If, even for a single moment, one contemplates some region of the body as nothing but void, free of thought-constructs, one becomes thought-free and takes on the nature of the thought-free.
School paraphrase drawing on Jaideva Singh (1979), Christopher Wallis and Bettina Bäumer (as printed in Wallis's concordance); not a quotation.
Commentary
Singh reads tanūdeśa as the body taken as the limited empirical self and describes three stages: contemplating it without thought-constructs, becoming habitually thought-free, and finally entering the state of Bhairava, whose nature is thought-free. Wallis and Bäumer read tanūdeśa as 'any part (or point) of the body'. This door follows the 'any part of the body' reading and notes Singh's.
How to sit with it
Choose one region of the body, such as a hand. For a moment, sense it as nothing but open space, without thinking about it. Let the moment end naturally; repeat a few times.
Where attention rests
One region of the body felt as void, just for a moment
The thought-free quality of that moment
Not a body shape. The map is one small region of the body felt, just for a moment, as empty space.
Breath
Natural breath. Count about four in and four out only if it helps you settle, then let the count go. No forced hold.
The counts are an optional school pacing aid, not part of the verse. Hold is always 0: this school never adds a deliberate breath-hold.
Any steady, comfortable position (school addition)
Any steady, comfortable position: sitting on a chair, sitting on the floor with support under the hips, or lying on the back. Standing or walking slowly is also acceptable when that is easier. Choose the position in which the body needs the least effort.
School addition. Verse 46 does not specify a body position. The seat is a convenience so the dharana can be practised; it is not part of the technique and makes no claim of tradition.
Safety
Pain is information. Pause, regress, or exit. Never push through sharp pain.
General practice caution only; not medical advice. Keep it brief and light; if numbness or unease appears, move the hand and feel it normally. If anything feels distressing (dizziness, agitation, strong emotion), stop, open the eyes and rest attention on the feet and the floor.
This door needs no particular posture: sit on a chair, sit on the floor with support, or lie down. Eyes may stay open.
Honesty
Door 023 follows Vijñāna Bhairava Tantra dharana 23 (verse 46) in Jaideva Singh's numbering. The door-to-dharana index is a School of 112 Doorways teaching device. Singh's sequence is one edition's count, not an ancient one-to-one canon. The seat, counts, reaction and beat scripts are school additions.
Door index = Jaideva Singh dharana number: Door 023 is dharana 23, verse 46. Other editions number differently (see dharana.numbering_variants).
The seat, breath counts, reaction metaphor, attention-map drawing and beat scripts are school devices, not part of the verse.
The English is a school paraphrase, not a quotation from any translator.
No medical claims. Reaction names are metaphors, not biochemistry.
New door researched on 2026-10-06 on branch research/vbt-houses-2-7; awaiting guardian review.
School of 112 Doorways: seat, breath counts, reaction metaphor, attention map drawing and beat scripts School devices, following the House 1 conventions (doors/HOUSE-1-REGISTRY.md, guardians/CHECKLIST.md). research/PROMPT_TEMPLATE.md is not present in the repository at 32e76c4.
Pain is information, never a badge. Never force the breath. Practice is not medical treatment. The door-to-dhāraṇā index is a School of 112 Doorways teaching device (school_device), not an ancient one-to-one canon.