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'''Youthful vase body''' (Tib. གཞོན་ནུ་བུམ་པའི་སྐུ་, ''shönnu bum pai ku'', [[Wyl.]] ''gzhon nu bum pa'i sku'') — a common metaphor in the [[Dzogchen]] teachings is that of a youthful image or 'body' enclosed within a vase. This signifies the [[dharmakaya]] in which all qualities are present but not visible from the outside. The body is described as youthful to indicate that these qualities are pure and pristine, untainted by [[samsara]], and immune from birth and death.

[[Chökyi Drakpa]] says: "Since the essence of the [[dharmakaya]] is beyond birth and death, it is described as '''youthful''', and since there is a clarity that comes from its knowing aspect, it is called the '''vase body'''."<ref>''[[A Torch for the Path to Omniscience]]'', page 186.</ref>

==Alternative Translations==
*Youthful body in a vase (David Germano)

==References==
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==Further Reading==
*Dudjom Lingpa, ''Buddhahood Without Meditation'', translated by Richard Barron (Padma Publishing, 1994, revised edition 2002), page 149 (contains [[Ekajati]]'s explanation to [[Dudjom Lingpa]]).

[[Category:Dzogchen]]
[[Category:Symbols]]