The Obstructive Nature of Material Form Arises from the Solid Delusion of the Manas.

All material form (rūpa) is composed of the four great elements' subtle particles. From the perspective of sentient beings' solidified deluded minds, all material form has physical obstruction, and things cannot merge into or pass through one another. In reality, this is not at all the case; it is an illusion—an illusion that has persisted from countless eons ago up to the present, and who knows how much longer it will continue. What, then, is the actual state of material form? It is like what would be revealed under a microscope magnifying hundreds of millions of times: everything consists of particles in a seemingly disorderly state of motion—arising, ceasing, and mutating—quantum states countless times smaller than an atomic nucleus, with not the slightest obstructive effect, not at all like a seamless wall or a slab of iron.

Since all matter is in a particle state, there is no obstruction between particles; they can penetrate and permeate one another, as if the other did not exist. Not only is the skin on the surface of the human body in a particle state, but the bones, muscles, internal organs, sinews, fingernails, hair, and blood within the skin—every single cell—is entirely in a particle state, completely invisible to the naked eye; only the divine eye can see it. The most minute particles cannot even be seen by the scientists' microscopes magnifying hundreds of millions of times; those are the smallest particles initially formed from the seeds of the four great elements.

In fact, the ultimate state of material form is precisely those particles invisible to the naked eye. The body manifests as particles, and mountains, rivers, the great earth, walls, the universe, and the inanimate world all manifest as particles; thus the body could pass through mountains, rivers, the great earth, walls, the universe, and the inanimate world without hindrance or obstruction. This is how it is when one possesses supernatural powers: since a person's physical body and a wall are both composed of particles, one can pass through the wall as if it did not exist, cross over the ocean as if there were no sea, and pass through mountains and Mount Sumeru as if there were no Mount Sumeru.

Therefore, when we truly cultivate practice and attain deep meditative concentration (dhyāna), if the manas no longer regards the body as something truly existing with material obstructive effects, or forgets the body altogether, then the supernatural power of unimpeded bodily action (ṛddhi-vidyā) appears. But as for us now, the manas has formed all these dharmas through solidified delusion; the manas, through its solidified delusion, believes all these dharmas truly exist, that they are extremely solid and airtight; consequently, this physical body has obstruction, walls have obstruction, and the universe and starry sky all have obstruction. Once cultivation opens up this way of thinking, all material form will have no obstructive effect.

Cultivation is precisely for the purpose of changing the manas's cognitive habits within meditative concentration, elevating the manas's wisdom, and opening up one's way of thinking; then sentient beings can attain liberation, and the physical body will also be liberated.