Q&A on the Contemplative Practice of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness 14

Question: Recently, when I sit on the cushion, I quickly enter the state, and my body seems to completely merge with space. I deliberately tried to feel it: my back, shoulders, head, and other parts seem imperceptible; as for my legs and lower dantian, when I deliberately try to feel them, they are as if present and as if absent. In my contemplation of the breath, the breath also feels transparent, merged with space. Is this kind of realization correct? 

Answer: This is a rather good state of meditative concentration (dhyāna); you have entered the concentration of the desire realm, and your physical body is like the body of a desire-realm deva. Your breath circulates well, your physical constitution is quite good, and your whole body is clear and unobstructed, so the coarse, heavy sensation of the body is gone. Not feeling the body in meditation is exactly right—the body is empty to begin with. The sensation of the body only arises when its material form is coarse and heavy; the coarser and heavier it is, the more distinct the sensation. The subtler the material form (rūpa) of the body, the less sensation there is. This shows that material form is an obstruction to the mind. Therefore, in meditation there is no need to pay attention to the physical body; just focus on contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā).