Why can cultivating the contemplation of the white bones eliminate self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi) and realize the fruits from the first to the fourth?

Since beginningless kalpas, ordinary sentient beings, due to ignorance and delusion, lacking meditative concentration and wisdom, could only observe and cognize the five aggregates (pañcaskandha) and all dharmas in a rough manner, staying on the surface of appearances, unable to observe them in any substantial or ultimate sense. Therefore, they have always taken the physical body to be a truly existent dharma, and have also taken the functions of the conscious mind to be a truly existent dharma, not knowing their suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self. This is a mistaken cognition of the five aggregates. Through cultivating the contemplation of the white bones, one's meditative power becomes deeper and deeper, and one's power of observation becomes stronger and stronger, ever more subtle, able to clearly observe the arising, ceasing, and transformation of the physical body. The truth of its emptiness will then surface, and the flesh of the entire physical body will appear in the form of white bones; finally, even the white bones turn out to be empty. In this way, the view of the body and the view of self are eliminated.

The entire process of contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) takes place within a state of meditative absorption (samādhi). The bone marks of the body's flesh and bones and the mark of emptiness are a directly perceived (pratyakṣa) realm that arises naturally, not an erroneously cognized (non-valid cognition) realm imagined and inferred out of thin air by the mind consciousness. All samādhi is initiated by the manas; all are realms of the manas's direct-perception wisdom and cognition, containing not the slightest element of inference or erroneous cognition from the mind consciousness. Within samādhi, the mind consciousness can only know passively, moving and knowing in accordance with the manas. Before samādhi, the mind consciousness can engage in active thinking and observation, guiding the manas onto the path. After that, meditative concentration deepens further and further, and the initial samādhi of concentrated state appears. The mind consciousness's power of action becomes smaller and smaller, while the manas's process of deliberation (manana) becomes greater and greater. When the manas truly sees the dharma as it is, wisdom manifests, and the samādhi of the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā truly appears—at this point, one realizes the fruit.

Without meditative concentration, the manas cannot achieve focused attention upon the physical body and the five aggregates, cannot deliberate and see the dharma as it truly is, and does not know the true appearance of the physical body and the five aggregates; thus wisdom cannot appear. The contemplation of the white bones can give rise to meditative concentration, and concentration in turn draws out wisdom; finally, one eliminates the view of self and realizes the fruit. The white bones, which at first seemed impossible, finally appear within the mind—this is the form produced by concentration (dhyāna-derived rūpa). Seeing the white bones of concentration-produced form, one knows the physical body is not self. The samādhi of the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā appears, the pure dharma eye arises, and one realizes the fruit.