Vijnana Bhairava · Day 20
Day 20 — Empty Space in All Directions
This dharana invites awareness to sense empty space within the body and in every direction at once, allowing contraction to soften into openness.
Original Verse
Verified from source textSource: Vijnana Bhairava Tantra — The Mystery Within, Verse 43
Sanskrit
निजदेहे सर्वदिक्कं युगपद्भावयेद्वियत् ।निर्विकल्पमनास्तस्य वियत्सर्वं प्रवर्तते ॥
Transliteration
nijadehe sarvadikkaṃ yugapad bhāvayed viyatnirvikalpamanās tasya viyat sarvaṃ pravartate
Literal Translation
One should, with a mind free from conceptual thought, meditate on empty space in one's own body in all directions simultaneously; for that one, everything becomes empty space.
Plain English Rendering
“Sense the body as open space in every direction at once. Let awareness become spacious and uncontracted, while thoughts and sensations arise within that openness.”
Literal translations remain close to the source text. Plain English renderings are interpretive contemplative renderings for accessibility and reflection.
Meaning
The verse places the meditation in one's own body, not in an abstract elsewhere. The body is contemplated as empty space in all directions simultaneously.
A mind free from conceptual thought means attention is not busy defining, measuring, or explaining the space. It rests in direct openness.
Everything becoming empty space points to a loosening of fixed boundaries. Experience continues, but awareness is no longer contracted around solid edges.
The Practice
- 1Sit quietly.
- 2Let the body settle and the breath remain natural.
- 3Sense the space within the body.
- 4Include the space in front, behind, above, below, and to both sides.
- 5Let all directions be held in awareness at once.
- 6Allow thoughts and sensations to arise within spacious awareness.
- 7Do not grasp at boundaries or try to erase experience.
- 8Rest in open, sky-like presence.
Practice for 10 minutes with relaxed, unforced attention.
What to Notice
- spaciousness without effort
- reduced psychological contraction
- openness around thoughts and emotions
- simple presence
Common Misunderstandings
- Spacious awareness is not emotional numbness.
- The practice is not about escaping the world.
- Thoughts do not need to disappear.
- Openness can coexist with ordinary activity.
Reflection Prompt
“What changes when the body is felt within space rather than as a hard boundary?”
Connection to Inner Freedom
Inner freedom deepens as awareness becomes less contracted around fixed boundaries. The body, thoughts, and emotions can appear within openness without enclosing it.