Dharana 33 of 112 · verse 59

The Space Inside a Bowl

Look at a vessel and see only the space it holds, not its sides.

00:00Ready

8 minutes. Seated, eyes open.

Beginner8 min

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The practice

Put an open bowl, cup or jar in front of you. Look at it, and then stop seeing its walls, its rim and its colour, and see only the volume of space inside it. Keep looking until the container has gone from your attention and only the space remains. Then let that space and the space around you be one thing.

What it works on

A wonderfully concrete practice: the object is real, ordinary and in front of you, and yet the instruction is to attend to the only part of it that is nothing. It is the easiest doorway into the emptiness family for people who find eyes-closed work difficult.

Notes

  • A plain undecorated vessel works far better than a patterned one.
  • Eyes stay soft and open. Blinking is fine.

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.