Dharana 103 of 112 · verse 123

Neither Pure Nor Impure

What is called pure or impure is a judgement, not a property of the thing.

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The practice

Take something you were taught to regard as pure and something you were taught to regard as impure. Hold that neither quality is in the object — that both were placed there. Then rise above the sorting rather than inverting it, and stay in the view from above.

What it works on

One of the most radical verses in the text and among the most easily misread. It is not a licence and it is not a reversal. It says the category is imposed, and that freedom lies in seeing the imposition rather than in choosing the other side of it.

Notes

  • Rising above the pair is the instruction. Deliberately embracing the impure is simply the same sorting with the signs swapped.

Practise gently

Shoonyaka offers educational and contemplative material, not medical, psychological or religious authority. Nothing here diagnoses or treats any condition. Stop any practice that leaves you dizzy, frightened or unwell, and treat a strong reaction as a reason to rest rather than to push on.