NO ME, NO MINE

How then can the body be oneself? How can it belong to oneself? It’s completely unnatural.

This principle is seen clearly when the flow of consciousness that diffuses and permeates the human body is drawn back into itself and converges into a deep state of samãdhi. 

Then the entire body exists as no more than a lump of matter—a log or a tree stump. When the citta withdraws from samãdhi, conscious aware- ness returns to the body, spreading out to permeate every limb, every part. Awareness and the ability to know are fundamental functions of the citta—not of the physical body. In the normal waking consciousness of the meditator at this level of practice, the knowing presence is fully aware of itself, aware that the citta and the knowing are one and the same timeless essence; and that the physical elements know nothing. In samãdhi, the body may disappear from awareness but the awareness itself never disappears.

In truth, this is an immutable principle of nature. When the kilesas infiltrate the citta, however, they grasp everything as oneself—as me or mine—thus confusing one’s true nature with the sense faculties that it animates. Such is the nature of the kilesas. Wisdom is just the opposite: It knows the body clearly for what it is and corrects this misconception. The kilesas always grasp at the body, leading one to believe that the body is a special part of oneself. Wisdom sees the human body as just a conglomeration of common material substances, and consequently relinquishes all personal attachment to it.

- Venerable Ãcariya Mahã Boowa, Arahattamagga