Date: 06/21/2025 06/22/2025
Location: Star Lake Meditation Center
Teacher: Shilin Long
Sitting Meditation
Contemplation of the Impure Body: Softening Attachment to the Body
Contemplating the body as “not entirely pure” is a traditional Buddhist practice aimed at weakening attachment, desire, and false identification with the body. This contemplation is not about rejecting the body, but about seeing it clearly and relating to it with wisdom and balance.
1. The True Nature of the Body: A Clear and Realistic View
1. The body is a compound of conditions
Skin, bones, blood, and organs are temporary arrangements—not “me” or “mine.”
2. The body is always changing
Growth, aging, sickness, and decay reveal its impermanence.
3. The body cannot be fully relied upon
It gets tired, injured, or ill, offering no lasting security.
2. Why Contemplate the Impure Body: Reducing Attachment
1. Reducing obsession with appearance
Beauty and ugliness are impermanent.
2. Weakening sensual desire
Understanding the body’s true nature softens craving.
3. Loosening the identification “this body is me”
The body is a vehicle, not an identity.
3. Basic Method: Observing the Body From Outside to Inside
1. Begin with external features
Skin, hair, nails, and teeth are imperfect and constantly changing.
2. Move inward
Bones, muscles, organs, and blood reveal the body’s true physical structure.
3. Observe bodily functions
Breathing, digestion, and circulation show the body as a biologicalmachine, not an idealized image.
4. Applying This Practice in Meditation: Balanced and Calm
1. No aversion—only clarity
The aim is to remove illusion, not to cultivate disgust.
2. Do not reject the body
Value the body without clinging to it.
3. Combine with breath awareness
Breath stabilizes the mind, preventing extremes.
5. Psychological Benefits: Freedom From Desire and Anxiety
1. Reduced craving
Desire weakens when the body is understood realistically.
2. Less appearance anxiety
Aging becomes natural rather than fearful.
3. Greater clarity
Awareness sharpens when illusions fade.
6. Common Misunderstandings: Avoiding Extremes
1. Misunderstanding: This practice means hating the body
Correct view: It means not clinging to the body.
2. Misunderstanding: The body has no value
Correct view: It is impermanent but useful.
3. Misunderstanding: This contemplation is negative
Correct view: It brings freedom, balance, and mental ease.
7. Bringing This Practice Into Daily Life
1. Observe natural aging
Wrinkles and fatigue are normal processes.
2. Notice bodily needs
Hunger, pain, or desire are physiological—not identity.
3. Respond with awareness
This keeps the mind from being overly swayed by physical conditions.
Conclusion
Contemplating the impure body does not deny the body’s function—it frees the mind from excessive attachment and unrealistic expectations.
Through gentle and clear observation, practitioners learn to use the body wisely without clinging to it. This balanced perspective is a profound expression of meditative insight and inner freedom.
