The practice
Hold the three images together: waves rising from water and being nothing but water; flames rising from fire and being nothing but fire; light streaming from the sun and being nothing but the sun. Then let every form you can think of stand in the same relation to what it came from — including you.
What it works on
The images are chosen so that the thing produced is never separate from what produced it, and never a diminished version of it either. That is the whole content of the contemplation, and the reason it is one of the warmest verses in the text.
Notes
- A good one to hold at the sea, or in front of a fire, where the image is doing itself.
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.