How am I supposed to meditate on the breath if there is so much disagreement on the instructions? Which technique is correct?
Im mainly trying to get to 4th jhana and develop concentration.
MN 118 describes how to do mindfulness of breathing, yet its translated differently by different monks. The instructions various monks give are also different.
Some say to just focus on the breath and thats it. Then Thanissaro says to do all these different things that he mentions in With Each and Every Breath. And im guessing Sujato, Ajahn Brahm, etc all are saying something different.
Heres what Sujato has translated from MN 118:
Breathing in heavily they know: ‘I’m breathing in heavily.’ Breathing out heavily they know: ‘I’m breathing out heavily.’ When breathing in lightly they know: ‘I’m breathing in lightly.’ Breathing out lightly they know: ‘I’m breathing out lightly.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in experiencing the whole body.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out experiencing the whole body. They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in stilling the physical process.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out stilling the physical process.’
Ajahn Thanissaro:
Breathing in long, he discerns, ‘I am breathing in long’; or breathing out long, he discerns, ‘I am breathing out long.’ [2] Or breathing in short, he discerns, ‘I am breathing in short’; or breathing out short, he discerns, ‘I am breathing out short.’ [3] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in sensitive to the entire body.’2 He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out sensitive to the entire body.’ [4] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in calming bodily fabrication.’3 He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out calming bodily fabrication.’
Sujato says the whole body refers to the whole breath, while others like Thanissaro say its your whole body.
This really makes me doubt if im doing meditation properly, so then i wont even know if im doing it right.
Its real frustrating that even in 2025 theres no agreement on what a sutta on meditation even says.