Lesson 3: Na Mo Ta Mo Ta Mo Da Ra Houng – No-Self: Swapping Places with the Other

I. Introduction

Last week we talked about The Mind as a Mirror, using the Rorschach ink blot we explored how we all project our thoughts onto the world around us, and mix up the story from the reality. This week we are going to talk No Self –

To see no-self is not to erase our individuality, but to loosen our grip on the idea that we exist apart from others.

The mantra Na Mo Ta Mo Ta Mo Da Ra Houng purifies the self-centered mind — the one that says "I am right", "you are wrong", "this is mine", "that is yours".
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This week we practice swapping selves: entering the world of another person to see not only their suffering, but also how they might see us. Through this, the rigid shell of “I” softens into the fluid truth of inter-being.

II. Object Exercise – The Mirror and the Stone

You will need:

• A small mirror (hand-sized)
• A smooth stone or pebble

Step One – The Self (the Stone)

• Hold the stone in your hand. Feel its weight, its boundary, its firmness.
• Say quietly: “This is me — solid, separate, contained.”
• Reflect on how we move through life like this stone — defining our edges, defending our shape.

Step Two – The Other (the Mirror)

• Now hold the mirror before you. Gaze into it. Say: “This is the other — reflecting me, yet not me.”
• Notice: when you move, the reflection moves; when you frown, it frowns.
• The mirror shows that what we project onto others — anger, joy, fear — comes back to us.

Step Three – The Swap

• Place the stone on the mirror and look at the reflection of both together. Imagine becoming the reflection instead of the holder — step into the other’s place. Say silently: “Now I am you. From where you stand, how do I appear?”
• See yourself as they might see you — your tone, your posture, your words. Feel their emotions toward you: confusion, care, fear, love. Then gently switch again — back to yourself.
• Repeat this a few times, noticing how perception changes with each exchange.
• You may realize there is no fixed boundary between the two — only movement and reflection.

III. Seeing Ourselves Through the Eyes of the Other

When we truly swap places, we discover that the other also carries a story about us.
Perhaps they see us as impatient, distant, or kind. Can we accept being seen — even misunderstood — without closing our heart?
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To see through their eyes is to glimpse the karmic web connecting both beings.
Just as we suffer when unseen, others suffer when we refuse to see them.
The mantra becomes a bridge of empathy:

“Na Mo Ta Mo Ta Mo Da Ra Houng — may the veils of misunderstanding fall away.”

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IV. Guided Meditation – The Mirror of the Other

1. Begin with the mantra, feeling each syllable clearing the mind.
2. Visualize a person in your life.
3. Imagine swapping places. You now inhabit their body, their thoughts, their history.
   How do they see the world? How do they see you?
4. Rest in this shared awareness. The boundary fades. Two lives breathe as one.
5. Return to yourself, bringing compassion for both.

V. Reflection Questions

1. What did you feel when you imagined the other seeing you?
2. Was there resistance or tenderness in that seeing?
3. How might this practice change how you listen or speak to others?

VI. Daily Practice

• Keep the mirror and stone somewhere visible. Each time you notice them, silently repeat:

“There is no me without you, and no you without me.”

• When in conflict, pause and imagine how your actions look through the other’s eyes.
• At night, ask:

“Whose reflection did I see clearly today? Whose did I cloud with judgment?”
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VII. Closing Affirmation

As I see through your eyes, I understand my own heart.
As I release the idea of me and you, compassion flows freely.
Na Mo Ta Mo Ta Mo Da Ra Houng.