The Cause of the Inability to Eradicate the View of Self

Cultivation first requires negating and breaking through the functions and activities of the physical body and the five aggregates (pañca-skandha); only afterward is it possible to find the true person behind the five aggregates. How unsubstantial and masterless is the physical body? The physical body is composed of the four great elements, controlled and manipulated by them. If you want to manipulate the four great elements, it is truly not easy—it takes a great deal of effort, and even then you may not succeed. For example, in summer when the weather is hot, the whole body streams with sweat, and some people even develop eczema; this is the discord of the fire element, water element, and earth element. Then you turn on the air conditioner to let in some breeze, but the body catches a chill and feels unwell—this is the discord of the wind element. A physical body in discord with the four great elements is truly vexing. As long as there is a physical body, the four great elements will forever manipulate you. The Buddha said the four great elements are like four poisonous snakes, very hard to serve; the moment you are careless, the poisonous snakes will harm you. Such a physical body has not the slightest autonomy—could it be the true person? Could it be the self?

The self that is imperishable through life after life should be free and at ease, possessing autonomy; it should be impervious to all poisons; it should be able to master everything without being mastered by anything. Who with wisdom would recognize such a physical body as the self or as belonging to the self? As early as possible, extinguish it within your own mind, negate it, and then go seek a new master to take refuge in.

If, with such an obvious and clear principle, you still cannot confirm it within your own mind, then it shows that your cultivation is still lacking. What exactly is lacking? Merit, wisdom, meditative concentration (samādhi), precepts, and so on—perfect each one as quickly as possible; do not be lazy and keep procrastinating.

When the principle that the physical body is not the self and the five aggregates are without a self has become very clear, you should bravely take it upon yourself. The notion of self held since beginningless kalpas should be renewed and replaced—the old departs, the new arrives, everything made fresh. Yet this notion of self seems to be stuck fast; no matter what is said, it will not budge, and even advancing one small step is very difficult. This is obstruction, like a mountain lying across your path that you cannot get over. To topple this mountain requires the conjunction of many forces: one's own power and the power of others. One's own power includes the power of precepts, the power of meditative concentration, the power of wisdom (prajñā-bala), the power of merit, and the power of wholesome karma. The power of others includes, first, the blessing power of the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Dharma protectors; second, the impetus of fellow practitioners and Dharma friends; and third, the power of other wholesome conditions. One's own power is primary and the power of others supplementary; only when one's own power is complete can the power of others accomplish anything.

For example, a person pushing a cart uphill suddenly encounters a large boulder blocking the cart ahead. Unable to move forward and get past the boulder by his own strength, no matter how hard he pushes, the cart simply will not move. At this point, the conjunction of many forces is needed. One's own power lies in one's physical strength, perseverance, skillful effort, decision-making ability, and so on. The power of others is this: because of the wholesome connections one formed and the wholesome karma one planted in the past, one happens to meet someone passing by; this person has an affinity with you and is willing to help you push the cart together. If two people cannot push it, and just then another person happens to pass by who is also willing to lend a hand, then with the strength of three people the boulder is successfully surmounted and the journey continues.

If in the past you never formed wholesome connections by helping others, never planted the seeds of merit and wholesome karma, then when you encounter resistance, you will be isolated and without aid, with no external force or power of others to help you. Perhaps you will not even meet anyone passing by, and no one will know you are in difficulty. Even if someone passes by, due to the lack of affinity and merit, no one will be willing to come to your rescue.

On the path of learning Buddhism, accumulating merit and forming wholesome connections is extremely important, because the path to Buddhahood requires a great many helpers; the strength of a single person alone cannot accomplish it. Isolated and without aid, how could one cross the cultivation period of three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas? If you are unwilling even to lend a helping hand to others, merit will not accumulate, wholesome connections will not be formed, seeds will not be planted, and relying solely on your own strength, you will be unable to get past any obstacle—left only with sighs and sorrow. If you do not help others, how can you expect help from heaven?