VoidCenteringDissolutionVerse 45advanced
The Three Voids
Steadily contemplate emptiness at the back, the root, and the heart all at once; in that simultaneity, the thought-free dawns.
Source verse · Verse 45
पृष्ठशून्यं मूलशून्यं हृच्छून्यं भावयेत्स्थिरम्। युगपन्निर्विकल्पत्वान्निर्विकल्पोदयस्ततः॥
pṛṣṭhaśūnyaṃ mūlaśūnyaṃ hṛcchūnyaṃ bhāvayet sthiram | yugapan nirvikalpatvān nirvikalpodayas tataḥ
Steadily contemplate emptiness at the back, the root, and the heart all at once; in that simultaneity, the thought-free dawns.
▶ Practice this technique15 / 20 min · eyes closed
How to practice
- 1Sense emptiness at the back of the body — open space behind you.
- 2Sense emptiness at the root, the base of the trunk.
- 3Sense emptiness in the heart, the centre of the chest.
- 4Hold all three voids steadily and simultaneously; in that thought-free wholeness, rest as the awareness that opens.
Practice note. Establish each void singly first, then hold them together. The "all at once" is the key that triggers the thought-free state.
Terms in this technique
- śūnya
- Void, emptiness — not nothingness but open, contentless awareness.
- madhya
- The middle, the centre, the gap between two states — a key VBT doorway.
- hṛdaya
- The heart; the spiritual centre, the "space" within the chest.
- laya
- Dissolution, absorption; the merging of attention into its source.
Sources consulted
- Jaideva Singh, Vijñānabhairava: The Manual for Self-Realization (Motilal Banarsidass, 1979)
- Bettina Bäumer, Vijñâna Bhairava: The Practice of Centering Awareness (Indica Books, 2011)