Continuous and unbroken contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) is the cultivation of the manas

Bai Xuexiang's experience sharing on white bone contemplation: When I first began studying the dharma principle of contemplating the body as impure in the four foundations of mindfulness, I bought videos of forensic autopsies, along with some pictures of Tibetan sky burials, to use as references. When quietly watching these videos or pictures at night, the manas, following the mind consciousness's visual seeing, could give rise to the thought that the physical body is not me. My original intention at the time was to cultivate contemplation of the body as impure, but the conclusion I often arrived at through reflection was that the flesh body is not me, not self, an illusory me, a false me, a marionette. Every time I went to sleep I contemplated that the body is not me; upon waking I contemplated that the flesh body is not me. 

This went on for nearly two years. One day, upon waking from an afternoon nap (before opening my eyes), I suddenly saw the flesh on the soles of my feet flowing away like sand, and the flesh all the way up to my knees flowed away. I thought I was dreaming, so I opened my eyes and found that I was awake and not dreaming. So I closed my eyes again, and at that moment I saw the flesh of the body continue to flow away like sand, until I saw that only the entire skull remained—but the bones were black, not white. I analyzed this, and seeing black bones was probably because I had not yet passed the test of attachment to affection (for parents, children, relatives, and the like). So I contemplated more on breaking through delusion at this point of affection (recently I have come to understand it somewhat). A while ago, when practicing the four foundations of mindfulness together with everyone, sitting in half-lotus, shortly after taking my seat, I saw the flesh over my leg bones crack open. Then I saw the flesh of the whole body fall away bit by bit, with bright red threads of sinew still hanging on, not yet completely fallen. 

Assessment: Bai Xuexiang's contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) has been carried out continuously. Only when the dharma principle settles into the manas can the practice be continuous—contemplating by day, contemplating by night, contemplating before sleep and after waking, and even contemplating while asleep, whether dreaming or not. When there is no dream, the manas contemplates on its own; when there is a dream, the manas urges the mind consciousness to deliberate and contemplate. The mind consciousness's practice is intermittent and cannot be continuous. Because the manas's contemplative practice is continuous, over time the cognition of the physical body changed; once it changed, upon realizing that the physical body is not self, the flesh fell away from the bones, and flesh and bone separated. This is an initial stage of meditative absorption (samādhi); there is still some distance to go before the samādhi state of ultimately eliminating self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi). As long as the causal conditions for seeing the Way are further perfected, attaining the Way will come very soon.

This is a practical example of contemplative practice in white bone contemplation, offered as a model of cultivation for everyone, to encourage everyone who engages in contemplative practice: as long as you diligently and energetically continue contemplating without interruption, the practice will keep advancing, and you will certainly eliminate self-view—the Buddha does not deceive me. It all depends on one's various causal conditions; the key lies in making the resolve and in merit. Make the great bodhi resolve, have the mind to depart from suffering, diligently cultivate merit and the precepts, samādhi, and wisdom, and the contemplative practice will flourish day by day, and results will ultimately appear.