A Self Well-directed

Aim your attention at the breath. Keep it here all the way in, all the way out. And think of the breath being comfortable. Think of the breath bathing the whole body, so that the body feels good as you breathe in, feels good as you breathe out. Try to look for the signs of when the out-breath is too long or too short. Or the in-breath is too long or too short. Adjust it so it feels just right, maintaining a sense of ease all the way through the in-breath, through the space between the in-breath and the out-breath, and the space between that and the next in-breath.

It’s like being a surfer riding a series of waves. If you ride them just right, you can go for the long distances. You want to make sure you’re headed in the right direction.

As the Buddha said, a sign of a blessing for yourself is when you aim yourself in the right direction. *Atta sammā-panidhi ca *we chant. You think about: Where is your mind headed? What direction is it going? It’s not just sitting here on the receiving end of things. It’s going someplace.

The Buddha says there are lots of different paths we can follow. There’s the path that goes to hell. There’s the path that goes to the animal realm. The realm of the hungry ghosts. The human realm. The devas. The path that goes to nibbana. Of those, of course, the path that goes to nibbana is the best because it’s one where, once you get there, you can stay. With the other paths—even the best paths for the devas—you go there and after a while you fall. If you’ve been using up all your good karma, you fall hard.

So ask yourself which direction do you want to go in. Which direction are you going in right now? Fortunately, the mind, if it’s going in a bad direction, can change direction quickly. So you can turn yourself around. The problem is, when you’re going in a good direction, sometimes you can turn yourself around again, and go back in a bad direction. So you have to be careful to make sure your mind is always pointed in the right direction.

This is a good place to start, right here with the breath, because it’s right nearby; it’s easy and it feels good. You can work with it, and then as you work with it, you can direct the mind in even more refined ways. Make sure you’ve got a good foundation like this. Keep yourself aimed in the right direction. Aim toward peace. Aim toward a happiness that’s not going to disappoint you. In that way you bless yourself.