Dharana 89 of 112 · verse 86

The Three States as One

Waking, dreaming and deep sleep are different contents of one awareness.

00:00Ready

10 minutes. Seated, eyes closed.

Advanced10 min

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The practice

Consider waking, with its world of separate things; dreaming, with its impressions of a world; and deep sleep, with nothing in it at all. Now consider what was present in all three. Hold that — not the states, the constant — and take it to be what you are.

What it works on

A contemplation rather than a technique, and one of the most rigorous arguments in the text. The three states share no content whatsoever, so anything found in all of them cannot be content, and that is precisely the point being made.

Notes

  • Best done shortly after waking, when all three are recently available.

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.