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emerges, contemplate how it emerges and how it ceases. Regardless of whether that phenomenon is inflate-deflate, breathing in-breathing out, sensations phenomenon, thoughts phenomenon, or mental images (nimitta). For some, when practicing vipassana, mental images emerge—images of people, trees, waterfall, grass fields, buildings. When these mental images emerge, what should we do? When these images emerge, we should have the awareness to contemplate how each image emerges, and how it ceases. Does it emerge and fade away, disappear or flash out, or expand and gradually fade away? We must have the intention to follow and contemplate how the phenomena emerge and cease.
Furthermore, it is important to have the continuation of the conscious phenomenon that we contemplate. When we contemplate the inflate-deflate phenomenon, we should observe what is its initial form? And, what are the subsequent forms? When I ask: What are the characteristics of the inflate- deflate phenomenon? How does it emerge and cease? We sometimes just answer: It inflates then deflates. A further question is: Does the phenomenon become clearer? Or, does it gradually fade away? These are the things that we must observe. And, once the inflate-deflate fully disappears, what other things should we contemplate? Once the inflate-deflate phenomenon disappears, observe how we feel at that particular moment—this is called the state of