Manifestations when the manas is being perfumed with the meaning of the Dharma

Last night while sitting in meditation contemplating the breath, the breathing was fairly smooth, and my chest and abdomen felt warm and comfortable. As the contemplation of the breath continued, I perceived the warm current of the breath continuously spreading through the body, gradually extending from the abdomen toward the back, and finally the warm current surged into the back of my head. The breathing became smoother and smoother, the qi channels unobstructed, and everything before my eyes was clear, with very few wandering thoughts. My attention was concentrated on the bodily sensations throughout my whole body, and so I prepared to contemplate the Dharma meaning. The phrase "form is impermanent, form is without self" spontaneously flashed into my mind, and at that moment my whole body's muscles suddenly tensed, my breathing deepened sharply, and my body twisted as the muscles contracted. This state lasted for about two minutes, and then gradually returned to calm.

After that, I continued contemplating the breath, perceiving the sensations throughout my body. After the earlier tensing and contraction of the whole body's muscles, the meridians throughout the body opened further, especially the head, which became even more unobstructed. In this way I contemplated for a period of time; my head was clear and there was peace before my eyes. So I once again deliberately let "form is impermanent, form is without self" flash into my mind. This time the whole body still reacted, but not as intensely. I slowly contemplated the specific Dharma meaning of form being without self before my eyes. During this contemplation my attention was concentrated, without wandering thoughts, without any agitation or unprovoked disturbances—peaceful and profound. Before long, the alarm rang and I got off the cushion. This morning when I sat, I contemplated the breath throughout the entire session, without contemplating or reflecting on Dharma meanings. The qi channels throughout my body were unobstructed, and I kept enjoying the pleasure throughout my whole body.

Assessment: When the thought "form is impermanent" appeared, the muscles of the whole body tensed and the body twisted—this shows that the manas was touched by the impermanence of form. Previously, when the Dharma of impermanence had not touched the manas, there was no such shaking phenomenon. Many Dharma meanings that the mind consciousness has understood, when they have not yet permeated the manas, will not cause any stirring of body and mind; only when the manas squarely faces a Dharma meaning does the shaking appear. Only after continuing contemplative practice and investigation can the manas realize it, and then meditative concentration (samādhi) or the purity of the Dharma eye will follow. Deep-level mental activities such as shock, astonishment, panic, and flustered disorientation are all manifestations of the manas being touched.

When contemplating the breath, one should single-mindedly experience the impermanence of the breath. In experiencing it, there is no need to think; just observe objectively, without deliberately bringing up the meditation topic "form is impermanent." Contemplating the four foundations of mindfulness to eliminate the self-view naturally proceeds from the entry point of the breath to experience the impermanence of form and the impermanence of the body, and then from the contemplation of feeling, the contemplation of mind, and the contemplation of dharmas, one objectively experiences the impermanence of mind and the impermanence of dharmas, thereby eliminating the self-view. When the skill has matured, one observes and experiences naturally; one does not deliberately flash up Dharma questions different from the current contemplation. This is natural realization of the fruit—realization of the fruit by the manas.

Contemplative practice is also called direct perception/valid direct cognition (pratyakṣa) observation: whatever dharma is present now, observe that dharma; whatever state the dharma is in, observe those states just as they are. When contemplating the breath, observe the breath just as it is, observe the breath directly; the scene of the breath simply presents itself before you. As for how the manas recognizes it and what conclusion it draws, that is the manas's own affair. As for form being impermanent and the body being impermanent, one should let the manas draw that conclusion by itself, let Him confirm it Himself, without the mind consciousness reminding Him. The mind consciousness is only responsible for presenting the phenomena truthfully to the manas; everything else is the manas's affair. There is no need to be anxious on the manas's behalf, no need to make decisions for the manas. Whoever's problem it is, that one resolves it—helping is useless. The result of this is direct, experiential realization, without sentiment, intellectual interpretation, inference and deduction, or imagination and conjecture.