The Transformation of the Manas through Perfuming

Question: The disciple contemplates that the physical body is suffering, empty, impermanent, and non-self. Contemplating myself and contemplating others—birth, aging, sickness, death, eating, drinking, excreting, urinating—all beyond one's own control. In ordinary walking, the contemplation is not deep; when sitting still to contemplate, I feel a joyful feeling arise in body and mind, as if entering a new world, as if body and mind had entered another realm, and I really like this feeling. Is this feeling a result of the manas having been perfumed a little?

Answer: Joy that comes from the depths of the heart all arises from the manas, manifesting on the physical body and in the mind consciousness. Only when the manas has been perfumed do the various changes in body and mind occur, including feelings of suffering and pleasure, as well as feelings that are neither suffering nor pleasure. Because the manas has gained new cognition and its thoughts and views have transformed, it will impel the transformation of body and mind. If one frequently contemplates and observes the non-self of the five aggregates (pañca-skandha) and other Buddhist principles, the changes in the manas and in body and mind will become greater and greater and more and more, finally going from quantitative change to qualitative change—being reborn with a completely new body, like a carp leaping over the Dragon Gate, transforming from an ordinary person into a sage.

Question: Once, while driving, I was contemplating. At first my contemplation was rather scattered, then suddenly I felt that distracting thoughts had vanished entirely, and I saw the surrounding environment as extremely unfamiliar, as if I could no longer recognize the road; everything I saw felt fresh, and even the air felt especially crisp—and then I got lost, even though that road was actually very familiar to me. Why did I have this kind of feeling?

Answer: Because after the mind focused on contemplating the Buddha-dharma, attention was no longer on the surrounding sense objects (viṣaya). The mind consciousness's focused contemplation caused the manas to gain a further impression of the Buddha-dharma, and with inner joy, everything one sees becomes pleasant. The mind can transform objects; circumstances turn with the mind. This is a fruit that temporarily appears in the course of cultivation, not yet the final result—and the final result is quite magnificent. Without these processes of cultivating the Path, and without the accumulation of these processes, no one should talk about what fruits they have attained; a plastic fruit is nothing to boast about.