Q&A on the Contemplation Practice of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness: Part 14

Q: Recently during meditation, I quickly enter a state where my body seems to completely merge with emptiness. I deliberately try to sense it—areas like my back, shoulders, and head feel almost imperceptible, while my legs and lower dantian seem faintly present when I focus on them. I contemplate observing the breath; the breath itself feels transparent, merging with emptiness. Is this realization correct? 

A: You are experiencing a favorable state in meditation, having entered the Desire Realm. Your material body resembles that of a deva in the Desire Realm. With smooth energy flow and improved physical constitution, your entire body becomes transparent, and the coarse, heavy sensations of the body vanish. Not feeling the body in meditative concentration is correct—the body is fundamentally empty. The sensation of the body arises only when its materiality is coarse and heavy; the coarser it is, the more pronounced the sensation. As the materiality of the body becomes subtler, the sensation diminishes. This illustrates that material phenomena are obstacles of the mind. Therefore, in meditation, disregard the material body and simply focus on observing the practice.