How to Practice Contemplative Practice of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness

What is contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā)? Contemplative practice is observation. For example, if there is a flower before your eyes, contemplative practice means observing what state the flower is in—whether it is one flower or several, its posture, variety, color, petals, charm, whether it is fresh or not, and so on. The first step in contemplating the four foundations of mindfulness is contemplating the body as impure. Begin by observing the breath. If you follow step by step what is taught in the Buddhist sutras, you will be able to observe the various conditions of the material body during breathing. For example, observe the in-breath: when inhaling, where does the air enter from? Upon observation, you will discover that the air enters through the nostrils, passes through the nasal cavity, enters the lungs, and then, following the Conception Vessel (Ren Mai), descends into the dantian—this is the process of the air entering. Observe the various phenomena and feelings of the material body during this process: whether the breath is long or short, whether the air is cool or warm. Then observe the various conditions of the material body when exhaling: you should know where the air exits from, which places it passes through, what sensations there are, where it goes out to, whether the breath is long or short, and whether the air is cool or warm. Throughout the entire breathing process, observe whether the breathing is deep or shallow, smooth or not smooth, where it reaches; whether the breath is long or short must all be known—all of these must be known. This process is called contemplative practice.  

There is meditative concentration (samādhi) within the process of observation, because all of one's energy is focused on the breath, without scattered thoughts, making it easy to attain concentration. There is a knowing within the mind, and there must be knowing of all the dharmas being observed; in this way the mind will not be scattered. In the process of contemplative practice, the knowing of ignorance gradually transitions into the knowing of enlightenment—clear knowing is wisdom. Because there is concentration and clear, lucid wisdom, when the contemplative practice reaches a certain point and the conditions and season are complete, one knows that the breath is impermanent, arising and ceasing, empty, suffering, and not-self, and wisdom is thereby born. In this way it is easy to eliminate the self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi).  

The four foundations of mindfulness are not only a sutra for cultivating concentration but also a sutra for cultivating wisdom—a sutra in which śamatha and vipaśyanā operate simultaneously and samādhi and prajñā are cultivated in equal measure. Within concentration there is a knowing, and when the knowing reaches a certain degree, it moves from the knowing of ignorance to the knowing of enlightenment, knowing that all the dharmas you observe are impermanent, arising and ceasing, changing, empty, suffering, and not-self. In this way the wisdom of liberation is born; there is observation and knowing within the mind. From the not-knowing of ignorance to the knowing of enlightenment, there is a process. In this, extensive intellectual analysis is not needed; one only needs a clear and lucid knowing—not employing a great deal of mind consciousness with deliberation, weighing, comparison, inference, induction, summarizing, and generalizing. None of these are needed. One should maintain a knowing of direct perception/valid direct cognition; as long as the knowing is maintained, wisdom will appear at a certain point. A question to ponder: why is it that by maintaining a knowing of direct perception, wisdom can be born, and thereby one can eliminate the self-view and realize the fruits?