The Relationship between the Manas and the Meditative State of Samādhi

When the contemplation of the white skeleton is cultivated to the end, one accomplishes the meditative concentration (samādhi) of the white skeleton contemplation; with eyes open or closed, one can see that one's own and others' material bodies are all white skeletons. This belongs to the material form born of meditative concentration, which others cannot see; only those who have cultivated this samādhi state of meditative concentration can see it. Such a state of meditative concentration comes about through the mind consciousness's long-term contemplation, which successfully permeates and transforms the manas; the manas then comes to regard the material body as being in the form of a white skeleton, and thus the tathāgatagarbha manifests the appearance of a white skeleton, and the mind consciousness can see the white skeleton appearance anytime and anywhere—thus the contemplation is accomplished.

Therefore, all states of meditative concentration and samādhi are the result of the mind consciousness's contemplation successfully permeating and transforming the manas; that is to say, only when the manas is accomplished does the samādhi state of meditative concentration appear. The mind consciousness easily accepts various theories, but because the manas has deep ignorance and strong habitual tendencies, it is very difficult for it to accept them, and this makes cultivation difficult. Each sentient being's manas has a different degree of ignorance and different habitual tendencies; the thinner the ignorance, the faster the cultivation, the easier it is to attain meditative concentration, the easier it is to enter samādhi, and the easier it is to realize the Dharma. When the white skeleton contemplation is accomplished, the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) regarding the body will be eradicated, the body will be denied as self, greed and desire will be subdued, there will no longer be attachment to the body, and one gains a degree of liberation.

The contemplation of the sun is also like this, and indeed all contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) is like this, and all states of meditative concentration and great wisdom are like this.