipline.

Since this exercise involves breath control, a person must be careful about following the instructions. A physician should always be consulted prior to beginning any yoga or meditation practice. For people who tend to hyperventilate or who have respiratory problems, such exercises can be harmful. Even normal, healthy people occasionally experience fainting or dizziness. At the first sign of such distress, the exercise must be discontinued and resumed only slowly, conservatively, and with a physician's approval.

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