The Sutra
"Feel: my thought, I-ness, internal organs - me."
Paul Reps translation, Zen Flesh, Zen Bones (1957)
Understanding
This technique directs awareness to the layers of what you call "me." Feel your thoughts - they arise and pass, yet you claim them as "my" thoughts. Feel the sense of I-ness, the fundamental feeling of existing as a separate self. Feel your internal organs - the heartbeat, the gut, the lungs working. All of this is what you call "me." But who is the one feeling all these layers? The feeler is deeper than any of them.
Original Sanskrit
मग्नः स्वचित्तेन निसंबन्धः प्रवेशयेत् ।
magnah svachittena nisambhandhah praveshayet |
Vijnanabhairava Verse 91 (Technique 68 of 112)
How to Practice
Sit quietly and turn attention inward. Begin with your thoughts - simply feel them arising and dissolving.
Notice how you claim ownership: "my thought." Feel the possessive quality of that claiming.
Now feel the I-ness itself - the raw sense of "I am." Not I am this or that, just the bare sense of existing.
Turn attention to your internal organs - the beating heart, the breathing lungs, the warmth of digestion.
Feel all of these together: thought, I-ness, internal organs. This composite is what you call "me."
Now ask: who is feeling all of this? The awareness that perceives thought, I-ness, and body is prior to all three.
Duration
20-30 minutes
Best Time
Early morning or before sleep
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