5. Wisdom

　　 The right and smooth way for one who practises meditation, once the citta has become sufficiently calm to see the way, is to begin by training it to investigate the parts of the body with wisdom, either singly or as many parts, opening up and looking into one”s own body. One may start from hair of the head, hair of the body, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, marrow, spleen, heart, liver, pleura, kidneys, lungs, small intestine, large intestine, fresh food, old food (digested food)…etc., these altogether, being called the thirty two parts of the body. These parts are by normal standards always loathsome and detestable, and there is not one of them which is beautiful and charming – as they are usually thought to be by people in the world.

　　 In life these parts are loathsome and unpleasant, and in death even more so, quite irrespective of whether they are the bodily parts of an animal or human beings, man or woman, for this is the nature of all of them.

　　 The world is full of things such as these loathsome parts and it is hard to find anything more strange. But whoever lives in this world must have such things, must be such things and must see such things.

　　 ANICCA – Impermanence – is the nature of this body.

　　 DUKKHA – Hardship and Pain – is the nature of this body.

　　 ANATTA – The negation of the desires of all beings – is the nature of this body.

　　 Things which do not fulfil any of one”s hopes are about and within this body. Delusion with regard to beings and sankharas, is delusion with regard to this body. Attachment to beings and sankharas is attachment to this body. Separation from beings and sankharas is separation from this body. The infatuations of love and hate are infatuation with this body. Not wanting death is anxiety about this body – and when dead, the weeping and mourning of relations and friends is because of this body.

　　 The distress and suffering from the day of one”s birth to the time of one”s death is because of this body. All day and night, animals and people run this way and that in swarms, searching for places to live and food, because of the nature of this body.

　　 The great cause and the great story in this world, which is the wheel that whirls people and animals around without ever letting them open their eyes properly to the nature of their state, and is like a fire burning them all the time, is the story of this body which is the cause of it all. Beings are inundated by the defilements (kilesas) until they are quite unable to extricate themselves from this situation, because of this body. In brief, the whole story of this world is the story of what concerns this body alone.

　　 When one examines the body and what is related to it with wisdom, in the foregoing way without stopping, so that it becomes clear and evident to the heart, from where can the defilements raise their army to prevent the heart dropping into a state of calm

　　 Wisdom is proclaiming the truth and making the heart listen, and when it is doing this all the time, where can the heart go to oppose the truth that comes from wisdom

　　 From the heart come the defilements, and from the heart comes wisdom, so how could it be that the heart, which is “oneself”, should not be able to cure one”s own defilements by means of wisdom

　　 And when wisdom dwells upon the body in this way, why should one not see clearly within the body

　　 When the heart views the body in the foregoing way, with wisdom, it will become wearied both of one”s own body and the bodies of other people and animals. This will reduce one”s pleasurable excitement in regard to the body, and will thus withdraw “upadana” – fixed attachment – to the body, by means of “samucheddha-pahana” (cutting off a…

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