麥成輝（1958年—），香港資深傳媒人、出版人、香港皇冠出版社董事總經理、青馬文化出版社出版人。畢業於國立臺灣大學文學院外文系，曾在美國愛荷華大學新聞傳播系研究所進修，後來在香港中文大學哲學系碩士畢業。曾主持香港電台清談節目「講東講西」，又曾擔任電視部「傳媒春秋」主持人。九十年代也曾任「號外」雜誌總經理及聯席出版人。2011年，創辦「香港流行圖書協會」，為創會會長。
When I first participated in Zen meditation activities, what bothered me most was how to breathe. Because I always believe that regulating breathing is the key between regulating the body and the mind, but I always fail to do it.
I have suffered a lot because of this: I once practiced counting my breaths until my whole body was tense; I practiced diaphragmatic breathing until I almost fainted; after sitting in meditation at night, I couldn’t sleep all night with bulging eyes…
Later, I felt a little depressed and tended to breathe freely. I found an excuse and thought that this was "following the breath". Later, I asked a monk and found out that this was far from being the case, which shattered my self-comfort. To put it simply, this process took me ten years, and I have received guidance from several famous teachers and temples.
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What helped me regain confidence in regulating my breathing was revisiting Thich Nhat Hanh’s “Breathing Zen”.
In fact, the first time I participated in a Zen meditation activity was in 2002, when Thich Nhat Hanh hosted a Zen camp at Bamboo Grove Garden on Lantau Island in Hong Kong. At that time, I just felt that Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings were fresh and interesting, but I never explored or practiced them in depth. I think it might be because I was not blessed enough that day.
"When you breathe in, just be aware of the breath in, don't think about anything else. Can you do this? Embrace your in-breath 100%, body and mind as one. When you breathe out, embrace your out-breath, just be aware of your breath. When we hold our child, we know we are holding our child. Practice like this: 'Breathing in, I know it is the in-breath. Breathing out, I know it is the out-breath.' It's simple and beautiful. I'm sure if you try breathing like this two or three times, you will already feel much better. I can guarantee it because I have experienced it myself."
The characteristic of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's (一行禪師) breathing method is that it attaches great importance to the feeling of the present moment, which means that "the present moment is the whole process." And the sequence is very clear. Start by carefully feeling each breath in and out, gradually practice breathing slowly and deeply, thereby achieving inner peace and ease. After that, practice letting go with a smile. In this way, you slowly and subtly enter into the essence of breathing. It is as beautiful as a poem. There was very little discussion in the middle about whether something was right or wrong, and there was almost no psychological pressure.
In, Out
Deep, Slow
Peaceful and comfortable
Smile and let go
The moment, the wonderful moment
I have actually participated in many meditation activities at temples. In terms of breathing control, they basically all teach "counting breaths", which simply means: "Between inhalation and exhalation, put numbers from 1 to 10 on the breaths as you exhale, and repeat this cycle over and over again. When you lose track of the order or have any distracting thoughts, start over again." If you cannot count your breaths, just breathe naturally and experience the feeling of breathing.
I am a bit rude and always fail to learn, probably because I am always focused on completing the whole process, which makes me feel pressured. During the meditation activities, whether it is a short meditation in the middle or a sharing session in the hall after the end, other practitioners tend to discuss more about how to adjust the body, such as leg pain, back pain, distraction and drowsiness.
How to regulate breathing seems to be a question that requires individuals to explore on their own.
When I had almost given up on meditation, I happened to read Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings on breathing meditation in a bookstore. Then I gradually recalled my experience of practicing breathing with Thich Nhat Hanh. It was like a bolt from the blue, and I suddenly realized why I had walked such a long and difficult path in the past.
My past confusion was that during meditation, I kept trying to complete the process of counting breaths, while ignoring the detailed feelings of each moment. Little did I know that the procedure was just a reminder of a method, and that focusing on slow and deep exhalation over and over again is the essence of awareness and the real beginning of the skill of "breathing control."
I often think that the temple should actually hold special workshops for "breathing control", which requires repeated hands-on practice and improvement. Otherwise, it is not easy to "control the body", let alone "control the mind". If you are not careful, you will end up being as foolish as I was, and I am still exploring after decades. Without the practice of Zen meditation, it is difficult to understand the core ideas of Buddhism, namely "suffering, emptiness, impermanence and non-self", and thus one is stuck in a learning bottleneck for a long time.
We all know the importance of meditation habits, but it is easy to become lazy in practice. Perhaps learning the skill of “breathing control” first is a very appropriate entry point.
