Seated properly on a seat, with the arms half-bent, let one place the mind in the space of the armpits; absorbed in that, one comes to peace.
School paraphrase drawing on Jaideva Singh (1979), Christopher Wallis and Bettina Bäumer (as printed in Wallis's concordance); not a quotation.
Commentary
Singh translates the arms as 'in the form of an arch overhead' and the gaze as fixed in the armpits, and says the arrangement is meant to put the mind at ease. Wallis and Bäumer read only 'half-bending the arms' and 'the space (void) of the armpits'. This door follows the verse's own wording (arms half-bent) and records Singh's reading.
How to sit with it
Sit comfortably. Let the arms rest half-bent, for example with the hands resting on the thighs, so there is a little space under each arm. Place the mind in that space and let it settle there. Lower or rest the arms whenever they tire.
Where attention rests
The space under each arm
The peace that comes as the mind settles there
Not a body shape. The map is two small hollows of space, one under each arm, where the mind rests. The half-bent arms only make room for them.
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, with one exception that belongs to the verse: verse 79 itself says to sit properly with the arms half-bent; that arm position belongs to the verse, not to the school. That position is recorded in the method as part of the classical description, without any posture name. Everything else about the seat is a convenience, not part of the technique.
Safety
Pain is information. Pause, regress, or exit. Never push through sharp pain.
General practice caution only; not medical advice. If the arms or shoulders tire, rest the hands on the thighs or lower the arms completely; there is no position to hold. 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 056 follows Vijñāna Bhairava Tantra dharana 56 (verse 79) 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 056 is dharana 56, verse 79. 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.