The Buddha's Path of Peace - A Step-by-Step Guide - Geoffrey Hunt
5. Right Concentration: Breathing
The Buddha's Path of Peace - A Step-by-Step Guide - Geoffrey Hunt
Geoffrey Hunt [+]
University of Surrey
Geoffrey Hunt is Buddhist Chaplain at the University of Surrey, UK. He is now Visiting Professor in Buddhist Ethics at the same university where, before retirement, he was Full Professor in Philosophy of Care, and taught and researched mainly in the field of healthcare and bioethics. From 2008 to 2014 he worked on ethical aspects of nanotechnology for scientific projects of the European Commission. In 2002 he founded, and continues to lead, the lay movement New Buddha Way www.newbuddhaway.org in Surrey, UK.
He has taught meditation in schools, in a prison, a village for the elderly, and an alcohol rehabilitation centre. He has served the Dhamma in hospices, funerals and interfaith events. He has worked in Japan, Nigeria and Lesotho and is a writer and international speaker on ethical issues of health, science and advanced technology. He has published several books in the field of professional ethics. He is married to Rev. Beverley Hunt, an Anglican minister.
He has taught meditation in schools, in a prison, a village for the elderly, and an alcohol rehabilitation centre. He has served the Dhamma in hospices, funerals and interfaith events. He has worked in Japan, Nigeria and Lesotho and is a writer and international speaker on ethical issues of health, science and advanced technology. He has published several books in the field of professional ethics. He is married to Rev. Beverley Hunt, an Anglican minister.
Description
This chapter instructs on the focusing of attention on an object in a non-grasping manner, and the benefits this brings: quietening the mind, and centering the object of meditation, particularly the motion of the breath. This raises the mind to one-pointedness, eventually unifying other mental factors in pure awareness. This concentration of the mind is shown to be a factor in developing mindfulness and insight, which in turn lead to wisdom, compassion and peace. A sketch is used to explain the function of the diaphragm in the movement of lungs and belly.