The Sutra
"Thinking no thing will limited-self unlimit. Enter space, supportless, eternal, still."
Paul Reps translation, Zen Flesh, Zen Bones (1957)
Understanding
The mind creates limitation through its objects. Every thought defines and confines you. When you think "I am this," you exclude everything else. This technique reverses the process: think no thing. Not "think about nothing" (which is still a thought about something), but genuinely cease all object-directed thinking. When thought stops grasping at things, the limited self that thought created naturally unlimits - expands into its boundless nature.
Original Sanskrit
ज्ञानप्रकाशमात्मानं ध्यायेदर्कप्रभं तथा ।
jnaanaprakaashamaatmaanam dhyaayedarkarprabham tathaa |
Vijnanabhairava Verse 116 (Technique 93 of 112)
How to Practice
Sit quietly and observe how every thought creates a boundary. Thinking "I am a man" excludes "woman." Thinking "I am here" excludes "there."
See that the self you know is made entirely of thoughts about things. Remove the things, and the limited self has nothing to stand on.
Now practice: think no thing. Do not direct thought toward any object, memory, plan, or concept.
This is not suppressing thought. It is simply not giving thought an object to grasp. Let the mind be without content.
As the mind becomes contentless, feel the limited self dissolving. Without its objects, it has no boundaries.
What remains is the unlimited self - awareness without edges, presence without definition. The unlimiting has happened.
Duration
25-40 minutes
Best Time
Deep meditation periods - early morning or late night
Related Techniques
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