Contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) can give rise to the power of awareness and illumination and the power of introspection.

Rutao's contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) diary: When I was in elementary school, every time after running, I would get a stitch in my left waist, which the doctor diagnosed as intestinal spasm. Later, after sitting in meditation for a long time, I discovered that it was a qi channel at the tailbone pulling on the intestines, causing discomfort throughout the entire lower body. At the beginning of this year, I participated in the bigu fasting organized by my master, abstaining from food for ten days, and this ailment improved considerably. During this period, through meditation, the qi channels in my body have been continuously circulating, impacting, and adjusting; the locations of soreness, swelling, and pain have also repeatedly shifted. Now the channels in my left waist and hip have finally become unobstructed—no matter how I sway or bend and hunch my back, there is no more pulling pain.

Regular meditation can make the body's energy abundant and cultivate the power of awareness and observation, so after sitting down I quickly enter the state: coarse wandering thoughts grow faint, the mind becomes soft and pliant, and everything feels very light. It is like riding an electric scooter—the state of riding with a full battery and the state of riding with a low battery are completely different things; the former is extremely light and nimble, the latter is very weak, dragging along. This is because the energy differs. The pure mind is energy, and the power of awareness is also energy. Practicing meditation and wisdom through sitting is just like charging a battery. 

Place the "knowing" of the conscious mind in the deepest part of the mind, and use this "knowing" to continuously illuminate; the inner defilements and turbid heaviness will then be continuously cleaned away. This is my current method of practice. This "knowing" is also used to rein in the grasping of the manas and the mind consciousness. It is like catching a small animal: you cannot just grab any part of it—for example, grabbing its tail or belly will not work; you will fail to catch it and may instead be scratched and bitten by it. You must grab it by the back of its neck, and only then will it become docile and motionless. This technique for subduing wandering thoughts may differ for each person; everyone must explore on their own and find the method best suited to themselves. 

Assessment: Meditative concentration (samādhi) can pull the mind back from external states of objects so that it no longer attends to the outside world. When the mind is drawn back and gathered in, it can focus on perceiving one's own inner mind. Only then can one turn the light inward and reflect upon one's own mind, discovering the afflictions and habits within it, and detecting the various deficiencies and shortcomings of one's own mind. Consciously or unconsciously, one will then correct these faults and make up for the deficiencies, becoming humble and prudent, and one's moral cultivation will be elevated. Some people specifically take the lamp and shine it outward on others, not knowing how to shine it inward on themselves. Shining it on yourself is cultivating yourself and increasing merit; shining it on others is the affliction of self-and-other conflicts and gossip, which depletes merit. The darkest place is right under the lamp—and that is your own mind. 

When meditative concentration is good, energy is abundant and body and mind are tranquil and at ease; the mind will then soften, the mind's capacity will open up, and one will be tolerant of others and of circumstances, no longer treating people as enemies or foes, living together in harmony. One's emotional intelligence improves and interpersonal relationships become better. Always carrying a "knowing" with you, concentration improves, the mind becomes ever more refined and ever more still, thinking becomes ever deeper, and wisdom grows ever more; afflictions naturally settle more and more, until they are gradually eliminated, and karmic obstructions are also gradually removed, so the obstacles to cultivation are reduced. This is a process of being reborn and transformed, a process of comprehensively correcting oneself. Without this process, it is impossible to transition from an ordinary being (pṛthagjana) to one oriented toward the stream-entry fruit and then to a stream-enterer (Srotaāpanna; Pali Sotāpanna). Do not imagine you can become a sage out of thin air.