In Meditative Concentration, Perceiving Worldly Things as Illusory and Impermanent

Question: Sometimes in meditation in motion, the mind feels pure and tranquil, like a large blank screen, while seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing are like images appearing on that screen. Although both the blank screen and the images are realms of consciousness, when one is very tranquil, it seems one can sense His arising—mainly at the instant when the blankness turns into a thought arising; later, when the blankness and consciousness coexist, this feeling can also continue. To give an analogy, it is like a person scribbling on a blank screen stroke by stroke, tranquil and at ease. This feeling mainly arises in the faculty-consciousnesses and the mind consciousness generated through the ear faculty and eye faculty; I feel that I am just a stream of empty consciousness or a physical body. Looking at family members and loved ones, there is a sense of strangeness; the world I am in also feels strange, with a feeling of not belonging to this world, and a feeling of wanting to renounce it. Although the mind is tranquil, it feels empty and hollow, with a feeling of wanting to leave. What is this feeling about?

Answer: This feeling is an insight gained from contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) within meditative concentration. In samādhi, the mind is very pure and very subtle, so contemplative practice and deliberation can be very deep and fine, and the cognition of the Dharma can be clear and profound, with understanding reaching its proper place. Therefore, the realization of any Dharma must necessarily be perceived and realized when the mind is free of scattered thoughts and fully concentrated, and it is personally verified by the manas. Only when the manas personally perceives and verifies the illusory and impermanent nature of worldly affairs can genuine renunciation arise, no longer pursuing illusory worldly matters, and instead advancing toward the unsurpassed Buddha Way.