The Sutra
"Consider the plenum to be your own body of bliss."
Paul Reps translation, Zen Flesh, Zen Bones (1957)
Understanding
The plenum is the fullness of all existence - the totality of everything that is. This technique says: consider that fullness to be YOUR body. Not your physical body, but your body of bliss (anandamaya kosha). The entire universe, in all its vastness and multiplicity, is your bliss body. You are not a small being in a large universe. The universe itself is your body, and its nature is bliss.
Original Sanskrit
प्रतिबिम्बमिदं बुद्धेः क्षीरे क्षीरवदात्मनि ।
pratibimbamindam buddheh ksheere ksheeravadaatmani |
Vijnanabhairava Verse 120 (Technique 97 of 112)
How to Practice
Sit quietly and bring to mind the totality of existence - all space, all beings, all worlds, all time.
This totality is called the plenum - not emptiness, but absolute fullness. Everything that exists, taken together.
Now consider: this plenum is your body. Not metaphorically - literally. Your true body is the totality.
Feel the fullness. Your body of bliss extends through every star, every ocean, every living being.
Notice the bliss that arises when you stop shrinking yourself to the physical form and expand to the plenum.
Rest in this recognition: the fullness of existence is your bliss body. You have always been this vast.
Duration
15-25 minutes
Best Time
Near water at any time, or during contemplation
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