The Yoga of the Illusory Body is an advanced tantric practice we will demonstrate on our youtube. t is essental to become a good yoga teacher to know this but it is a forgotten chapter in all teachings in the West! therefore we focus on it here. If we keep forgetting these instructions or are not aware of this, the Yoga path and Mindfulness path will only result in mild effects. Tantric Meditation can transform your understanding! Join us on the yoga path of the light and the illusory body!
The yoga is found in Vajrayāna Buddhism, particularly within the Six Yogas of Naropa. It is designed to cultivate the realization that all phenomena, including the self and the body, are illusory and lack inherent existence. This practice is rooted in the Madhyamaka philosophy of emptiness (śūnyatā) and is closely linked to the realization of the clear light, another key practice in the Six Yogas. I will explain that in detail. And as said, on our Youtube channel you find more, especially in the playlist of the Yoga of Light
What is Core Concept?
The term illusory body (gyulu in Tibetan) refers to a subtle meditative experience where the practitioner recognizes that their ordinary physical body and the appearances of the world are like projectons, akin to dreams or mirages and all are NOW and Here rising in your consciousness and disappearing. This recognition helps dissolve attachment to dualistic perceptions, preparing the mind for the direct realization of ultimate reality.
The practice involves cultivating two key insights:
- Phenomena are illusory and rising n your consciousness: The practitioner learns to perceive all external appearances as transient and devoid of inherent existence.
- Self is illusory: The perception of a fixed, independent self is deconstructed, revealing the fluid and interconnected nature of being.
Stages of Practice
The Yoga of the Illusory Body classically typically knows various stages:
- Daytime Practice:
- Practitioners meditate on the nature of appearances during waking life, cultivating the understanding that everything they perceive is akin to a dream.
- This involves applying the wisdom of emptiness to daily experiences, recognizing their impermanent and interdependent nature.
- Dream Yoga:
- Dream Yoga is a complementary practice that works with the illusory nature of appearances during sleep.
- Practitioners train to maintain awareness during dreams, realizing that dream phenomena are no more substantial than waking life phenomena.
- Meditation on Emptiness:
- Deep meditation is used to dissolve dualistic perceptions and access the subtle levels of mind.
- The illusory body is often visualized as a radiant, light-like form, representing the purified and luminous nature of existence.
- Union with Clear Light:
- The practitioner merges the realization of the illusory body with the experience of clear light, symbolizing the union of appearance and emptiness.
- This state is said to replicate the experience of enlightenment, where all distinctions between subject and object dissolve.
Symbolism and Visualization
In tantric practices, the illusory body is as a helping instruction often suggested to be visualized in the form of a deity, such as Vajrayoginī or Avalokiteśvara. You sit and the deity is rising in your consciousness in your bodily field.This visualization serves as a tool to:
- Dissolve attachment to the ordinary body and ego.
- Align the practitioner’s mind with the qualities of the deity, such as compassion and wisdom.
- Prepare the subtle body (energetic channels and winds) for advanced completion stage practices.
The Ultimate Goal
The Yoga of the Illusory Body aims to help practitioners realize the union of śūnyatā (emptiness) and rupa (form). This realization is not merely intellectual but experiential, achieved through sustained meditative effort and ethical discipline. By understanding the illusory nature of reality, practitioners can:
- Overcome fear of death by recognizing the continuity of the mind beyond physical dissolution.
- Cultivate profound compassion, as they see others’ struggles as rooted in misunderstanding reality.
- Attain the ultimate state of Buddhahood, embodying both the relative and ultimate truths.
Significance for Yoga: a forgotten key!
The Illusory Body Yoga is considered one of the most profound practices of Yoga in Vajrayāna because it directly addresses the practitioner’s perception of reality. It offers a method to transcend ordinary limitations and align the mind with the ultimate truth. Combined with other practices like the Clear Light Yoga and Dream Yoga, it forms a complete path to enlightenment within the tantric tradition. It is totally forgotten in Yoga teachings in the West.
This Yoga complements Mindfulness and is of a much higher degree!
In the same way you can now understand the rising of the ego in the field of your consciousness. This video helps you to understand and see that the EGO is nothing…just a cluster rising, please check this video and share your thoughts:
JMKH/12-24
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