by Donna Quesada: There is something my Zen teacher said to me once, that I’ll never forget.

It was during dokusan, which is the Japanese name for a private meeting between the Roshi (Zen Master) and the disciple.

I was talking with him about a problem I was dealing with, and the anxiety it was causing me. After talking for a few minutes, he then told me to imagine that there was a Buddha in my belly. He then showed me how to breathe into him, and bring him to life, through stages, until I ultimately became one with him.

I always remembered this technique as it truly brought solace to my soul every time I felt worried, fearful, or anxious about anything.

This visualization is a close approximation to the one my teacher showed me that day.

Sitting comfortably in meditative position…

Place your right hand on your belly. Let your left hand rest to your side or on your leg. 

Inhale deeply, while bringing your breath down to your diaphragm so that your belly expands against your hand. Practice doing this for a few moments until you can expand your belly with every in-breath, and compress it with every out-breath. 

(Note: We usually breathe too shallow, so this manner of deep breathing is often not our natural way, and takes deliberate effort, at first.)

Once you are comfortable with this style of deep breathing, begin to steady your concentration there, in your belly, until the area feels warm and alive.

Now, bring your focus up to your heart and maintain your concentration there as you breathe into this area. Feel your heart center become warmer and more alive as you focus your breathing there… 

After a few minutes, bring your focus still higher, up to the third eye, between your eyebrows. Again, feel the area become warmer and more alive, under your concentrated focus.

Next, direct your attention up to the crown of your head, and hold your focus there until it becomes warm. Maintain this focus for a few minutes. 

Now, bring your attention back down to your belly, but this time, imagine a small Buddha sitting in there. It doesn’t matter if it’s a laughing Buddha, a meditating Buddha, a Thai Buddha or an Indian Buddha! 

As you concentrate on your Buddha, imagine as many details about him, as you can… his posture, his robes, his ear hanging lobes, his closed eyes and expression, his mouth, his hands, and so forth. 

Next, focus on his more subtle attributes, such as his compassion, his peacefulness, his imperturbability, etc.

Continue to breathe into your belly as you deepen your concentration on these characteristics…

Now, imagine the love that radiates from his being… and every time you inhale, down to your belly, he expands. Like blowing into a balloon, your breath enlarges him until he fills your entire belly. Stay with this for a few minutes. 

Keep going until he eventually fills your entire body, and there is no longer any separation between you and Buddha. Visualize him expanding into every crevice of your being.

You are now one, and you have subsumed the very qualities you were imagining him to possess.

You are now over-flowing with love… so much so, that it is spilling out of your pores and radiating outward, like a radiant glow around you. 

Try to hold your focus on your own Buddha nature for as long as you can and wish to, and enjoy the feeling of being entirely without body awareness and without any feelings that are contrary to love.