Roshi what does breathing up and down through an empty pipe have to do with me and the life I lead?

March 3, 2021, 1:44 am

In Zazen we align our body, we align our breathing, we align our mind. This is important. This mind of no form influences our body and has great impact on our life. But how to align this mind which is of no form? If we can breathe in a deep way, then this mind of no form also becomes settled. Most people because of the life´s habits, cannot reach this deep mind easily. Because people are tense especially in the area of the diaphragm, and cannot exhale into the lower abdomen until it gets flat, that is why we use the image of an empty pipe. Opening your throat and letting the breath come forth from the lower abdomen, the tanden. If you can exhale for 10 seconds, then you do not need the practice of the empty pipe.