See as if for the First Time
एवमेव जगत्सर्वं दग्धं ध्यात्वा विकल्पतः । अनन्यचेतसः पुंसः पुम्भावः परमो भवेत् ॥
evameva jagatsarvam dagdham dhyatva vikalpatah | ananyacetasah pumsah pumbhavah paramo bhavet ||
VBT Verse 55
The Sutra
"See as if for the first time a beauteous person or an ordinary object."
Paul Reps translation, Zen Flesh, Zen Bones (1957)
Understanding
See everything as if you are seeing it for the very first time. A face, a tree, a cup, the sky. When you drop all memory and recognition, every object becomes miraculous. This is the wonder of a child who has no names for things. In this fresh seeing, the familiar becomes extraordinary and the ordinary becomes sacred.
Original Sanskrit
एवमेव जगत्सर्वं दग्धं ध्यात्वा विकल्पतः । अनन्यचेतसः पुंसः पुम्भावः परमो भवेत् ॥
evameva jagatsarvam dagdham dhyatva vikalpatah | ananyacetasah pumsah pumbhavah paramo bhavet ||
Vijnanabhairava Verse 55 (Technique 32 of 112)
How to Practice
Choose any object or person in front of you.
Pretend you have never seen this before. You have no name for it, no memory of it.
Look with completely fresh eyes. See the colors, shapes, textures as if for the first time.
Notice how different the experience becomes when memory and labeling are dropped.
Everything becomes vivid, alive, mysterious. A face becomes a landscape of wonder.
Practice this throughout the day. Each moment seen fresh is a moment of meditation.
Duration
Spontaneous - practiced throughout the day
Best Time
Any moment
Related Techniques
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