when you're not thinking about it.
 In that way it's involuntary.
 You must breathe.
 And so it is the faculty
 attending to which we can realize the unity of the voluntary and involuntary systems.
 So therefore
 what is called anapanasati in Buddhism means
 mindfulness of the breath, watching breath.
 And watching breath is fundamental in meditation
 because it's like sound.
 It's so easy to see the happenings in it.
 As distinct from what we thought of as the doing.
 Breath happens.
 But the curious thing is about breath
 is that you can
 get with the happening of breath.
 And in getting with it
 you can do extraordinary things with it.
 Anyone who swims knows this.
 Anyone who sings.
 Anyone who does, as a matter of fact, any athletic thing
 knows that the breathing is important.
 The alignment, the
 synchronization of what you're doing with your breathing
 is the whole art.
 As it is in the artery also.
 But powerful breath
 is not worked by muscle power.
 It is worked by gravity.
 By weight.
 And what I would like you to do
 is if you will sit upright
 and the reason for this is very simple.
 That your, the part of your body in which the breathing is occurring
 is unencumbered.
 And also sitting upright on the floor
 you are slightly uncomfortable
 so that you won't go to sleep.
 And in any peaceful and quiet state of mind
 it's very easy to go to sleep.
 And now in this way, in this position
 you simply become aware of your breathing
 without trying to do anything about it at all.
 You let it happen.
 And watch.
 You are also at the same time
 letting your ears
 hear
 whatever they want to hear.
 In other words, you let them hear just as you are letting your lungs breathe.
 Now, beyond this, can you get the idea
 of breathing out heavily?
 Letting the breath fall outwards
 without pushing it.
 And as you get to the end of the out-breath
 do it with the same sort of feeling that you have
 when you let your body drop into a very comfortable bed.
 You drop out. Let go.
 It falls.
 Let weight do it.
 And then after a while the breath will return.
 Don't pull.
 Let it fall back in.
 And drop in until you've had enough.
 And then let it drop out again.
 It's a good idea just to breathe in through the nostrils and out through the lips
 allowing there to be a slight sensation of moving air on your lips
 so that you know you are breathing and that you are not just straining your muscles.
 But never force anything.
 Just have the feeling of it going that way by virtue of weight.
 And then
 as you let the breath fall outwards
 you simply float a sound on it.
 Think of a sound that pleases you. A note.
 That seems agreeable to your voice.
 And as you breathe out heavily
 imagine that sound to yourself.
 Whatever you feel like.
 Hum it out loud.
 Hum it out loud.
 And keep it down.
 Hum it out loud.
 Hum it out loud.
 Hum it out loud.
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 - Now, you know,
 you're still a little short-winded
 and uneasy about a thing like this.
 You can as well as allowing the sound to hum
 and happen with breath that is falling out,
 you could, as it were, simply request it
 to increase the volume without forcing it.
 And you can keep the sound humming
 as a whole group of people together
 by when your sound ends,
 bring it in again quite softly
 and then allow the volume to rise.
 And you will get a more or less continuous
 production of sound by group.
 But it's important to have the sound running continuously.
 Try it again, picking your own notes again, once more.
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