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What does the following mean?

You should not try to find the point where the moving air strokes the nostrils, but keep your focus at the nose breath.

This comes from the followingpage that was linked to from another person:
http://mahamevnawa.lk/ananda-sutta-leading-to-awakening/

I'm really not sure what they mean by "the nose breath". I generally have trouble with focusing anywhere near the nose. I can feel some coolness when breathing in, but I can feel nothing on the way out. I have tried for years and it has never become easier. That is why I focus on the abdomen as in the Mahasi style, but I still would like to know what this article means. Can you please explain to me what "nose breath" means?

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"You should not try to find the point where the moving air strokes the nostrils, but keep your focus at the nose breath".

This means to not try to feel, track or be aware of the breath sensations. Instead, it means to only keep the mind exclusively focused towards the nose. It means to never concern yourself with watching the breath, even if the breath comes into the mind as an object of awareness. Just keep the mind still & anchored in one place.

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  • But surely being aware of breath sensations is the same as - "Breathing in long, he knows that he is breathing in long. Breathing out long, he knows that he is breathing out long. Breathing in short, he knows that he is breathing in short. Breathing out short, he knows that he is breathing out short" If its not then i really dont understand the difference.
    – Saddhā
    Commented Feb 12, 2017 at 22:04
  • Suminda Sirinath made comment in my other post which is contradicting what you say - "try to be in touch with sensations in the triangular area above the upper lip and top of the nose" So one of you is wrong.
    – Saddhā
    Commented Feb 12, 2017 at 22:12
  • I am not wrong. When you are running or walking up a very steep hill, you are not required to make any intentional effort to know the breathing. Similarly when the mind is still & quiet it does not have to make any intentional effort to know the breathing. Alternately, when the mind attempts to make an intentional effort to know the breathing, that very intentional effort is a hindrance to knowing the breathing because it makes the mind busy. As I said in my post: "It means to never concern yourself with watching the breath, even if the breath comes into the mind as an object of awareness."
    – Dhamma Dhatu
    Commented Feb 12, 2017 at 23:33
  • Suminda Sirinath is instructing to "try". There is no need to "try". The Buddha did not teach to "try". The Buddha taught: "There is the case where a monk, having gone to the wilderness, to the shade of a tree or to an empty building, sits down...holding his body erect and setting mindfulness to the fore. Always mindful, he breathes in; mindful he breathes out.". The practise is "setting mindfulness to the fore" & being "always mindful". As for the breathing, the body breathes by itself. As for knowing the breathing, the mind knows the breathing by itself. Please do not "try". This is craving.
    – Dhamma Dhatu
    Commented Feb 12, 2017 at 23:37
  • The instruction I got was to allow the attention to fall on a single point like a leaf falling upon a still pool of water. The contact is light, consistent, and sustained. Following the breath is a useful way of establishing that point - and that may even be your practice for a very long time. Ultimately, however, it should be left behind.
    – user698
    Commented Feb 13, 2017 at 13:31
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It looks like you have found the right article on how to practice the Breathing Meditation. Than rejecting this, instead try to concentrate on training the mind. All the Buddha’s teachings— on generosity, virtue, and meditation, or on virtue, concentration, and discernment—are aimed at training the mind because the mind is what shapes our experience of pleasure and pain, happiness and suffering. A well‐trained mind can deal with issues that you come across in meditation. This require effort. They go against the grain. You have to learn not to let your resistance to the effort get in the way. You need a clear sense of cause and effect. That’s what discernment is all about: seeing what really works in terms of cause and effect, what doesn’t really work, and then adjusting your actions accordingly. We’re here to train the mind to be its own best friend.

One way of doing this is to focus on your breath. It is best if you’ll sense the breath as the feeling of the air moving in and out of the nose, but if it is difficult, then be aware (but not solely focus on) the rise and fall of the abdomen, the rise and fall of the chest. Sometimes can sense even in your arms or your legs whether you’re breathing in or breathing out. Allow breath to come in as long as is comfortable, and then allow yourself to breathe out as long as is comfortable. Try to sensitize yourself to what feels good right now in terms of the breathing. Think of yourself as hovering around the breath. You’re not squeezing it out; you’re not forcing it in; you’re just staying very close to it, watching it, letting it adjust in whatever way feels good, giving it space to adjust. The more satisfying the breath is, the easier you will find it to stay with the breathing. If the mind wanders off, just bring it right back to the breath. If it wanders off again, bring it back again.

Mind will want to wander around. That’s what the mind is used to doing. But if you’re firm with it, and if you can master just this one skill, you change the way you relate to your body, you change the way you relate to the present moment, you have a greater reserve of wellbeing to draw on in any situation. Do not be too grim about the meditation. Find pleasure in, and be happy even if it a short while that you were with the breath. It takes time, it takes training, it takes discipline. But you must remain happy to do it well.

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  • You haven't really answered my question about what nose breath is? If people are to meditated correctly according to Buddhas instructions then it needs to be less vague.
    – Saddhā
    Commented Feb 12, 2017 at 22:03
  • @Titsiana, meditation comes later after you acquired a good knowledge of the true dhamma. So sorry to say this, but the problem lies with you. There are at least 20 other meditation types that you can practice to get you into the right frame of mind before doing the breathing meditation. To your question proper, if you focus too much at your nose, you will end up getting a headache. While your eye muscles are relaxed, closed & looking straight ahead, it is ONLY with your MIND that you keep tab of breath @ nosetril. BTW Gnanananda Thero of Mahamevnawa is THE BEST Teacher. Read his Essay again.
    – Saptha Visuddhi
    Commented Feb 12, 2017 at 22:25
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As already mentioned in this answer, you can start by looking if:

Breathing in long, he knows that he is breathing in long.

Breathing out long, he knows that he is breathing out long.

Breathing in short, he knows that he is breathing in short.

Breathing out short, he knows that he is breathing out short.

Always mindful, he breathes in; mindful, he breathes out.

If you already have not taken a retreat perhaps you can try one.

Also following book might be a additional references:

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In this guide, Thanissaro Bhikkhu wrote:

Only when you have cleared the mind in this way, and set outside matters aside, are you ready to focus on the breath. Bring your attention to the sensation of breathing. Breathe in long and out long for a couple of times, focusing on any spot in the body where the breathing is easy to notice, and your mind feels comfortable focusing. This could be at the nose, at the chest, at the abdomen, or any spot at all. Stay with that spot, noticing how it feels as you breathe in and out. Don't force the breath, or bear down too heavily with your focus. Let the breath flow naturally, and simply keep track of how it feels. Savor it, as if it were an exquisite sensation you wanted to prolong. If your mind wanders off, simply bring it back. Don't get discouraged. If it wanders 100 times, bring it back 100 times. Show it that you mean business, and eventually it will listen to you.

Here, he says "don't bear down too heavily with your focus". That means, that goal of this exercise is not to investigate how the movement of air is working on the nostril. Rather, the goal of the exercise is to focus or latch the mind onto something it can concentrate on, and keep it from wandering.

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