Contemplating the Five Aggregates and Eliminating the View of Self (Part I) (Second Edition)
Chapter 4: The Second Part of Contemplative Practice on the Five Aggregates
Section 1: The Principle That the Five Aggregates Are Not Self
1. The Principle That the Five Aggregates Are Not Self as Explained in the Commentary on the Cheng Weishi Lun
Original text of the Cheng Weishi Lun Shuji: 内识所变。至实我法性。述曰。此显依他。我法名假。先显其体。实非我法。内识所变。似我似法。虽体依他。缘起是有。而非是彼。妄情所执。实我法性。此缘起法。无主宰故。无作用故。
Explanation: Inner consciousness refers to the seven consciousnesses that discern the inner six sense-objects. The inner six sense-objects are manifested with the participation of the seven consciousnesses; the three consciousnesses of transformative agency (parināma) — the eighth consciousness, the seventh consciousness (manas), and the first six consciousnesses — together manifest the inner six sense-objects and the five aggregates. The six consciousnesses and the five aggregates are of dependent origination (paratantra), arising from the eighth consciousness in dependence on various conditions. What is manifested is a pseudo-self of the five aggregates and seven consciousnesses, and a pseudo-universe of the material world; in reality, these dharmas are not truly existent, not a truly existent self. The five aggregates are not self and not real; the seven consciousnesses are not self and not real; the six sense-objects are not self and not real; all dharmas are not self and not real. The pseudo-self and pseudo-dharmas manifested by inner consciousness appear to exist on the phenomenal level, but in essence they do not exist; what is illusory is empty.
The five aggregates, six sense-objects, and six consciousnesses are merely false names, generated in dependence on various conditions. Dharmas of dependent origination appear to exist on the surface, but in fact it is only sentient beings' deluded consciousness that falsely reckons them as self and as real, as if there were a self and various dharmas; in actuality there are none — illusory and unreal, like objects in a dream. These dharmas of dependent origination are produced by causes and conditions; they have no autonomy, no sovereignty, and no real function.
"Self" means sovereignty. Since the five aggregates have no autonomy and no sovereignty, the five aggregates are not self; they are merely a nominal concept, provisionally existent and not real. The five aggregates have no real function; their surface-level functions have no sovereignty and are not the doing of the five aggregates. Behind them there is another sovereign who is the true master, the true self. Only that self has genuine function — real function, autonomy, capable of governing the arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing of all dharmas.
There is no true five aggregates, no true function of the five aggregates, and no true functioning of the five aggregates. Sentient beings' feeling that the five aggregates have function is false knowing and false perception, because the mind is deranged, because the mind is deluded. In fact, there is not even a deluded and inverted mind; all is like flowers in the sky, like scenes in a dream. After attaining the bhūmis, one no longer feels that the five aggregates have real function, no longer believes that all dharmas have real function — all are false appearances with no real function; only the eighth consciousness has real function. It is like a wooden puppet that has no real function; those who believe the puppet has real function are inverted sentient beings deluded by false appearances, unable to distinguish true from false, mistaking the master of the house.
2. Why Are the Five Aggregates Not the Five Aggregates?
"What is called the five aggregates is not the five aggregates, therefore it is named the five aggregates." This is a formula that can be applied universally, for example: what is called such-and-such is not such-and-such, therefore it is named such-and-such. The name "such-and-such" is merely a code, not the person himself. But this name can point out the person, and the name is not separate from the person. Without the person, there would be no name, but the person can exist without a name. The person is revealed by means of the name; when the name "such-and-such" is called, the person comes forth.
Likewise, what is called the myriad dharmas is not the myriad dharmas, therefore it is named the myriad dharmas. The myriad dharmas are like the name "such-and-such"; behind the name there is a person, and behind the myriad dharmas is the tathāgatagarbha. In dependence on a person there is a name; in dependence on the tathāgatagarbha there are the myriad dharmas. A person can be without a name, and the tathāgatagarbha can be without the myriad dharmas. All dharmas are merely names; the marks exist, but there is no substance. The tathāgatagarbha has no marks yet truly exists; He has a real substance and real functions.
3. How to Understand That the Six Faculties Are Illusory and Not Self
All six faculties are of a nature of arising and ceasing. Among them, the five physical faculties are produced by the eighth consciousness in dependence on karmic seeds, the conditions of father and mother, and the grasping of manas; when the conditions disperse, they perish — they are not self-existent and have no autonomy. Manas is produced by the eighth consciousness transmitting consciousness seeds; it is also a false appearance of consciousness formed by moment-to-moment arising and ceasing linked together. When entering nirvāṇa without remainder, it too can cease; therefore it is also illusory and unfree, a magical transformation and not self. In contemplative practice, one must deliberate slowly and very subtly; only then can the mind be inwardly stirred and can one genuinely accept that the six faculties and the five aggregates are not real and not the true self. One must cultivate meditative concentration and contemplate with the support of meditative power, completing the contemplation of one dharma before contemplating another. Suspend the content of contemplation deeply in the mind — deeply, slowly, subtly; do not let the mind be restless. Suspend the dharma under contemplation deep within; the mind is almost unmoving, though in fact it moves very slowly and very subtly. Such contemplative practice is the correct, genuine method of contemplative practice.
4. Without the Four Marks
No mark of self, no mark of person, no mark of sentient being, no mark of life span. This pseudo-self of the five aggregates and eighteen realms is transformed and produced by the eighth consciousness in dependence on various conditions; it is illusory, mutable, impermanent, empty, and of a nature of suffering, and therefore not self. Only through profound and meticulous contemplative practice can one arrive at this conclusion, and only then can the mind confirm that the five aggregates truly are not self. Since the self is illusory, by the same reasoning it can be proven that others are also illusory, and all sentient beings are illusory and not self; then the mark of life span, which depends on the five aggregates of sentient beings, is of course unreal and also illusory. Cultivating meditative power and properly contemplating these principles is very important. Many dharmas must be cultivated in this: the Eightfold Noble Path and the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment must all be well cultivated before one can realize that these dharmas are all empty. Merely talking about emptiness is useless — that is merely verbal Zen.
5. The Dharmas of "Mine" Are Also Utterly Unattainable
After eradicating the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa), one realizes that the five aggregates are not self. Since there is not even a self, there can be no dharmas possessed by self. On the surface, the realms of the six sense-objects seem to belong to me and seem very real, but these dharmas arise and cease and mutate, lacking autonomy and self-existence; they are all illusory and therefore cannot be possessed — moreover, there is no subjective self to possess them.
Possession and use are only an illusory false appearance without substance. Possession is the appropriation by the seven consciousnesses, but consciousnesses are formless and markless — how could they possess anything? Take clothing, for example: how could the seven consciousnesses possess clothing? Money — how could the seven consciousnesses possess money? Possessing a person — how could the seven consciousnesses possess a person? One cannot even possess one's own body of the five aggregates, let alone possess another's body of the five aggregates, or possess fame and gain — how could the seven consciousnesses possess fame and gain? It is utterly impossible. That is why the Buddha said that all dharmas are illusory and utterly unattainable. How can illusory things be obtained? Let us count on our fingers: since beginningless kalpas, what have we actually obtained? Just now, what did we actually obtain? Merely the illusory feelings of our own mind — where is there any real dharma? Since beginningless kalpas, each person has simply been constantly clinging to his own illusory feelings, pursuing and being satisfied with illusory feelings — where has anything ever been gained or lost?
Now we hear the sound of thunder in the sky and the buzzing of a mosquito by the ear — these are heard simultaneously. But how long has the thunder already passed, and over what distance, before it was heard? By the time it is heard, the thunder has long since ceased; the sky is no longer thundering. Since the thunder and the mosquito's buzz are heard together, the sounds, within the ear faculty, have no sequence of earlier and later. If a sound takes several seconds, or several minutes, to reach the ear faculty, does the essential realm of that sound still exist? It has long ceased to exist; when the sound is heard, the real sound in the external world has already vanished. Then when the sound of someone scolding me is heard by me, does that scolding still exist? It no longer exists; what is heard is an illusory appearance of the essential-realm sound, like an echo in a valley. So how illusory is the heard sound of scolding? Extremely false and unreal — and all dharmas contacted by the six consciousnesses are like this.
6. The Arising, Flavor, Fault, Escape, and Cessation of the Five Aggregates
Form is material with marks formed from the four great element seeds of earth, water, fire, and wind, held within the eighteen realms of sentient beings; it belongs to worldly dharma, including sentient beings' physical bodies and the material universe. All such form is arising and ceasing, changing, impermanent, illusory, empty, and not long abiding — this is the operating law of arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing in the world, which in itself has no good or bad and no fault. But if we grasp this form as self or as belonging to self, believing form has flavor and is long-lasting and unchanging, then clinging and craving toward form arise, and thus all faults appear. Because of craving form and grasping form, the mind is locked within the three realms, unable to escape the cycle of birth and death, with endless suffering in the future.
The five aggregates all have arising, flavor, fault, escape, and cessation. The arising of the aggregate of form is the accumulation of karmic conditions that produce the aggregate of form and of the seeds of karma created. The birth of the aggregate of form has conditions and causes. What conditions and causes produce the aggregate of form? The accumulation of craving is the arising of form: because there are karmic actions of craving, there will be the birth of the aggregate of form in future lives. The cessation of form: sentient beings, through cultivation, can extinguish craving for form; after craving is extinguished, there is no longer the fault of birth and death.
The flavor of form: we believe the aggregate of form has flavor, has pleasure, is extremely lovable, and so we crave the aggregate of form. With craving, birth-death afflictions cannot be severed, and there will be the birth of the five aggregates in future lives. The fault of form: the aggregate of form has faults, because it is impermanent, suffering, empty, and mutable; therefore there are endless faults of birth and death — with the aggregate of form, suffering arises. The escape from form: sentient beings, through cultivation, can escape craving for form; escaping craving brings liberation from birth and death and great freedom. If one can escape craving and manifest the first dhyāna, one can sever afflictions and the mind attains liberation.
The arising of the aggregate of feeling: the accumulation of contact is the arising of feeling. The six faculties always contact the six sense-objects; after contact, the six consciousnesses arise, and there is the aggregate of feeling of the six consciousnesses. With the aggregate of feeling, feelings of suffering, pleasure, and neither-suffering-nor-pleasure constantly arise; therefore feelings of birth-death suffering are unending, and afflictions are unending. The flavor of feeling: after feelings arise, sentient beings believe feelings have great flavor, the mind gives rise to joy, and craving arises — loving feeling, delighting in feeling — and the mind is bound; thus there is inevitably the birth of the five aggregates in future lives. The fault of feeling: these feelings of the six consciousnesses all have faults; they are all impermanent, arising and ceasing, all suffering, mutable, afflictive dharmas that cannot long abide, and therefore must all be severed.
The escape from feeling: sentient beings, through cultivation, can escape craving for feelings, no longer believing feelings have flavor or are lovable. The cessation of feeling: after cultivating the Eightfold Noble Path, one truly extinguishes craving and delight for feeling; the mind attains tranquility and coolness, gaining the real benefit of liberation. When contact escapes, feeling escapes; when contact ceases, feeling ceases. If the six faculties contact the six sense-objects as little as possible, feeling is reduced; if there is no feeling, there is no fault of feeling.
The accumulation of contact is the arising of the aggregate of perception; when contact ceases, perception ceases. When the six faculties contact the six sense-objects, perception arises; when the six faculties do not contact the six sense-objects, perception does not arise. The accumulation of contact is the arising of the aggregate of volitional formations; when contact ceases, volitional formations cease. When the six faculties contact the six sense-objects, there are bodily, verbal, and mental actions; when the six faculties do not contact the six sense-objects, bodily, verbal, and mental actions cease. The arising of name-and-form is the arising of consciousness; when name-and-form ceases, consciousness ceases. When the name-and-form of the five aggregates is born, the six consciousnesses are born; when the name-and-form of the five aggregates ceases, the six consciousnesses cease.
7. Both Self and What Belongs to Self Belong to the View of Self
The view of self is hard to eradicate because it is deeply rooted; the view of what belongs to self is also extremely hard to eradicate, because it is deeply rooted. When manas takes part of the functions of the five aggregates as self, it takes the other part of the functions as belonging to self. This deeply rooted clinging to self and what belongs to self, this habitual cognition, is very hard to change. To eradicate this unreasonable view of manas requires long-term contemplative practice, constantly introspecting on one's various views about the five aggregates, and reasoning correctly in meditative concentration.
Self and what belongs to self are non-identical; what is different and distinct is "other." For example, if one believes the aggregate of feeling is self, then the aggregate of form is what belongs to my self; self and what belongs to self are "other." It seems the view of self that the aggregate of form is self has been severed, but the view that the aggregate of form is what belongs to self is also a deeply rooted wrong view (mithyā-dṛṣṭi). Both self and what belongs to self are the view of self; both are hard to eradicate, yet both must be eradicated. After eradicating the view of self, with views corrected, one will believe that self and what belongs to self are not other: the aggregate of feeling is not self, the aggregate of form is not what belongs to self — neither is self.
Before eradicating the view of self, one takes the aggregate of feeling as self and the aggregate of form as what belongs to self, believing the aggregate of feeling is within the aggregate of form and the aggregate of form is within the aggregate of feeling, the two existing in each other, pervading each other's substance. After eradicating the view of self, with views corrected, one believes the aggregate of feeling is not self and the aggregate of form is not what belongs to self; the aggregate of feeling is not within the aggregate of form, nor is the aggregate of form within the aggregate of feeling; the two do not exist within each other, because the five aggregates of form, feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness are not self.
This issue is hard to fathom; one must, in meditative concentration, suspend the question in the mind, in manas, and one day there will be a breakthrough and one will penetrate its meaning. Once this knot is untied, the obstacle to eradicating the view of self is removed, and the resistance in contemplative practice becomes small.
8. Both the View of Self and the View of What Belongs to Self Must Be Eradicated
In contemplative practice to eradicate the view of self, one must neither take the five aggregates of form, feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness as self, nor take them as belonging to self. One cannot say the aggregate of form is not self yet is what I can possess and use; one cannot say the aggregates of feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness are not self yet are what I can possess and use. "Form, feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness are me" — this is a wrong view and wrong understanding; "I can possess form, feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness" is equally a wrong view and wrong understanding. All these views must be extinguished, dug out from the mind.
If there is a "what belongs to self," there is a self — the view of self has not been eradicated. Who takes the functions of form, feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness as belonging to self? Of course it is manas. Manas has been using and exploiting these functions since beginningless kalpas, believing it possesses these functions; because of these functions, conceit and self-clinging arise, and the afflictions of birth and death never cease.
When manas wants these functions, the eighth consciousness, without stinting, produces the physical body and the six consciousnesses for manas and manifests these functions; manas then takes these functions as self and what belongs to self, not knowing they all belong to the eighth consciousness, and thus the cycle of birth and death flows on without end. To escape the suffering of the cycle of birth and death, one must make manas eradicate these ideas and views, no longer letting manas believe these functions are self and mine. Then manas will be without self, gradually no longer wishing to use these functions to create afflictive karma, gradually reducing its clinging and craving toward these functions, and the karma of birth and death will be eliminated.
Since beginningless kalpas, manas has constantly clung to the five aggregates and eighteen realms. Why does it cling? Because manas believes these dharmas are self and belong to self; hence the clinging. If manas did not believe these dharmas were self and belonged to self, it would no longer cling, because it would know clinging is useless, craving is useless — the five aggregates and eighteen realms are empty, suffering, illusory, and unreal, and cannot be grasped. Once manas realizes this principle, it will gradually reduce clinging and become increasingly free and liberated. When the first fruit is realized — that the five aggregates are not self — one attains the pure dharma eye, and the mind's eye begins to be purified. When view is pure, action is pure; when afflictions are fully severed, action is the purest.
9. The Functions of the Five Aggregates
When typing, the hands and eyes are the aggregate of form; looking at the screen and discerning the characters and the screen is the aggregate of consciousness; thinking and composing is the aggregate of consciousness; receiving the state of the screen is the aggregate of feeling; the arising of feelings is the aggregate of feeling; discerning the state of the screen and the size of the characters is the aggregate of perception; discerning the thoughts in the mind is the aggregate of perception; the fingers typing is the aggregate of volitional formations; continuous composing is the aggregate of volitional formations; breathing and other movements of the physical faculty are the aggregate of volitional formations. All functions of the five aggregates are the aggregates of consciousness and volitional formations.
Distinguish the functions of the five aggregates when speaking, eating, walking, and visualizing. When the six faculties contact the six sense-objects, distinguish the functions of form, feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness; then contemplate: how does each function arise, how does it operate, how does it change, and how does it finally cease and shift? Then contemplate how it is impermanent, how it is empty, how it is suffering; then contemplate: can such a function be me? Am I thus constantly arising and ceasing, thus constantly mutating without stop? The wise would never take such functions as self.
10. Hīnayāna Eradication of the View of Self Requires Cultivating the Four Noble Truths
The Four Noble Truths are suffering, arising, cessation, and the path. Only by knowing that all worldly dharmas are suffering can the mind of renunciation arise. Having the mind of renunciation is the prerequisite and foundation of cultivation; without it, practice becomes lax and cannot be diligent, severing craving becomes more difficult, and progress on the path is hard to achieve. Frequently introspect: do you recognize suffering and know suffering? Do you have the mind of renunciation? If this is not accomplished, subsequent practice cannot become diligent.
If we wish to eradicate the view of self and realize the selflessness of person, we must know: what is a person — what is the concept of person? What is self — what is the concept of self? What does "no-self" refer to? What is emptiness — what is the concept of emptiness, and how many kinds of emptiness are there? What is impermanence, what is arising and ceasing, and why is impermanence not real? One must have clear understanding of these dharmas in the mind. Frequently contemplate these dharmas, and firmly establish in the mind this cognition: impermanent dharmas are constantly arising, ceasing, and changing; they cannot be grasped; they are all empty, all unreal, and not a self to be relied upon.
We must no longer take these dharmas as real, as self, or as belonging to self; do not grasp and cling to them again — clinging to these dharmas means falling forever into birth and death. Firmly establish these concepts, overturn your former mistaken cognitions, and gradually you can eradicate the view of self and sever the three fetters, thereby gaining liberation and freedom. Doing this is not easy. Sometimes, although one superficially or verbally admits the five aggregates are empty and illusory, manas deep within does not admit it. To make manas admit and accept this requires frequent contemplation of these principles. Do not disdain deep and subtle thinking just because you believe you already know — otherwise manas's views will not easily be corrected, and practice will not progress. This is crucial.
"What suffers is not real; what suffers is not self" — this concept must be established. "What is impermanent and empty is not real and not self" — this concept must also be established. Establishing such mental concepts is not easy, but once established, subsequently cultivating any dharma becomes easy; views can be quickly corrected, and whether eradicating the view of self, seeing the mind, or any future contemplative practice, none will be too difficult. What obstructs our cultivation is afflictions, afflictive habits, and mistaken incorrect concepts and ideas. Once concepts are corrected, afflictions are easily subdued and wisdom easily arises. Correcting views is most crucial: with correct views, one can eradicate the view of self and sever wrong views, and in subsequent cultivation, each barrier after another can be broken through.
11. Eradicating the View of Self Is Contemplating the Five Aggregates as Dharmas of Decay and Destruction
Hīnayāna eradication of the view of self is realizing that the five aggregates and eighteen realms have the nature of suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and no-self. The self of the five aggregates equals impermanence, equals emptiness, equals suffering, and must be broken through. The five aggregates can be destroyed; what can be broken and destroyed is not real.
"True reality" has two meanings: one refers to truth and facts in the worldly realm; the other refers to the eighth consciousness, which never arises or ceases, in the Mahāyāna dharma. In the Hīnayāna cultivation of eradicating the view of self, knowing that there is an imperishable eighth consciousness, distinct from the five aggregates and eighteen realms, which is that upon which the five aggregates and eighteen realms depend — this is sufficient. The focus of contemplative deliberation is on recognizing that the worldly truth of the five aggregates and eighteen realms is that they are dharmas that can be destroyed and decayed, lacking reality; their true appearance is the appearance of not lasting long, the appearance of suffering, the appearance of emptiness, the appearance of destruction.
If eradicating the view of self is taken as realizing that the five aggregates are not the eighth consciousness, the direction is wildly wrong, and the view of self still remains. Many people's minds and thinking always fall into a pitfall and cannot get out. Why? One reason is being misled by something and being preconceived; another is insufficient logical thinking power. Insufficient thinking power is related to insufficient meditative power and to wholesome roots and merit from past lives; this requires accumulating meditative concentration, wisdom, wholesome roots, and merit bit by bit oneself. If one did not possess a certain foundation of study and practice in past lives, one cannot progress very fast in this life's cultivation. If one forcibly demands very rapid enlightenment, when various causal conditions are not yet mature, when one's mental disposition and so forth have not yet transformed to resemble a bodhisattva's, anxiously investigating the eighth consciousness without even breaking through the selflessness of the five aggregates — this harms rather than benefits one's path, and often backfires.
12. Contemplative Practice and Realizing That Feelings Are Not Self Are Extremely Important
Sentient beings all take feelings as real, as self, as belonging to self; then they pursue feelings, satisfy and comply with feelings, and for the sake of their own feelings do not hesitate to create all kinds of karmic actions, especially unwholesome karmic actions. To free ourselves from the suffering of birth and death, we must contemplate the illusoriness, unreality, magical-transformability, emptiness (śūnyatā), and not-self nature of feelings. Then we can realize that feelings are indeed empty, illusory, and unreal, and will no longer attach importance to feelings or pursue them, and will no longer create the unwholesome karma of ignorance such as greed, hatred, and delusion. Thus the view of self is eradicated, the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion gradually fade, and the mind gradually becomes pure.
How are feelings empty and illusory? Where do feelings come from? Feelings are mainly the feelings of the six consciousnesses. In fact, the feelings of manas behind them are also extremely important. If manas had no feelings, it would not drive the six consciousnesses to create defiled karma, nor could it seek liberation and diligently study the Buddha-dharma. The feelings of the six consciousnesses come, on the one hand, from manas — influenced and directed by manas; on the other hand, when the six consciousnesses themselves discern the realms of the six sense-objects, they are influenced by those realms, developing craving or aversion toward them; when the mental factors of feeling appear, feelings of suffering and pleasure arise.
How do the feelings of the six consciousnesses appear? The tathāgatagarbha transmits the consciousness seeds, forming the six consciousnesses. Once the six consciousnesses are generated, they begin to operate; the five universal mental factors and the five particular mental factors appear, and thus they discriminate the six sense-objects, grasp the six sense-objects, and develop feelings toward the realms. Thereafter, they take these feelings as real and as self — craving what accords with themselves, hating what opposes them — and create the ignorant karma of greed, hatred, and delusion; thereafter the retributions of birth-death saṃsāra are unending. Then, when we contemplate feelings as empty and realize that the five aggregates are not self and feelings are also not self, we can subdue the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion — this is very important.
13. Manifestations of the View of Self
Some people, having done a little good deed, proclaim it everywhere, clucking about like a rooster. What hidden virtue can there be in this? What merit can be spoken of? If one can benefit others — even just making someone smile, even bringing a tiny bit of benefit to someone — it is what one ought to do, nothing worth publicizing. Once publicized, the good retribution is received and gone, and the greater good retribution of future lives is lost; this is equivalent to hidden virtue being gone — hidden virtue is the good retribution received in future lives. Only if one wishes to set an example for others, to influence and inspire them toward goodness, should one make one's good deeds known publicly.
Yet some people, before even starting anything, broadcast it everywhere on loudspeakers, enjoying in advance others' envy, respect, praise, and pursuit. This is like taking out a high-interest loan for advance consumption — very unwise. Why does this happen? Because of severe view of self, there is severe vanity, wanting to attract others' attention, taking oneself, others, the affairs involved, and the credit all as real and grasping them severely. Once you understand what self and the manifestations of the view of self are, then as soon as someone acts — as soon as bodily, verbal, and mental actions appear — you can discern whether that person's view of self is severe or mild, whether they have eradicated the view of self, and how far they are from eradicating it. Then impostors posing as sages will have nowhere to hide — and who would dare come to the Sahā world to deceive?
14. Reasons for Being Unable to Eradicate the View of Self
Around us, impermanent events happen every day; especially in this modern age of such developed information, impermanent news is countless. Yet why do so many people have no sighs, no deep reflection about these impermanent happenings, casually scrolling past them? Especially impermanence involving oneself — why can one also watch it with equanimity, becoming numb and adapted? If a person easily adapts to impermanence, never thinks deeply, never reflects, is never stirred — how could such a person, amid impermanence, realize that the five aggregates are impermanent and not self?
When the pratyekabuddha saw leaves falling, he knew the world is impermanent and not blissful, immediately left home for the mountains to contemplate the dharma of impermanence and the dharma of dependent origination, no longer craving the secular world. The non-Buddhists of the past also knew the world is impermanent and left home for the mountains to cultivate the path; only the theories on which they based their practice were incorrect — yet even so, their wholesome roots were not shallow. How many people in our modern society can renounce the secular world? What is the reason for inner numbness and insensitivity to impermanence? Is there a reason of craving the secular world, so that one believes no matter what happens, the world is lovable and worth clinging to? With such a mind, it is not easy to see through impermanence, not easy to eradicate the view of self and attain realization of the fruits.
If unable to eradicate the view of self, look for causes within yourself; observe your own inner ideas and concepts and habits of thinking — what exactly is the problem? The view of self is greatly related to the ideas deep within one's mind. Most people, encountering impermanence — even very painful impermanence — can easily let it pass without reflection or deep thought; their ideas are also incorrect and their meditative power insufficient, resulting in a lifetime spent amid impermanence and boredom, fully adapted, with not the slightest inner stirring — bland and muddled. How could wisdom arise this way?
In fact, is it really that we cannot observe impermanence and do not know impermanence? The mind consciousness easily knows impermanence and easily knows suffering; knowing emptiness is not difficult either, and the mind consciousness often says "no-self." Then why can it still not eradicate the view of self? Many people who believe all dharmas are impermanent and not self — even if others acknowledge that they have eradicated the view of self and attained realization — dare not admit it in their own hearts. Why dare they not admit it? Still because of inner insecurity: without genuine realization, deep within they have not accepted this principle; they feel their views are not solid. They themselves know this, so they dare not affirm themselves — usually just talking for fun.
Hardly anyone's mind consciousness actually believes their own five aggregates are permanent and unchanging. Then why can they still not eradicate the view of self? Because the idea and view of impermanence is not manas's view. Manas does not know that the five aggregates are impermanent and all dharmas are impermanent — therefore the view of self cannot be eradicated. Even if others say he has eradicated the view of self, he himself feels insecure and dares not admit it, for lack of evidence and reason.
15. In Contemplating the Five Aggregates, One Must Firmly Establish the Concept of No-Self
When you have free time, look at the big tree outside the window, or draw a picture of a big tree yourself, and frequently contemplate the origins and course of the five aggregates and seven consciousnesses above the roots, and the mutual relationships of the parts. Constantly engaging in this contemplative practice, eradicating the view of self and seeing the mind will not be very difficult. As long as one's own causal conditions are complete, any single dharma can bring about one's realization of the fruits and seeing the mind; every dharma leads to no-self and non-arising — there is absolutely no wrong path.
In Hīnayāna contemplative practice, the mind must hold this concept and thought: what arises and ceases and changes is not self; what cannot endure is not self; what is aggregated from various causes and conditions is not self; what is produced is not self. Only after these concepts are firmly established, and through contemplative practice in meditative concentration one clearly recognizes these principles, can one eradicate the view of self. And the establishment of this concept, this idea, this thought — no one can help with it; it is each person's own inner cognition; others truly have no way. It is like a teacher instructing a student: "This is yellow, having such-and-such characteristics." As for whether the student's mind can recognize this yellow, whether he has accurately grasped the conceptual content of yellow — others can do nothing. This requires one's own personal deliberation and cognition, digesting the meaning of the concept oneself, before one can acknowledge and record this yellow, and then realize yellow. Similarly, when a teacher teaches the character "big," giving the pronunciation, meaning, and form to the student, whether the student can take it on and understand it is his own affair — others can do nothing.
Contemplating the five aggregates follows the same principle: one must acknowledge this conclusion deep within one's own mind. How can one acknowledge it? Diligently and earnestly cultivate meditative concentration; contemplate within that concentration. All the required conditions must be fulfilled, the tools must be complete, the mental power must be sufficient, and then one must have good reflection and skillful wisdom — then contemplative practice can be accomplished. In eradicating the view of self, establishing a correct mental concept is very important. When the mind holds a firm concept, then upon encountering some matter or principle inconsistent with that concept, the mind can immediately reject it, not accepting it. Then, once the concept that what arises, ceases, and is impermanent is not self is established, upon observing all dharmas and observing their arising, ceasing, change, and impermanence, one can deny their reality and easily accept no-self. Changing mental concepts is the hardest thing, but once changed, the subsequent results are inconceivable.
16. Cultivation Cannot Be Separated from the Six Consciousnesses
Studying Buddhism and cultivating cannot be separated from the six faculties, cannot be separated from the six sense-objects, and even less from the six consciousnesses; precisely on the five aggregates, six faculties, six sense-objects, and six consciousnesses must one cultivate — apart from the eighteen realms there is no way to cultivate. Cultivation must use the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of the six consciousnesses; one cannot extinguish the six consciousnesses and not use them. Only after enlightenment, when cultivating the four dhyānas and eight samādhis, may one temporarily extinguish the six consciousnesses and enter deep meditative concentration, so as to develop immeasurable supernormal powers and cultivate the four immeasurable minds of loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. At all other times, one must use the mind consciousness to participate in deliberating on the Buddha-dharma, investigating Chan, contemplative practice to eradicate the view of self, and conditioning manas, eradicating manas's clinging and defilement.
Since the six consciousnesses must be used, there must be the six faculties; without the six faculties, the six consciousnesses cannot arise. Moreover, only a great arhat who has eradicated self-clinging can extinguish manas; ordinary people cannot extinguish it. If one has not yet eradicated the view of self, one can in no way eradicate self-clinging. Only when the view of self is broken through can clinging to self be eradicated bit by bit — this is the sequence of cultivation and cannot be skipped. If someone who has not eradicated the view of self claims to sever clinging, that is merely talk; it simply cannot be done.
