Section One: The Manas and the Mind Consciousness Eradicate the View of Self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) Simultaneously Contemplating the Five Aggregates and Eliminating the View of Self (Part I) (Second Edition)

Chapter 5: What Constitutes the True Eradication of the View of Self

Section 1: The Manas and the Mind Consciousness Eradicate the View of Self Simultaneously

1. The Eradication of the View of Self Must Be Done by the Manas

Eradicating the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa) means eradicating the afflictive delusions of knowledge and views, that is, eradicating incorrect views, namely the delusions of view (darśana-kleśa), which mainly include the erroneous views and opinions of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses. The delusions of cultivation (bhāvanā-kleśa) are the afflictions of thought and concept to be eradicated during the path of cultivation, namely afflictions such as greed, hatred, delusion, and arrogance. The delusions of view are eradicated upon realizing the first fruit; the delusions of cultivation are eradicated at the third and fourth fruits, which means they can only begin to be eradicated after attaining the first dhyāna. One who has eradicated greed-craving and hatred-resentment is a person of the third fruit; one who has eradicated the delusion of ignorance of one beginningless unenlightenment and self-grasping is a person of the fourth fruit. Then the manas's view of self is also a delusion of view, an afflictive delusion of knowledge and views, and should be eradicated upon first seeing the Path. The manas's delusions of cultivation should be subdued at the second fruit, begin to be eradicated at the third fruit, and their complete eradication marks the fourth fruit, equivalent to an eighth-bhūmi bodhisattva.

At the first fruit, eradicating the view of self must include the manas's view of self, and it is mainly the manas that eradicates the view of self. If the manas did not need to eradicate the view of self, then realizing the first fruit would be extremely easy—the mind consciousness could just ponder a bit and eradicate the view of self—but in fact it is not easy; many people study the Āgama sūtras their whole lives and still cannot realize the first fruit. In fact, many people's mind consciousnesses all understand that all dharmas are illusory, like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows, yet they just cannot eradicate the view of self and cannot become persons of the first fruit.

The view of self of the mind consciousness is relatively easy to eradicate, because its wisdom is strong; upon hearing the Dharma it can contemplate and engage in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā), and can easily break through the view of self and ignorance. However, it is influenced by the manas's view of self, so the view of self will appear anytime and anywhere. The manas eradicating the view of self is rather difficult, because the manas's view of self and ignorance are deeply rooted, and the manas's wisdom is weak, unable to quickly understand the Dharma meanings it encounters; it must rely on profound meditative concentration (samādhi) and the mind consciousness's power of perfuming, and needs the mind consciousness to provide some materials and data for Him to reference, before the manas can deliberate (manasikāra) and investigate the principle of no-self, thereby confirming no-self and eradicating the view of self.

2. If the Three Fetters Belong to the Manas, Then the Manas's View of Self Must Be Eradicated

In eradicating the view of self, the three fetters are simultaneously eradicated: the view of self, the view of clinging to views, and the view of doubt. Eradicating the three fetters guarantees that in future lives one will never fall into the three evil destinies. If it were enough for only the mind consciousness to eradicate the view of self, then could the mind consciousness eradicate the three fetters? Are the three fetters binding the mind consciousness or binding the manas, or binding both? Is the eradication of the fetters of birth-and-death decided by the mind consciousness? Can the mind consciousness take charge of the great matter of birth-and-death? The fetters from beginningless kalpas—are they the manas's or the mind consciousness's? Can the mind consciousness cut them off? Can the mind consciousness take charge of eradicating the three fetters?

The fetters of birth-and-death from beginningless kalpas mainly refer to the manas's fetters; the three fetters mainly bind the manas. Because the manas does not perish life after life, it corresponds to karmic power and transmigrates through the six destinies according to karma. The mind consciousness exists for only one lifetime and cannot take charge of producing the five-aggregate body of the next life. The mind consciousness cannot even make the five-aggregate body change a little bit, and cannot take charge at all over the six sense objects; it cannot even make the foot lift—telling oneself that the glass walkway is safe, go forward, but the leg just will not lift. How then could the mind consciousness take charge of eradicating the fetters of birth-and-death from beginningless kalpas?

The manas must take charge over every dharma; it is impossible that it would not take charge on such a major matter from beginningless kalpas as eradicating the view of self. If the manas does not take charge, it is a false eradication of the view of self, not a true eradication of the view of self. Whatever is only the mind consciousness's surface assertion, which the manas does not assert but reluctantly goes along with, is false—like acting in a play. Only what the deep-level manas asserts, an assertion from the depths of the heart, is true.

Therefore, people's words and deeds divide into true and false kinds: crying has the distinction of real crying and fake crying; laughing has the distinction of real laughing and fake laughing; fear has the distinction of real fear and fake fear; caring for people has the distinction of real caring and fake caring; anger has the distinction of real anger and fake anger; hatred has the distinction of real hatred and fake hatred, and so on. Because people's words and deeds are sometimes true and sometimes false, in mutual interactions they all suspect and guard against each other, needing to figure out the other's true thoughts and intentions, not daring to easily trust the other. For this reason, everyone feels that dealing with people is mentally exhausting; with the slightest carelessness, one is deceived and schemed against. Such is the mutual deception among worldly people.

3. The Difference Between True and False Eradication of the View of Self

In the cultivation and realization of the Buddha-dharma, there is likewise the distinction of true cultivation-realization and false cultivation-realization; eradicating the view of self divides into true eradication of the view of self and false eradication of the view of self; seeing the mind divides into true seeing of the mind and false seeing of the mind. The true and the false fill both worldly life and Buddhist practice, making them not easy to distinguish. Whatever is false is on the surface of the mind consciousness; one could say it is put on, affected. Whatever is true corresponds with the deep levels of the manas, is acknowledged by the manas, flows out from the depths of the heart, comes from the bottom of one's heart, is unaffected, is trustworthy, is honest and without deception.

If eradicating the view of self is merely the mind consciousness eradicating the view of self while the manas does not eradicate the view of self, then the manas has not eradicated the three fetters, and one cannot be guaranteed not to fall into the three evil destinies. Because whether one falls into the three evil destinies is determined by karmic seeds and karmic power, and the manas corresponds to karmic seeds and karmic power. If the manas has not eradicated the three fetters, the karmic seeds have not changed, and at death, drawn by karmic power, one will fall into the three evil destinies—there is no way around it, and the mind consciousness can do nothing at all, because it cannot take charge and moreover ceases and is extinguished; even less can it take charge of matters after its cessation. Therefore, cultivating only the mind consciousness is of no use at all; with only the mind consciousness eradicating the view of self, the problems of birth-and-death and of not falling into the three evil destinies cannot be solved.

To take a step back, suppose the mind consciousness could decide not to fall into the three evil destinies. Then at the time of death, the mind consciousness perishes first, leaving only the manas and the tathāgatagarbha, with no mind consciousness existing. Yet there is still the manas and karmic power. The mind consciousness cannot correspond to karmic seeds and karmic power, so whether one goes to the three evil destinies or not is something the mind consciousness completely cannot decide; it cannot even decide whether it itself exists—how could it decide not to go to the three evil destinies? One need only observe the manas's behavior in the neutrino-body (antarā-bhava) to know: in the neutrino-body, the manas completely corresponds to its own afflictive habitual tendencies, and it takes rebirth following the manifestation of its own afflictive habitual tendencies.

If the manas has not eradicated the view of self, then after the mind consciousness perishes, the manas, corresponding to karmic seeds and corresponding to karmic power, will be driven by karma into the three evil destinies. If at that time the manas has not eradicated the view of self and has not eradicated the three fetters, the manas's mental activity still corresponds to the three evil destinies, the ropes have not been untied, and it will certainly be drawn down into the three evil destinies. If one goes to the hells, without passing through the neutrino-body, the manas and the tathāgatagarbha directly enter the hell body.

4. Why Must the Manas Eradicate the View of Self?

The cycle of birth-and-death and rebirth in the three evil destinies is caused by the manas's ignorance. As long as the manas's ignorance is not broken through, there is the chain of the twelve links of dependent origination of birth-and-death, and sentient beings are bound by the manas's ignorance within the six destinies, unable to escape, bound within the three evil destinies, also unable to escape. Beginningless kalpas ago, because of ignorance, the manas did not know the fundamental self, the true self, did not know the real nature of the dharmadhātu, did not know to guard the fundamental true mind, and so gave rise to mental activity greedily seeking outward, whereupon the five-aggregate body vainly underwent the suffering of birth-and-death transmigration. Because of ignorance, the manas's mind stirred falsely, whereupon the tathāgatagarbha, according with the manas, produced the universe's material world (bhājana-loka) and produced sentient beings' five-aggregate bodies, and the dharmas of the three realms' world appeared. Sentient beings have transmigrated through birth-and-death in the three realms for countless kalpas, still without end to this day, precisely because of the manas's ignorance, because of the manas's fetters. Practice means eradicating the manas's various fetters and various ignorances, so as to no longer be bound by ignorance, to escape the various bonds of birth-and-death, and attain liberation.

Then eradicating the view of self must eradicate the manas's view of self; only afterward can one's afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion be attenuated; after that, the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion can be eradicated; and finally the manas's self-grasping can be eradicated. If at the first fruit the manas's view of self is not eradicated, then there is no second fruit's attenuation of greed, hatred, and delusion, no third fruit's eradication of greed-craving and hatred-resentment, much less the fourth fruit's complete eradication of the afflictions of greed, hatred, delusion, and conceit, and no talk of self-grasping being completely eradicated. From this it can be seen that the manas's view of self is eradicated at the first fruit, and self-grasping can only be eradicated at the fourth fruit. This line of practice we should all be clear about.

If the manas has not eradicated self-grasping, it cannot make itself vanish and perish. Directing the body's activities is the manas's function. If the mind consciousness wants to direct the body, it needs the manas's consent, and then the manas issues the command before the six consciousnesses can move; only when the six consciousnesses move can the body move; if the six consciousnesses do not arise and are not active, the body cannot move. Because the manas regards the body as itself, from beginningless kalpas it has grasped at it without letting go. If the body is not controlled and mastered by itself, the manas feels it has lost its self, and therefore feels an inexplicable fear. Therefore, in eradicating the view of self, the manas must be the one to eradicate the view of self; only the manas eradicating the view of self is the true eradication of the view of self. Of course, the one who has completely and ultimately eradicated the view of self is the Buddha, the World-Honored One; even the great arhats of the fourth fruit who are liberated in both ways have not completely and ultimately eradicated the view of self.

5. The Process of the Mind Consciousness's Contemplation Is the Process of Perfuming the Manas

In contemplating the five aggregates to eradicate the view of self, it is not enough to merely hold on the mind consciousness's mind that the five aggregates are not the self; the manas's acknowledgment is also required. To make the manas acknowledge it, there must be profound dhyāna to let the manas enter meditative absorption (samādhi) to contemplate and investigate; it is not that if the mind consciousness holds there is no self, then there is no self. If the manas has not realized that the five aggregates are without self, it does not count as eradicating the view of self, and the root of birth-and-death transmigration has not been severed; only eradicating the view of self at this root is the true eradication of the view of self.

The manas's range of engagement is extremely broad, and it has no power of concentration, so its power of wisdom is weak and its capacity to understand and recognize problems is poor; it does not easily realize the truth. One must cultivate profound dhyāna so that the manas can single-pointedly and deeply deliberate and investigate; only then can the manas understand and personally realize the Buddha-dharma. Moreover, the manas's inherent habitual tendencies are heavy and its views are not easily turned around, so the mind consciousness must provide ample materials and data to guide the manas to investigate the Dharma meanings; only then is there any possibility of eradicating the view of self.

The mind consciousness must influence and perfume the manas through deep and detailed contemplation, such as contemplating: how exactly are the five aggregates illusory, how exactly do they arise and cease, how exactly are they impermanent, how exactly do they change? The two words "exactly" (究竟) embody presenting facts and reasoning things out—one must speak with facts, for the manas only acknowledges facts. To present facts, the mind consciousness must guide the manas into deep and detailed contemplation; the entire process of the mind consciousness's contemplation is the process of influencing and perfuming the manas. Only when the manas has been perfumed to a certain degree can it actively investigate deeply, deliberating and contemplating without stop day and night, and finally can it directly perceive through contemplative practice that the five aggregates are without self, and the state of meditative absorption (samādhi) appears. Therefore, all mental activities of the mind consciousness can perfume the manas; the process of the mind consciousness's contemplation is the process of perfuming the manas.

6. The Correct Meaning of Eradicating the View of Self

"Self" refers to the manas, the seventh consciousness. It is the manas that takes the aggregate of form among the five aggregates as the self, takes the aggregate of feeling as the self, takes the aggregate of perception as the self, takes the aggregate of volitional formations as the self, takes the aggregate of consciousness of the six consciousnesses as the self, and also takes itself as the self; hence there is the view of self. The six consciousnesses are of the nature of dependence on others (paratantra), arising in succession, and are a tool utilized by the manas, the seventh consciousness. Just like the relationship between the head and the four limbs within the entire five aggregates and the physical body—the manas, from beginningless kalpas, has always taken every part of the five aggregates as the self, and of course also takes the functions and activities of the eighth consciousness as the self.

The mind consciousness's self-nature is weak, far inferior to the manas's powerful self-nature, and is relatively easy to eradicate. Generally speaking, the mind consciousness, through a bit of perfuming in the principle that the five aggregates are without self and a little contemplation, can understand the principle; whereas the manas's capacity for contemplation and observation is weak, and coupled with the deep ignorance of beginningless kalpas that severely obscures its wisdom, it does not easily understand the principle, so the manas's view of self is extremely difficult to eradicate. From ancient times to the present, those who have truly eradicated the view of self are very few, as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. Even when the Buddha was in the world, the proportion of people attaining realization was not very large. Therefore, the view of self mainly refers to the manas's view of self; eradicating the view of self requires the manas personally, together with the mind consciousness, to investigate the principle of no-self, to directly perceive that the five aggregates truly are without self, and the manas's confirmation—only this is truly eradicating the view of self.

If one merely relies on the mind consciousness, like a repeating machine, reciting and memorizing texts in the form of reading words aloud, without deep and detailed contemplative practice in concentration, the manas can never be perfumed and never understand the principle; this is merely the mind consciousness's superficial activity on the surface of words, at most able to reach an intellectual understanding that the five aggregates are without self, and very hard to realize authentically.

Eradicating the view of self is the manas's personal realization. Then is seeing the mind and realizing enlightenment also the manas's personal realization of the true mind, the eighth consciousness? The answer is that it is likewise so. Because the manas, from beginningless kalpas, has always taken the functions and activities of the five aggregates and six consciousnesses as the self, and also takes the functions and activities of the eighth consciousness as the self, not knowing that He Himself is nothing at all; He depends on the eighth consciousness on one end and on the five aggregates and six consciousnesses on the other, in order to accomplish His so-called illusory self's functions and activities. Only with His own functions and activities can He survive in the three realms.

Then to make the manas eradicate ignorance and accomplish the Buddha Way, on the one hand the great tree of the five aggregates must be felled so that He has nothing to depend on and no longer takes the five aggregates as the self; on the other hand, the eighth consciousness must be established, letting Him realize the true eighth consciousness and know that all dharmas are the doing of the eighth consciousness, not His own functions and activities. Thus the manas clearly recognizes the real nature of the dharmadhātu, ignorance is bit by bit broken through, self-grasping and dharma-grasping are gradually completely eradicated, and when finally there is thoroughly no self, one becomes the Buddha, the World-Honored One.

7. How the Mind Consciousness Closely Cooperates with the Manas to Eradicate the View of Self

In eradicating the view of self, the mind consciousness must first supply the manas with all the evidence and data, then the mind consciousness should contemplate less, function less, accommodate the needs of the manas's mental activities, let go and allow the manas to deliberate and weigh things by itself, letting Him verify some facts by Himself. If the manas feels the facts are still insufficient, the evidence still inadequate, the data still not enough, then the mind consciousness contemplates and engages in contemplative practice again, gathers data again and hands it to the manas, and the manas deliberates and weighs things deeply again. In this way, with the mind consciousness constantly supplementing data and materials on the side, the manas can constantly process and constantly refine its contemplation, and finally arrive at a solid, well-evidenced conclusion—and then realization of the fruit is attained.

If there are many matters that need handling and the mind consciousness must emerge from concentration to discern the six sense objects, the manas can still work quietly, not departing from investigation whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, and can even work whether dreaming or dreamless at night. When the manas truly feels a matter is of great importance, it will decide to work diligently, forgetting food and sleep; because the manas wants to be diligent, although these eating and drinking activities are carried out by the six consciousnesses, they would likewise affect the manas's focused deliberation—He would be distracted by daily trivia—so He will decide to reduce the other activities of the five aggregates to ensure He is not distracted. When sleeping, without the mind consciousness's assistance at hand, the manas has no sufficient data and materials and cannot begin investigating, so the manas decides not to sleep, not letting the mind consciousness perish, or lets the mind consciousness participate in dreams.

8. The Root of Contemplative Practice and Investigating Chan Is Letting the Manas Personally Observe

In investigating all dharmas, at first the manas cooperates with the mind consciousness's contemplation and analysis, cooperating with the mind consciousness's gathering of various data and materials; when the mind consciousness has gathered materials sufficiently ample for the manas to use, the mind consciousness must then cooperate with the manas's deep deliberation, cooperate with the manas's processing and integrating work, cooperate with the manas's examination and filtering work, letting the manas apply more mental effort while the mind consciousness is less active—then the investigation work can be completed quickly.

To make the mind consciousness less actively contemplative and the manas deliberate more, one must cultivate concentration; only in concentration can the manas's focused investigation be guaranteed. Although He cannot be completely fixed on one point, being fixed on a very few dharmas is enough; apart from the Dharma meaning requiring focused investigation, other things need only be briefly discerned, without affecting one's investigation. Then contemplative practice must be done in concentration; the mind consciousness must not engage in emotional conjecture and intellectual interpretation, but should make much use of the manas's deliberative nature, fully and effectively exercising the manas's deliberation, personally realizing that the five aggregates are without self—this is the root of contemplative practice and investigating Chan. Therefore, if the manas does not realize the Dharma, seeing the mind and realizing enlightenment is impossible, and likewise eradicating the view of self is impossible. In investigating Chan and contemplative practice within concentration, the use of the mind consciousness's contemplation should be less, and the use of the manas's deliberative nature should be more—this is the root of investigating Chan and contemplative practice.

Without the mind consciousness's cooperation and assistance, the manas can still investigate and deliberate on Dharma meanings; it just takes longer, and who knows when it will be. There are examples as proof. For instance, at night one ponders a problem, and falls asleep without resolving it; after a night's sleep, the next morning, just as the eyes open, the mind consciousness's inspiration appears, and one suddenly understands the unresolved problem. This shows that all night the manas was working and deliberating; before sleep at night a question was left for the manas, and upon waking in the morning the answer was obtained. Quite a few people have had similar experiences.

Another example: sometimes a problem one has contemplated may not yield an answer at the time, so one goes off to attend to other matters; on the surface it seems the matter has been forgotten and the mind consciousness no longer considers it; then at some unpredictable moment, an answer suddenly appears in the mind—this is the manas silently deliberating behind the scenes all along, finally deliberating out a result. Practice means making much use of the manas; only the manas's practice is true practice, able to realize all dharmas and obtain all wisdom.

When the mind consciousness engages in contemplative practice on the five aggregates, the information of the practice is simultaneously transmitted to the manas. The manas does not understand the first time, nor the second; over time, it can understand and be perfumed, agreeing with the results of the mind consciousness's contemplative practice—this is the result of the manas activating its own distinctive deliberative and judgmental nature. If there is meditative concentration, the manas can also, following the line of the mind consciousness's contemplative thinking, deliberate by itself—either together with the mind consciousness or deliberating alone. The more deeply the mind consciousness perfumes, the more the manas can deliberate independently, thereby together with the mind consciousness jointly eradicating the view of self and jointly realizing the fruit.

9. Only with the Mind Consciousness and the Manas in Close Cooperation Can the View of Self Be Eradicated

When contemplative practice sinks into deep thought, within it there is the manas's deep-thinking activity. For example, when pacing back and forth while pondering, there is the mind consciousness's thinking, and even more the manas's deliberation and weighing. Within this, if the mind consciousness's power is great, the manas's power is small; if the mind consciousness applies less mental effort, the manas's power is great, and solving problems has force. The mode of communication between the mind consciousness and the manas is generally by way of asking and answering oneself. Regardless of who asks and who answers, in the end it is the manas that acknowledges and approves; only when the manas makes the final decision and choice is the problem considered solved. Contemplating the five aggregates, investigating the huatou, investigating Chan, and investigation all operate on the same principle as asking and answering oneself—all are relationships of close cooperation between the two consciousnesses.

While the mind consciousness exists, the two consciousnesses have never been separated for even a moment; whatever the mind consciousness thinks and considers is directed by the manas, never departing from the manas's control and cooperation. There has never been a case of the mind consciousness thinking alone with the manas not participating; if the manas does not participate, the mind consciousness perishes and does not exist—the mind consciousness cannot operate independently apart from the manas. And when there is no mind consciousness existing and thinking, the manas can still work alone, never having rested—imputed nature (parikalpita-svabhāva), deliberating at all times and taking charge everywhere; even during sleep, coma, and before and after death, the manas has never been idle.

Therefore, if the two consciousnesses do not have a close cooperative relationship, breaking through and enlightenment is impossible, and eradicating the view of self is impossible. Without the mind consciousness's participation, there are no data or materials, no knowledge of the details, and the evidence is insufficient. If the manas does not participate in deliberation, the result is questions without answers—then there is no answer, no result, and it remains stored in the manas's mind as an unresolved problem, awaiting the manas to slowly solve it, which could be at any unpredictable time.

10. Using Self-Suggestion to Perfume the Manas

When using the self-suggestion method to contemplate the Buddha-dharma, the mind consciousness should often suggest to the manas: the five aggregates are illusory, all dharmas are illusory. At a certain point, the manas will give rise to questioning doubt and actively seek verification, and then there is the opportunity to eradicate the view of self, thereby bringing one's potential into play and changing oneself. This kind of suggestion is similar to self-hypnosis: adjust oneself to a relatively quiet and tranquil state, a state in which one can hear the inner voice; then one can begin self-suggestion.

Slowly and with measured cadence, state aloud the above content on eradicating the view of self, guiding the manas to accept it, and give the manas a certain buffer time to receive the information, organize its thinking, and weigh the Dharma meanings in the information. This requires a certain amount of time and a specific environmental setting—that is, letting the manas not attend to other problems, attending only to the guided content; the mind should be tranquil and stable, peaceful, able to fully receive the mind consciousness's guidance. If wherever the mind consciousness can guide, the manas can contemplate, then the manas is relatively compliant, having been initially perfumed, just not yet finally successful. The key lies in whether the mind consciousness knows how to observe the manas's reactions, whether it has experience in guiding, and whether it truly understands the principle of no-self. Such guided hypnosis can be repeated many times at suitable times and settings; as long as the mind consciousness is skilled in the theory, knows how to observe the manas, knows how to guide the manas, and can maintain a steady and tranquil state, then in due time the manas will certainly eradicate the view of self.

11. The Bottleneck of Eradicating the View of Self

Every evening when there is time, observe the people and scenery on the television screen; contemplate how the activities of the five aggregates of various people appear—are they not generated by the aggregation of various conditions? How are they arising-ceasing, illusory, and unreal? How do they lack self-nature? How do they lack the nature of self? Continuously and in fine detail ponder: how do the people and scenery on the screen appear?

After finding all the various conditions, settle the mind and contemplate: these people and scenery—if a single condition is missing, they cannot appear, and there can be no five-aggregate activity. The five aggregates depend on various conditions to exist; when one condition ceases, the five aggregates cease—how unreal and unreliable the five aggregates are! When contemplating, be deep and detailed, analyze less, go deep, experience more; gather all the various conditions and data, then hand them to the manas to confirm and review; the remaining work is almost all the manas's, done by the manas. As long as one quietly and deeply suspends this content, one day there will be a sudden illumination, and simultaneously one can confirm that one's own and others' five-aggregate activities are all equally illusory and unreal, without autonomy, not the true self.

Some people fall short only in the manas's confirmation. The Dharma meaning is already clear in the mind consciousness's mind—this is not too difficult; the difficulty lies in the manas's confirmation. Due to lacking meditative concentration, the manas has not deliberated deeply; all thoughts and concepts float on the surface of the mind consciousness, not penetrating into the manas; the manas cannot confirm, and in the mind there is no confidence regarding the meaning of no-self. This is the bottleneck of eradicating the view of self, and one should find a way to break through it. The reasons for insufficient power of concentration are: first, no time to cultivate concentration; second, insufficient merit; third, incomplete observance of precepts; fourth, not recognizing the suffering of transmigration, lacking the mind of renunciation, not having generated bodhicitta. There are also some other minor reasons—find them out yourself and overcome them one by one; then eradicating the view of self will be accomplished, and there are still greater merits to be accomplished.

12. How to Contemplate That the Aggregates of Feeling, Perception, Volitional Formations, and Consciousness Are Without Self?

Contemplate how exactly the aggregate of feeling arises, ceases, is impermanent, and changes; how exactly it is suffering and empty; why it is not the self; how exactly it is illusory, false, and empty; why that which arises, ceases, and changes is suffering; why that which is suffering is not the self. There must be such a series of contemplative processes; only with complete right view can one effectively perfume the manas; only when the manas deliberates and penetrates in concentration can the manas's deeply rooted view of self be turned around.

Without the process of contemplative practice, relying only on the mind consciousness's understanding, the manas is not perfumed, cannot eradicate doubt and generate faith, and cannot understand the principle. Only when the manas itself personally engages in contemplative practice and investigation within dhyāna and authentically realizes—only what is personally seen and realized can eradicate doubt and generate faith, confirming that feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness are without self. If one does not let Him see with His own eyes but forcibly makes Him acknowledge some principle, thereby changing Himself, that will not work; therefore He must personally realize and personally see.

After the contemplative practice on the aggregate of feeling is complete, next contemplate the aggregate of perception. Ponder what the aggregate of perception is, in what aspects its functions manifest, what the activity-marks of the aggregate of perception are, what its characteristics are. After understanding, then deeply and finely contemplate how the aggregate of perception arises, ceases, and changes, how exactly it is impermanent, how it is empty, how it is suffering, and why the suffering-empty aggregate of perception is ultimately not the self. Through such a series of deep contemplation and organization, not only does the mind consciousness itself understand and personally realize that the aggregate of perception is not the self and not different from self, but the manas is also brought to directly deliberate and decide in the present: the aggregate of perception truly is arising-ceasing, changing, impermanent, and without self. Such a decision is very forceful; the depths of the heart can then acknowledge this principle, and the grasping (upādāna) toward the aggregate of perception relaxes.

Next, contemplate the aggregate of volitional formations. Settle the mind, exclude distracting thoughts, and ponder what the aggregate of volitional formations is, what it includes, and what its activity-marks and characteristics are. After understanding, one must deeply and finely contemplate: how the aggregate of volitional formations is born, how it aggregates, how it ceases, how it arises, ceases, and changes, how it lacks self-mastery (avaśatā); how the aggregate of volitional formations is empty, how it is suffering, why it is not the self and not belonging to the self. Observe repeatedly, verify from many angles, letting a series of facts present themselves in the mind—the mind consciousness itself cannot but acknowledge that the aggregate of volitional formations is truly impermanent and without self; this is verbal assent. Furthermore, the manas also cannot but acknowledge that the aggregate of volitional formations is suffering, empty, impermanent, and not the self; this is heartfelt assent. Only after verbal and heartfelt assent can the mental activity of the seventh and sixth consciousnesses undergo a fundamental transformation, and from then on there can be peace throughout the world. The contemplative practice on the aggregate of consciousness and the aggregate of form proceeds in the same way.

The five aggregates must be contemplated and pondered aggregate by aggregate in this way; the eighteen realms must also be treated this way, with each realm contemplated and pondered thoroughly one after another. To contemplate thoroughly, one must have a certain power of concentration; lacking it, this cannot be done. Contemplating in concentration is deep and fine; slowly and finely it can penetrate into the manas—the deeper, finer, and slower, the more easily the manas corresponds, and He must also give rise to deep and fine deliberation before being touched and realizing something; only with genuine cognition can old views be changed, thereby bringing a relatively large transformation in mental activity. The manas's power of wisdom is weaker regarding dharmas unfamiliar to itself; at first it needs the mind consciousness to assist in contemplation, but once the manas gives rise to questioning doubt about a dharma and becomes interested, it will investigate deeply, and thereby can authentically realize no-self.

13. Only Deep and Detailed Contemplative Practice Can Truly Eradicate the View of Self

When contemplating the illusoriness of the five aggregates, the mind consciousness can generally coarsely hold that the five aggregates are not the self; but without deep and detailed contemplative practice, one cannot exhaustively and thoroughly know the reasons within, and the manas cannot participate in it and contemplate together; therefore the manas has no way to understand the true meaning within, and of course cannot acknowledge the principle that the five aggregates are not the self. Consequently the mind remains as before, cannot be touched, and the mental activity does not change—so this is not truly eradicating the view of self.

One should cultivate deep concentration, and within it continue even deeper and finer contemplative practice and contemplation, pondering all the principles within thoroughly; the evidence of no-self must be sufficient, until the wisdom of meditative absorption (samādhi) appears, and only then can the manas's original views be overturned, the depths of the heart deeply affirm that the five aggregates are without self, and finally the view of self be eradicated. Without deep and detailed contemplative practice, or if the practice is not deep and meticulous, the manas cannot truly understand the principle and authentically realize, body and mind cannot be touched, the mental activity cannot be overturned, and the manas still habitually takes the five-aggregate physical body as the self.

In contemplative practice, when the mind consciousness feels that the body is merely a tool it utilizes, not the true self, the next step is to introspect further: the mind consciousness itself is also a tool used by the manas, and the manas is constantly grasping at its tool, the five-aggregate body. Then further contemplate that the mind of the seven consciousnesses is also a tool, none of them the true self; no longer taking the mind consciousness or the mind of the seven consciousnesses as oneself—thus the view that the physical body and the conscious mind are the self can be broken through. When the manas deeply affirms this point, the views are completely turned upside down, and the view of self is fully eradicated.

Among the five aggregates, the view of the mind consciousness as the self is very hard to eradicate; the view that the various functions of the mind consciousness are real is deeply rooted and is the hardest to sever. One should contemplate deeply, finely pondering that the mind consciousness's various functions, activities, and natures and so on are all not oneself; contemplate that all kinds of awareness-natures are illusory dharmas, not the self; all feelings, thought-moments, all activity-marks, all discriminating and discerning functions must be carefully and finely contemplated—only then is there hope of eradicating the view of self.

In contemplative practice to eradicate the view of self, sometimes for some people it is not necessary to contemplate every single aspect exhaustively; as long as one breaks through a single point and opens one gate, the entire five aggregates and eighteen realms can be penetrated completely, and no-self is realized. Breaking through one point can carry along the rest. Which point this is depends on the person; each person's weak link differs, so the emphasis differs and the point of breakthrough differs—it depends on how one's own conditions are.

14. Realizing the Fruit by Eradicating the View of Self Follows the Same Principle as "Seeing Is Believing, Hearing Is Unreliable"

Everywhere the Buddha teaches us one truth: all dharmas are entirely empty and tranquil. This means all dharmas are empty and tranquil. Why is this said? Because all dharmas exist through the aggregation of various conditions, fundamentally lack self-nature, and are not truly existing dharmas; therefore they are said to be empty and tranquil. From another angle, all dharmas are conjured forth by the tathāgatagarbha, directed by the tathāgatagarbha, are shadows of the tathāgatagarbha; in essence they are the tathāgatagarbha, and there are no "all dharmas"; therefore it is said that all dharmas are entirely empty and tranquil. The Hīnayāna emptiness and the Mahāyāna emptiness/voidness (śūnyatā) both point to this truth and reality.

The faculties are like illusions, the sense objects like dreams. To contemplate these dharmas requires relatively deep dhyāna; in various states, in the six faculties facing the six objects, experience the illusoriness, unreality, lack of autonomy, and lack of self-nature of faculties and objects; concentration and wisdom must be combined, fully merged together. Contemplate carefully: in the eye seeing form, how the eye faculty lacks self-mastery, how the form object is illusory, how it is like a shadow; in the ear hearing sound, how the state of sound is like a dream, how the ear faculty is like a conjuration, how it arises and how it ceases, how it produces the auditory function. When the contemplative practice is done well, one can realize that the five aggregates are empty illusions, tranquil and non-arising.

For the contemplative practice of these dharmas, preliminary understanding does not equal realization. Understanding is relatively easier—after the mind consciousness contemplates for a while, one feels one has understood—but this is not realization. Realization requires dhyāna, requires profound contemplation, requires conclusive evidence, requires penetrating to the manas in the depths of the heart; only when the manas acknowledges it is it called realizing the fruit. What the mind consciousness understands belongs to knowledge; without evidence or with insufficient evidence, none of that is realization. It must go through deep and detailed contemplative practice, with the manas truly acknowledging the principle in the depths of the heart, before it counts as realizing the fruit.

At that time, because one has truly realized and acknowledged that the five aggregates are without self and the six faculties are illusory, the mental activity changes, and one's view of all things transforms. When one truly holds oneself to be illusory, the mind certainly must change—it cannot remain the same as before. But what the mind consciousness understands, without realization, does not know in the heart that the five aggregates truly are without self; the cognition of self does not change, the view of the five aggregates remains merely theoretical, the mental activity remains as before, the afflictions remain as heavy as ever, the three fetters cannot be eradicated, and the three evil destinies cannot be avoided. This is the same principle as the worldly saying "seeing is believing, hearing is unreliable." What others say corresponds to the mind consciousness's understanding, without verification, so one still feels unsure inside and dares not take it as certain. Afterwards, when one sees with one's own eyes, only then does one truly know, and one will say: Ah! So that is how it is! At that point, regarding people and matters, one knows how to handle them.

Seeing with the eyes corresponds to the manas's realization; hearing with the ears corresponds to the mind consciousness's understanding—these are two entirely different levels. The mind consciousness's understanding is heard from others; the manas's realization is personally witnessed, is direct perception, is truly seen. Understanding corresponds to hearsay, which differs greatly from actual personal witnessing. For example, hearing about how such-and-such a person is, one forms a view in the mind, an impression; but upon meeting and observing, one finds it is so, not entirely consistent with the mental impression; the feeling and impression at the meeting are more real and credible, and only then can one adopt an appropriate attitude toward that person. After truly understanding and observing, one's views, opinions, thoughts, and actions differ from when one merely heard.

Therefore we must diligently perfume, perfuming to the depths of the heart, truly engaging in contemplative practice that the faculties are like illusions and the five aggregates are without self. During contemplative practice there is the mind consciousness's observation and pondering; when dhyāna appears there is also the manas's observation and weighing. Let the manas engage in contemplative practice within dhyāna, directly perceiving the truth of this principle—then the view of self is eradicated. If the manas does not engage in contemplative practice, it will not acknowledge the principle the mind consciousness contemplates, and then it is useless. To make the manas realize as quickly as possible, the evidence must be conclusive, reaching as far as possible the degree of direct perception. In the middle of contemplative practice there are still many procedures, many roads to travel, many dharmas to cultivate; one must constantly accumulate various provisions and provisions for the path, constantly accumulate the provisions of merit, as well as precepts, patience, dhyāna, and wisdom, constantly perfecting the conditions of these six pāramitās.

15. How to Contemplate the Emptiness of Grasping and the Grasped to Eradicate the View of Self

What grasps is the five aggregates and seven consciousnesses; what is grasped is the six sense objects and the myriad dharmas. Observing the emptiness of grasping and grasped requires relatively good power of concentration before contemplative practice and contemplation can be done. The prerequisites are: first, dhyāna must be complete; second, the principle of the five aggregates' illusoriness must be coarsely understood; then, according to what has been understood, sequentially contemplate and ponder, contemplating out the illusoriness of the grasping mind of the seven consciousnesses, observing clearly and thoroughly. The heart must acknowledge the illusory, not-self nature of the six consciousnesses; observe clearly and thoroughly the grasped six sense objects and myriad dharmas, including the five-aggregate worldly dharmas, contemplating out their illusoriness, arising-ceasing, changeability, and unreality.

The illusoriness of the six sense objects is relatively easy to contemplate. In the Saṃyukta Āgama, the World-Honored One taught how to contemplate the illusoriness of the six sense objects; while reading, contemplate how the six sense objects are illusory, item by item, contemplating each one. Observe following the text, contemplate following the text; when the contemplation is thorough, one can acknowledge those principles. Without contemplating and practicing, the mind consciousness's coarse knowledge of those principles is useless. Of course, this refers to the simultaneous contemplative practice of the mind consciousness and the manas within profound dhyāna, or finally the manas's solitary contemplative practice. When it is contemplated out, the heart will say: Oh, so that is how it is! This is the manas's confirmation.

Contemplative practice always has a process; in the end the heart will say: So that is how it is! At this point one truly knows—this is the manas's acknowledgment; otherwise it is merely the mind consciousness's superficial knowing, and the mind consciousness's knowing is often of little use. Many people can speak the principles, but their own hearts do not actually acknowledge them, because the manas does not understand these principles. For the manas to understand and personally realize: first, it relies on the mind consciousness's transmission and perfuming—the process of the mind consciousness's contemplative practice on these dharmas imperceptibly influences the manas; every dharma contemplated is transmitted to the manas; the manas knows these contents and does its own contemplative practice, thereby understanding the principle. Second, the manas personally contemplates and deliberates the principle of no-self within dhyāna, meditative absorption (samādhi) manifests, and thereby it personally realizes.

16. Perfuming the Manas When the Mind Consciousness Is Weak Is Most Effective

Western psychologists have said that the best way to make the subconscious remember things is to enter a drowsy, hazy state, or a sleep-like state. In such a state, all efforts at the level of consciousness are reduced to a minimum. Then all ideas can be transmitted to the subconscious through imagery, in a quiet, passive, receptive manner. This is a good method for perfuming the manas and hypnotizing the manas. For eradicating the view of self and subduing afflictions, one can use this method of self-hypnosis, which may also be the fastest and most effective method. Self-hypnosis can directly let the manas discern and accept the not-self nature of the five aggregates.

Relaxation, quietness, drowsiness, just having woken up—at these times there is concentration; the six consciousnesses can do nothing and cannot fabricate, the mind is not scattered, and the manas easily receives information and is easily perfumed. At these times, although there is a mind consciousness, its functions such as contemplative power, reasoning, and analysis are limited, so the manas must rely on itself, and the manas's deliberative function stands out. Then this is the optimal time to influence, persuade, and perfume the manas, to change the manas. Contemplative practice for eradicating the view of self is also best in this state: there is concentration, there is a mind consciousness, the manas's force is great, and its susceptibility to influence is also great; then the concept that the five aggregates are not the self can be transmitted and instilled into the manas, letting the manas acknowledge and accept it.

17. The Mind Consciousness's Influence on the Manas's Realization

The realization of all dharmas should be the result of direct realization (abhisamaya), not conclusions drawn from imagination and analysis. What is called direct realization? Direct realization is direct-perception contemplative practice, present contemplative practice—at the very moment the six faculties face the six objects, presently observing and experiencing the arising, operation, and arising-ceasing changes of various dharmas. Whether the mind consciousness's observation is direct perception, whether the conclusions of its thinking are facts—the manas will constantly make judgments; but sometimes the judgments are correct and sometimes wrong, because the manas's experience is limited and its wisdom insufficient, so it easily errs in judgment. The mind consciousness's direct-perception observation and thorough thinking and analysis have a perfuming and propelling effect on the manas; only when the mind consciousness's views are well-reasoned and well-evidenced can they inspire the manas's wisdom, and the manas will accordingly do its own observation and weighing, until personal realization. Whereas the mind consciousness's non-valid cognition (non-valid cognition) of imagination and inference has no influence on the manas and cannot propel the manas toward authentic realization.

The manas is tightly connected with body and mind, inseparable; the manas's direct-perception realization will induce changes of varying degrees in body and mind. Why is the manas so tightly connected with body and mind? Because the eighth consciousness can manifest all dharmas and can also see all dharmas, and the manas, relying on the eighth consciousness's perceiving-aspect (darśana-bhāga), can also see all dharmas along with it, including seeing its own body-mind realm, and takes these dharmas as what it itself sees, constantly engaging and grasping without cease. Thus the manas can function on all dharmas, and can also coordinate and control the body-mind world, venting its various emotions through body and mind, causing various changes in the body-mind world. This is the manifestation of the manas's imputed nature (parikalpita-svabhāva) and its ever-present, everywhere taking-charge nature, and also the manifestation of self-grasping and dharma-grasping.

The manas is also influenced and perfumed by the mind consciousness's incorrect thinking, making wrong choices. From beginningless kalpas, the mind consciousness has been intentionally or unintentionally deceiving the manas, telling the manas that the five aggregates are the self, that all dharmas are mine, that the five-aggregate world is beautiful and happy and should be pursued without letting go—the mind consciousness plays the role of a false teacher, and so the manas greedily clings to the worldly five desires and grasps at the five aggregates as itself. Before and after eradicating the view of self, the mind consciousness begins to play the role of the manas's good teacher and helpful friend; after reforming itself, it then helps the manas reform, together subduing afflictions, eradicating ignorance, together transforming consciousness into wisdom, advancing hand in hand.

18. Eradicating the View of Self Corresponds to the Manas

Through the mind consciousness's deep and detailed contemplative practice of the principle that the five aggregates are without self, all the evidence and materials are gradually presented to the manas; the manas accepts them and does its own contemplative practice, and can confirm that the five aggregates are without self. The more sufficient the evidence and materials, and the more direct-perception states presented, the more easily the manas deliberates and corresponds, because the manas acknowledges direct-perception states and does not correspond to non-valid imagination. Because the manas does not know the five aggregates are empty, when the facts are contemplated out in concentration, it cannot but confirm this principle. Previously it was always the mind consciousness that knew the principle of no-self to a greater or lesser degree, but the manas did not know, because its wisdom is shallow and its capacity to discern states insufficient, unable to contemplate deeply and finely.

What the mind consciousness analyzes, contemplates, and understands belongs to intellectual understanding; this is because the power of concentration is not very good, it has not penetrated to the manas, and the manas does not understand the principle. If the power of concentration is strong, the mind consciousness's contemplation can go deep, with less superficial understanding; the mind consciousness moves slowly and can mobilize the manas's power, letting the manas's deliberative nature come into play; then when the manas itself understands, the mind consciousness certainly understands. When concentration is shallow and the mind consciousness's analytical component is large, although the mind consciousness easily understands, the evidence presented to the manas is insufficient, and the manas's own deliberative nature is also insufficient, so the manas does not understand the principle.

When the mind consciousness analyzes and applies effort less, and hands over to the manas to apply effort more and deliberate more, then the realization that the five aggregates are without self can be attained. The force of the manas's confirmation is extremely great; it can change one's own mind, change bodily, verbal, and mental actions, change karmic actions, change karmic seeds. Practicing this way is taking a great shortcut. To make the manas apply effort more and realize through direct perception, one must enter deep dhyāna with the mind consciousness moving less—this is the principle of investigation. Since ancient times, Chan masters have taught students to investigate Chan by leaving behind mind and consciousness, not to analyze, not to engage in emotional conjecture and intellectual understanding; yet they may not necessarily have understood the deep principle within, not knowing this is the manas's function, corresponding to the manas—because the manas's operation belongs to the domain of the wisdom of all aspects (sarvākārajñatā) of Consciousness-Only, and many Chan masters have not generated that wisdom.

The principle of eradicating the view of self is the same as the principle of investigating Chan: both require the manas to personally investigate, letting the manas secretly apply effort deliberating the not-self nature of the five aggregates, while the mind consciousness contemplates deeply and finely in concentration, moving slowly and deeply—thus it can penetrate into the manas, and only then can it correspond to the not-self nature. Excavating all the manas's functions, natures, and effects makes practice a great shortcut—indeed the greatest shortcut—enabling us to practice in leaps, and attaining buddhahood becomes very fast.

19. Only by Untying the Mental Knots Can Liberation Be Attained

To attain liberation, one must eradicate the view of self and eradicate the manas's engagement with the five aggregates and the three realms' world. For the manas to completely not engage, self-grasping must be eradicated—not grasping at either the five aggregates or the dharmas of the three realms; only a person of the fourth fruit can do this. In the concentration of no-perception (asaṃjñi-samāpatti), there is no mind consciousness, yet the non-Buddhists grasp at the physical body, so the body does not perish; because they grasp at the body, taking the body as the self, they cannot escape the three realms, because they have not eradicated the view of self. Only when the manas has not the slightest interest in any dharma of the three realms' world, has completely eradicated greed-craving, and no longer grasps at all at the five aggregates and eighteen realms, can self-grasping be completely eradicated; at death the manas itself actively ceases, and one enters Nirvāṇa without remainder (Anupadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa), liberated and escaping the three realms.

True liberation is liberation of the mind: the mind consciousness and the manas no longer grasp at the five aggregates as themselves, not greedy for wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep, not greedy for form, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Thus the manas unties the ropes from the five aggregates, the bonds of body and mind are gone, the knot of birth-and-death is opened, the dharmas of birth-and-death can no longer bind one's own mind, and the mind is liberated. Among the five kinds of liberation, the last is the knowledge-and-view of liberation; when knowledge and views are liberated, there is no bondage of wrong views (mithyā-dṛṣṭi); right view is established and wrong views disappear—this is a realm of wisdom. Relying on this knowledge and view, one can escape the ocean of suffering of birth-and-death; yet right view is the hardest to establish, because defilement by wrongness is too deep. Studying Buddhism and practicing is the process of constantly untying the mental knots; only when the mental knots are untied can liberation be attained.

20. The Reasons for Being Unable to Eradicate the View of Self

One of the reasons for being unable to eradicate the view of self is that the earlier-stage mind consciousness has not contemplated thoroughly the meaning of the five aggregates' illusoriness; the materials handed to the manas are incomplete, the manas is unclear about this content and cannot investigate; the mind consciousness may not even know the materials are incomplete, not knowing how to contemplate and gather evidence, and the manas, like a clever wife, cannot cook without rice. In addition, the manas's engaging mind has not been subdued and the power of dhyāna is insufficient, so the investigation does not succeed. Many people have not even begun to investigate, because the earlier-stage mind consciousness has not done its work well and the manas cannot continue the work.

The manas is the judge, the examiner, the gatekeeper. All the data of the mind consciousness's contemplation and analysis must pass through the manas's examination; no matter how detailed and precise the analysis, the manas must still check and review before approving and acknowledging. For example, when subordinate staff complete a piece of work and submit it to the leader for approval, the leader cannot just mark it as qualified and issue salary without reading it through, checking it, and reviewing it; at minimum it must be looked over once; strictly speaking, it must be reviewed for a period, investigated, and only when confirmed to be error-free can it be stamped. Such is the relationship between the mind consciousness and the manas.