Why did the Venerable's body and mind suddenly become empty not long after he gathered his mindfulness?

The mental activity of the mind consciousness was certainly gathered in, not engaging with any dharma other than the questioning doubt, and not even engaging with the body—no longer aware of the body's existence. The mental activity of the manas was also gathered in; otherwise, the mind consciousness could not have been gathered in, for it would inevitably follow the manas in its grasping. Because the manas was gathered in and no longer scattered, the body and the conscious mind both became empty and ceased to exist. This is not merely a "nothingness" within meditative concentration; it is also emptiness at the level of views and understanding—that is, realizing that body and mind are not the self, and attaining the fruit of realization. And the gathering in of body and mind is itself meditative concentration; afterward, deeper meditative concentration arose, and the wisdom that body and mind are not self was brought forth.

Without meditative concentration, can there be true wisdom? Impossible. If there were, it would only be that of a follower of the school of intellectual understanding. Nowadays there are everywhere such followers of intellectual understanding, like Master Shenhui, and it is unknown whether they are even capable of teaching. When the Sixth Patriarch scolded Master Shenhui back then, it was just like scolding people today—yet they still do not awaken.