0 votes
by (130 points)
Hello, I don't know if some of what I'm doing in my practice is correct as I have run into an issue where I'm unsure what to do. When returning to the rising and falling from another object, I only return exactly at the start of the rising to catch it and see it as clearly as I can. If another object arises that is prominent I also immediately switch my awareness to it from the rising and falling, again trying to see it as clearly as I can.

The issue is that when an object is no longer prominent and I intend to return to the rising and falling, I find myself often having to wait to switch my awareness to align with exactly the start of the rising. This waiting can be quite long depending on how deep the breath is and at what point of the rising and falling I intend to return to it. Because of this wait, I find myself expecting or looking for objects to arise that normally wouldn't be prominent enough to warrant my awareness instead of the rising and falling. I believe this as a substitute to waiting is also incorrect, so I have no correct answer on what do if there's a significant gap between my intent to return to the rising and falling and the start of the rising.

I'd really appreciate any guidance on this issue, whether my problem stems from not knowing what to do with the gap between my intent to return to the rising and falling and the start of the rising, or correcting some kind of incorrect practice explained above. Thanks a lot for your help and time.

1 Answer

+1 vote
by (18.8k points)
If you are waiting for rising to happen, you already know there is falling happening unless you are holding your breath. So you should be able to note the falling. If there is a significant gap between rising and falling, you can note sitting and focus on where the body touches the mat.
by (130 points)
Thanks so much for your answer. So, if I understand correctly, when I stop noting an object and intend to return to the rising and falling, I should return immediately even if returning would occur during the falling, and even if it is not exactly at the start of the falling? Sorry if my question is not clear.
by (18.8k points)
That is correct.
by (130 points)
Thanks so much!
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