Jun Ruolan's Contemplative Approach and Experiential Realization of the Five Aggregates

A fly lands on the leg, causing an itchy, annoying sensation. In truth, the leg is the aggregate of form, an illusory combination of the four great elements; the itch is the aggregate of sensation, all sensations are suffering, without origin or departure; the grasping of appearances and reasoning is the aggregate of perception—the fly is also an illusion, the itch is merely a sensory experience, also illusory, assigning names and meanings to the fly and the sensation constitutes the aggregate of perception. The decision to shoo it away, the process of mental operation, and the temporal experience of the sensation constitute the aggregate of mental formations, which arises dependent on consciousness, coming and ceasing according to conditions. What discerns all of this is the aggregate of consciousness: consciousness arises from the seeds of the Tathagatagarbha, also coming and ceasing according to conditions.

The five aggregates arise and cease due to causes and conditions, impermanent and ever-changing; their impermanence and lack of constancy constitute emptiness. Attachment brings suffering, and the experience of suffering is also illusory. All of this is impermanent and without a master, constituting the characteristic of non-self.

Observing the fly crawling on the leg again, the itch on the leg remains, but the inner feeling of aversion disappears. With a casual, gentle wave of the hand, the fly flies away. The event has just occurred, yet it seems as if nothing happened at all. The five aggregates are utterly ungraspable; there is no "I" present, no place where "I" resides. I observe the fly crawling on the leg, emptiness facing emptiness—where is there anything to be grasped? At this moment, the mind is without deliberate effort, utterly tranquil.

This is the disciple's attempt to clarify the theory through an example, hence it is quite rudimentary. Once the theory is clear, the disciple will gradually deepen the contemplation without greed for more. As the master said, when facing phenomena, minimize the involvement of consciousness and observe directly. Grasp the core and continue diligently.

Comment: The approach to contemplation is clear. During actual contemplation, on one hand, one must be fully endowed with meditative concentration (dhyana), and on the other, focus the energy on a single point. Breaking through one point allows one to use that point to realize the non-self nature of the entire five aggregates. To achieve the most authentic contemplation and the most genuine experience, one should strive to practice contemplation exactly as taught in the Satipatthana Sutta: observe whatever is present, be aware of whatever arises, without imagining or projecting. How does the Satipatthana Sutta teach contemplation? It is the direct experience and observation of phenomena without moving the consciousness, based solely on facts, without mental fabrication. Let everyone carefully savor this state of contemplation. If one cannot achieve this, they must deepen their meditative practice. If meditative power is insufficient, it will all fall into analysis, with little direct intuition and very little present-moment awareness (pratyakṣa).

In modern Buddhist practice, nearly all group Dharma teachers instruct in consciousness-based contemplation, conscious experience, conscious feeling, conscious understanding, and conscious analysis, rarely touching upon the cultivation of the manas (the root mind). Consequently, what is attained is not genuine experience or objective contemplation, but analysis, understanding, and imagination overlaid with subjective consciousness, containing a great deal of illusion. Practitioners fundamentally cannot distinguish whether this is true contemplation, true investigation, or true practice. They only find this kind of thinking easier, requiring less effort and yielding results more readily. Hence, false realizations are widespread. In truth, how could spiritual practice be so simple and easy? How could so many ordinary individuals with worldly dispositions transform into sages?