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The word «rupa» itself literally means «form». That is, all forms or, in normal modern language, objects, things, animate and inanimate objects that we can see or perceive, such as houses and trees, other people and cars driving down the street. Of course, all such external objects influence our lives and us. However, the greatest influence on us comes from the closest of all «forms» – our physical body. It is the one that imposes so many limitations on us and brings us not only fleeting joys but also inevitable suffering such as illness, old age, and death. Therefore, when we talk about the first of the Five Aggregates, we are referring first of all to our physical body.

So, each of us has a physical body, it serves as a carrier of our consciousness.

Two problems arise in the ordinary consciousness's perception of the physical body.

First, we are captured, attached to our body: «I am beautiful, slender, tall and statuesque». Or, conversely, «Why am I so ugly (ugly), low in stature, why do I have a bad figure!» and so on. Exactly the same wrong consideration we make about other people: «How beautiful she is, how slender he is, what wonderful muscles he has!» or, on the contrary: «How ugly, unattractive, fat he (she) is» and so on.

Secondly – complete identification of oneself with the physical body.

In order to change this wrong view, which leads to suffering, one should consider one's physical body impartially. There are two types of consideration of the physical body: Buddhist and yogic.

The first is to consider our physical body anatomically, just as we were taught in anatomy classes at school. There is the skin, deeper – the fat layer, then – muscles, tendons, and finally – the bones, the skeleton. Everywhere passes numerous blood vessels and nerves. There are internal organs belonging to different systems. Observing our bodies this way, we see that the physical body can be very beautiful and attractive outside, but things are quite different inside. Indeed, both the insides of our body are unpleasant to look at and smell. However, we recognize this anatomical fact rather than engage in a meditation of disgust. For example, if we consider our own or someone else's body beautiful, what exactly do we like: muscles, tendons, bones, or perhaps internal organs? Here we really begin to realize that the definition of «the body is beautiful» and attachment to the physical body looks very strange, if not foolish.

The yogic view is to consider the physical body as a collection of the Five Elements. The Earth Element is the solid components (e.g., bones), the Water Element is the liquid components (e.g., blood), the Fire Element is our body temperature, the Wind Element is breathing and energy movement and the Space Element is the voids and cavities in our body.

The meaning of observing both types is to realize that this physical body is not our true essence, but is simply a matter formed by gross substance, which controls various physiological processes without reference to ourselves. Our physical body is born, becomes sick, grows old, and dies. It restricts our freedom and binds us tightly to the gross material world. Besides, we cannot fully control our bodies – we cannot, for example, stop the aging process, and we cannot make our bodies immortal. That means that the physical body is not the True «Self». The body is the illusion that we experience with our senses. Therefore, as stated in the «Shiva Samhita»[4], «The only worthy use of this body is as a tool for attaining Nirvana».