imagination. Hopes and expectations on the part of the practitioner
inhibit the spontaneous working of the potential that makes realization
possible.
2. Oblivion and distraction are commonly treated in Buddhist meditation
manuals as the two main "sicknesses" to which meditators are prone.
Focusing the mind on the breathing is an ancient Buddhist practice that is
especially popular among modern-day Zennists. Spiritual Alchemy for
Women, a late-nineteenth-century Taoist work, says, "In general, what is
most essential at the beginning of this study is self-refinement. Self-
refinement is a matter of mind and breathing resting on each other. This
means that the mind rests on the breathing and the breathing rests on the
mind" (from Immortal Sisters).
3. Taoists and Buddhists both observe the intimate natural connection
between breathing and mental state. When the mind is excited, the
breathing accelerates; when the mind is calm, so is the breath. The practice
of resting mind and breath on each other makes deliberate use of this
relationship to calm the mind down and gradually bring it to a state of
stillness.
4. "Inward breathing" is the rhythm of consciousness, "outward breathing"
is the rhythm of respiration. Taoists and Buddhists both use the image of
"leaking" to represent the loss of energy through random mental activity
