Contemplative Practice of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness: Questions and Answers 37

Question: When the white-bone contemplation truly enters a state of meditative concentration and the white bones appear before one, is there still breathing? I have been trying the white-bone contemplation for a long time, but it always remains as mental proliferation in the consciousness, and I cannot bring about the appearance of the bone image at the level of the manas. Is this because my habituation has been insufficient?

Answer: The entire process of cultivating the white-bone contemplation takes place within meditative concentration below the first dhyāna, so of course there is breathing. Even when one realizes the white-bone contemplation and it appears before one, that is still a state of meditative absorption (samādhi) below the first dhyāna, and of course there is still breathing. As long as one is in meditative concentration below the fourth dhyāna, there is breathing; at the second dhyāna and above, there is neither initial application nor sustained examination (vitarka-vicāra), so the white-bone contemplation would not appear. Therefore, when the samādhi of the white-bone contemplation manifests, there must still be breathing.

The entire contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) of the white-bone contemplation begins by using the solitary consciousness (mano-vijñāna-eka-citta) to contemplate, while continuously habituating the manas so that the manas also engages in contemplation. When the manas's contemplation succeeds, the samādhi of the white-bone contemplation will manifest—that is, the actual realization of the white-bone contemplation, the attainment of realization. To whatever degree the manas has been habituated, there will be a corresponding degree of white-bone contemplation state; if the habituation has not been accomplished, there will be no white-bone contemplation state. 

Question: Previously I was breathing deliberately, but starting yesterday my breathing became natural, yet it became shorter. Why is that? 

Answer: Whether the breath becomes longer or shorter, pay no attention to it. As long as the mind is focused on the breath, both the degree of concentration and the contemplative practice will grow; when the energy channels open up, the breathing will naturally become deep, subtle, and long-lasting. As long as one has meditative concentration, everything is easy to handle—even the condition of the body can be changed. Contemplating the breath means single-mindedly contemplating the condition of the breathing; do not consider anything else, do not think about other matters—just clearly understand the condition of your own breathing, and that is enough. The sutra text contains the steps of contemplative practice: if the first step has not been done well, do not do the second step; do not proceed further. In one period of time, contemplate one dharma only—do not do more; if there is too much, the mind will become scattered. When the power of concentration reaches a certain level, then gradually increase the content of the contemplative practice, and the mind will not become scattered. During contemplative practice, apart from contemplating the breath, other things such as understanding of the dharma and reflections are of no use; the mind should not think too much, so as to avoid interfering with the contemplation of the breath.