How to Cultivate Contemplative Practice and Reflective Thinking

When contemplating the five aggregates, if one possesses deep meditative concentration, the contemplation will be profound and subtle, enabling one to penetrate deeper and deeper into the Dharma meaning, thereby unraveling the mysteries of the Dharma layer by layer. During contemplative thinking, one must proceed slowly, meticulously, and profoundly, comparing it with one's own body, speech, and mind in the present moment, investigating and gathering evidence across the broadest possible scope to prove that the five aggregates are not the self. One must investigate why this aspect is not the self, why that aspect is not the self, striving as much as possible to find evidence point by point, asking why, and resolving this question of why. The contemplation must be deep and subtle. If it is merely a formal understanding and comprehension, not truly internalized, then all theoretical knowledge is hollow and cannot solve the fundamental problem or practical problems.

How does one engage in contemplative thinking? For example, contemplating that the material body is not the self. "Not the self" is a conclusion, but it is the Buddha's conclusion, not ours. Therefore, this conclusion has no relation to us. Only after contemplation do we genuinely arrive at this conclusion ourselves; this conclusion then becomes our own, a crystallization of our own wisdom, which then yields the merit and benefit of liberation. The Buddha's conclusion is merely a starting point, serving as a reference to develop our own wisdom. We can follow this conclusion and engage in reverse contemplation: Why is the material body not the self? Because the material body is empty. Why is the material body empty? Because the material body is suffering. Why is the material body suffering? This is our initial point of entry for contemplation, requiring us to slowly contemplate and search for various reasons.

Finally, we conclude that the material body is indeed not the self, thus severing the view of the body and the view of self. After contemplation, the fruition attained by each person is not necessarily the same, because the degree to which the view of self is eradicated differs; there are certain variations depending on the degree of realization achieved and the extent of practice and accomplishment. Even attaining the first fruition (Sotāpanna) has different degrees, and the extent of physical and mental benefit and transformation also differs. For example, all children are in first grade, but their level of learning within the same class is not the same. Attaining fruition is like graduating; thus, upon graduation, each person's level is different, and there are those who graduate early and those who graduate late. The level of Dharma realization attained by each practitioner differs because the scope, angle, and depth of their investigation are different, their power of contemplation differs, and the depth and strength of the evidence they gather also differ; consequently, the wisdom they obtain differs. As wisdom differs, the degree of behavioral change also differs. The deeper and more subtle the contemplation, the better the meditative concentration; the better the meditative concentration, the deeper and more subtle the contemplation becomes. Thus, the degree of realization becomes deeper, more ultimate, and the transformation of the mind and conduct becomes more thorough.