Watching the fire

I noticed that it's quite soothing to put the mind at the navel's fire and watch it while at the same time not forgetting about the three channels. A mental peace and mindfulness would begin to develop when I simply place my attention at the navel's fire and also the three channels (with more emphasis on the central channel). For simplicity's sake and easy of executing, I don't usually think of the three channels when putting my attention at the navel's fire. I would simply think of the central channel and the fire to keep everything simple because I am still a beginner.

Whenever I think of the central channel and the fire, my tensions and discursive thoughts in my mind would fade away and become very quiet and blissful.

It's not easy to go around daily life trying to do Vajra Recitation at every waking moment so I decided to simply habituate my thoughts on the central channel and the navel's fire to make myself familiarize with them which would actually make the Vajra Recitation practice easier due to your mind becoming more familiar with the channels and flame.

Properties of the Fire at the Navel

Here is what the Fire at the Navel meant in regards to the Om Ah Hung Vajra Recitation practice:

The above image is taken from H.E. Garchen Rinpoche's Facebook page. Do note that Rinpoche doesn't personally manage the page. His staff manages the page for him. The above image is taken from this page:

• https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=398579093598897&set=a.130378693752273.21343.100003404294928&type=1&theater

Reciting Om and Ah with irregular variations

Recently, when I am reciting the Om while taking in a breath, I noticed that the Om recitation that I do mentally would be of irregular length and duration. I may be reciting the Om when I just breathed in, when I am breathing in half way or when the wind have already reached the navel just about to enter the central channel. The Om recitation can be long or short in length.

The Ah recitation can be a long Ahhhhhh or a short Ah.

I personally feel that the Ah should be a short Ah but my mind keeps following the breath instead of focusing on the flame at the navel therefore causing the Ah to be long. If the mind is transfixed onto the flame, one will have more awareness and mindfulness and the Ah will be short.

The vajra recitation practice is slowly being integrated into my life and I am getting better at it.

I just need to remind myself to constantly habituate my thoughts on the flame and recite the syllables at the right time. I have been experiencing heat (not the blissful heat of tummo) arising more frequently. I maybe able to summon this non-blissful heat sometimes to warm myself up temporarily.

The Vajra Recitation (Om Ah Hung Breathing)

I have recently been introduced into the Vajra Recitation method by H.E. Garchen Rinpoche during a short personal consultation session where he gave me a quick teaching on the Vajra Recitation and suggested I should practice it frequently together with other practices he prescribed.

Essentially, the Vajra Recitation is a method that brings the winds (energy) into the central channel which will result in a blissful sensation when successfully executed after a while of practice.

I will attempt to summarize the practice of the Vajra Recitation into a single format while referring to three sources I have found online for Vajra Recitations method description which are all given by H.E. Garchen Rinpoche himself during various seminars and short teachings. There are other sources regarding Vajra Recitation and a lot of these sources originates from H.E. Garchen Rincpoche's teachings. The attempt to unify all the sources is to allow beginners to have a consistent and uniform piece of practice that the practitioner can utilize.

Sources:

1. https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=404959232886854&p=0
   
2. https://www.facebook.com/garcheninstitute/posts/468999119816198
   
3. http://www.scribd.com/doc/97588236/Garchen-Rinpoche-Vajra-Recitation

Executing the Vajra Recitation:

1. Get into a comfortable position with a straight spine while binding the lower wind upwards and pressing the upper wind downwards (Union of the Winds) called the Vase Breathing by gently squeezing the anus.
   
2. Settling the mind at the navel and visualizing a flame the size of a lentil seed and also think of the three channels. (The mind should be pinned onto the flame all the time with 70% of the focus on the fire and 30% of the focus on the wind.)
   
3. Breath in while reciting OM mentally. The wind you breathed in flows into the left and right channel, descending to the junction point where the three channels meet just below the navel and enters the middle channel while slightly fanning the flame (the flame becomes brighter and hotter).
   
4. Once the wind has entered the middle channel (do not need to direct the wind consciously into the channels) hold the breath while mentally reciting AH and observing the nature of the mind while keeping your mind on the flame. Hold the breath within a comfortable time frame.
   
5. Breath out while mentally reciting HUNG. The wind reverses by traversing the left and right channel to both nostrils to be breathed out.

Notes:

1. As H.E. Garchen Rinpoche described in the above sources, one can visualize or do not visualize the channels and that is up to one's choice. The exact locations of the channels are immaterial and cannot be found in the physical body thus one does not need to be totally exact of their locations. One just needs a rough idea to be able to execute this practice.
   
2. Heat arising from the above practice should be blissful. Heat that arises immediately is usually unstable and unreliable.

That's all for the practice on the Vajra Recitation (Om Ah Hung Breathing) as summarized from the three sources above.

If there are any mistakes in the above practice I have consolidated from multiple sources, do email me (usnisasitatara@gmail.com).