Understanding the Non-Self of the Five Aggregates Is Not the Abandonment of the Self-View

Some of us are aware in our minds that we are illusory, merely a false shell—does this count as severing the view of self? Understanding selflessness and recognizing one's own illusory nature involve comprehension at the level of the conscious mind and at the level of manas (the mental faculty). The understanding of the conscious mind can be further divided into genuine understanding and superficial understanding; without true contemplative reflection, it is not genuine understanding. Moreover, understanding at the level of the conscious mind alone remains shallow and often has little effect. Deep within, manas remains unaware, still clinging to the five aggregates as the self. Consequently, it cannot resolve practical issues, much less lead to liberation from the cycle of birth and death. Because manas governs and determines all physical, verbal, and mental actions of the five aggregates, including the activities of the conscious mind, and because manas is still bound by the fetters of birth and death, it continues to drag the five aggregates and the six consciousnesses through the cycle of rebirth.

True severance of the view of self requires manas to acknowledge and confirm that the five aggregates are indeed illusory and impermanent; manas must comprehend the principle of the selflessness of the five aggregates. For manas to acknowledge and confirm this, the conscious mind must engage in deep, meticulous, and comprehensive contemplation. Through contemplation, the process and results of reflection are transmitted to manas, enabling manas to understand and thereby personally verify the illusory nature of the self within the five aggregates. The conscious mind must contemplate and reflect on the illusory nature of each of the five aggregates, and each of the eighteen elements, thoroughly and exhaustively—especially the illusory nature of the conscious mind itself. Only then can manas acknowledge and confirm that the five aggregates are indeed non-self, that all is illusory. As a result, the deepest layers of thought undergo a significant transformation, and only then is the view of self severed.