Page 41 - Dhamma Practice

phenomenon. How do we experience the physical body within the physical body? One bodily phenomenon that occurs naturally, enabling us to consistently experience it, is the inflate-deflate phenomenon or the breathing phenomenon. All conscious phenomena that occur within our body are bodily phenomena. From the head down, whatever phenomena that occur in the bodily area while we practice vipassana are all bodily phenomena. The phenomenon of the body or the phenomenon of the corporeality is called “rupa” (corporeality). The body is considered a rupa. The thing that functions as the experiencer is our awareness (sati) or our mind.
What is the purpose of experiencing the physical body within the physical body? This is important. We do it to see and understand the reality of our body. The key to vipassana is to contemplate the impermanence of the body or the corporeality. To be aware of the Three Characteristics of Being (Trilaksana)—that is the emergence-cessation phenomenon that occurs in our body. This phenomenon will be different from person to person. For some, the inflate-deflate phenomenon is clear. And, for some, the beating of the heart is clear. Therefore, when we experience the inflate-deflate phenomenon, we must contemplate impermanence, suffering, and non-self—that is, to contemplate the Three Characteristics of Beings, the characteristics of all mental formations (sankhara). These are emergence, existence, and cessation.
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