Breath

Why follow our breath?

If we can follow our breath and not become involved with an arising and passing thought or emotion or sound, perhaps we can also cope with the happiness and pain that comes and goes in our daily life.

Meditation is our place of safety. It is, to quote Shen Su, our "controlled space." Through practice on the cushion we learn to live mindfully off the cushion.

Equanimity means to not be guided by the highs and lows, the ups and downs of life.

We learn to live a balanced life, a life of equanimity, on the cushion. We take that learning off the cushion into the marketplace, into our homes, into our every-moment of life.

This is perhaps why we follow our breath.