Answers to Questions on the Contemplative Practice (Vipaśyanā-Caryā) of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness 7

Question: When sitting in meditation, I merely observe the breath, trying not to participate in it or guide the breathing. Suddenly I had a slight realization that this respiratory system is like automated machinery, and I somewhat felt it to be like a piece of dead flesh. What phenomenon is this? 

Answer: This is progress in cultivating the Path, the initial effect of practicing the Way. This is precisely the effect sought in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) within meditation. There will be more new discoveries in the future. When this kind of quantitative change accumulates to a certain degree, it will reach a qualitative change. The qualitative change is that you will gradually discover that the five aggregates (pañcaskandha) are all as false and illusory as automated machinery, operating involuntarily, all impermanent and without self. In the end, you will be able to eliminate self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi). Therefore, contemplative practice is simply pure observation, observation by direct perception/valid direct cognition, without adding the mind consciousness's assertions and ideas. Gradually, you will discover facts and truths that have never been discovered throughout beginningless kalpas. To discover the truth, you need only observe attentively, need only focus on the dharma being observed. With time and deepening effort, success will come naturally, and the facts contained within the dharma will reveal themselves.