Severing the View of Self Is No Easy Task

Novice Buddhists often harbor doubts, and unresolved doubts hinder the progress of their spiritual practice. Therefore, they should seek ways to resolve these doubts. One method is to seek guidance from others to dispel uncertainties; the other is, after seeking guidance, to engage in personal contemplation, search for evidence, and ultimately resolve the doubts themselves.

When faced with numerous doubts, failing to address them and instead relying solely on meditative concentration to obscure them—how can this possibly resolve doubts and attain wisdom?

To avoid identifying the body as the self, one might imagine inanimate objects as their own body, engaging in various fanciful thoughts, yet never contemplating why the material form is not the self. This still leaves a sense of "I" attached to the physical body, resulting in bondage without liberation. Then, without eradicating this view of the body as "I," one imagines that the functions of the conscious mind are not the self. These imaginings still involve clinging to pleasant feelings, merely substituting one imagined pleasurable sensation for the present painful one. They fail to carefully contemplate and observe why all sensations are not the self, why they are not real, and why they are impermanent, subject to arising, ceasing, and change. Instead of contemplating this truth rationally, they escape reality, indulging in imagined pleasures—this too is a form of craving and bondage. Subsequent content follows the same pattern: imagination and emotional or intellectual interpretations, lacking genuine contemplation, experiential practice, and process. This is not true cultivation; it is an escape from reality.

Those proficient in mathematics and science possess strong logical thinking abilities, which are highly practical when applied to the contemplation and practice of the Dharma. In contrast, scholars and literati often approach Buddhism solely through research and emotional or intellectual interpretations. They do not understand contemplation and practice, nor do they engage in rational thinking. As a result, because of their good comprehension, research skills, and literary prowess—despite having realized nothing—they produce endless theoretical articles that dazzle people, leading them astray.

How many people in the world are truly discerning, possessing penetrating insight like the Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils of Sun Wukong, seeing through all disguises and restoring all truths? Cultivating Buddhism is not about pursuing some fruition level or seeking some "fruit" to consume. It is about genuinely attaining the wisdom of liberation, enabling the mind to reach liberation. This is the fundamental goal and purpose of practice. Pursuing fruition levels and empty fame is to prioritize the trivial over the essential. Without having attained liberation, one adds yet another fetter, binding themselves with an extra rope. Why bother? Pursuing vanity is still an act of "I"—how can one eradicate the view of self? In the Dharma-ending age, sentient beings have scant merit, and their practice is often upside-down. While the aim is to eradicate the view of self, they constantly reinforce it; while the aim is selflessness, "I" is everywhere. They fail to grasp the true meaning of practice and have no desire to understand it. Studying Buddhism is still for the sake of "I"—"I want this, I want that." This is moving in the opposite direction: the more one pursues, the faster one runs; the more one strives, the farther one strays from the Way. Eradicating the view of self is truly difficult—it is no easy task. It is not like some people who, after perusing a few books and pondering over them, simply pocket the "fruit" of selflessness. It is still far too early; the journey is long—an eighty-four thousand li Long March has only just begun. Eagerness to attain the fruit still stems from "I," never escaping the confines of the self-mind. "I want to attain the fruit, I want to attain the fruit"—with this "I," how can one attain the fruit? "I want to become a sage, I want to become a sage"—with this "I," how can one be a sage?